tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post2077190113455077826..comments2024-03-28T07:57:49.338+00:00Comments on Poul Anderson Appreciation: "The Old Way To The One"?Ketlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08588156788583883454noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-25475304335969007592013-06-08T23:16:17.153+01:002013-06-08T23:16:17.153+01:00Not opposed perhaps. Claiming to be the same but r...Not opposed perhaps. Claiming to be the same but really going different ways.Paul Shackleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04180596532266581425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-9705091618141920672013-06-08T22:54:39.388+01:002013-06-08T22:54:39.388+01:00Hi, Paul!
Two types of Taoism opposed to one ano... Hi, Paul!<br /><br /> Two types of Taoism opposed to one another? That does surprise me. I have vaguely heard of the Taoist "pope," who was, I think, some kind of Taoist Chief Abbot.<br /><br /> And, yes, I recall reading of Taoist "magicians" seeking for immortality. Which makes me wonder if the Tu Shan we see in THE BOAT OF A MILLION YEARS was a remote progenitor of Taoism!<br /><br /> SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-27226890087285593352013-06-08T19:08:39.911+01:002013-06-08T19:08:39.911+01:00Extraordinarily, there is a Taoist philosophy and ...Extraordinarily, there is a Taoist philosophy and a Taoist religion which different founders, texts and traditions. The religion even has someone called a "Taoist Pope". Magical means to physical immortality were in there somewhere.Paul Shackleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04180596532266581425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-56151366004888866362013-06-08T18:55:39.918+01:002013-06-08T18:55:39.918+01:00Hi, Paul!
I know very little about Taoism, reall... Hi, Paul!<br /><br /> I know very little about Taoism, really. Mostly from reading Robert van Gulik's mystery novel set in T'ang times called THE HAUNTED MONASTERY. One little bit I know being how some Taoist mystics sought for immortality. Which kinda reminded me of Tu Shan, a real if accidental immortal, in THE BOAT OF A MILLION YEARS.<br /><br /> Sean<br /><br /> SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-62111808571205731102013-06-08T18:23:48.879+01:002013-06-08T18:23:48.879+01:00No denial of the predominance of Confucianism. The...No denial of the predominance of Confucianism. The Taoists were the anarchists, nonconformists, dropouts etc. But what I was really after was magical or mystical practices that might correspond to the "Old Way" referred to in the novel and Taoism certainly provides both mysticism and magic.Paul Shackleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04180596532266581425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-81870642898875408932013-06-08T15:48:38.333+01:002013-06-08T15:48:38.333+01:00 Hi, Paul!
But Confucianism was far more dominan... Hi, Paul!<br /><br /> But Confucianism was far more dominant and influential in China than Taoism ever became. In fact, Christianity now has more adherents in China today than Taoism.<br /><br /> SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-57376071274428555402013-06-08T11:34:59.525+01:002013-06-08T11:34:59.525+01:00There are 2 approaches to studying religions: emph...There are 2 approaches to studying religions: emphasise disagreements or emphasise agreements. My interest in the monotheist traditions is academic because I practise Zen.<br /><br />Traditions developed: Abraham and Moses each had a covenant with only one god but might not yet have believed that there was only one God.<br /><br />Yes, I omitted Confucianism, preferring to concentrate on Taoism because of its interaction with Buddhism.Paul Shackleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04180596532266581425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-89981373694409225662013-06-08T08:11:12.887+01:002013-06-08T08:11:12.887+01:00Hi, Paul!
I've been forgetting to add in my ... Hi, Paul!<br /><br /> I've been forgetting to add in my previous notes that there was another "Way" in ancient China which afected neighbors like Korea, Japan, and Vietnam: Confucianism. In many ways I found that philosophy noble and admirable. The closest analog to it in the West being, I think, Stoicism (e.g., see the MEDITATIONS of Marcus Aurelius).<br /><br /> SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-61505017633114647042013-06-08T07:36:03.543+01:002013-06-08T07:36:03.543+01:00Hi, Paul!
Yes, I can agree with that, Islam is m... Hi, Paul!<br /><br /> Yes, I can agree with that, Islam is merely a heresy. I don't know if you ever read Hilaire Belloc, a friend of GK Chesteron, but that was his view of Mohammed's religion: that it was a simplified, stripped down, Arianizing imitation of Christianity.<br /><br /> SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-20154584013537318222013-06-07T20:21:35.426+01:002013-06-07T20:21:35.426+01:00So, on this view, Judaism is the preliminary revel...So, on this view, Judaism is the preliminary revelation, Christianity is the completed revelation and Islam is a heresy (which, to my view, still makes it part of the tradition but that's debatable!) A systematic world view.Paul Shackleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04180596532266581425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-59221571608385358912013-06-07T19:37:03.335+01:002013-06-07T19:37:03.335+01:00Hi, Paul!
I still disagree with you about Islam.... Hi, Paul!<br /><br /> I still disagree with you about Islam. The conception of God preached by Mohammed simply is not TRUE, in my Catholic eyes. That is, God is arbitary, capricious, and willing to contradict Himself or whimsically violate the laws of nature. And the "Biblical" elements in the Koran came from either heretical or apocryphal sources rejected by both Christians and Jews. Hence, I don't consider Mohammed and his religion "Abrahamic."<br /><br /> But look up Harry Austryn Wolfson's book when you have time.<br /><br /> Understood, re the Sikhs. I was a bit surprised it took over some Muslim elements as well as Hindu ideas. I had thought it wholly Hindu in origin.<br /><br /> SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-63210907163733647352013-06-07T17:57:15.743+01:002013-06-07T17:57:15.743+01:00I think Guru Nanak was Hindu. If not, then Muslim....I think Guru Nanak was Hindu. If not, then Muslim. Because all he did was led a Hindu-Muslim ecumenical movement, the Sikhs. That movement was so disliked by both sides and oppressed by Muslim rulers, that it had to defend itself, then to differentiate itself from both, the exact opposite of the original intention. So Sikhism became a third religion after Nanak's death. Their scripture, the Granth, is hymns, some by Hindus, some by Muslims and some by Sikh gurus. Thus, some authors of the Granth accepted the Koran which incorporates stories from the Bible. Sikhism's insistence on monotheism is Muslim, its acceptance of reincarnation is Hindu. Gurus and Granth replace prophets and Koran.Paul Shackleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04180596532266581425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-57476971164807451242013-06-07T17:47:48.618+01:002013-06-07T17:47:48.618+01:00Muslims prefer "Islam" (submission to Go...Muslims prefer "Islam" (submission to God's will) to "Mohammedanism" which they think gives too much importance to a mere man. From my perspective, Mohammed was a prophetic monotheist like Elijah and the Koran incorporates Biblical stories and reinterprets the role of Jesus so I see it as a development or re-presentation of the Abrahamic tradition rather than as a different tradition. If the concept of God changes, that's part of the deal, like Christianity introducing Trinitarianism. Abraham is important to Jews because he received the Promise, to Christians because he was the ancestor of the Savior and to Muslims because he submitted to God's will.Paul Shackleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04180596532266581425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538502828554372917.post-53573621370755500882013-06-07T15:20:22.132+01:002013-06-07T15:20:22.132+01:00Hi, Paul!
I'm skeptical Mohammedanism or Isl... Hi, Paul!<br /><br /> I'm skeptical Mohammedanism or Islam can be truly called "Abrahamic." Largely because of what I read in Harry Austryn Wolfson's book THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE KALAM. Far too briefly, Islam has a conception of God which is at odds with the Judaeo Christian. That is, God is conceived in Islam as an arbitrary and capricious God.<br /><br /> Also, I'm a bit puzzled by your comment about the Sikhs. I thought they began by spliting away from Hinduism as a monotheistic protest against its polytheism and fatalism.<br /><br /> SeanSean M. Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13973738112230622557noreply@blogger.com