God, As Nature Sees God: A Christian Reading of the Tao Te Ching [Paperback]

John R. Mabry (Author), Jim Hardesty (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Chinese

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Element Books Ltd; First Edition edition (October 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852305940
• ISBN-13: 978-1852305949
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,671,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JOHN R. MABRY lives and writes in Oakland, CA, in a house he shares with his wife and dog. He serves as Abbot of the Old Catholic Order of Holy Wisdom, and as pastor of the Grace Community (gracenorthchurch.org), an Anglican Rite Congregational church in Berkeley, CA. He is the Director of the Interfaith Spiritual Direction Program at the Chaplaincy Institute for Arts and Interfaith Ministry (chaplaincyinstitute.org) where he teaches interfaith theology, ministry, spiritual direction, and world religions. He is the Associate Director of the Master's Program in Spiritual Guidance at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (itp.edu), where he teaches spiritual guidance and world religions. He also teaches world religions and Christian mysticism at John F. Kennedy University (jfku.edu). He sings for Metaphor (metaphor.org) and Mind Furniture (mindfurniture.com), two Bay Area progressive rock bands. He is the author of numerous books on theology, spirituality, and spiritual guidance. He is currently at work on two sequels to THE KINGDOM, titled THE POWER and THE GLORY. Check out his website at apocryphile.org/jrm.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Christian taking the Tao Te Ching seriously, July 11, 2001

By 

R. Griffiths "bookchoice" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God, As Nature Sees God: A Christian Reading of the Tao Te Ching (Paperback)

Having read previous revews, let's get a couple of things straight. First, the author of this interesting book is a Christian, and makes no bones about it. Therefore it's unsurprising that his interpretation of the Tao Te Ching is a Christian interpretation. This is what he has set out to do. Second, this is an interpretation of and a commentary on the Tao Te Ching, and not on Taoism as a whole. Therefore the view of Taoism is inevitably and rightly limited. The cover says 'A Christian Reading of the Tao Te Ching' and this is exactly what the book contains. If you don't think it's legitimate for a Christian to read the Tao Te Ching, and comment on it publicly, don't buy this book.

Now that's out of the way, let's get on with the review. John Mabry is a Christian priest, involved with 'Creation Spirituality' magazine, who has been interested in the Tao Te Ching ever since a friend passed it to him breathlessly, with the words, 'This is the holy word of God'. Intrigued, Mabry set out to investigate. The first part of the book is Mabry's complete version of The Tao Te Ching, with rather beautiful pen and ink illustrations by Jim Hardesty. The second section is a meditation on the text, in eight chapters as follows: The nature of the tao Paradox Desire Non-Action Leadership Oneness World and Self Holiness

The version of the Tao Te Ching is fine as far as it goes, but it should not be mistaken for a translation. Mabry gives no information about the process of creating this part of the book, so can only assume it is a gloss based on other English translations (although the only one mentioned is Stephen Mitchell's).

The second section, the commentary, is very good, and addresses some points that will clearly be important to Christian readers: 'The first question we must address is this: is the Tao God? Obviously, there is no avoiding this question. It was certainly the question most present in my mind during my initial reading of the Tao Te Ching. So. in the spirit of the Tao, I will answer: yes and no.'(p. 107)

Looking at the notes at the back of the book, Mabry's favourite writers seem to be Thomas Merton, Alan Watts and Matthew Fox. This should give some indication of the tenor of the commentary.

If you are interested in Christian interpretations of the Tao Te Ching, you could also look at Joseph Petulla's 'The Tao Te Ching and the Christian Way'.

To put this recent western interest in Taoism into some kind of context, try J.J. Clarke's 'The Tao of the West'.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good book, shallow attacks notwithstanding, September 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: God, As Nature Sees God: A Christian Reading of the Tao Te Ching (Paperback)

This book is a serious attempt to see the tradition of Taoism in all itsglory through Christian eyes, a very worthwhile effort indeed. The book is especially helpful to thoughtful Christians who have little or no idea what Taoism is, or was, or could be. This book attempts to avoid misrepresentation of both faith traditions and to foster understanding, and by and large it succeeds gracefully.

Taoism isn't about being self-sufficient. It is about grounding in the Tao, that which is, the divine--which is as much to say the ordinary. If you understand that, you'll understand this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Now Now..., September 27, 2000

By 

Cris L. Edwards (Up. On the roof.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God, As Nature Sees God: A Christian Reading of the Tao Te Ching (Paperback)

While I must agree that this is not my favorite translation, it is clear that the viscious words of some other reviewers are not warranted. This text is earnest in its attempt to draw Christians, who, I admit, can be bullish in their unacceptance of other beliefs, into viewing the Tao. How are we going to introduce this gift (the Tao) into a firm system? Here is at least a key into their realm. I admire the authors acceptance.