Relationships

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 646.

Central to Confucius' teaching are relationships and social roles. There are five great relationships:

1. Kindness in the father and obedient devotion in the son
2. Gentility in the eldest brother and humility and respect in the younger
3. Righteous behavior in the husband and obedience in the wife
4. Humane consideration in elders and deference in juniors
5. Benevolence in rulers and loyalty of ministers and subjects

If these attitudes are practiced there will be harmony among all.

The most important relationship is the family, the basic unit of all humanity. Consistent with the pantheistic world view, Confucius did not believe in an individual self or soul. One's roles and relationships define that person. The goal of living is to achieve harmony through acting appropriately in those roles and relationships. Our family relationship is projected into the life of the community and the world.

In the family unit, the father is the key figure. He must be a good example to his sons. It is the son's duty to obey without questioning and honor his father, even after death. When the father dies, obedience is given to the oldest brother. Confucius states in the Analects, "Meng I Tzu asked about the treatment of parents. The Master said, 'Never disobey! . . . While they are alive, serve them according to ritual. When they die, bury them according to ritual and sacrifice to them according to ritual.'" (Analects II: 5)

Confucius taught that government should be for the people. Feudal lords are to be responsive to the needs of the people at large. If the rulers lived by the highest principles, the people would then follow and there would be reform from the greatest to the least. The duty of those in subordinate positions is to be unquestioningly loyal to their superiors. Confucius states, "It is said that if good people work for a country for a hundred years, it is possible to overcome violence and eliminate killing. This saying is indeed true." (Analects 13:11) Confucius believed that a good society would be achieved through education.

There are points of agreement here between Confucius and the Bible. Confucius believed the virtues he espoused are lived out in relationships. The same is true for Christianity. Our relationship with God is reflected in our relationships with one another. The truth of the Christian life is lived out in a community, not in isolation. The family is the key social unit, and the father is the leader of the family. However, Christianity takes relationships one step farther than Confucius. Not only can we have the five relationships espoused by Confucius, we can have a personal relationship with God. It is from this connection that our earthly relationships find their greatest meaning.

For Confucius, this does not help in practical daily living, so I assume he did not feel the need to address the issue. Confucius did not instigate a new religion, but he introduced a philosophy of ethics. His system articulated the proper conduct in relationships, ceremony, and government. The core problem of mankind, according to Confucius, is that people are not educated and do not know how to conduct themselves properly in their societal roles. The chief goal of life is to become educated and live a moral life. There is no divine help for man in this endeavor. Confucius says, "He who has put himself in the wrong with heaven has no means of expiation left." (Analects 3:13) The Bible teaches our core problem is that we are separated from God and in need of a savior. God has provided a savior, His Son, Jesus, and through His sacrificial death on the cross and resurrection, we can have a relationship with God.

What I have learned is this, that of all things that people live by, Li is the greatest. Without Li, we do not know how to conduct a proper worship of the spirits of the universe; or how to establish the proper status of the king and the ministers, the rule and the ruled, and the elders and the juniors; or how to establish the moral relationships between the sexes; between parents and children, and between brothers; or how to distinguish the different degrees of relationship in the family. That is why a gentleman holds Li in such high regard.

There is much to appreciate regarding the life and teachings of Confucius. The Christian would find many points of agreement with Confucius' ethical code. We would agree that demonstrating respect, grace, and concern for others develops good relationships. We both value family relationships, and consider it the central unit to society.

What accounts for the similarity in ethics in Confucianism and other religious systems is, as I mentioned before, what Paul states in Romans 2. Within every man there exists a God-given conscience or natural law that guides our moral conduct. This is because we are created in the image of God, so we reflect His character. However, similarity in ethical codes does not mean the religions are the same. As demonstrated in this article, the teachings of Confucius and Jesus differ at the most fundamental level.