Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.God, in his great beneficence, decides he will give a specific territory to a specific people. Isn't that swell and dandy? (Probably not for the nonspecific people who were residing there!)
~ King James version ~
Tao is not a mapmaker.
~ possible Taoist alternative ~
If anything, Tao has bequeathed to us --and by us I mean all living forms -- the entirety of the cosmos. We humans are the ones who make maps and draw borders. From the standpoint of The Way, all is one.
If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.
Not only maps but time & love are human constructs... "the name is not the named"
ReplyDeleteA fine sentiment, but I'm sure it's against the spirit of Tao to criticise other belief systems. Also, the subtext of this posting would be hard to swallow by the surviving Jewish population of Europe in the aftermath of the Shoah / Holocaust. How would the Tao have them find a place of safety, to ensure that Never Again would they be victims of attempted genocide?
ReplyDeleteAnyway - seriously meant - how are we to know that those huddled masses of terrified refugees were not part of the flow of Tao?
Aiya! The whole point of the OT is the story of a people who were designated to represent a particular concept of God to the world (and their failings and successes, hopes and dreams). If you don't like that message, that's one thing. But I have to agree with anonymous that this attitude ("isn't that swell and dandy?") is part of the cause of ongoing conflict in the middle east. I don't consider myself a Zionist, but I certainly appreciate the fact that (you will argue this perhpas) that Israel is the only democracy in the middle east, where the "strong man" style of leadership is generally the rule.
ReplyDeleteOn another point, in Taoism "mapping" of the cosmos (both in the heavens and in the body) is a key concept. If you are actually beginning to seriously delve into the I Ching and neidan texts, you should keep this in mind.