Should Christians Practice Yoga ?

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Redbaron said:
I think that if you look up 'yoga' in your Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, you may find the bible strangely silent on it. Basically it seems you are revving up your prejudices (pre-judgements) against a long standing practice that many find beneficial, and cherry picking particular verses that you see as backing up your prejudices. This is not a good habit to get into.
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Seems to me this is Christianity 101. Open Bible, look for verses that support your point, argue your point using those verses, rinse and repeat. The difference between progressives and most other Christians is that the former admit this and use it as a basis for discussion, while others assume their cherry picking is getting the correct cherries and don't want to discuss it.

More on topic, there's a lot of Christian practice that has little to do with anything that can be found in the Bible. Communion and baptism are, for instance, really the only communal rites clearly spelled out in Jesus' story. Prayer is taught as being a private practice.

Anything else, including pretty much the entirety of Christian liturgy, is a matter of practice and precedent. And some of those practices are borrows from other traditions so what's one more?
 
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unsafe said:
Kimmio ---you said ------If you want to talk selfish - praying to God for material benefits is selfish.

------that is not what Scripture says at all ----so praying to God in ones selfish state and expect God to even hear our prayer let alone answer it ---is very selfish act in my view ------

Scripture is clear that sin and iniquity keeps God's face turned from hearing us -----Isaiah 59 ----
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So Jesus was selfish when he asked God to take "the cup" away in Luke?
 
unsafe said:
Yoga originated with a blatantly anti-Christian philosophy, and that philosophy has not changed.
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Since the practice of Yoga originates long before Christianity ever existed, it could not possibly have been anti-Christian, whether blatant, or subtle, or any other way. Certain strains of Christianity can be blatantly anti-yoga, as we see here. But since Yoga existed first, it couldn't be anti-anything of the sort.
 
Redbaron said:
Since the practice of Yoga originates long before Christianity ever existed
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Yeah, that's one thing to be clear on. Yoga goes way, way back. There are art works in the ancient Indus Valley civilization suggesting elements of it could all the way back to them (c. 2500 BCE, so about 4500 years ago).
 
Could Yoga be compared to Kenosis....or emptying oneself by relinquishing our own glory and our privilege.
I don't participate in Yoga, so just wondering.
 
Thus light (Jesus as the Light) descended into the realm where you can read it as you will ... and superficially some will not read any further or deeper into the mythology!

Some BS even takes the Hebrews to be icons dancing across a page (well-buoyed) to illustrate a thought in an arid layout ...

If God is everything and everywhere ... why cutouts and separations? Be cognizant that everywhere is wide spread ... really out there virtually! May even resemble nubulæ to those blinded by the fog and vapours! Greek hazing at the beach ... as the fishermen come ashore ... Zor Ba?
 
Waterfall ----you said -----So Jesus was selfish when he asked God to take "the cup" away in Luke?

I say ---So did Jesus lay down self and do His Father's will -----which is what we are called to do ------The flesh is weak but notice He had help to get Him through and strengthen Him -----and notice He prayed more earnestly ---so He kept praying even in His anguish ----

True Christians have God to rely on to get them through -----in yoga you are relying on self to obtain a higher level of thinking power to get you through ----just maybe you don't see a difference here -----but I do ----even Jesus in His 100% human state had to rely on His Father's help Him to get through His anguish time ------If we humans think we are all that that we can deal with our anguish all by our selves how self diluted is that -----just saying ----

Jesus is teaching us here in this scripture -----In my view ---Satan was trying to lead Him into temptation by luring Him away from His Father's will -----Satan did not want Jesus on that cross -----and Satan does not want people believing in God or listening to or obeying His word -----yoga is born out of a pagan Religion ------Satan can have a hay day with people who believe they can meditate themselves to reach a higher level of power all by themselves ---
Even Jesus needed help to bring Him to submission to His Father's will in his humanism ------

Luke 22 NIV

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives​

39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[c]

45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
 
And the word as inscribes expected ordinary folk to follow suite ... one has to ask: "who administered to Gods word being transcribed to that of man's kind?"

Many do not know due to the verses about knowledge being evil and its tendency to bring down tyrants ... heavenly holes? May not augur well in the downs ... as the racine begins!

There is a rumour that at one time God's word was indelibly writ in psyche ... an occult item unknown by tyranny! They will no open anything mysterious due to creeping fear syndrome ... set a watchman and observe!
 
Thanks for posting the John Shore response @Redbaron. I was going to do the same.

People who judge yoga without having learned about it properly are fools. There are different kinds of yoga, and just for argument's sake, there may be one or two forms that might conflict with Christian teachings. I don't fully believe that for the record.

I have practiced yoga. I found it to be a centering activity the silenced my mind and calmed my spirit. Is that not what we're asked to do in prayer? As the Shore article points out, it is like a car that doesn't care where you go. It can facilitate your relationship with your Higher Power. It is not a brain washing technique and is absolutely appropriate for Christians.
 
I don’t think it is something you should not do as a Christian but we should be mindful of the origins

i have done a few different yoga classes over the years. Some instructors I have had, use it as stretching only with an ending pass of giving thanks for the day

others have been much more of a Buddhist prayer at the end which I was not comfortable with.
it’s trendy. I am not sure why it is more trendy than any other stretching program
 
Redbaron said:
Since the practice of Yoga originates long before Christianity ever existed, it could not possibly have been anti-Christian, whether blatant, or subtle, or any other way. Certain strains of Christianity can be blatantly anti-yoga, as we see here. But since Yoga existed first, it couldn't be anti-anything of the sort.
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1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Jesus predates everything.

Jesus warns the one whose demons are cast out:

43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Biblical meditation is about being “filled” with the Spirit. Christianity is about being filled. Yoga is about being “empty”, swept clean, susceptible to whoever wants to move in.

Not compatible. But hey, empty works for the left.
 
Redbaron -----you said ------So, if there was nothing made without him, then he must have created yoga. Therefore it is holy and good.

I say ----LOL you wish ------God made all in this world including mankind who by their own choice betrayed and disobeyed Him and yoga was born out of the corrupt nature man created for himself ----just saying ----nice try though ---you do keep trying I have to give you that -----
 
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