Christian & Taoism

I have thought about this, and all though for myself i find the Idea of a separate deity a hinderance to my development i don't see why you cant be Christian and Taoist.

There are two ways to flip the coin, the first doesn't works so well because Yahweh is a Jealous God, but you could look at Yahweh (along with Jesus of course) as a physical manifestation of the Tao. The other side works a lot better because the Tao feels no Jealousy, You could look at the Tao as Yahweh's framework for the cosmos.

The interesting thing about Christianity and Taoism, is that i couldn't work out what the Christians meant about 'the holy ghost' until i read into Taoism.

 

In the Tao Te Ching it says that the Tao is older than god. So does this imply that there is a god, but he or she is below the tao?

 

I think it would be important to note that in the New Testament that Christ called himself "The Way". The Tao is also called "The Way". I think that is a very valid connection. Also, I think that organized religion (and people's perception thereof, especially concerning fundamentalist christianity) creates a false dichotomy. Religion shouldn't be either/or situation, but rather the individual should be able to synthesize the teachings of all religions in order to come to a greater and more profound realization of themselves and the world around them. With that being said, there is no conflict between the teachings of Christ (Christ himself, not the Church) and the Tao. They can exist harmoniously.

 

It is certain that Jesus embodied all the Taoist virtues which are extolled in the I Ching to a very high degree.

Also, there are other parallels. For example Jesus says at one point to his disciples 'you have seen me and so you have seen the Father'. In other words, he's saying he embodies the Father, in exactly the same way that the IChing says the sage embodies Tao - ' the people look towards him and are transformed'.

 

AAAAAAAAAAMEN!

 

I didn't understand gospels at all until I got into Meta-Physics and Vedic Knowledge/Wisdom :O !!!

 

check Anthony de Mello books. He exactly hits the point.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_de_Mello_(Jesuit)
more on:
http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_de_Mello
he is my master! He like king Salomon connected East with West.
Shame for kardyna³ Ratzinger that he criticised him

 

There is only one book describing Tao. It is called "Tao te ching". But who will translate?
Even Chinese scolars have difficulty.Translated to English? Good luck!
Most other writings concerning Tao (other than Chang Tsu) have been poisoned by confucist devils, intent on empowering the state, and manufacturing consent for the class system the chinese people are only beginning to realise is bullshit!

Please read as many translations of the "Tao te ching" as possible, but don't just pick the one you like....

Always take the middle way.

 

it's funny that non religous people allow every one to believe what they want, while your strongly religous people shove their religions down your throat. Many christians are very close minded, and won't even discuss ideas that don't come straight from the bible, which we all know is just the writings of man. Most religions I have looked at teach the same things: Be kind to one another, respect the land, don't muder, ect., yet we all have giant battles and kill millions in the name of our lords. "Holy wars" we call them.

"At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want." - Lao Tzu

 

actually the hua hu ching summarizes better and unambiguously.

the tao te ching is more of a reference manual.

 

While the Tao Te Ching is attributed to Lao Tzu, the hua hu ching most scholars believe is a forgery because there are no historical references to the text until the early 4th century CE.

ZW