Posted on 09/22/2010 3:03:50 PM PDT by Willie Green
Warning to Christians: There may be churches that will bless your Blackberry, but your favorite morning workout may undermine your faith.
In a recent blog post, Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, examines the argument that practicing yoga may be in direct conflict with the values of Christianity. "Yoga begins and ends with an understanding of the body that is, to say the very least, at odds with the Christian understanding," Mohler writes.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsfeed.time.com ...
The greeks saw mathematics as a gate way to the Gods, so did the Hindu’s, so do some of the psychiatric clients I’ve worked with over the years. Just goes to show that Numerology goes back as far as the Fall of Man itself.
Numbers and math are tools, great tools, indeed a direct blessing from God so that man in exploring the universe can ferret out the great truths of God, so that we “are without excuse” when we all stand before God! Math lets us build houses and bridges, make medicines and fly to the stars. God blessed man with math so that he could come out of caves and allow us some measure of control over our chaotic enviroments. David admonishes us to “number our days”, John encourages those with wisdom to “calculate the number of the beast”. God gave us math to warn of us of coming dangers and to understand the logarithmic scales of the results of the preaching of the Word(planting of the mustard seed which produces ten fold and hundred fold).
Indeed, in the era before Christ, God did indeed “wink” at the greek and hindu and Chinese wise men, the Zoroastrians and others who were desparate to find God, and God in his mercy and love for the world gave the world mathematics thru them! But remember, the wise men of the east came to Jesus to pay him homage recognizing God in flesh, the source of all their wisdom! Jesus would never go to them for wisdom, for he was the source of all wisdom from the founding of the world!
What people do now is all over the map. But in ancient times, yoga was practiced as a method of helping the body and mind become fit and “tamed” so as to function better not only in this world, but to be able to focus on the Supreme Godhead with less distraction.
In ancient times nothing was divorced from the spiritual aspect. The Vedas have many paths but they all lead in the same direction; not all lead to the ultimate, because not everyone wants the ultimate. But even going in the right direction is good; and one step leads to another. The ancient Vedic civilization was a God-centered civilization in all respects, one way or another.
Much of the stuff that comes out of India, or westerners that go to India, is not very traditional. Some is, some isn’t.
Citation please. What you write sounds like utter nonsense. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt but unless you can back it up with evidence, I will take it as utter nonsense.
That makes sense. Not everybody is interested in the spiritual side of things. I don’t see any harm in using physical exercises or basic meditations simply for health improvement though. Fitness and good health are positives for anybody even if that is all they want. That is their free will choice to set an arbitrary limit on their development.
I think that is how I generally understand “being still” to mean in this context...but the “be still doesn’t occur by itself...it says to “Be still and KNOW that I am God” which means to come to a place of rest and knowing that God is bigger than all of our circumstances and to take comfort in that fact....or as the 23rd Psalm says” He leadeth me beside the still waters, he restoreth my soul!”
Okay I made it all up, just lying to prove a point....I tell you what you prove me wrong then!
I’m not a walking box of footnoted citations but I know what i have read and studied over the years. In the 1950s there was a group of Indian “guru” types that wanted make a concerted effort to “evangelize” the west with their brand of Eastern Mysticism and Hinduism. The yoga movements, TM, of the 60’s were all a part of that and it rode in all on top of the HIPPIE movements and the progressivist push that was occuring in America at the time. You remember the Hari Krishnas...right? Or was I making that up, too?
No one can say whether you're making things up or not but you are clearly wrong about a lot of things.
Exactly. Doing hatha yoga exercises will not turn someone into a Hindu (not that that is a bad thing).
I avoid most all yoga videos/books because I loathe any New Agey stuff mixed in, which most all have, or a lot. I stick with the real classical kind. Most yoga I learned from the great Iyengar book, Light On Yoga. Actually I first did Hittelman’s, then found the Iyengar book. Many people can not learn directly from a book without a human teacher, but if you’re sensitive and pay attention to what your body is doing, it can be done. Aptitude helps.
I started practicing hatha yoga seriously when I was around 26 and did it until RA hit me when I was around 50. I am now well enough from diet and herbs to start it up again.
BTW, you are aware that TM and Hare Krisnas have nothing to do with yoga, right? or did you conflate everything Indian as one thing? Is Curry the same thing as Yoga? How about chicken tandori? Papidums? Chutneys? Khaki pants? Madras jackets? Paisley prints?
” “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2“For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
Question... Are you judging me for judging someone elses judgemental comment? .... Think about it!
“I would question the sources of your”info” and put them to the test...Do they agree that Jesus was God in flesh and the only way to salvation? If in putting such sources to the test there is any discomfort or a leading away from or an adding to the truth of Jesus as God in flesh then you need to flee from this “spirituality” and beg God to drive the demonic away from you and to be filled with HIS spirit!”
Excellent advice, and yes it works... For years I was cleaning out haunted houses to remove the nasties and ran into more than one imposter of the light. The scripture you quote is from 1 John 4:1 on testing spirits if my memory serves me correct. It has saved my ass more than once as those words just came out of my mouth (not from me) and the spirits eyes turned from blue to black and then to red as their true nature came out.
Often they will try to trick me by saying a response like “We know Jesus.” To which I must ask the question again and require them to answer it. Can’t really explain it as it is work done through me and not by me. Been doing it for 20 years.
As Jesus warns in Matthew 7 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
Or his warnings in Matthew 24.....
They are wrapped in many colors, shapes and sizes, even within Christianity! Discernment is a hard lesson to learn and it cannot be done by using only logic. Logic can be fooled. Discernment includes a gut wrenching intuitive feeling that has saved me many times, even when logic failed.
“I avoid most all yoga videos/books because I loathe any New Agey stuff mixed in, which most all have, or a lot. I stick with the real classical kind. Most yoga I learned from the great Iyengar book, Light On Yoga.”
They are pretty good. Look at Ravi Singhs (sorry if spelling is off a little) book on kundalini yoga. Best presentation of spinal flex postures I have seen anywhere.
I was about 37 then and an out of work construction guy so using a book at home was more appealing to me than taking a class with a bunch of women in it. (Boy was I dumb!) I really felt so bad about being out of work and in constant pain then that I didn't feel like meeting anyone new.
RA is a tough row to hoe. I wish you all the best in dealing with it.
Jogging is too. So is weightlifting. Hmm... Pranayama yoga is largely made up of breathing, so breathing must likewise anti-Christian. Pretty sure I’m not going to take advice from Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. regarding what is and isn’t “anti-Christian”.
Thanks Willie Green.
Thanks - I’m not saying that all other books or videos are bad.
I figure I have maybe 20 years left on earth, and all I need to to as far as practicing yoga now is do what I already know! I won’t be able to do a headstand in full lotus any more, but heck - at least I won’t be starting from scratch.
;-)
I liked Hittleman’s and it was a very concise and easy to follow method. I just wanted to go deeper into it.
Fortunately the RA is in about 98% remission and I’m ready to re-start my hatha yoga again. I’m really glad it took care of your back pain.
To prove how the soul works, I get volunteers from the audience and have them stand fifteen feet from me. They close their eyes, I do not touch them, and I do not say anything. When I reach out and touch the memories stored in their soul fields around their physical body, it knocks them off their feet as though I am physically shoving them. I then tell the person and the group what event happened in their life, at what age it occurred, who it involved, and explain that it is still hanging heavy on their soul. Using this, I can read stored memories all the way back to conception.(A child in the womb stores memories from the perspective of the mother's experiences) When I reach into these memories and say a prayer, it releases the blockage in the soul and unusual things happen. Yes, these heavy, thick areas in a person's soul block their light and are what causes illness.
The afferent neurons along the spinal column are the receptors for these stored memories. In order to block the recovery of emotional memories that are perceived as painful, a person tightens the muscles along the spine in order to put a tourniquet hold on the receptor cells and the cell body head in the dorsal root ganglia. This is the defense methodology of the body which causes disc compression and most back pain. The dermatonal areas of the body correspond to the specific vertebrae where the memory in the soul field is anchored.
Thus the gentleman who mentioned his back pain when he was off work would have pain about L3 or L4 as that is the area where security issues are usually anchored. Yoga serves to stretch the tightened muscles thus releasing the tension and allowing the emotional issues to flow back into conscious awareness where they can be resolved. Lack of suitable environment can cause a person to be overwhelmed rather than resolving the issue and result in even worse back pain as the fear of recovering the stored memory increases.
Included with the same workshop is “The Neuroscience of Prayer.” The two both facilitate soul cleansing and work best when they are used together. Prayer works more on the current operational frequency of consciousness (vertical axis) while yoga opens the access to cleanse the stored memories on the horizontal axis.
Incidentally, about 15 years ago I found myself moving my hand in front of me in the sign of the cross. The man I was healing was Jewish and I was not consciously making the sign of the cross. All I was doing was removing the clutter that was clogging the flow of Spirit at the intersection of the two axis of his soul. There is soooo much to learn when doing this work. Cancer is one of the easiest illnesses to identify the causes.
When people ask me how to learn to do this, I tell them to read the Bible, especially the New Testament, and live it.
What books do you recommend on this subject? I'm curious about this ancient "superculture" idea (never heard of it). Thanks!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/110678/ancient_rama_empire_of_india_.html?cat=34
See this article of the lost Rama Empire from 5000 years ago for an intro duction to the subject. The Brist found one of their lost cities in 1965. The finds gave great creadance to the old sanskrit legends regarding a great clash between the spiritual Rama empire and the more scientific and militaristic “Atlans”(yes as in Atlantis)... with weapons of types we would be familiar with today! From that article on can look for other books. Some of the artifacts that date back to that time are incredible such as little ornament shaped like delta winged fighters!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.