If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove. And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.Have you ever noticed that the Christian God seems to be a deal maker? There are many places in the Bible in which he says, "If you will do this, this, and this, I will do that." Of course, if people don't follow through on their end, it really ticks off God and you don't want to be around him when he's angry!
~ King James version ~
Tao brokers no "deals" with anyone.
~ possible Taoist alternative ~
Tao is not a deal maker. Tao simply is and each of us gets to decide if we want to embrace the Way or not. Embracing the Way does not mean that there will be no challenges or pain in life. All it means is that we will be better equipped to deal with what life dishes out.
If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.
The Jews of the Old Testament are called people of the covenant. Yes, that's a deal with their god. It's a contract. And of course, if you sign a contract, make a deal, enter into a covenant with God, you better keep up the payments. (This is a lesson that should be learned via the Mafia, the IRS and mortgage lenders.)
ReplyDeleteI do like the notion that there are no "deals" in Tao.
It would be nice if there WERE deals, though... Slaughter this goat for you, and you will bring me wealth? Sign me up!
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