Christians and Yoga

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Tintin

Guest
#21
I believe God has ownership of our body and any physical excercises therein. I don't practise yoga but I think the dangers are in the spiritual side of things - trying to be your own God by emptying your mind of everything. As Christians our form of meditation is different, we are to focus purely on our Triune God and his Kingdom. One opens you to spiritual attack, the other protects against it. I believe you can do the physical side of yoga but you'd have to be discerning and prayerful. Same idea applies to marital arts.
 
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AmmiAmmiel

Guest
#22
I believe God has ownership of our body and any physical excercises therein. I don't practise yoga but I think the dangers are in the spiritual side of things - trying to be your own God by emptying your mind of everything. As Christians our form of meditation is different, we are to focus purely on our Triune God and his Kingdom. One opens you to spiritual attack, the other protects against it. I believe you can do the physical side of yoga but you'd have to be discerning and prayerful. Same idea applies to marital arts.
I am discerning and prayerful, and God has convinced me that I should not practice such activities because they make Him jealous.
 

leelee

Senior Member
Sep 5, 2011
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#23
I understand your concern I just don't agree with you. but since its half 1 in the morning I am going to sleep
 
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MissCris

Guest
#24
I believe God has ownership of our body and any physical excercises therein. I don't practise yoga but I think the dangers are in the spiritual side of things - trying to be your own God by emptying your mind of everything. As Christians our form of meditation is different, we are to focus purely on our Triune God and his Kingdom. One opens you to spiritual attack, the other protects against it. I believe you can do the physical side of yoga but you'd have to be discerning and prayerful. Same idea applies to marital arts.
Wait, martial arts too? Ok, now I feel like I live in a bubble, but what's wrong with martial arts?
 
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Tintin

Guest
#25
Martial arts definitely have a dark spiritual side. It's Eastern Mysticism. You know, the belief of CHI - that there's an energy/life force flowing through the human body from the universe (god is everything) and that it just needs to be tapped into.
 
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May 9, 2012
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#26
Wait, martial arts too? Ok, now I feel like I live in a bubble, but what's wrong with martial arts?
He's quoting martial arts like Kung Fu, Karate, and other similar to it because of their association with other Chinese religions. It all depends on your state of mind personally. If you feel convicted you can do it, then you can do so. If you feel convicted not to do it, then don't. I can say the same things about tattoos and bodily piercings, and the fur tree (hence why some Christians don't celebrate Christmas). Those were used to worship other gods...along with cutting hair. The same can go with shaving as well. But as Christians, we don't call them evil. The original roots for Christmas and Easter are rooted in pagan traditions. But we have Christianized them and now they are okay. I can go on and on about legalism within the church but I choose not to.
 
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OceanGrl

Guest
#27
You're not understanding my concern,.. I know several people who used to practice Yoga and then became aware of the true nature of it , ceased of their participation in it because they felt conviction from the Holy Spirit. Explain this to me,..
I think it's up to the individual. There are certain things that some may be convicted of while others aren't, those who are convicted of this and do it are sinning while those who are not and do it are not sinning.
 
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Tintin

Guest
#28
JesusChica, as with yoga, I believe martial arts can be done without the spiritual angle. It just needs to be done prayerfully.
 
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AmmiAmmiel

Guest
#29
I think it's up to the individual. There are certain things that some may be convicted of while others aren't, those who are convicted of this and do it are sinning while those who are not and do it are not sinning.
I think that whether or not God convicts someone of it isn't the matter. Why would He convict one believer of sin and not the other?
 
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Ugly

Guest
#30
I think that whether or not God convicts someone of it isn't the matter. Why would He convict one believer of sin and not the other?
Actually, some things are a sin for one person and not to another. Paul uses the example of eating meat. Paul says if you think its wrong to eat meat, and you eat it, you have sinned. But if you think its ok to eat meat, and eat it, its not a sin. So not all sins are specifically called out in the bible. Peoples own conscience also can direct them.
Though, personally, in this case, i am not big on the idea of Christians doing yoga.
 
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AmmiAmmiel

Guest
#31
Actually, some things are a sin for one person and not to another. Paul uses the example of eating meat. Paul says if you think its wrong to eat meat, and you eat it, you have sinned. But if you think its ok to eat meat, and eat it, its not a sin. So not all sins are specifically called out in the bible. Peoples own conscience also can direct them.
Though, personally, in this case, i am not big on the idea of Christians doing yoga.
I agree. But do you see what's wrong with Christians doing Yoga?
 
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HelenTn

Guest
#32
Nothing wrong with yoga/CHI/martialarts, only the person who practicing its in which form of mind that make it a main concern.
 
May 9, 2012
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#33
Cows are gods in the nation of India...but you eat beef don't you?
 
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AmmiAmmiel

Guest
#34
Cows are gods in the nation of India...but you eat beef don't you?
Oh my goodness,.. You don't understand the point I'm making. I guess it's irrelevant now,.. Just understand that I have reason to believe Yoga in and of itself is Pagan worship and therefore should not be practiced by Chritians. The topic is Yoga, not cows.
 
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Wood-Note

Guest
#35
Romans 14:1-8

14 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.