Trey Smith
Original Post Date: 1/5/09
Original Post Date: 1/5/09
Heaven and earth are impartial;
They see the ten thousand things as straw dogs.
The wise are impartial;
They see the people as straw dogs.
~ Tao Te Ching, a portion of Five ~
For me, these 4 lines typify one of the prime differences between monotheistic religion and Taoism. Under the former, there is this belief that the supreme being personalizes everything and is orchestrating the world for its own purposes. For the Taoist, there is no personalization whatsoever -- things occur due to cause and effect.
I must admit that I've never understood why so many people find comfort in the belief that their God has taken a loved one for divine reasons. A baby dies and we so often hear friends and family exclaim, "God had a reason for taking him/her from us. We don't know what that reason is, but we must have faith that it's for a good reason."
Since some babies die and some babies live, it makes one's God seem rather capricious! What's he doing up there? Rolling dice or utilizing a celestial dartboard to decide who lives and who dies? Besides, what could this ulterior purpose be? Since God is supposedly omnipotent, he doesn't need any helpers as his world is perfect.
When I hear of or experience (second or third person) a tragic death -- be it a baby, an adult, a group of people or even my own dog -- I understand that there was obviously a cause and effect that led to this outcome. I realize that, because of an infinite number of variables, I most likely will be incapable of isolating all of these variables to be able to see the precise progression of circumstance that led to the result, but this progression exists nonetheless.
Because I don't believe in a personified being, I don't have the need to look to the heavens to ask, "Why God? Why?" I understand that it's nothing personal. I understand that all of the ten thousand things eventually die -- some sooner and some later.
I must admit that I've never understood why so many people find comfort in the belief that their God has taken a loved one for divine reasons. A baby dies and we so often hear friends and family exclaim, "God had a reason for taking him/her from us. We don't know what that reason is, but we must have faith that it's for a good reason."
Since some babies die and some babies live, it makes one's God seem rather capricious! What's he doing up there? Rolling dice or utilizing a celestial dartboard to decide who lives and who dies? Besides, what could this ulterior purpose be? Since God is supposedly omnipotent, he doesn't need any helpers as his world is perfect.
When I hear of or experience (second or third person) a tragic death -- be it a baby, an adult, a group of people or even my own dog -- I understand that there was obviously a cause and effect that led to this outcome. I realize that, because of an infinite number of variables, I most likely will be incapable of isolating all of these variables to be able to see the precise progression of circumstance that led to the result, but this progression exists nonetheless.
Because I don't believe in a personified being, I don't have the need to look to the heavens to ask, "Why God? Why?" I understand that it's nothing personal. I understand that all of the ten thousand things eventually die -- some sooner and some later.
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