The Eternal Now - repentance and forgiveness (chapter 52, part 2)

A Christian Reads the Tao te Ching

Episode 38 looks at the second half of chapter 52, which is intensely complex and profound. Using Paul Tillich's Christian definition of the "eternal now", we're going to a deep dive into what is hopefully a very new perspective (or at least was for me) on repentance and forgiveness. We'll end up a long way away from the words of Lao Tzu - and yet we'll find resonance with his words just the same.

I start by asking questions about what it looks like to live the quiet, relaxed Taoist outlook when life is overwhelmingly busy and there's nothing we can do about it. In light of the "eternal now", perhaps we can measure success by small victories of choosing to be present and repent of our negative outlook, rather than counting the times we failed to do so.

The rest of the episode is loosely divided into three overlapping parts:

1. Eternity, constancy, or your normal routine? (Or all three?) - Living the tension of the already and not-yet Kingdom of God

2. The sacrament of repentance - "Returning to insight" over and over again, rather than measuring behaviors or setting boundary markers.

3. Forgiveness - Not erasing the past, but divinely redefining and reframing it in the light of the present.

See more at www.coreyfarr.com

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