Is this kind of like practicing white magic instead of black? This is just another way of compromising & adding the name “Jesus” to the equation to justify what we are doing. Yoga, also known as TM (transcendental meditation) was began by a man by the name of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. TM or Yoga was union with Brahman, the Hindu concept of God. The whole practice extends from Hinduism & to add Jesus name is nothing but compromise & borders on idolatry & worship of the self & one of the many Hindu deities.

Although I do not practice yoga myself, I see nothing wrong with the postures in and of themselves.  Quite frankly, there need not be anything spiritual about it at all—Christian or Hindu.  A person could do the entire series of postures and get a great physical workout—end of story.  Or they could do it with an attitude of worship.  This is probably one of those “meat sacrificed to idols” issues that each person should decide for themselves whether it is okay or not.

Daniel,

I was tempted to disagree with you because Paul seems to indicate that meat offered to idols isn’t a big deal, not to worry about what you buy in the marketplace, because the idols have no power. I’ve bought some of the cultural applications out of this passage for a very long time… But I find I don’t disagree with you for two reasons.

1. A cursory re-examination of that passage makes me think that many of the “meat sacrificed to idols” arguments made in contemporary times have no relationship with Paul’s discussion. We are reading too much of our culture back onto Biblical times. yoga can not = meat sacrificed to idols. It’s something you participate in, not something you just buy in the store.

and 2., more importantly. Paul certainly wouldn’t condone in that passage participating in the actual idol worship and sacrifice. On the contrary… read all of 1 Cor 10. I’m afraid for some, this might be what is going on in this situation, but again, I would love to hear more from folks who defend “Christian yoga” who are actually involved with it.

Daniel, you beat me to the holiday punch! As far as celebrating Easter, for example, it really depends on one’s perspective.  Either Christians have allowed their celebration of Resurrection Sunday to be combined with and diluted by worship of a fertility god, OR this pagan holiday has been thoroughly redeemed by Christ and his church.

And let us not forget that there was nothing inherently evil with the poses or positions exercised in yoga until somebody decided that they would be a great way to worship pagan gods.  To buy into the belief that they are inherently evil seems to me to be an assent to the possibility that they were inspired by an actual, for-real, god or spiritual being of some sort.

To villify Christian yoga seems to suggest that one can accidentally, without intent, suddenly stray into pagan worship, which is ludicrous.  For example, if a pagan drinks grape juice (or wine) and eats a piece of bread, if he has no intent to commune with Jesus Christ, then all he has done is eaten his midafternoon snack.

Let’s allow the church to do what it has done in the past, and redeem what was once an evil practice.

Here we (church) go again.  The religious (bondage keepers-not you Todd) of our day letting us know if someone can do yoga or not.  I have been senior pastoring for a little over 5 years know and I think we may have hit a new low.  Here’s the deal, if someone wants to do yoga because of health matters and “other gods” has nothing to do with it.... then leave them alone.  If you are so “concerned”, pray that the Holy Spirit” would impress upon them that they should not be practicing yoga.  Why is it, we promise freedom in Christ, but as soon as someone “signs up” we come out with our lists of cant’s within the church....no wonder people so “no thanks”.  Each of us has a conscience, and maybe what one can do, another cannot, so leave it alone.  Just a reminder......as we debate/argue/judge yoga......genecide continues in Darfur-something that should be a concern to us all.  And before you write me off as some leftist leaning pastor anything goes, I am an ordained AoG pastor who is tired of being the moral authority of peoples lives!!  If I disagree with someones lifestyle, and yes I disagree......I pray......just my 2 cents....thanks Todd.

Peter,

I was not implying you or anyone else was legalistic on this forum-I was just throwing that out in general...I should have made that more clear...I apologize.  I understand your point and think it is a good one.  I agree 100% of studying the issue and basing your decision off of that.  On the flip side-just because someone is a christian and they say something is bad, does not make it so either.  Again, what one may be able to do and practice, another may not.  Like Paul said in 1st Corinthians 7-"I do not have a commandment from the Lord, so I give you my opinion”.  Nothing wrong with someone’s opinion-but it just their opinion.  I like to say on sunday morning’s-you have the right to disagree with me, because you have the right to be wrong!!!  Thanks again and I do appreciate the open dialogue on this site…

Thanks Peter!

hmm… yoga… Oh the little green guy from star wars

i would like to ask a question, and please do not gripe me out, i just want an answer if any of you know.  i have heard and read that you can give entrance to demon activity by rock music, wegie boards, im’m not sure if is spelled the board right, but if that is true can you give entrance to demons by yoga since it has been said it was a form of gods worship, just wondering if that is true because of what it is, thanks

Mark,

Thanks for the explanation.

It helps a lot. I like Yoga even less than I did before. That may not have been your intention, but nonetheless…

You write [Oh! And I’m assuming that everyone understands that God is beyond all culture, religion, churches and practices. Like a mountain that has many paths to the top. Same summit - different paths.]

I guess that just troubles me, too. the only way you could know that would be on top of the summit looking down, and none of us are. If Jesus didn’t need to die for us after all, it would have been awfully cruel, unjust and unfair of God to have him die that way.

When I say that I experience God as the background presence/love/light I mean that He is present everywhere. That the foreground of life (not yoga!) plays out against the vast backdrop of His Love - that all the wondrous forms of this universe arise out of His Light - arise and are sustained by His Love - and ultimately dissolve back into His Love.

God is not only the most real being there is. He is much much more than this! He is All. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is everywhere. Nothing can exist without Him. He is the Source.

It is true that stillness is not always neccassary to experience God. (Although Psalms 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God” guides my morning meditation). Indeed to sing his glory, to be filled with enthusiasm (en+theos = to be filled with God) is surely the best way to honour all that we have been given?

However here is a nice reference to using breathing and stillness from another Christian:
http://www.godzonehymns.com/breath/background.html

You might want to compare the relaxation that is essential to yoga with the quote from Psalms above. The actual root of the word from which “Be still” is translated is the hebrew word rephai’im - which means to let go, to surrender. So it could be “Let go - and know that I am God”.  In terms of psychology and physiology learning how to relax is learning how to let go. And so in yoga we learn how to let go - first with the body and then let go into the stillness of the mind and heart. (If you can find Satan in all of this then you have a powerful - and rather unhelpful - imagination!)

If you truly feel that only the Christian God is the ONLY God, that through Jesus is the ONLY way - and that all other religions and spiritual beliefs have it wrong, then I have to leave you to walk your narrow path up the mountain. But you will miss much of the glory of the mountain and will surely fail to see that the summit is closer to you than you own breath and that you are on it everytime you laugh freely or love unboundedly.

Peter

It is not a question of believing in “other Gods” - this seems to me to be a logical impossibility when God is understood to be omnipresent, omnipotent and eternal.
If one’s concept of God is of some type of higher being who is controlling a lot of things but has to fight things not under his control like Evil and Nature.... then I challenge that this is a poor conception of God. Omnipotent means all powerful with unimpeded freedom. It means there is but one energy, one force in this universe. Omnipresent means present in all times and places.
If the God that one worships is that Absolute - omnipotent and omnipresent - then it doesn’t matter what you call him. He is Present for all cultures and all languages.
Jesus’ life and death have inspired millions - nay billions. To call that death cruel merely because the way of Jesus’ may not be the only way does not follow. I understand that giving Jesus the unique position of being God’s ONLY son creates a host of issues from the point of view of understanding and learning from other religions and spiritual practices. I would offer that there is nothing lost and much gained by opening the mind and heart to the idea that there are many ways to God - but that your chosen way is through Christ.

There is one God. People call him by different names. He is closer to each than their own breath. The Jews didn’t have Jesus but that He is the same God. The Muslims and Hindus all have a concept of God, the Supreme Divinity. How do you know it isn’t the same God but just a different name?

To imagine that only the Christian concept of God is true (what about the Jewish concept… same God?) is to denigrate the spiritual practices, study, yearnings and devotion of billions of human beings. How much more cruel would that God be that only made himself available through one culture, one religious system - and condemned billions of human beings, including babies and children to eternal suffering because… they were born in the wrong country!

My experience was that my idea/sense of God actually expanded - and my devotion grew - when I recognised His Grace and Love flowing through all the cultures of the world. My heart melted in contemplation of His Benevolence. I truly believe that studies in comparative religion can actually deepen one’s commitment to God through one’s chosen path.

To return finally to the idea of Yoga within a Christian framework. It is true that much modern yoga has become nearly entirely focused on the body. However this is a good starting point. Strengthening the body and making it more flexible - and then learning how to let go and relax deeply, these practices can then be applied mentally: strengthening the mind, learning how to make it less rigid - and then learning how to let go and relax deeply.

I am surprised there is a mistrust of this process of becoming still and silent - because it seems to me perhaps the CORE practice that comes through the Bible. And of course many monastic practices in the Christian tradition focused on this. The precondition for recollection of God is silence - outer and inner. Yoga was devised as a precise system for achieving this inner silence. There is no reason why a Christian Church cannot take from it that which is useful and apply it within a Christian framework.

mark you said you would leave me to my narrow path, jesus did say the way was narrow that leads to eternal life, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, so be careful about the broader way it will lead you down the wrong path,the bible is the only book that a christian has to live by, there is no other way but jesus, and if other cultures has other gods then they are wrong,or maybe i misunderstood what you were saying,did you say there are other ways to the father , did you say jesus is not the only way? i have heard thet before but i really did not think people really believed it, but thanks for leting me know about yoga.