tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post7723656389386521832..comments2024-03-27T20:10:46.984-07:00Comments on The Rambling Taoist: Starting PointsThe Rambling Taoisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04730292897416827840noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-5029438291197222302011-03-29T11:11:02.131-07:002011-03-29T11:11:02.131-07:00My fruity point was that the discussion is compari...My fruity point was that the discussion is comparing a "philosophy" and a "religion." (Dare I say they are your particular narrow points of view on both?) <br /><br />And I know of no contemporary Jew or Christian who continues to offer ritual burnt offerings in a temple. <br /><br />And much of Taoist practice is to regain harmony because as humans we are "estranged or separated" from the Tao. Just as Jews and Christians (and Hindus and Muslims) seek reconciliation or union with God. In the beginning, the Genesis story suggests that we were one with God; it was that damned (vegetarian!) apple (could have been an orange) that caused our separation. And if you don't grasp that metaphor, then you can hardly grasp anything that comes after.<br /><br />Why can't you just say that literalist, fundamentalists are small-minded thinkers, forgive yourself for being under their spell for a period, and move on from this obsession? I had a friend who used to carry around a journal of the the slights and insults she had received in a situation 15 years in the past. She couldn't seem to let go; I told her she would be free of it all when she stopped carrying that journal with her everywhere. Of course, that pissed her off, and probably became another journal entry. She's still unhappy, even worse off, and probably helping make her therapist's boat payment.baroness radonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14593108634484542286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-84737911259161598802011-03-29T10:22:51.304-07:002011-03-29T10:22:51.304-07:00You seem rather argumentative.You seem rather argumentative.The Rambling Taoisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04730292897416827840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-71027444433537496782011-03-29T04:14:57.160-07:002011-03-29T04:14:57.160-07:00I am not talking about being mellow passive subjec...I am not talking about being mellow passive subjective. I am talking about exerting yourself has being an authority of absolute thinking.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00317738626367664514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-17743064765452981012011-03-28T21:21:07.156-07:002011-03-28T21:21:07.156-07:00I have never offered myself out as not being subje...I have never offered myself out as not being subjective. Every person I know has biases and prejudices. Why do you think I write frequent posts that I am no sage or guru? I'm just an average bloke stumbling through life like everyone else.The Rambling Taoisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04730292897416827840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-12875406030581704402011-03-28T18:53:15.496-07:002011-03-28T18:53:15.496-07:00All of humanity has rough edges RT, including you....All of humanity has rough edges RT, including you. As far as picking and choosing, aren't you guilty of the same? So why do you speak with such authority?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00317738626367664514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-25865374493958176322011-03-28T18:43:42.631-07:002011-03-28T18:43:42.631-07:00How you look at the Bible is in keeping with moder...How you look at the Bible is in keeping with modern day liberal thinking, a way to smooth off the rough edges you don't like. As with all Christians, you pick and choose which parts you hold up to be "truth" and which parts you think are metaphorical. What you view as "corruption," others view as words from God's mouth.<br /><br />Baroness,<br />It may not get us anywhere, but I think starting points matter.The Rambling Taoisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04730292897416827840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-89613952803149349172011-03-28T18:26:54.688-07:002011-03-28T18:26:54.688-07:00Hi boys,
You know, all this apple and orange compa...Hi boys,<br />You know, all this apple and orange comparison is getting us nowhere.baroness radonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14593108634484542286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-25870261576407292342011-03-28T17:36:55.767-07:002011-03-28T17:36:55.767-07:00Rt, I would have to lean towards what Brandon has ...Rt, I would have to lean towards what Brandon has to offer. I look at the bible, though it has been reconfigured and corrupted, as a history reference of man's groping for truth. You can see man struggling with its duality and defining truth in error like we all do. If you ONLY look at today's fundamental Christianity and Judaism as a representative of what the bible has to offer you are missing out on something very special. It is a book of metaphors that are weaving underneath the literal words. When approached with that in mind, you will SEE pointing fingers at oneness and non-duality. There is pointing at non-doing-doing as when Paul said "it is no longer I that live but Christ that lives within me". Jesus once prayed that we would be one as he and the father are. A better translation might say, Father I pray that they "realize" we are all one. The bible is a history of man's groping for truth with continual progressive revelations getting closer and closer. You need to separate the corruption from what is not corrupt.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00317738626367664514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-49755345527154393582011-03-28T16:10:18.844-07:002011-03-28T16:10:18.844-07:00Brandon,
Sin -- a crucial element in both the Juda...Brandon,<br />Sin -- a crucial element in both the Judaic and Christian religions -- is what separates us from God. According to the Christians, we are each born sinful, so we pop out into the world already separated.The Rambling Taoisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04730292897416827840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-2734573414311395772011-03-28T16:08:04.561-07:002011-03-28T16:08:04.561-07:00Mark,
If you want to look at it from that perspect...Mark,<br />If you want to look at it from that perspective, then you are just as stuck as I am. In fact, everybody is stuck.<br /><br />Why? Because neither you nor I has read every book on the topic nor spoken to every person about their opinion on the matter.<br /><br />Heck, if a person read every book and spoke to every person save one, they too would be stuck.The Rambling Taoisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04730292897416827840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-47057063487551800702011-03-28T16:04:15.758-07:002011-03-28T16:04:15.758-07:00I don't know that they start from different pl...I don't know that they start from different places. It seems to me the Judaic religion got corrupted, co-opted, or bastardized such that it seemed God was seperate. There are many passages that suggest otherwise. And often the prophets, holy men, and especially Jesus speak of God in such terms as to make God seem truly not-seperate. <br /><br />I think part of the problem is the contstraints of the language.Brandonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12704525078859327898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-65138490582189490702011-03-28T15:12:02.937-07:002011-03-28T15:12:02.937-07:00One very big reason why you are stuck is because y...One very big reason why you are stuck is because you don't think you are stuck. As long as you don't think you are stuck you will remain stuck. It is the law of physics.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00317738626367664514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-57468451715938396492011-03-28T15:02:31.593-07:002011-03-28T15:02:31.593-07:00I don't think I am stuck on anything. I'v...I don't think I am stuck on anything. I've studied the Bible from many different perspectives from St. Augustine to Bart Ehrman and from Dietrich Bonhoeffer to the Jesus Seminar.The Rambling Taoisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04730292897416827840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-40138465502117738572011-03-28T14:51:50.067-07:002011-03-28T14:51:50.067-07:00RT, I would suggest that your read The Gospel acco...RT, I would suggest that your read The Gospel according to Jesus by Stephen Mitchell and The Path to No-Self or What is Self by Bernadette Roberts. Stephen Mitchell has a deep understanding of The Way and Bernadette, though being a Christian, has a very deep understanding of no-self. She is also a believer in non-duality and Oneness. Are you interested in understanding other aspects of the teachings of Christ or only your own that you seem to be so stuck on?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00317738626367664514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-80636319321272826232011-03-28T14:02:38.066-07:002011-03-28T14:02:38.066-07:00I don't think the OT can be divorced from the ...I don't think the OT can be divorced from the NT. Jesus believed in the OT and the Christian religion is based on him (through the eyes of Paul).The Rambling Taoisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04730292897416827840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10694316.post-80600899456183499292011-03-28T13:31:38.649-07:002011-03-28T13:31:38.649-07:00I wonder if your analysis would hold as well with ...I wonder if your analysis would hold as well with the books of the Christian "New Testament".Forgetful Mannoreply@blogger.com