My particular journey to Christianity ran through the eastern religions and philosophies and principally through Taoism. The ancient life philosophy of the Tao comes down from the sixth century BC Chinese philosopher Lao Tsu. Lao Tsu was an older contemporary of Confucius and like Confucius, was an imperial Chinese government functionary. The philosophy that Lao Tsu set down near the end of his life contained, in its essence, roughly 5,000 words in 81 “chapters”. Unlike the better known Confucius whose work concerned day-to-day living, the Tao is a more spiritually oriented look at life.

My search for spiritual truth came through Taoism but did not end there. This writing is an attempt to share why I did not conclude my spiritual search with this enduring eastern approach to life. I am not writing this paper to contribute to any “Christianity vs. Taoism” argument. My entire hope in writing this is to explain a part of my experience of seeking the truth. After all, coming to some understanding of truth is what we are all hopefully about.

In short, I did not stop at Taoism because I found it wrong or that it was leading me to a bad place in my life. I moved on from Taoism because it could not take me to where I wanted and needed to go. Taoism is a wonderful collection of wisdom respecting the way one might live their life in a way that produces good for self and others and avoids stress and strife. At its core, Taoism teaches us to respect ourselves and others while avoiding striving against the forces in life that are beyond our control. Sometimes referred to as “The Watercourse Way” Taoism uses the characteristics of water as a metaphor to living. Water flows but does not force its way through obstacles. Water wears down or goes around blockages. In short, by persistence and passivity water overcomes. This observation is very similar to the analogy of the Christian’s submission to Christ’s rule in our lives by Jeanne Guyon. Guyon, a 17^th century French mystic, likened the Christian’s submission to Christ with a leaf floating on a stream.

In many ways Christianity is, to my mind, a logical extension of Taoism in the search for spirituality. Many of the principles of Christianity have parallels in Taoism. For example, the benefits of service and charity:

 “The sage never stores things up.

 The more he does for others, the more he has.

 The more he gives to others, the greater his abundance.”

Compare this with Acts 20:35 – “I have shewed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’”

The wisdom of avoiding materialism:

                        “Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it

Claim wealth and titles, and disaster will follow.”

Similarly – Matthew 6:19 – “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:”

The contentment of being satisfied with what we have:

                        “He who knows he has enough is rich.”

Note Paul’s observation – Philippians 4:11b-12 – “for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”

The value of service and humility:

                       “Why is the sea king of a hundred streams?

                        Because it lies below them.

                        Therefore it is the king of a hundred streams.

                        If the sage would guide the people, he must serve with humility.”

Note the teaching of Jesus – Matthew 20:26-27 – “But it shall not be so with you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:”

More generally Taoism teaches the rejection of blind materialism, mistreating others and striving to change the natural order of the creation:

                       “The universe is sacred.

                        You cannot improve it.

                        If you try to change it, you will ruin it.

                        If you try to hold it, you will lose it.”

In many ways the teachings of the Bible mirror the teachings of Taoism. Yet there are important differences between these two approaches to life. The reason I felt the need to move on from a Taoist approach to life is that I found the philosophy of the Tao incomplete. While Lao Tsu had a deep and penetrating view of life, this view did not go to the absolute conclusion we need. Anything short of the absolute truth is less than we should be willing to settle for.

Specifically, the Tao never answers two critical questions.

First, what is the reason for our being or why are we here?

Second is how do we achieve this “better way of living”?

Taoism suffers from the same problem that all manmade religion does. Religion can tell us what we need to do to be “good” but it cannot tell us how to do it. This is the same limitation of the Law of Moses. The law tells us what is right but is totally impotent in allowing us to achieve it. As we know all too well from the experience of law based Christianity, knowing what is good is little help in actually doing good.

As to the first shortcoming – why are we here – I have found no understanding apart from biblical Christianity that answers this question. The reason for the physical creation can only be found in the understanding of God as creator and Father. We are here to become children in God’s family. This answer is found nowhere else. The question is not raised in Taoism or any eastern religion. This question is not (and cannot be) answered by western science. Apart from biblical teaching we are left with the idea that the universe just is – without reason or deeper purpose. While this may be fine in the superficial it leaves us with a world that contains no hope.

While Taoism is one of the best human attempts of giving guidance for meaningful living, it suffers from the same problem that all purely human efforts have. Namely, without God our efforts to live correctly are merely efforts to be the god of our own life. Given this we can see that all human attempts at right living lack the resources necessary to carry the project through to success. We simply need the Father’s life to come to a completion. No philosophy or religious system can tell us how to obtain fulfilment in this life or to achieve eternal life except the word of God: “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b)

Not only does the Bible’s grace message tell us what the goal is but shows us the Father’s plan is for us to be able to achieve that goal. The frustration that all religions and philosophies leave us with is they give us the definition of the goal but no way to get there that is truly workable. In the “gospel of the grace of God” we have the only workable way to eternal life – the gift of God in Christ.

The study of human wisdom as found in the Tao te Ching is one way to move through our search for spiritual completion and it helped me on my way. It is, however, only a step along the way. We all must continue till we come to the conclusion that is only found in Christ and only reached by grace.

All quotes from the Tao are taken from the 1972 translation by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English

All Bible quotes from the King James Version (AV)