Posted on 09/19/2017 5:25:10 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Recently Duke Chapel at Duke University in North Carolina tweeted photos of yoga exercises on the floor of its majestic worship space as part of Healthy Duke Week of Wellness. Built in the 1930s as a Methodist sanctuary in the style of a Gothic cathedral for what was then a Methodist affiliated school, Duke Chapel is now nondenominational.
There are Evangelicals and Catholics who critique yoga as wrong for Christians because its mantras originate in eastern religion. Setting aside that concern, should worship space be open to recreation and "profane" (i.e., secular) activities? Tai-chi? Kickboxing? Karate? Spinning? Ballroom dancing? Salsa? Hip-Hop? Ballet? Volleyball? Badminton? If not, why not?
Catholic and other liturgical traditions generally consecrate their worship spaces and open them to profane activities only after decommissioning. There is an understanding that the place where the Eucharist is served and the Word proclaimed is in some sense sacred, meriting reverence, dignity and protection.
Lower church Protestants and Evangelicals don't always attach the same sense of lofty spirituality to their worship space. Many congregations, especially new ones, don't own property, instead worshiping in rented school gymnasiums or theaters. Other congregations convene in multipurpose rooms with folding chairs, where space shifts from worship to meals to gymnastics or basketball.
Most traditional Protestant churches even if not very liturgical still have formal worship space filled with pews, faced by pulpit and altar, with walls adorned with Christian symbols. This space, while perhaps sometimes used for non-worship meetings, is still usually accorded respect and not host to recreation.
Worship space for many modern non-liturgical churches, while not hosting recreation, often resembles theaters without much if any sacred adornment, often purposefully so, ostensibly to avoid discomfiting unchurched visitors. Worshipers there, and increasingly in more traditional spaces, are often quite casual, wearing shorts, flip flops, baseball hats, carrying lattes or other drinks. These worshipers will often conform to more formality when attending weddings, funerals, graduations or other ceremonies they deem deeply significant.
This casual attitude at church should provoke reflection. Isn't worship deeply significant and meriting respect? Shouldn't Gospel proclamation, reading of God's word, and the Lord's Supper always together inspire awe, reverence and celebratory solemnity, no matter the surrounding architecture? And shouldn't ideally that architecture itself point Godward, conducive to worship? Shouldn't the space itself be deemed special, with expectation that God Himself is present, recalling that when Moses met Him in the wilds he removed his footwear in respect?
Duke Chapel, built as a medieval cathedral with such a sacred sense of God's presence in mind, was intended to inspire appreciation of divine awe and mystery. It's not a multipurpose room or gymnasium. There are plenty of places on the extensive Duke University campus for yoga practitioners and other exercisers to perform their craft.
But exercising and sweating in tights on floormats in a soaring cathedral beneath its stained glass and carvings of saints and martyrs seems to detract from the sacredness of that place. Moses in God's presence did remove his footwear and fall prostrate, but not to stretch and grunt. Today's sanctuaries may not equal Mt. Sinai or King David's Temple, but they should point in spirit to the same God, with consequent respect for His holiness from all who enter. This reverence honors God while also helping us to know Him a bit better.
I haven’t gotten into discussions about this for a while and forgot that one of the “revelations” I had when discussing this a little over a decade ago is that Catholics really DO have holy places and things, even though IMO the bible teaches against such a “world view” pretty strongly.
So it hit me this morning that I can probably assume those taking issue with what I’m saying about the church buildings are Catholics.
It would be fun to do a bible study where we contextually focus on every place in the NT where the subject of Jesus’ mother is discussed by Jesus. It gives an interesting perspective.
The church I used to attend went through five capital campaigns as we grew from @ 250 people to over 9,000 members in the 18 years I was there. When we moved to our new location in 2002, we planned on doubling in size in three years, (we more than tripled in our first year alone...) so we built a multi-purpose worship center that doubled as a gym with basketball hoops, volleyball court setup, a worship stage and sound booth in the back of the worship center.
On Saturdays and Sundays it was our Worship Center. During the week our church outreach hosted basketball, volleyball, kids events, a men's breakfast on Saturdays where myself and another gentleman cooked for 70+ men weekly in the church's kitchen, we had weddings and funerals in this space and more.
Now that same space has been completely redone to support the church's childrens ministry which has almost 600 kids participating weekly.
My view is it's "just a building" it's the people inside the building that are the church.
You and I are on the same page.
It appears this is a significant difference between Catholics and Protestants.
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It wasn’t on “Friday,” it was in the late afternoon of wednesday, at the time that the Passover lambs were being placed into the ovens.
Passover began at sundown, beginning the first of the three nights and days that Yeshua would remain in the tomb, to arise at sundown of the regular weekly Sabbath (Saturday evening).
That was not the end of Temple worship, but it was the end of the red ribbon becoming white, signaling the end of Yehova’s sanction of the sacrifice.
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204 responses. Who’d a thunk it.
$1600 would have been pretty cheap tuition ;-)
No, I’m not a Seventh Day Adventist :o)
I realize there’s controversies amongst Christians about the relationship between the OT and the NT. The OT is obviously not abrogated or rendered void, but all aspects of the Law are not carried forward.
I’ve heard it explained that there are 3 types of OT law: moral, ceremonial, and practical (health and safety rules). On that account, only the moral can be held to constitute the “Eternal Law.”
But which is which has been much discussed among the various denominations without producing quite the consensus one might wish.
So to ask your opinion: should church worship spaces be used for yoga?
I do not belong to any church or denomination, but I respect their importance to the spiritual lives of individuals and to society.
Your love for God shines in what you write you dont just quote the letter of scripture to win an argument, but write from a Spirit-filled heart and soul.
Youre an admirable representative of your particular Church and faith, and prove out the truth of Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Thank you again. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Man, is that ever true.
I have often thought the same.
Face-to-face would help. And maybe two glasses and a pitcher of beer?
(Muffins and coffee you can stand the carbs!!)
Amen.
Yeah, looks like we see this similarly.
So to ask your opinion: should church worship spaces be used for yoga?
Exactly. I actually do meet up with people from various forums from time to time. It’s very enlightening.
You are a lapsed Christian, which helps to explain your defense of the moral degenerate Hugh Hefner. You must repent and seek God’s forgiveness in order to rescue your soul.
i am politely going to ask u once to go away. Do not contact me again, whatsoever, for any reason. Ever. thank you, and have a good day.
Fine. Then stop replying to me with your sick defense of the moral degenerate Hugh Hefner. And you call yourself a Christian?
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