One of my favorite things about teaching World Religions is the opportunity to compare and contrast each religion with Christianity. When analyzing belief systems I believe it’s important to be as fair as possible. After all, Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
While there are many differences with Taoism and Christianity, in this post I want to highlight a major similarity in their teachings.
Before we get to that similarity, here are a few basic facts about Taoism:
- Founded by Lao Tzu in China around 500 B.C.
- Lao Tzu wrote the basic text of Taoism called the Tao Te Ching.
- The key to life is living in harmony with Tao. Tao = the Way of nature. Tao is the source and sustenance of everything, but it is not a personal creator.
- Tao is composed of two equal yet opposite components which are in complete harmony with one another—yin and yang.
- The yang is the strong, positive, active, competitive, and masculine side (it’s the light side in the symbol).
- The yin is the weak, negative, passive, noncompetitive, and feminine side (it’s the
dark side of the symbol). - The yang has a little bit of the yin and the yin has a little bit of the yang so nothing is completely yin or yang. Ultimately, everything is relative.
According to Taoism, our problem is that we are imbalanced. We practice far too much yang. The solution is to be more yin by practicing humility, non-competition, and pacificism. We must practice more weakness.
Okay, now for a striking similarity between Taoism and Christianity. In chapter 78 of the Tao Te Ching, we find these words:
“Nothing in the world is softer or weaker than water
Yet nothing is better at overcoming the hard and strong
This is because nothing can replace it
That the weak overcomes the strong
And the soft overcomes the hard
Everybody in the world knows
But cannot put into practice
Therefore sages say: The one who accepts the humiliation of the state
Is called its master
The one who accepts the misfortune of the state
Becomes king of the world
The truth seems like the opposite”
Remember those words were written in China five centuries before Jesus! Five hundred years later in a Roman prison, Paul wrote:
“have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:5-11)
The weak truly overcame the strong. And the one who accepted the ultimate humiliation of the state became king of the world. It seems that God gave a witness of his ways in China long before Jesus lived.
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. My latest book focuses on Paul’s work as a tentmaker and what it means for today.
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Thanks for that comparison its does seem to make “all rivers lead to the sea”. My problem is that all rivers are not equal and in biblical terms only one river is superior and all others inferior. While this may seem superimist, remember that the lowly Jesus was the one who said he came not to bring peace but a sword and often turned many against him by unashamedly making himself not just equal with God but was rightly accused in ” John 10:33
The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” and rightly so for he made many a statement which spiritualy blind Jews can’t swallow. The least of which was not “John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
In so saying he plainly ruled out all other pathways to God the father. This is something called
Monotheism: the belief in a single all-powerful god and a single way to Him, as opposed to religions that believe in multiple gods / impersonal Gods or powers (such as Taoism) or multiple ways to God…that God being Himself. “THE way, THE truth, and THE life: no man cometh unto the Father, BUT BY ME. John 14:6”
A major difference between Christianity and Taoism
Be Blessed Derrek
Consider the words from Jesus as same as Tao:
The truth, the life, the way.
Because if God wanted us to understand his wisdom then he must told us in the way which we can understand. Because the wisdom beyond here is something we don’t know. And we will never get to the point in our limited knowledge.
I want to study Taoism
I teach World Religions in a public school – a rare opportunity and my students, mostly Hispanic and of a Catholic tradition – found Taoism to be the most interesting faith when comparing it to Christianity. I I should disclose I am practicing Episcopalian. I actually understand their point – Jesus constantly reminds us we understand so little of this world but there is a sort of balance in the world which as allowed the development of ethics and recognition that we spend so much energy during our lifetimes resisting things we cannot change rather than just accepting the human good that surrounds us on a daily basis. Taoism at times can become too “hippy” and out there, but if you read the Tao Te Ching – which can be done in a day – you can figure out why we stress about things in our lives that our far outside our ability to control. I will always remain a Christian as the concept of Jesus as a sacrifice from God Himself to allow people to be be saved from their own negative natural inclinations ultimately makes sense to me. That said, the study of World Religions tends to reinforce our pre-existing faiths by requiring us to examine the truths of faith.
The tao te ching reminds so much of the paradoxical statements in the new testament.