Yoga and the Christian

[speerjp1]

Yoga was mentioned by me in the thread about a Christian being a freemason. I mentioned it only to draw a comparison about the lack of necessity of involvement by Christians in both.

It sparked a bit of controversy and someone suggested starting a thread on yoga and other New Age religious and occultic systems, so here it is. :smile

Some of the questions involved:

Should Christians be involved in yoga?

Can yoga be "Christianized?"

Is it okay to use yoga meditating techniques in order to meditate on God's word? (in a different thread)

[John81]

Traditional yoga is occultic and not something a Christian should be involved in.

I don't believe one can "Christianize" yoga, Oriental martial arts, or other worldly (epsecially occultic) endeavors.

No, it's not okay to use yoga meditating techniques to meditate upon God's Word. God gave us the Holy Scriptures and nowhere does it say to use such methods. We can open our KJB and clearly learn how we are to properly meditate upon the Word of God...and it doesn't involve yoga!

[5dumplings@home]

The purpose of yoga and its moves is to free your mind and spirit. We are not to allow our minds to be free. We are to be in constant control.

There is no reason a Christian should need to practice any of this in order to meditate on God's Word.

We must remember that God's Word, unlike eastern mysticism, is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edeged sword. The Word will work without transcendental movements on our part.

[Jerry]

Occultic meditation is emptying the mind - Biblical meditation is focussing on something specific (such as the Lord or a particular portion of His Word). Both use the term meditation, but the definitions are world's apart.

[sarcrew]

Thought some may find this interesting: A tract titled "The Gospel according to Karate".

http://www.fellowshiptractleague.org/tr ... page_1.htm

or

http://www.fellowshiptractleague.org/tr ... ct_143.pdf

Wayne

[HappyChristian]

Interesting.

[kevinmiller]

Should Christians be involved in yoga?

I don't see a problem with doing the stretches and moves involved in Yoga.

Can yoga be "Christianized?"

I'm not familiar with Yoga Christianization so I don't know.

Is it okay to use yoga meditating techniques in order to meditate on God's word?

I don't think the Yoga concept of meditation is anything like the Biblical concept of meditation. Meditation in Yoga is emptying the mind while Biblical meditation is filling it with the Word of God.

[Madeline]

I am certainly no expert on Yoga (or anything close to that). In what little I do know about it, however, it seems to me that it is impossible to separate Yoga from Buddhism. And since it is impossible to separate Buddhism from idolatry (i.e., Buddhism is not just a "philosophy" but a religion which worships pagan gods), I'm not sure how it would or could or should ever be "Christianized". I think in the process one would find instead that one's Christianity had become "Buddhized". There is nothing anti-God in stretching, but if it is a case of a system of stretching, meditation, and religious doctrine which cannot be disassembled or compartmentalized (since the idolatry produces the ritual/meditation which in turn is the origin of, and motivation for the physical maneuvers), then this is something from which I would stay a million miles away. This is one of those areas where "a little leaven" can leaven the whole lump.

Love,
Madeline

[Chelle]

I don't see a problem with doing the stretches and moves involved in Yoga.

Why not just call it "stretching" then? That way it doesn't have the connotations and associations that Yoga has.

As far as emptying the mind and making it "free", we are to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).

[Jerry]

The whole purpose of yoga and its specific forms of stretching are to reach one goal, enlightenment and godhood. There is no Christianizing that! There is nothing wrong with exercise and stretching in themselves, but there is certainly something wrong with the specific forms of stretching - better to avoid all appearance of evil. If I know something was invented for evil purposes, I don't even want to vaguely imitate it.

[kevinmiller]

Why not just call it "stretching" then? That way it doesn't have the connotations and associations that Yoga has.

As far as emptying the mind and making it "free", we are to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).

Well, you could simply call it stretching, because that's all it is. But, for example, my mom uses a workout program that offers videos in many different forms of stretching, including Yoga. The lady who leads it is a white American and it doesn't involve any kind of meditation or Buddhist practices. It is simply stretching. I have a Korean friend who also does Yoga stretches. Her, coming from a country that is steeped in Buddhism, would know whether or not practicing the Yoga stretches involves the meditation, etc. And she says that it does not.

[speerjp1]

If it is simply stretching your mother and friend are participating in and there is no connection to Yoga, then why not just call it stretching exercises instead of unecessarily linking themselves with pagan occultism? :puzzled:

Regardless of what they or you have been led to believe, Yoga is a system of spiritual exercises that involve the physical. I would advise reading some books on the history of Yoga in America and its roots and current affiliation with Buddhism. I'm sure you would see the reason for many Christians apprehension when it comes to Eastern mysticism, paganism, and the occult.

Dave Hunt at the Berean Call has written extensively on this subject and not only has a great book about it, but also has articles and Q&A on the website. He lived in California when it was introduce heavily into the U.S. and has seen it make its way into the churches in our day.

[kevinmiller]

Oh, I'm not for eastern mysticism or anything like that. I understand your apprehension about it because I'm against it as well. I'm guessing it is called Yoga because the stretches are taken from Yoga. So, you have this whole system of Yoga with the stretches and meditations and all that, and you simply take the stretches out and leave the rest. So, while still being called Yoga, it is now nothing but the stretches alone.

[LindaR]

If it is simply stretching your mother and friend are participating in and there is no connection to Yoga, then why not just call it stretching exercises instead of unecessarily linking themselves with pagan occultism? :puzzled:

Regardless of what they or you have been led to believe, Yoga is a system of spiritual exercises that involve the physical. I would advise reading some books on the history of Yoga in America and its roots and current affiliation with Buddhism. I'm sure you would see the reason for many Christians apprehension when it comes to Eastern mysticism, paganism, and the occult.

Dave Hunt at the Berean Call has written extensively on this subject and not only has a great book about it, but also has articles and Q&A on the website. He lived in California when it was introduce heavily into the U.S. and has seen it make its way into the churches in our day.

Dave Hunt's book is called "Yoga and the Body of Christ". I haven't read it yet, but have read excerpts. Here are some excerpts from The Berean Call website:

The Kundalini Connection:

Evangelicals Embrace Energy Of The Serpent

-Excerpts from the new book Yoga and the Body of Christ by Dave Hunt

There is mounting controversy among Westerners involved in yoga as to how to practice it and the purpose behind it. Is it purely physical, or is something more involved-something spiritual? There are many proponents on both sides of this discussion. Much of the public, however, is not even aware of the issue. Nor can most of the disputants even agree to what is meant by "spiritual." Clearly something nonphysical is involved. But what is it?

What is this "energy" to which Ken Harakuma (and others) are referring? Is this the ki, or chi, of martial arts, which has no physical explanation and clearly comes from the spirit world? Yet in spite of warnings backed with factual data about its dangers-and that it can even open the door to the occult-yoga continues to grow in popularity everywhere. What is behind the accelerating worldwide interest in yoga?

That non-Christians are engaging in yoga is not surprising. After all, it is being promoted in the West as purely physical stretching and breathing exercises beneficial for one's health-even as a cure for cancer, with testimonials that supposedly back up that claim. That Christians, however, who say they follow Christ and His Word, would also jump on the bandwagon of Eastern mysticism is staggering.

Yoga was developed to escape this "unreal" world of time and sense and to reach moksha, the Hindu heaven-or to return to the "void" of the Buddhist. With its breathing exercises and limbering-up positions, yoga is promoted in the West for enhancing health and better living-but in the far East, where it originated, it is understood to be a way of dying. Yogis claim to possess the ability to survive on almost no oxygen and to remain motionless for hours, free of the "illusion" of this life. The physical aspects of yoga, however, which attract many Westerners, were, in fact, originally developed and practiced for spiritual goals.

http://www.thebereancall.org/node/2773

Yoga is pure Hinduism--not just "stretching" exercises. Christians should not be involved in Yoga.

[kevinmiller]

Yes, it can be just stretching. You may have read that whenever and wherever it is practiced, there is Hinduism, but I can assure you with 100% certainty that my mother does nothing outside of stretching.