We've been doing Confucianism and Toaism in my comparative religion class lately. We've got a test on Tuesday. I figure I better comment on them before it's all over. I don't have much to say about them, though.
"Religion" is one of those notoriously difficult words to define, but usually we recognize it when we see it. With Confucianism, I don't see it. Confucianism sounds to me a lot more like a political theory than a religion. I honestly think that if Confucianism counts as a religion, then so does Communism.
I would probably have more to say about Taoism if I studied it more. Maybe by Tuesday I'll have more to say about it. So far everything I've read has been so esoteric and ambiguous that I really just don't get it. Taoist are obsessed with acquiring energy or power, but they are also obsessed with not using it. Their whole philosophy is about doing everything by doing nothing. Their worldview revolves around the Tao, but nobody knows what it is. They sure do say a lot about it for not knowing what it is.
1 comment:
I was in a study group once that looked at how how Christianity's truth claims stood up when compared to those of other significant religions. I was responsible for researching Confucianism. What I concluded was that Confucianism doesn't really make the sort of religious claims Christianity does. No inspired writing. I don't think there's a diety or afterlife. It was more or less principles of morality and general wisdom for life.
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