Taoism
While Taoism is illogical in most respects, there are also some similarities to Christianity. After studying Taoism, the most unanticipated facets are the correlations to Christianity, and how the correlations with Christianity prove God's Truth. While Taoism is Eastern Mysticism and not Monotheistic, like Christianity, there are still some connections.Taoism is the belief in nothing. If you do nothing, everything will happen. However, everything that happens is good. But is doing nothing good? However, since there is no such thing as good and evil, what is doing nothing? Taoism says that through inactivity you can achieve salvation (Yutang, 1948). There is no definition of salvation in Taoism, except for being one with the Tao. Throughout Taoism, there are many contradictions and axioms that if put together prove the unreality of Taoism. In the Tao Tê Ching, it says, "The people of the world all have a purpose." But it also says "I alone differ from the other people." The point is that there is no purpose to Taoism (Yutang, 1948). Even the Taoist path to salvation is unreasonable. Taoism claims to be The Path, The Truth, and The Absolute (Yamamoto, 1998). However, how can it be true if reality is no
When people talk about the authorship of the Bible, they agree that God inspired it, but many different people wrote it. In Taoism, the Tao Tê Ching is a group of parables written down by many different writers. However, when the parables are quoted, Laotse (Laotse was the first person to lay the foundation for Taoism) is given the primary recognition (Creel, 1970). While the Bible is divinely inspired and not of man's invention, the connection between authorship of each book striking. The only difference is that Laotse is not considered divine, but still was the inspiration of the Tao Tê Ching. At one point, the teachings of the Tao Tê Ching quote a transliteration of the Bible. It says, "Others have taught this maxim, Which I will teach also: 'The violent man will die a violent death'" (Yutang, 1948, p. 214). That quote comes from Matthew 26:52: "for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword" (NASB). Even though Taoism is illogical, there are many correlations between Taoism and Christianity. In Christianity, God is divine, three in one, and a part of us. As Max Weber wrote, "[The Tao] is the divine All-One of which one can partake" (1968, p. 182). The same is true of God. According to Christianity, God is divine (Romans 1:20 NASB). Another similarity is the Trinity. Besides the Tao being All-One, the Tao Tê Ching also says "Out of Tao, One
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 936
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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