32
JULIAN PAS
ed as a particular method of prayer and if the right belief in God's guidance is maintained, we could have a new and popular way of Christian prayer, adjusted to the need of many Christians.
One final concern about the validity of I Ching and temple oracles has to be expressed: it is assumed and often clearly stated that the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching summarize and symbolize all human situations and contain advice for all possible conflicts. If that is correct, it also follows that the temple oracles do likewise. In other words, the value of all these oracles depends largely on their completeness with regard to human life. A city map which leaves out important roads or central buildings would not be very useful. So the question arises: do these oracles actually fulfill this condition? So far as I am aware, no one has ever checked and questioned the I Ching in this regard. But in the case of the temple oracles, it seems that in modern times which create new situations and therefore result in new decision making problems, the oracles may need to be complemented. One example will illustrate this: when a devotee questions the oracle about marriage, it refers to customs of traditional China, where matches were made by the families, not by the individuals concerned. This has now changed. Furthermore, the question about marriage, as expressed in the temple oracles, always assumes that a marriage has not yet taken place: the question is whether it will be advisable to proceed; whether it will work out all right. There is an implicit assumption that marriages will last. If a conflict arises 5 or 10 years later, and husband and wife doubt whether they should stay together or not, there is no answer to be found in the oracles. This is a case where the oracles need adjustment in order to keep serving a truly advisory purpose for the benefit of the believers today.
!
32
JULIAN PAS
ed as a particular method of prayer and if the right belief in God's guidance is maintained, we could have a new and popular way of Christian prayer, adjusted to the need of many Christians.
One final concern about the validity of I Ching and temple oracles has to be expressed: it is assumed and often clearly stated that the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching summarize and symbolize all human situations and contain advice for all possible conflicts. If that is correct, it also follows that the temple oracles do likewise. In other words, the value of all these oracles depends largely on their completeness with regard to human life. A city map which leaves out important roads or central buildings would not be very useful. So the question arises: do these oracles actually fulfill this condition? So far as I am aware, no one has ever checked and questioned the I Ching in this regard. But in the case of the temple oracles, it seems that in modern times which create new situations and therefore result in new decision making problems, the oracles may need to be complemented. One example will illustrate this: when a devotee questions the oracle about marriage, it refers to customs of traditional China, where matches were made by the families, not by the individuals concerned. This has now changed. Furthermore, the question about marriage, as expressed in the temple oracles, always assumes that a marriage has not yet taken place: the question is whether it will be advisable to proceed; whether it will work out all right. There is an implicit assumption that marriages will last. If a conflict arises 5 or 10 years later, and husband and wife doubt whether they should stay together or not, there is no answer to be found in the oracles. This is a case where the oracles need adjustment in order to keep serving a truly advi-
sory purpose for the benefit of the believers today.
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