Posts by daniel-p

The Tao Te Ching has been translated into Western languages over 250 times, mostly to English, German, and French. [ 4 ] According to Holmes Welch, "It is a famous puzzle which everyone would like to feel he had solved." [ 5 ]

Many translations are written by people with a foundation in Chinese language and philosophy who are trying to render the original meaning of the text as faithfully as possible into English. Some of the more popular translations are written from a less scholarly perspective, giving an individual author's interpretation. Critics of these versions, such as Taoism scholar Eugene Eoyang, claim that translators like Stephen Mitchell produce readings of the Tao Te Ching that deviate from the text and are incompatible with the history of Chinese thought. [ 6 ] Russell Kirkland goes further to argue that these versions are based on Western Orientalist fantasies, and represent the colonial appropriation of Chinese culture. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] In contrast, Huston Smith, scholar of world religions, said of the Mitchell version, "This translation comes as close to being definitive for our time as any I can imagine. It embodies the virtues its translator credits to the Chinese original: a gemlike lucidity that is radiant with humor, grace, largeheartedness, and deep wisdom." —Other Taoism scholars, such as Michael LaFargue [ 9 ] and Johnathan Herman, [ 10 ] argue that while they are poor scholarship they meet a real spiritual need in the West.

9

Tao te Ching translations

by daniel-p in

jw
friends

what is up with the ridiculous number of tao te ching translations?

i picked up about 20 versions at the book store and everyone of them had a completely different meaning.

if there's that much variation, what's the point?.

daniel-p

What is up with the ridiculous number of Tao te Ching translations? I picked up about 20 versions at the book store and everyone of them had a completely different meaning. If there's that much variation, what's the point?

So what translation do you recommend, and what do you think of it overall? I'm simply curious, not looking to convert to something, not that I see much to convert to, per se.

19

seems to be quiet today

by rockmehardplace in

jw
friends

not alot of things buzzing on here, nor anywhere else for that matter.

i tend to like quiet days now and again..

daniel-p

It's thursday. I don't know about anyone else, but tis been a long week and I'm almost mentally exhausted.

44

Liberals, Atheists Just Plain Smarter - Religious Conservatives Really Just Paranoid Cavemen

by daniel-p in

jw
friends

let the flame wars begin!

liberalism, atheism, male sexual exclusivity linked to iq.

by elizabeth landau, cnnfebruary 26, 2010 5:03 p.m. est(cnn) -- political, religious and sexual behaviors may be reflections of intelligence, a new study finds.. evolutionary psychologist satoshi kanazawa at the the london school of economics and political science correlated data on these behaviors with iq from a large national u.s. sample and found that, on average, people who identified as liberal and atheist had higher iqs.

daniel-p

So you have a guy that has a history of very controversial findings, some of which have been blatantly racist, he uses a pretty funky definition for liberal and conservative, his data is based on a strange age group, and he looks at this through the lense of evolutionary psychology. I'd say this has all the credibility of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Of course the gullible will lap it up and quote it religiously. The real revelation is in who is prepared to swallow this tripe.

To me, the real revelation is who gets upset about it! Inferiority complex, anyone?

35

Possible Blood Doctrine Change: A Hypothetical Conversation with all JWs

by daniel-p in

jw
friends

jw>"but you lived anyway!".

jw>"...".

jw>"well, they'll be ressurected.".

daniel-p

Metatron: I understand your reasoning, but I think the fact that the blood ban is a much more salient issue escalates any fallout above and beyond anything from the organ transplant issue and the civil service issue. Everyone knows someone who either died, or almost died, from refusing blood. It applies to everyone. Every JW has a "No Blood" card that they revise every year, with annual information on fractions, etc. What will go through their minds when they throw this card away?

I just think this would be one of the biggest doctrine changes ever, and will affect more people than ever. There are many more people alive today as JWs that lost their spouse, parent, or child by refusing blood, and what will they feel? All those people will likely have a severly damaged faith after this. It's a much bigger issue than organs or civil service, that's all I'm saying. So while there will be a large contingent that will sweep it under the rug as always, many, many JWs will be permanently disgruntled.

21

Porn - New study suggests it is good for society

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

http://www.physorg.com/news187448961.html.

could porn be good for society?physorg.com) -- the arguments against pornography are many, ranging from insistence that porn degrades women and is morally reprehensible to the assertion that pornography viewing is the cause of sex crimes.

however, over the years, there have been numerous studies done on this subject.

daniel-p

I think it's unrealistic to think there are all positives and no negatives. There are many negative things about the proliferation of porn to younger and younger people.

35

Possible Blood Doctrine Change: A Hypothetical Conversation with all JWs

by daniel-p in

jw
friends

jw>"but you lived anyway!".

jw>"...".

jw>"well, they'll be ressurected.".

daniel-p

The problem with trying to hypothesize a potential conversation with a JW is that you're applying logic to both ends of the conversation. A JW, on the other hand, will not apply logic. They apply cult-think and pre-programmed responses. They don't think, they don't reason. They respond in the way they're trained to...kinda like an ape is trained to go up in space in a rocket. He rode the ship up and back, but he didn't actually steer the thing or control anything.

I understand what you're saying, but still, the person you're referring to is the 100%-dyed in the wool JW. There are many others--like we were--who were on the edge. We may have even spoke otherwise, but eventually the doubts all added up.