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| Open Theism Discussion Board > Public Forums > Ethics, etc. > Taoism and the Knowledge of Good and Evil | Forum Quick Jump
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GregBoyd
Registered Member
Date Joined Jul 2001
Total Posts : 1818
| Posted 9/9/2002 6:28 AM (GMT -6) |   | since we have our own sin list?
Doc: Brandon and Brandi are raising very good questions. I don’t know any book of rules that can help us here. There are principles to guide us, but ultimately the New Testament tells us to "walk in the Spirit." There are times when he will lead us to intervene, times when he won’t.
My concern is with Christians who think it is always there duty to show people "the moral high ground" according to THEIR LIST – and its almost always self-serving.
Brandon: As to the question of "Who" makes the decision as to what we should stand against, I think it becomes more obvious from our actual involvement (engagement with) in our culture. But it would seem to me that where we see injustice and oppression, we need to be involved. Precedent for this can be found in the O.T. Now, we may not be so clear headed as to how or even whether we should take a stand for or against some "particular issues. Some times we do come off sounding moralistic. But politically conservative Christians are not the only ones that come off sounding like that.
Doc: I missed it Brandon. What you said here seemed to show how it is NOT "obvious" who decides what we stand for and what we stand against. What complicates it further is that the precedent you appeal to in the OT is not much of a precedent, for you have here the only attempt at genuine theocracy in world history, and the precedent is not repeated in the ministry of Jesus (there was PLENTY of injustice in the Roman government to appeal to).
I am not saying we should not stand up to oppression and injustice. I, with you, am simply not sure WHO decides which oppressive and unjustice regimes THE CHURCH AS A CHURCH should stand up to, HOW they should stand up to it, what alternative political program they should recommend, etc…
Bonhoeffer, in the end, and largely against his own ethical stance, believed he was following the Spirit in his attempt to assassinate Hitler. In the end, I don’t know any other ultimate prescription. As multitudes follow the Spirit, perhaps in some instances this would result in a large group movement of the sort you envision. But this would be a Spirit movement, not one premised on "who decides."
Of course, there is always the follow up question, "who decides where the Spirit is leading?" And to this I can only respond, "you
do."
In his love
and in process
Doc
"In Christ...the ONLY THING that matters is faith energized by love." Galatians 5:6 | | Back to Top | | |
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n/a
Registered Member
Date Joined Jul 2001
Total Posts : 218
| Posted 9/18/2002 9:33 PM (GMT -6) | | Hey Doc,!
I have always related with you in certain beliefs, and Taoism does not seem to be an exception. I just got done reading a chapter in John F. Haught's (are you familiar with him?) book "God After Darwin" where he mentions the wu wei "an untranslatable form for 'active inaction' or what we might call 'noninterfering effectiveness.' From what I get out of this I think he is saying, in context to what the chapter is about, that of information (his definition of information is the overall ordering of entities--atoms, molecules, cells, genes, etc..--into intelligible forms or arrangements) can show information to possess the same qualities of the wu wei. This fascinates me, because it is showing how the utilization of other religious beliefs to explain things in scientiffic terms showing that there is more to evolution than a purely speculative materialistic methodology. That chapter has fueled my interest in Taoism. I don't know if I explained that well enough, but I hope it was of some interest to you.
Peace,
Paul 
"To conceptualize God differently from another model is not to reduce God to one's own idea of what God should be."
~Major J. Jones
Edited by - faithfullservent on 09/19/2002 02:37:08 AM | | Back to Top | | |
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Daylan
Registered Member
Date Joined Feb 2002
Total Posts : 5
| Posted 10/30/2002 6:54 PM (GMT -6) | | This is my favorite excerpt from a book my friend loaned me called Zen Flesh Zen Bones
The Moon Cannot Be Stolen
Ryokan, a Zen master lived the simplist kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing in it to steal.
Ryokan returned and caught him. "You may have come a long way to visit me," he told the prowler, "and you should not return empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a gift."
The thief was bewildered. He took the clothes and slunk away.
Ryokan sat naked watching the moon. "Poor fellow," he mused "I wish I could give him this beautiful moon."
P.S. block style is ugly, can anyone tell me how to insert tabs? | | Back to Top | | |
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GregBoyd
Registered Member
Date Joined Jul 2001
Total Posts : 1818
| Posted 11/1/2002 6:38 PM (GMT -6) | | Welcome to the site Daylan. Thanks for sharing that story. I LOVE some of those Zen master stories. I think they have much to teach us.
Doc
"In Christ...the ONLY THING that matters is faith energized by love." Galatians 5:6 | | Back to Top | | |
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