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Yoga and Christianity Compatible?
Here's an interesting email posted on the Lighthouse Trails website. It should be of interest to the Emerging Church "communities" that are integrating yoga into their services, and for other churches that offer it as a midweek elective. The email is from the Classical Yoga Hindu Academy:
"Is Yoga a religion that denies Jesus Christ? Yes. Just as Christianity denies the Hindu MahaDevas such as Siva, Vishnu, Durga and Krishna, to name a few, Hinduism and its many Yogas have nothing to do with God and Jesus (though we do respect that others believe in this way). As Hindus who live the Yogic lifestyle, we appreciate when others understand that all of Yoga is all about the Hindu religion. Modern so-called 'yoga' is dishonest to Hindus and to all non-Hindus such as the Christians."
Danda,
Dharma Yoga Ashram
(Classical Yoga Hindu Academy)
Posted by Jim Bublitz on May 27, 2006 @ 05:35 AM
New Spirituality
COMMENTS
The Emerging Church will have no problem with those statements. After all, the "new" church is New Age. They already incorporate many non-Cristian beliefs into their world. Can't we all just get along? I do find it interesting that Dharma Yoga Ashram seems affronted by yoga's use outside Hinduism. In the Emerging Church there is such a push for tolerance of every belief system, of every so-called god, of every person who cannot be accountable for their eternity. Will they understand that even the extremely tolerant Hindu's are not happy with yoga's melding with these churches? Not likely. And, the reason is simple. The Emerging Church denies Jesus as strongly as Hinduism. Yoga will not be the only crackpot scheme or idea to get top billing. Oh, I forgot, the crackpot ideas are already rampant in the "new" church. Maybe Joel Osteen will start a yoga workout video, with a Hindu playing a sitar as accompaniment. But, on a sober ending note, is this really any worse than every other ploy the Emerging Chuch is using to keep the minds in the congregation from thinking of Christ? The HUGE church just down the road has three contemporary services each Sunday. The sermon, loosely interpreted, is never more than fifteen minutes. It turns my stomach.
Posted by: Lee at May 27, 2006 07:08 AM
This is fantastic - I know I've heard men like Ravi Zacharias say this before but I'm glad Jim has put this online. A very conservative Presbyterian church I used to attend held yoga classes no more than two years ago. I always meant to ask them about it. Recently I could find no evidence they were still offering the class.
Posted by: Hed Taggard at May 28, 2006 09:51 PM
I think it's appalling that any church would allow yoga among other new age mysticism to be part of their church. But what I see is a transformation from what had been traditional CHristian practices to an all out change to new age. It's been a gradual process, but I see it's fully functioning and the sheep are not even concerned about it.
There is a community nearby whose Presbyterian church offers yoga for seniors and another church offers yoga for expecting mothers.
Instead of mid week prayer services, they have placed yoga instead...how appropriate for a paradigm shift...what's next? Pastors dressed in guru garb and sitting cross legged at the altar rather than standing in a pulpit....
Rather than an organist, have someone sitting on the floor playing a horn with a snake coming out of a basket....(sarcasm added.)
We're witness the end of the age....strange offerings on the altar...It's only a matter of time before God's wrath is going to be poured out over these abominations.
Posted by: Carol at May 29, 2006 06:19 PM
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