The Tao Te Ching and the Christian Way: A New English Version

By Joseph Petulla

Book by Petulla, Joseph This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570752117
• ISBN13: 9781570752117
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Orbis Books
• Length: 132 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

An Asset to Faith if Read with Discernment

This book is quite interesting, for without being syncretistic, it compares the foundation of ancient Taoism--all things under absolute sovereign control of another--with the Bible's foundation--God has ordained all things that comes to pass.The author does not claim to have actually translated the Tao Te Ching (81 poems), but has attempted to take several good translations and give a more interpretative reading from a Christian perspective without actually promoting Taoism as a legitimate religious alternative. The effort has worked quite well, but it must be warned that Taoism and Christianity, apart from the issue of sovereignty, are drastically different religions. Therefore, a Christian must avoid any temptation to think that Taoist literature can be merged as a source of truth with the Bible.I find that the one benefit I've truly appreciated in reading the Tao is the different way truths of sovereignty are expressed. One must remember that the Bible is an eastern/Oriental based writing, not a western one, though western elements are sure to be found. Reading the Tao helps to pull one's mind closer to the thought processes of the ancient Jewish mind. Avoid becoming syncretistic, and avoid becoming an actual Taoist, and I believe many a western Christian can be benefited from reading this book. The western Christian is the one who can most benefit from reading this text of the Tao, for the middle and far eastern thought processes are already more in line with the thought processes underlying the Bible. On the other hand, there are many professed CHristians today who deny the Bible's teaching that God has ordained all things, so they would therefore be offended by this book, and by such a view of the Bible, as teaching that all is ordained without being fatalistic.But so be it. For the Christian who accepts the Biblical teaching of God's sovereignty, Petulla's book can be an asset if used discerningly. I might add one thing that regardless of one's view of Taoism and sovereignty, Poem 80 in Petulla's interpretation is beautiful and the last stanza has become a goal for our family, to make the life of our home unsurpassible in the fulfillment of the lives of each of our family members. If you read no other, try to get a copy of this particular poem as interpreted by Petulla.

Christian meditations on the Tao

I think this book accomplishes what it sets out to achieve - an American Christian reading of a key text of Taoism. Having used the Tao Te Ching in morning meditation for more than a decade, the author sets out to show 'how easily it can be read as a very impressive Christian text' (p. vii).The book contains a new rendition of the Tao Te Ching's 81 chapters, with each chapter followed by a brief meditation on Christian and biblical themes which relate to it. The interpretation is clearly a Christian one, and as such is helpful and illuminating. The meditations show the congruence between Christian and Taoist themes. The layout makes this book ideal as a way of using the Tao Te Ching for personal, or even public, Christian prayer, especially on a daily basis. Used as such, the Tao Te Ching would form a kind of cycle of meditation and reflection, not unlike a traditional use of the Psalms for daily worship.My only qualm about this book is that the reader should be aware that this is quite far from being a translation of the Tao Te Ching. Rather, it is very much an interpretation from a Christian point of view. As such, the author minimises the potential conflicts between Christian and Taoist readings of the same text, perhaps unduly so. I think overall there is a greater engagement with Christianity than with Taoism, although this is not unreasonable, given the author's aims. The result falls just the right side of 'Taoism Lite'. For Christians who are interested in Taoism, this is a good starting point, but it should only be a starting point.A similar book worth looking up is John Mabry's 'God as Nature Sees God'. This has a less useful format for prayer or meditation, but a more extensive commentary.If you are interested in the ways westerners have interpreted Taoism, J.J. Clarke's 'The Tao of the West' is well worth reading.