Saturday, October 30, 2010

Scripture Saturday--The Word


In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God
John 1:1

The Word became flesh, 
and pitched His tent 
among us. 
John 1:14

In these scripture passages from John, the English rendering Word comes from the Greek Logos which means "universal divine reason, unchanging truth, a unifying and liberating force."1

In many Asian bibles, Word in these passages is translated Tao or The Way.

Inherent in the idea of both Tao and Logos is existence from the beginning and having no beginning or ending.2 According to Practical Christian Mysticism, when Jesus says "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life," he is not claiming religious superiority, but universality--He is the "ultimate Truth" that all search for.  He unites East and West in right thought, actions (Tao) and understanding (Logos).

The philosophical implication of Christ being the Tao/Logos is that the "ultimate truth" of the Universe is also a conscience entity.  It means that the Tao/Logos of the Universe interacts and reacts with us on a personal level.  Every time a Christian performs an act of charity, compassion or self-sacrifice he does so directly with the person of Christ.3

Jesus is not here to conquer but to unite. He is not here to force, but to awaken all to what already exists and has always existed. We are not called to hate, but to love, to become love and to unite with Love, for, Love has existed from eternity and will continue to exist for all time.

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