So when Yeshua parables are based on nature, Lao Tzu's poems, Zen, etc does that mean we are also captive of nature....
Else does that mean, that the divine author used creation to show us the way....like water flows to the valley, as that is the easiest path to follow....
We have chosen our own ways, like walking up the mountain and away from our natural path
.
In one sense.
In another it is a matter of capacity, mankind has the capacity to transcend the animal nature, in fact God seems to desire us to do that. the baha`i writings also liken the animal nature of man to satan, the desire to gratify onesself at any cost to others. The many forms of the Golden rule are the mandate for man to transcend.
We see human qualities in all kinds of animals, but they are associated with the instinct to survive--animals protect the pack to some degree, foster offspring selflessly, etc.; but it is the instinct to save the species that drives it.
You may see wolves do splendid things for pack members and offsprings, but you won't see a wolf starve for another.
Mahatma Ghandi did starve himself for others--at least twice. That is the transcendant nature of the divine impulse which the kingdom of MAN possesses, but the kingdom of Animals does not.
Regards,
Scott