So, for reasons which I'm still unclear on, we're having to read the Tao Te Ching and the Art of War for Internship seminar. The first writing assignment was to provide our thoughts on the Tao. Here's what I wrote:

RESPONSE TO THE TAO TE CHING

Upon reading this text, I was surprised to find how similar many of the teachings are to those found in both the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible. The Tao contains a lot of wisdom that can be applied to all aspects of my life, such as not being judgmental or closed-minded, humbling myself, loving my fellow man as I love myself, practicing humility, letting go of ambition and pride and so forth; however, these are things that I already knew from the Bible and the teachings of Christ.

Other things in this book made me wary of putting too much stock in this philosophy. While I don’t necessarily think that this text is anti-God, there are a few statements in the text that are in direct contradiction to my faith. In Chapter Four, the author writes that the Tao is “older than God.” In the Christian faith, God is eternal, with no beginning and no ending, so according to my faith this statement is simply not possible. Chapter 25 makes a similar claim that the Tao is the mother of the universe, which conflicts with my belief that the Judeo-Christian God created the universe and is the driving force behind all things.

I also disagree with the idea that if we let go of morality and goodness, the people will be happy. Let me amend that -- I do agree with that statement, because the flesh will certainly be satisfied if it is free of moral constraints and that could definitely lead to short-term happiness. I do realize that this is not the intended meaning; but I do not believe that if we let go of the concept of morality and goodness, immorality and evil will simply disappear. Just because evil is not defined does not mean that it does not exist or that people won’t still perpetrate it.

One thing that I do agree with is the concept of “not-doing.” As a writer, I know from experience the truth of this concept. Often the best thing I can do for my stories is to stop trying to write them. When I do this, the words invariably come to me; but when I try to force the story out, I usually end up with writer’s block.

Like I said, I do think that there is a lot of wisdom in this book, and in Eastern philosophy in general, that has merit and lends itself to practical application in my life; but these are truths that can also be found in the Bible. The Tao is a nice, artfully written and succinct reminder of these truths.

I haven't gotten a grade back yet.