Is Yoga acceptable for Christians?

[Guest Nicole]

Is Yoga acceptable for Christians? 

[JaniceM]

WT 08/01/2002 - Yoga—Just an Exercise or Something More?

 

The Background of Yoga

The origin of the word “yoga” is related to that of the English word “yoke.” It can mean to join or yoke together or to bring under a yoke, to harness or control. To a Hindu, yoga is a technique or a discipline that leads to union with a great supernatural force or spirit. It has been described as “the yoking of all the powers of body, mind and soul to God.”

How far back in history can yoga be traced? Figures of people seated in various yoga positions appear on seals found in the Indus Valley, in present-day Pakistan. The Indus Valley civilization is dated by archaeologists to between the third and the second millenniums B.C.E., very close in time to the Mesopotamian culture. Artifacts from both areas portray a man, representing a deity, crowned with animal horns and surrounded by animals, reminiscent of Nimrod, the “mighty hunter.” (Genesis 10:8, 9) The Hindus claim that the figures sitting in yoga positions are images of the god Siva, lord of the animals and lord of yoga, who is often worshiped through the lingam, a phallic symbol. Thus, the book Hindu World calls yoga “a code of ascetic practices, mainly pre-Aryan in origin, containing relics of many primitive conceptions and observances.”

The methods of yoga were at first handed down orally. Then they were put into detailed, written form by the Indian yogic sage Patañjali as the Yoga Sutra, which remains the basic instruction book of yoga. According to Patañjali, yoga is “a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.” From its inception until the present time, yoga has been an integral part of Eastern religions, now particularly Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Some practicers of yoga believe that it will lead them to attain moksha, or liberation, through a merging with an all-pervading spirit.
So once again we ask: ‘Can yoga be practiced simply as a physical exercise to develop a healthy body and a relaxed mind, without any involvement with religion?’ In view of its background, the answer would have to be no.

Where Can Yoga Take You?

The objective of yoga as a discipline is to lead a person to the spiritual experience of being “yoked” to or merged with a superhuman spirit. But which spirit would that be?

In Hindu World, author Benjamin Walker says of yoga: “It may have been an early system of magical ritualism, and yoga still retains in its meaning an overtone of occultism and sorcery.” Hindu philosophers admit that the practice of yoga can give supernatural powers, even though they usually claim that this is not the ultimate goal of yoga. For example, in the book Indian Philosophy, former president of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, says of the yogi that “control of the body through postures results in an indifference to the extremes of heat and cold. . . . The yogin can see and hear at a distance . . . Transmission of thought from one individual to another without the intervention of the normal communicating mechanisms is quite possible. . . . The yogi can make his body invisible.”

The image of a yogi sleeping on a bed of nails or walking on hot coals may appear to be a hoax to some and a joke to others. But these are common occurrences in India, as is the practice of standing on one leg while staring directly at the sun for hours and breath control that allows a person to be buried in sand for long periods of time. In June 1995, The Times of India reported that a three-and-a-half-year-old girl lay in a trance as a car weighing more than 1,600 pounds [750 kg] was allowed to run over her abdomen. To the amazement of the crowd, when she awoke she was totally unharmed. The report added: “It was sheer yogic power.”

Without a doubt, no normal human is capable of performing any of these tasks. Hence, a Christian must ask: Of what are these feats an indication? Are they from Jehovah God, “the Most High over all the earth,” or are they from some other source? (Psalm 83:18) The Bible is clear on this point. When the Israelites were on the verge of entering the Promised Land, which was occupied by the Canaanites, Jehovah told the sons of Israel through Moses: “You must not learn to do according to the detestable things of those nations.” What “detestable things”? Moses warned against “anyone who employs divination, a practicer of magic or anyone who looks for omens or a sorcerer.” (Deuteronomy 18:9, 10) These things are detestable to God because they are works of the demons and of the fallen flesh.—Galatians 5:19-21.

Not a Choice for Christians

Whatever health instructors may say to the contrary, yoga does not stop with physical exercises. The book Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies relates the experiences of two yoga novitiates who were under the guidance of a guru. One is quoted as saying: “I made superhuman efforts to hold my breath as long as possible, and only breathed when I was on the point of fainting. . . . One day, at high noon, I thought I saw a bright moon, which seemed to move and sway from side to side. Another time I imagined myself enveloped in thick darkness at midday. My director . . . was greatly pleased when I mentioned these visions to him. . . . The time was not far distant, he assured me, when I should experience much more surprising results from my penance.” The second man relates: “He obliged me to stare at the sky every day without blinking my eyes or changing my position. . . . Sometimes I thought I saw sparks of fire in the air; at others I seemed to see fiery globes and other meteors. My teacher was much pleased with the success of my efforts.”

The strange sights were evidently what the gurus felt were proper results along the way to the true aim of yogic exercises. Yes, the ultimate goal of yoga is moksha, explained as the merging with some impersonal great spirit. It is described as “the (intentional) stopping of the spontaneous activity of the mind stuff.” This is clearly contrary to the goal set out for Christians, who are given the admonition: “Present your bodies a sacrifice living, holy, acceptable to God, a sacred service with your power of reason. And quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”—Romans 12:1, 2.

The choice of what physical exercise to pursue is a personal one. Christians, however, would not allow anything—be it bodily training, eating, drinking, clothing, entertainment, or something else—to mar their relationship with Jehovah God. (1 Corinthians 10:31) For those exercising simply for the sake of their health, there are many avenues available that do not involve exposure to the dangers of spiritism and occultism. By keeping clear of practices and beliefs that are rooted in false religion, we may look forward to God’s blessing of a righteous new system of things in which we can enjoy perfect health in body and mind for an eternity.—2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:3, 4.

[Shiwiii]

Give me a break   bending your body to its capacity and getting a work out, however that may entail is what our bodies were designed for.  If people are looking for a direction from men, then they will get it, and be controlled.  Relax,  take it for exercise and enjoy it. If your mind is taking you outside of God, then yeah, that's not cool.  But if you are doing something that you enjoy for a workout,  what scripture disallows this? 

[JaniceM]

 

Doing something enjoyable may not always be pleasing to God . . .  

(Jeremiah 10:1-3) Hear the word that Jehovah has spoken against YOU people, O house of Israel. 2 This is what Jehovah has said: “Do not learn the way of the nations at all, . . . 3 For the customs of the peoples are just an exhalation, because it is a mere tree out of the forest that one has cut down, the work of the hands of the craftsman with the billhook. 4 With silver and with gold one makes it pretty. With nails and with hammers they fasten them down, that none may reel.  (NWT)

 

Romans 12:¹And so, dear brothers and sisters,* I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.* ²Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (NLT)

 

(Acts 15:29) to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. If YOU carefully keep yourselves from these things, YOU will prosper. Good health to YOU!”  (NWT)

[Shiwiii]

49 minutes ago, JaniceM said:

Doing something enjoyable may not always be pleasing to God . . .  

 

Right, it may not be unpleasant either. 

1 Timothy 4:4 "  For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer."

[JaniceM]

 

53 minutes ago, Shiwiii said:

 

Right, it may not be unpleasant either. 

1 Timothy 4:4 "  For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer."

Men created yoga.  God created trees, but apparently he didn't want his people decorating them like the nations around them just because it was enjoyable.

[Shiwiii]

yes, men created yoga and the automobile. 

 

 

1 hour ago, JaniceM said:

apparently he didn't want his people decorating them like the nations around them just because it was enjoyable.

Apparently?  how is this demonstrated? 

[JaniceM]

 

(Ecclesiastes 7:4) The heart of the wise ones is in the house of mourning, but the heart of the stupid ones is in the house of rejoicing.

 

(2 Timothy 3:4) betrayers, headstrong, puffed up [with pride], lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God,

 

(Jeremiah 10:1-3) Hear the word that Jehovah has spoken against YOU people, O house of Israel. 2 This is what Jehovah has said: “Do not learn the way of the nations at all, . . . 3 For the customs of the peoples are just an exhalation, because it is a mere tree out of the forest that one has cut down, the work of the hands of the craftsman with the billhook. 4 With silver and with gold one makes it pretty. With nails and with hammers they fasten them down, that none may reel . . . 

8 And at one and the same time they prove to be unreasoning and stupid. A tree is a mere exhortation of vanities. 9 Silver beaten into plates is what is brought in even from Tar′shish, and gold from U′phaz, the workmanship of a craftsman and of the hands of a metalworker; their clothing is blue thread and wool dyed reddish purple. They are all the workmanship of skilled people. 10 But Jehovah is in truth God . . .

23 I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step. 24 Correct me, O Jehovah, however with judgment; not in your anger, that you may not reduce me to nothing. 25 Pour out your rage upon the nations who have ignored you, and upon the families who have not called even upon your name.  (NWT)

[Shiwiii]

You do realize that the whole chapter of Jeremiah 10 is about the idols that people fashioned out of wood, silver and gold. This chapter is talking about how foolish these idols are that men have made, these gods of wood that "cannot speak and must be carried because they cannot walk"(verse 5) We are not to fear them because they will perish (verse 11). Verse 14 and 15 make fun of these "every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; for his molten images are deceitful, and there is no breath in them. 15 They are worthless, a work of mockery..." 

This has nothing to do with decorating a tree, it has more to do with fashioning an idol from it. 

[JaniceM]

 

According to Jeremiah, the pagan nations were decorating trees with gold and silver. 

(Jeremiah 10:1-3) Hear the word that Jehovah has spoken against YOU people, O house of Israel. 2 This is what Jehovah has said: “Do not learn the way of the nations at all, . . . 3 For the customs of the peoples are just an exhalation, because it is a mere tree out of the forest that one has cut down, the work of the hands of the craftsman with the billhook. 4 With silver and with gold one makes it pretty. With nails and with hammers they fasten them down, that none may reel . . .  

 

The Jews throughout their history adopted many of these customs which God disapproved of.  Many of these customs are still being practiced today and incorporated into Christendom and the world as celebrations to God.  We are told, or at least I have been told by relatives, it's just for fun and God doesn't mind people having fun.  However, God was not pleased with such festivities, and mixing of pagan ways with true worship of him.

 

Amos 5:21  I have hated, I have rejected YOUR festivals, and I shall not enjoy the smell of YOUR solemn assemblies. 22  But if YOU people offer up to me whole burnt offerings, even in YOUR gift offerings I shall find no pleasure, and on YOUR communion sacrifices of fatlings I shall not look. 23  Remove from me the turmoil of your songs; and the melodious sound of your stringed instruments may I not hear. 24  And let justice roll forth just like waters, and righteousness like a constantly flowing torrent. 25  Was it sacrifices and gift offerings that YOU people brought near to me in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? 26  And YOU will certainly carry Sakkuth YOUR king and Kaiwan, YOUR images, the star of YOUR god, whom YOU made for yourselves. 27  And I will cause YOU to go into exile beyond Damascus,’ he whose name is Jehovah the God of armies has said.”

[Shiwiii]

I've already addressed Jeremiah 10, and it clearly speaks of producing idols. You've given no further scripture to support your interpretation. Amos also doesn't address the decorating of trees. You can assume that the pagans did so, but it just isn't in the scriptures.  The scriptures spoke of making idols. You are using a strawman argument at this point.

[JaniceM]

 

Even a strawman is easily drawn with elementary things . . .

Jer 10:4 3 For the customs of the peoples are just an exhalation, because it is a mere tree out of the forest that one has cut down, the work of the hands of the craftsman with the billhook. 4 With silver and with gold one makes it pretty.

"Makes it pretty" means decorating the tree for religious worship or spiritistic purposes.  These were customs God disapproved of and were not to be adopted by his people.