“When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ’How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ’Let us go after other gods’–which you have not known–’and let us serve them, ’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 12:29 -13:3
More Than Yoga
God’s admonition to His church is exceedingly clear; leave the false religions alone–don’t listen, don’t inquire, and don’t be curious. Is our Father in Heaven envious of these false gods? No, He is jealous for us. In the same way a dad is jealous for his daughter; wanting only the best for her, our Lord is jealous for His bride wanting only the best for us. God knows there is a very present danger when we commence poking around in realms we ought not to be. Quite frankly, how non-believers choose to worship their false gods is none of our business.
What does that have to do with yoga? Consider that ‘yoga‘ is a Sanskrit word that means to join with (in this case, the false god named Brahman) and the mantras that yoga instructors have followers chant are the names of Hindu gods and many are designed to call them forth. Sadly a large percentage of those who get involved with yoga also get involved with Hinduism, New Age religion and the occult.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…1 Peter 3:15
Study His Word
Every moment that we spend investigating the ways of another religion, we could be spending in God’s word. There is of course the argument that suggests that by knowing more about these other beliefs we can become better witnesses for Jesus. It’s a ridiculous claim. That’s like saying Tiger Woods can teach Michael Phelps how to golf if he first learns how to swim.
I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. I have not departed from Your judgments, For You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. Psalm 119:101-105
And there you have it, ‘Hate every false way.’
It’s not a matter of intolerance or narrow-mindedness; it’s a matter of defense. God’s Word is a lamp for our feet and every other way only serves to diffuse that light. It’s my testimony that before I knew Jesus I packed my head with the refuse of this world and at this moment there is precious little space left, therefore I will choose wisely the things I allow to take up residence therein. God’s counsel is wise counsel—drop the yoga and any other practice that is ungodly in its design.
These articles may or may not relate:
- Jehovah’s Witnesses – Information and Links (raymondjclements.wordpress.com)
- Rejecting Christian theism because it’s just too much work (winteryknight.wordpress.com)
- The Laws of Spiritual Development (newecopsychology.wordpress.com)
- More Random thoughts on Grief (sueannporter.wordpress.com)
- The Concept of the Church in Ephesians (mgriffinrobert.com)
He Dwells -- The B'log in My Eye 
Have to start a new tread to respond to darrenmain…
Two things, Darren. First, There’s only one God, and the foundational basis for yoga is a false god (gods) therefore, yoga is very, very bad. That’s not my opinion, that’s the Bible, and the reason I posted the Bible verses I did. In other words, they are not random. Read over each Bible verse and see how it applies.
Second, you are not a Christian and therefore are unqualified to address what a Christian is or what a Christian should do. Jesus is the Christian’s role model, and regarding false religion He said, “See that no one leads you astray,” and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Yoga is not the way, not the truth, and not the life. It exists solely to lead people away to destruction.
“People who are truly secure with their own spirituality,” while rejecting Jesus Christ, will spend eternity in hell, unless of course they repent. That’s also Biblical truth (and not an opinion). I understand that these things seem harsh to you, but I share them in love, ESPECIALLY the Bible verses, so you will see your need for a Savior.
I too am happy (and blessed) to continue this conversation, but I cannot cease from drawing upon the Bible. I must continue to stress that the things I’m sharing with you are not worldly (or personal) opinions, but fundamental Biblical truth.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
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Gentlemen, while at church today, I as thinking about this post, Dave, Darren, and Yoga. I even thought about Yogi Bear, the old cartoon, and wondered if the name had any connection to yoga. Anyway, the following came to me and I scribbled it down. I thought I’d share it with you both:
The Fivefold Path of Yoga (in acronyms)
1. Yeast Of Godless Auras
2. You Open Gates Amiss
3. Yelling Over Good Advice
4. You Obstruct God’s Authority
5. You Obey Going Astray
May the Lord have mercy on us all.
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🙂
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It has been my experience that there are no “non-sequiters” in the Word of God. The word says that it is “living and active” and that “it does not return empty” when it is shared…while it is true men may give and take the word out of context…the word is alive and will still accomplish its task in the souls of men. By the way, here is a powerful “non-sequiter” , to coin a phrase:
“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “ If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:31-32
Darren wrote:
(My responses in parentheses)
darrenmain
1. You assume an awful lot about me and my relationship to Jesus.
(It is written: “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks…and “you will know a prophet by his fruit.” You leave no room for assumptions by your words.)
2. I’m not aware of any Bible passage that mentions yoga at all.
(The Bible doesn’t mention heroin either and you don’t want to mess with that junk. We are adults, because something isn’t mentioned by name doesn’t diqualofy the spirirt behind determining what God means.)
3. There scores of Bible passages that tell us to go within (meditation) and honor the body as a temple (yoga)
(We are what we eat. The Bible instructs us to meditate and abide in God’s word and believe; and that HE will fill us…When we fill ourselves with destructive heresies, our hearts are deceived and become a garbage dump of the doctrines of demons…like what happened to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3)
Be blessed Darren…press into the good of Jesus Christ and be born again!
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Diagnosis: I think what we have here is a classic case of “Genesis 3:1-itis”.
regarding the The Temptation and Fall of Man…as it is written:
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” -Genesis 3:1
Prognosis: Read Genesis Chapeter 3 and call on the Lord in the morning.
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I wish you the best my friend. . . .
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May I recommend reading “Death of a Guru” by Rabi R. Maharaj…
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Thanks Frank!
http://www.amazon.com/Death-Guru-Remarkable-Story-Search/dp/0890814341
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Hey Dave,
While I appreciate your passion, your facts about yoga are not correct. Yoga does indeed mean ‘union’ and it is a Sanskrit word but it has nothing to do with Hinduism per se. There are Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, tantric, classical and Ayurvedic branches of yoga in ancient India. Most modern yogis here in the west couldn’t tell you the first thing about Bhraman or any other Hindu deity for that matter and most Hindus I know find it offensive that some yoga teachers have commercialized their deities. In fact, most western yogis could not tell you the difference between Hindu and Buddhist theology.
As a yoga teacher of over 25 years, I can tell you that I have people of every faith and many atheists and agnostics that attend my class and not once have I asked them to change their beliefs, go to a different church or believe in God at all let alone offer devotion to Bhraman or any other deity.
Most take yoga for the physical benefits or for stress management, others to quiet the mind or to deal with an injury or medical condition. While I’m personally one who feels a deep spiritual connection when practicing yoga, I am not Hindu in any sense of the word.
Given your strong feelings about this subject, I just wanted you to be clear on the facts. I don’t expect you to run out and buy a yoga mat, but since you are so fond quoting the Bible, I knew you would want to avoid bearing false witness against your yogi neighbors. (Exodus 20:16)
Peace,
Darren
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Darren, you can hardly quote Exodus 20:16, when you have thoroughly chosen to dismiss all the Bible Scripture I posted in the blog. You wrote of you clients “Not once have I asked them to change their beliefs,” which indicates to me that you are not a follower of Jesus Christ. My blog is written to the Christian for the most part.
People who practice yoga are playing with fire, regardless if they maintain the religious elements or remove them. To those who say they just enjoy the stretching aspect I say, “Then just stretch and leave the yoga alone.”
Now the truth of the matter, Darren, is I love you enough to tell you the truth. You are harming yourself and potentially harming others. With all the love I can muster in this format I implore you to turn away from yoga and turn to Jesus Christ. Whatever ‘deep spiritual connection’ you’re experiencing in yoga is temporary at best. The things you seek are found in the atoning blood of Jesus, His healing stripes, His finished work on the cross, and the proof of His resurrection.
The Bible is very clear, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24)
Choose Jesus.
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I’m not going to debate your beliefs. If they are working for you, then I am truly happy for you. All I can tell you is that you are misrepresenting what yoga is and the people who practice it. If you don’t want to believe me, that is up to you. If you want to misquote the Bible, that is also up to you.
If you believe that misrepresenting others is in keeping with what Jesus taught or the Ten Commandments, or the Bible as a whole, then continue to make inaccurate statements about others.
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My only concern is to represent JESUS well. Yoga is just another tool of satan and he uses it to lead people to their eternal death. Darren, unless you turn away from it, you too will be doomed. There is no nice way to say it. You’re on the edge of a volcano and are about to plummet. Turn and walk away while you still are able. These are not my opinions, they are God’s truth. Go back to the meat of the blog (the Holy Scripture I quoted) and ask Jesus to reveal Himself in truth. If you are sincere in heart, He will be faithful to show you the truth. Jesus wants to break the bond of sin in your life TODAY! Take Him up on His free offer while you still have breath in your lungs.
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If you think you are representing Jesus well by making false claims about others than you have a very distorted view of what Jesus taught.
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Since you don’t know Jesus, you would not know if I represent Him well. As I said previously, it’s God’s word that says yoga (and similar) are evil, not me. I just happen to agree with Jesus. In other words, this isn’t an ‘opinion’ of mine. Please repent and turn to Jesus.
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1. You assume an awful lot about me and my relationship to Jesus.
2. I’m not aware of any Bible passage that mentions yoga at all.
3. There scores of Bible passages that tell us to go within (meditation) and honor the body as a temple (yoga)
Personally I don’t have any desire to change your point of view and it really doesn’t bother me what you think of my relationship to Jesus, God or the Bible. My point remains simple. Spreading falsehoods about others is not a Christian thing to do (or Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or even acceptable in Kindergarten)
You can justify your post all you want and you can keep tossing out non sequitur Bible verses till the cows come home, but that doesn’t make what you are doing in any way noble, intelligent or in keeping with the message that Jesus demonstrated.
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What you claim are falsehoods are in reality the TRUTH found in Scripture. The truth is you need to READ the Bible verses that I am posting.
“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.” (Isaiah 45:5-6)
“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5)
“There is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” (1 Corinthians 8:6)
“When you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.” (Galatians 4:8)
“You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)
“Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.” (Exodus 23:13)
“Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.” (2 John 1:9)
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits” (1 Timothy 4:1)
“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” (2 John 1:10-11)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” (Mark 13:5-6)
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (John 3:16-19)
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2)
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:2-7)
I really sense this last verse is somehow applicable to you; you have a form of godliness, some taken from yoga, some taken from experiences at church, and some thrown in by yourself that have been steeped in your own selfish desires.
I imagine you’ve dabbled with drugs and alcohol, but found those to be temporary solutions. You probably were raised Catholic, and turned-off by the incessant guilt trip. Your dad was likely a workaholic and didn’t do a lot of dad-things with you. Like all boys, you had a desire to please your dad, but he either was not around to be ‘pleased’ or wasn’t interested in whatever it was you were doing. In many cases, that often leads to an unexplainable desire to please other men. Unable to cope with the emotional burden of all these bad choices, some try suicide. Of course when you throw all that Catholic-guilt on top of that, you’re left with a choice to disdain your behavior, or disdain the church and/or the God of the church. This disdain you have (although you say you haven’t any) is based on the fact that you were mistaught by some well-meaning Christians (like a mom) who really only wanted the best for you.
Here’s the truth about guilt: we’re all guilty.
There’s no sense in being beat up on a daily basis, because God sent His Son, Jesus to deal with our guilt. What Jesus did on the cross takes away all our guilt and all our shame. If we believe it and receive it, we are saved and the burden of guilt is removed. Guilt was never meant to be a hammer, but a road sign pointing us to the solution found in Christ Jesus.
I’m sorry if you have had any of these experiences (or similar experiences). I am not a mind reader, but I know what the Bible says about people: we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. I also know that the Catholic church has done much in the way of damaging people. My own pastor was raised Catholic and the stories are horrific. When someone implies that they have little use for God, there’s a pretty good chance the Catholic church had a role in that.
You say you are not interested in changing me or my beliefs, but that’s where you and I are different. I love you enough to want to get you off the destructive path you’re on and get you onto the right path; the one that leads to Heaven.
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Great verses. God’s will be done…
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What is most sad about this chain of posts is that neither of you have addressed my point about making false statements about others. You may think you have found Jesus, but in my experience, people who are truly secure with their own spirituality don’t need to spread misinform about others.
Both of you seem to treat the Bible like a crazy eight ball that you can shake up, find a random quote and then attempt to find meaning in that quote rather than reading the whole text, in context, with a deep appreciation for the audience for which the passage was written and the original language in which it was composed.
I’m not suggesting that you embrace yoga, I’m simply suggesting that you make your case without using misinformation. I’m sure that nothing I have said here will result in either of you doing anything by vomiting out random Bible passages, but let’s be clear—there is nothing Christian about what you are doing and if you really believe one needs to accept Jesus, you ought to consider the fact that you don’t know him half as well as you think. Given your beliefs (not mine) about knowing Jesus to enter the Kingdom, I would be very nervous if I were you.
Just a thought. . . .
I’m happy to continue this conversation if you want to address my central point about not not bearing false witness, but if you simply want to try and confuse the issue with unrelated Bible passages, then I have much better things to do.
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Thank you for your comments. Your time and thoughts are appreciated by me.I believe there has been a focus on making true statements based on God’s word as a warning not as a condemnation or an attack on you. So we can disagree there.
I can’t speak for Dave, but I know I’m a sinner saved by grace, and I can get in God’s way and fall short…so forgive me for any offense caused by my clumsiness. But I cannot be ashamed of the good news shared about Jesus and there are solid scriptures presented here that stand on their own as a witness. So that’s not sad, that’s good. Hope springs forth.
Please read “Death of a Guru” as suggested. I really think you will find it fascinating and enlightening. Especially regrading yoga and it’s roots. You’ll devour it in a day or two. Thanks Darren.
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What a great reply Frank! I had a feeling you were a cool guy and you just confirmed that. I haven’t read Death of a Guru, but I plan to. I have long had an issue with many gurus and have spoken and written about it quite publicly.
My personal feeling is that when spiritual teachers like so many gurus and a lot of priests and ministers abuse their power and go on big ego trips, they do tremendous harm, so my interest in that book is very strong.
You and I would no doubt disagree on a lot of things, but I do believe your heart is in the right place and that you are a good man. I’m glad to know you are in the world!
Darren
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Christian yoga? Is that anything like Hindu compassion, Muslim forgiveness, Jewish repentence, Catholic grace, Athiestic thanksgiving, Gay marriage or A woman’s right to choose? Hmmm.
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