Yoga Warning

[Hall7]

So, is there a Christian way to stretch, breathe or protect themselves?

Lol we must breath carefully very carefully...

[RustyAngeL]

Question: "Is it right for a Christian to be involved in martial arts?"

Answer:It is stated by one of the founders of martial arts, Gichin Funakoshi, “The mind and technique become one in true karate.” By polishing our karate practice, he believes, we are polishing our own spirit or our own mentality. Karate is a system that can be considered a “way of life,” merging the spiritual and physical sides of our human existence. A Christian involved in martial arts should have a difficult time finding comfort in the roots of the martial arts. As seen above, they focus much attention on the physical development (which is not a bad thing), but also combine the training with Buddhist or Zen philosophy.

What does the Bible say about the mind? First of all, the heart is “desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). In the Scriptures, the heart and mind are often considered to be the same thing. Since our hearts and our minds are wicked, we are not able to think clearly about our spiritual situation, and therefore unable to “polish” our own spirits as karate claims it is able to do. We are in need of a Savior to clean our hearts, and develop within us a new spirit.Titus 1:15gives us insight into the mind of the unbeliever: “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.” The philosophies contained in Buddhism, as well as most all of the religions of the world, are developed by flawed men with defiled minds. They do not offer advice suitable for Christians to follow.

The Scriptures teach us what we are to do with our minds. We are not to conform our thinking to the world’s way of thinking but “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2;Ephesians 4:23). The picture inRomans 12:2is like that of a mold we use for making cakes. The batter is placed inside the cake mold, and when the baking is complete, out comes the cake in the same shape as the mold. Our minds are not to be shaped by the world’s mold. We are to set our minds on the things above, not on the things that are on earth (Colossians 3:2). We should train our minds in how to serve the Lord and please Him in all that we do.

While the physical side of martial arts is probably a good form of exercise, and many Christians do participate in martial arts, it may be a dangerous activity to allow the mind to become influenced by the philosophies associated with karate and all other forms of the martial arts. The false religious overtones of Buddhism are there whether they are expressed verbally or not. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to separate the philosophies from the activity, and therefore it would be wise for the Christian to use much caution before participating in this kind of activity.

 

http://www.gotquestions.org/martial-arts-Christian.html

I don't think there is anything wrong with a Christian being involved in the Martial Arts.  Chuck Norris is one in only a handful that holds a 10th degree black belt.  He is a solid Christian.  I think where the concern comes in is the mindset of Yoga, it involves chanting and in reality worshiping another God.  We just need to stay clear of all of it if we are believers.

[Guest shiloh357]

Actually Christian worship traditions at Christmas are not rooted in paganism.   There are pagan winter solstice practices but they were not worship, such as the mistletoe.    Kissing under the mistletoe is a modern tradition, not associated with Christianity at all.

 

Easter is determined by the first Sunday after the full moon. It has nothing to do with pagan festivals, as even Jewish holidays given by God are determined by the moon.

 

Christmas and Easter were an attempt by the early church to replace pagan festivals.  Even today, missionaries in other countries like Japan try to provide Christian holidays on the same days as pagan holidays  to keep new converts from going back to those old pagan holidays. 

 

Easter is derived from the name, "eostre," which is the direction the sun rises.  It has been incorrectly linked to the name, Ishtar. 

 

There is a lot of misinformation out there about the origins of our Christian traditions and many people have simply bought it all, hook, line, and sinker.

[RustyAngeL]

My question Alex is are you a believer in Jesus, are you a Christian?

[OneLight]

How about just using traditional, stretching, exercise and self-defense tactics?

 

A lot of what is in yoga is natural stretching techniques.  I use breathing in both martial arts, when I use to compete, and in climbing.  There is nothing wrong in any of it, as long as you leave the spiritual stuff out.  Why throw the baby our with the bath water???

[Alex Summers]

Actually Christian worship traditions at Christmas are not rooted in paganism. There are pagan winter solstice practices but they were not worship, such as the mistletoe. Kissing under the mistletoe is a modern tradition, not associated with Christianity at all.

Easter is determined by the first Sunday after the full moon. It has nothing to do with pagan festivals, as even Jewish holidays given by God are determined by the moon.

Christmas and Easter were an attempt by the early church to replace pagan festivals. Even today, missionaries in other countries like Japan try to provide Christian holidays on the same days as pagan holidays to keep new converts from going back to those old pagan holidays.

Easter is derived from the name, "eostre," which is the direction the sun rises. It has been incorrectly linked to the name, Ishtar.

There is a lot of misinformation out there about the origins of our Christian traditions and many people have simply bought it all, hook, line, and sinker.

There seems to be lot of misinformation being bought in this thread.

[Hall7]

I agree with Onelight about some types of martial arts but not all are ok spiritually such as Chi Kong, I Chuan and Tai Chi.

[Alex Summers]

My question Alex is are you a believer in Jesus, are you a Christian?

Yes I am, thank you for asking. Been a believer in Jesus and a follower of him for more than a decade now.

I also happen to do yoga and have a brown belt in Judo, neither of which has been an issue with my faith at all.

[Guest shiloh357]

The test of whether or  not we should engage in questionable practices linked to pagan worship isn't necessarily how it affects us.  The issue is holiness.  Is it pleasing to the Lord?   Simply because I am not experiencing an adverse effects, doesn't mean that God is pleased with it.  That should be the guiding principle in these matters.

 

It goes back to my analogy of having dinner with a married woman who is not your wife.   You could probably do it and nothing bad happen, no marital infidelity, no flirting or whatever, but how does it make it the spouse feel?   Does it please the spouse for his wife to be having dinner with another man?  Same goes for a woman having dinner with another married man.  His wife will not be pleased even if he can do it without being romantically aroused. 

 

Same with our God who is a jealous God and would not be pleased with us spending time with things that are meant to be used in the worship of other gods.

[OakWood]

Now Karate is bad?

It seems people are looking for the boogie man under every stone.

 

Karate is not bad, nor is Kung fu or any other oriental martial art. They have scientific designs that are useful in combat. What is bad are the rituals, meditations, philosophies, and traditions associated with them. I'm not talking about superficial things such as the names of different kata, or the traditions of what you wear, or the etiquette that you are meant to observe in class, I'm talking about the deeper stuff.