Chapter 72 doesn't really offer an obvious interpretation at the first reading. The variations between translations and the disjunctions between the sections makes it a bit complex. Fortunately, there is a common theme that the most traditional interpretations tend to agree on, and then as always we will take a bit of liberty and move in a more creative and relatable direction. I start the episode sharing some thoughts about fear as a basic emotion and my own experience with panic attacks, then I work through the chapter from two approaches:

1. Leaders should not use fear as a motivation - heavy-handed and authoritarian leadership based on intimidation or control is dangerous and unhealthy

2. A religion without fear? What could it look like to remove "fear" from our theological vocabulary?

Here's my article on why I don't believe in hell that I mention briefly: https://www.coreyfarr.com/post/i-don-t-believe-in-hell-does-that-mean-i-m-going-there

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Chapter 71 is cryptic, obscure, and one of my absolute favorites. This chapter continues the theme on knowledge from the previous chapter, but focuses especially on ignorance - the fact that we are all ignorant in so many ways, and that not knowing that we don't really know is not just bad, it's a spiritual sickness. I open with a confession of my own ignorance, then divide my interpretation into three sections:

1. Simple knowledge and personal development - Know how much you don't know, or you will stagnate

2. Social/relational knowledge in a world of information-overload, echo chambers, polarization, and confirmation bias

3. The spiritual dimension - I draw in a few passages to show the Bible's ambivalent stance on "knowledge", and then do a short analysis of the book of Ecclesiastes as sort of a Taoist confession/tract/autobiography. This is my personal favorite part!

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In this episode, we look at chapter 70, which is one of the most depressing and least didactic/informative chapters in the Tao te Ching (which is why it took me an extra week to prepare this). Here we have Lao Tzu break into a quasi-lament on how no one understands him or follows his teachings, despite how simple they are to understand. With some careful maneuvering, I think we can actually find some parallels to the "simple" yet difficult teachings of Jesus about the narrow way to the Kingdom of Heaven.

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In this episode, we look at chapter 69, which is incredibly tough to deal with since it is primarily focused on giving advice to military generals. As a Jesus-follower committed to nonviolence, I didn't know what to do with it at first, but with some clever maneuvering and use of paraphrases, I was able to bring it around to something more Christlike. 

1. Literally analyzing the chapter - Lao Tzu's "almost" non-violent military strategy

2. Losing the three jewels

3. Honoring the image of God in our "enemies"

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In this episode, we look at the famous chapter 67, where Lao Tzu presents the "Three Jewels" - the entire Taoist ethics summed up in three words: compassion, moderation, and humility. I'll start by sharing about how Christ's compassion demonstrates the compassion that God built into the way the universe works and the way people work. Then we'll look at each of the three jewels one by one:

1. The countercultural nature of the Three Jewels
2. Compassion as the source of bravery
3. Moderation as the source of generosity
4. Humility as the source of leadership

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In this episode, we look at chapters 66 and 68, which continue the train of thought of non-contention and wu wei that we started last week, but this time in relation to leadership. I'll start with talking about the characteristics of servant leadership, then focus on the chapters one by one:
1. Chapter 66 - the best leaders take the attitudes of servants and "lead from behind"
2. Chapter 68 - the attitude of non-contention and mutually beneficial "competition"

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Sorry for no episode this week. I was down for the count with the flu last week. (Not COVID!) Head on over and subscribe at the Patreon page to get early access to the next episode. :)

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In this episode, we look at chapter 63, which is all about tasks and problems. I'll start by talking about how learning how to break big tasks into small pieces has radically transformed my life, then we'll break down the chapter into two main sections:

1. A "mini-sermon" on wu wei (action without action) through a series of paradoxes

2. The active/decisive side of wu wei, or "the path of least resistance"
- Lessons from the universe
- The path of the wise man
- A warning against underestimating the difficulties of problems
- "The great secret" to an effective life

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In this episode, we look at chapter 62, which is one of the only chapters where Lao Tzu compares good and bad people and the ONLY chapter where he uses a word often translated as "sin". I'll start by talking about how radically countercultural and even offensive Jesus's teachings of enemy-love are in the Middle Eastern culture I work in, then we'll take a look at three aspects of this chapter:

1. The Tao (and Christ) as treasure to the good and refuge to the bad
2. Do not abandon a bad person (and what even IS a bad person?)
3. Hopeful universalism - a great motivation to spread the love of Christ

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