Elihu's Girl

Sorry to double post but... If your spirit is faithful to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and you excersize using yoga poses... My comments are in bold within this quote... I hope this helps, felix eric Do any of you guys think that Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 apply to this discussion?

"Physical Yoga" is definitely NOT for mature christians. Are we as mature christians called to be Christ-like? If then, has Chirst or any of His disciples ever needed/resorted to "Physical Yoga" or any "physical practices/actions/lifestyles" of the "unbelievers/false religions" of their days? If they didn't, what makes you think we should? Did the early christians ever consult the ways of the "unbelievers" to keep themselves physically fit? I DON'T THINK SO! On the contrary, they taught the "unbelievers" how to live, to call, to worship and to serve the One and Only True Living God! Are we to do "Christian Yoga" just because it is "fashion" and it helps our physical bodies? Am I also to indulge myself into the "Physical Voodoo or any African Tribal Dance for their goddess" because it is good for my physical exercise? We need to "christianize" hinduism but not "hindusimize" christianity. If anyone wants to put on a NEW CLOTH, it should be the Hindus putting the CLOTH OF CHRISTIANITY, not the other way around! And that is something for mature christians only. Are you saying african dance is physical voodoo? But if I do an African dance to praise Jesus is that wrong? If I do the movements of yoga exercises without the Hindu religious aspects... that's wrong? Felix's post above says that Yoga is an anti-Christian philosophy. Can a specific movement be a philosophy? Or is the combination of a movement and a belief a philosophy? The Hindu Yoga-believers in the article up for discussion seemed to think that Yoga separated from the Hindu belief system (Christian Yoga) was not Yoga at all... Why do you think they felt this way? I'd say that when the Hindu/anti-christian philosophy of yoga is replaced by a Christian philosophy, the movements of yoga become Christian. If you do yoga chanting bible verses and praising Jesus... that's wrong?

Wonderful post! Thank you and God bless!

Can you practise the physical aspects of Yoga without the mind numbing/mind emptying aspects? I say that you can. I say that for Sarah in the article, putting her mind in neutral and chanting was what made her uncomfortable with yoga in the first place... So she took out the Hindu aspects and uses it as a way to focus on faith, focus on Christ, build faith in Christ, explore faith in Christ. This is something for mature christians only.

I think you should educate yourself on the pitfalls of yoga, qigong and auras. So you can find Christian ways to avoid them. You definitely shouldn't go into these practises blind. Be on guard. If they start to interfere with your relationship with Christ, abandon them. This goes for anything though... I agree! For people who already participate in yoga if it doesn't interfere with Christ's position of first place in your life (make sure that it doesn't) then I'd say the idea of Christian Yoga is useful to you. Now you have effective ways to put yourself on guard during yoga. Rather than chanting the Hindu phrases, you can chant bible verses etc. You have gone straight to the heart of the matter. The answer to the question comes from Christians like Susan Bordenkircher, who was uncomfortable as a Christian with the Hindu teachings of yoga but loved the physical discipline of yoga. She found a way to reject the false teachings of yoga but keep the physical discipline. The yoga scholars in the article were outraged and said Christian yoga isn't yoga at all. Well that's perfect. Sarah B. didn't want to practice yoga as it is in Hinduism anyway, she wanted to practice Christianity and exercise using the physical poses in yoga. That's great. I would say that Christian Yoga is good for Christians who really like Yoga but really don't like the Hinduism. If you're not sure, I'd say don't do it. There are very real pitfalls within Hindu Yoga and if you already know mysticism, world religions etc. may cause you to stumble in your faith you should probably stay away from Christian yoga, it may be a bridge taking you into a false religion. So be on guard. If you are a Christian for whom world religions have no appeal, if you already do yoga and it does not come between you and Christ, again I say Christian Yoga is a great resource for you to further introduce your christian beliefs into this enjoyable method of exercise. Key quotes from the article.

A lot of my secular role models have been activists or had a spirit of activism (writing about it, singing about it). I'm reading Isaiah now and in many ways the bible, Jesus has a spirit of activism. Several of his statements incite his followers to be champions of the poor, widows and bring justice to those treated unjustly. What are some of the pitfalls of activism? I know that secular activism can be very focused on this world while as Christians we should remember that Heaven is our Home. I'd just like to hear what everyone has to say about this... to help me get it together in my own mind. Hopefully some of you will understand what I'm asking... I'm not quite sure I do ... but this has been on my mind. I'm reaching a place in my faith where I am constantly being urged toward a more active faith. I'm thinking about volunteering in my community etc. I just don't want to derail into a secular ideal of activism...

Yes. Psalm 51:5, Genesis 8:21

I think it's more profitable to come together in love and the things we do agree on.

I agree. I think it's still hard sometimes to adjust to the fact that God sees a bigger picture than us... We wonder why things happen the way they do etc. It's hard to trust God sometimes... Rome was just a symptom of the bigger problem. Sin.

I just think it's important to remember that there is power in the Word of God beyond our human capabilities and the Holy Spirit can succeed where we fail. Maybe someone we confuse with a complex analysis of the bible will be motivated to ask questions about the bible in their own lives. Maybe the Spirit of God can use that experience to teach them that the bible is more complex than a bunch of tired cliches... who knows? I think it is beneficial to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit when evangelizing... When someone comes to know Christ it's not because of us, it's because of the Holy Spirit working in that person. That said praying for discernment, staying in the Word and chatting about it with other Christians is great too!

hahahaha!

Very cool. I attend a small Lutheran Church. It is Missouri Synod Lutheran... In my neighborhood. It is very small and most of the members are older people. It is the church I was brought up in... Only recently (in the last year) have I really begun to think about being actively involved with church. We've gotten a new pastor, a vacancy pastor who is on fire for Christ and so... we are really growing spiritually. It's a little hard because there aren't many people my age. I'm thinking about visiting other churches for fellowship and bible study... I love my little church and I think that we can really make a difference in the community. I sort of agree with my grandmother that you shouldn't have to pass 12 churches to get to your church. So I'm thinking of visiting some of the other churches in the community. I don't think of different denominations, different church buildings as being in competition really. I think of it more as a team effort. The more the merrier. There are things I need... so I'm not fully satisfied with my church... but then again Christ is there as much as he would be at a larger church or in a youth group... so in that sense I am satisfied...

Hmm... Maybe it was just my translation... (NLT)

What does "each of you" refer to? I thought it meant in addition to Peter's failing, each of the disciples would be tempted and would fail in various ways.

Great thread. I've learned a lot guys... I've been thinking about infant baptism off and on... so thanks!