Posted on 01/25/2008 4:15:22 PM PST by Graybeard58
BTTT!
the early christian church did just that, taking what was good and closest to the truth in the of pagan practices and, ‘turned them’ if you will...
As far as the characteristics imputed to it by Hindus, if you're not a Hindu, they don't matter.
Why not? Worked for Winter Solstice.
Think “Christmas Tree”
Christmas and Easter both stem from Pagan celebrations.
Here is the deal with Christianity according to Paul: pretty much it grafts onto the existing religion, which doesn’t have to be modified in general but only in a few specifics such as no more child sacrifice.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
This may be a matter requiring careful semantic distinctions.
IF "yoga" requires people to "empty their minds, focus on him or herself, and try to find the "god within" -- or, even more pointedly, chant or concentrate on a mantra such as "om mani padme hum" or somesuch ---then it evidently shouldn't be done by Christians, and threre is no such thing as "Christian Yoga" any more than there is such a thing as "Carnivorous Vegetarianism."
Any exercises you want to do to relieve stress should be called "stress relief exercises," and leave it at that.
However, IF "yoga" does not require any of that, then there's no problem with "Christian Yoga."
I once read about a Russian woman named Tatyana Goricheva who, while an atheist back in the Soviet Union days, started doing Yoga as part of a personal health and exercise program. She was told to pick a mantra, so she chose to say "Our Father" in Russian. As time went on, she became more and more moved, inwardly, with the conviction that God exists, that there is a Father in heaven, and that He cared for her and she ought to seek His ways.
Last I heard, she had emigrated to Paris and was studying Russian Orthodoxy. This was years ago. I have no idea where she is now.
Anyhow, this may suggest that yoga posture and breathing practices per se may not be spiritually dangerous, at least when one is explicitly open to the One True God. On the other hand, if one is opening oneself "any damn thing," Any Damn Thing may show up. Now that would be dangerous.
We have meditation and spiritual exercises in Holy Orthodoxy. We call it “prayer”.
Nearly al the pageantry associated with celebration of Christmas and Easter are freely taken from pagan sources.
Why would anybody do “Christian Yoga”. Where I did yoga, it was just a set of stretching exercises and relaxation techniques to rehabilite my back and leg.
I’m pretty familiar with the Bible, and don’t remember any prohibition against deep breathing and good posture.
ping
You’ve got to be kidding me?
I guess not..Shaking my head again!
Active prayer is the kind of prayer taught in scripture. Emptying oneself of thought, specific body postures, chanting something with repetition, breathing techniques specifically designed to facilitate connecting oneself to the spiritual realm.....these are not the means of prayer taught in the Bible.
Your example of that lady is nice sounding, but she is one person and is not here to be questioned about her doctrines or even her experiences. We can't draw a conclusion from that story. What we have to do is search the scriptures and see if this is a biblical practice.
Scripture does say that when you draw close to God, He will draw close to you. That doesn't mean that focusing on your body posture, your breathing, a repeated phrase used for the purpose of emptying your mind....OR EVEN JUST EXERCISE is a biblical means of drawing close to God. I believe reading and actively meditating on the Holy Spirit inspired Word of God is one means. Actively praying is another means. Some self-described Christian mystics like to take "Be still and know that I am God" out of context and make it mean a mystical silence. But in context it doesn't mean that at all.
Bottom line, even if it is harmless (it isn't), I wouldn't do it just because it causes some to stumble. Do I need it? No. God has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him ,without yoga.
2Pe 1:3 - His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Well put, The Ghost of FReepers Past, and I agree with you.
Sure it can. Ever hear Christian Rock?
The question you have to ask is why do it? In the case of Christian Rock, like ol’ HH said, “It doesn’t make Christianity better, it just makes Rock worse.”
Thx for the ping.
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