Author Warns Christians of Yoga's "Demonic Influence"

[geniph]

Um. Well, all righty then.

Christian author Dave Hunt, co-founder of the Oregon-based ministry, The Berean Call, has written a new book called Yoga and the Body of Christ. In it, he contends that yoga is a spiritually dangerous practice designed to expose people to demonic influences.

While conducting research for the book, Hunt says he studied the roots of yoga and interviewed many people who have practiced it. As a result of his investigation, he says he has concluded that the techniques employed in yoga are not designed primarily to promote health but to put participants in a mental state similar to that of hypnosis.

The elements of yoga are sometimes adapted to meet the needs of non-religious practitioners and those of other faiths, including Christians. But Hunt insists there is no way to modify this inherently spiritual practice to make it acceptable for Christians.

Modified or not, Hunt says, yoga is a Hindu-based spiritual practice that he believes exposes those who participate in it to demonic influences. As such, he says, no form of the practice can rightly be termed "Christian yoga," as there is simply no such thing.

...and all this while, I just thought it was nice that my back never hurt when I was doing yoga every day. I didn't realize that I was thwarting the Lord's plan for me to suffer righteously.

:eyes:


link: http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/152006f.asp

[Cha]

1. They're so afraid of

being exposed as devil worshippers under the guise of Christians that they have to attack anything that moves.

[peace13]

2. Leave it to the Christians

to take something pure and simple and make it unclean. If more people did yoga we would need fewer anti-depressants and sleeping pills. That is the real problem with yoga. peace, Kim

[ismnotwasm]

3. Oh dear

Does this mean I'm going to hell?
If I get really good, I can go to hell in a lotus position...

[Warpy]

4. Oh ye of piss poor faith!

Yoga is one of the things that has kept me out of a wheelchair over the past 30 years.

If that's demonic, and if it's their god's will that I be wheelchair bound or worse, then that god isn't worth my time and neither are they.

Idiots. I know stupidity is its own reward. I just wished it worked a little faster.

[cornermouse]

5. They oppose hypnotism for the same reason.

[The Stranger]

6. The need to attack others' practices and convert or destroy others

is a sign of a sick, pathological religion.

[Sapphocrat]

7. You're all DARK-SIDED!!!!!

[Vogon_Glory]

8. The Usual Nutty Evangelical Response

I'm not surprised at this Hunt fellow's bogus claim. That's the usual claim right-wing evangelicals and fundamentalist Xians make about any of the eastern spiritual disciplines, whether it's transcendental meditation, martial arts, or yoga. Most recently I've read similar claims made about Freemasonry leading to "demonic possession."

I suspect that if you dug around in India or East Asia, you could probably find Buddhist, Hindu, or Taoist tracts saying that practicing right-wing American-style evangelical Christianity leads to unhappiness, mental illness, shortened life-span and bad karma for the next three hundred lifetimes.

After six years of Buckaroo Bush in the White House, over twelve years of right-wing Republican control of Congress, and the right-wing evangelical memes flourishing here in West Dixie, I suspect that such a hypothetical eastern author might well be right.

:crazy: :tinfoilhat:

[allalone]

10. Oh I hope so

I suspect that if you dug around in India or East Asia, you could probably find Buddhist, Hindu, or Taoist tracts saying that practicing right-wing American-style evangelical Christianity leads to unhappiness, mental illness, shortened life-span and bad karma for the next three hundred lifetimes

[allalone]

9. how do they think this stuff up?

Whenever a guy like this surfaces, it reminds me of the movie Rain from I think the 40s. It has a character Sadie Thompson that is a tramp and a minister who wants to 'save' her. Well of course what he really wants is to sin. He flips out.
Anyway, his type is what I think of when I see televangelists and guys like this.
I'm aware the language in this post is a little mangled, but I got tangled up in the sentence.

[geniph]

27. There were two versions

Joan Crawford was in the original, Rain, and Rita Hayworth was in the remake, Miss Sadie Thompson. It's from a Somerset Maugham story.

[RagAss]

11. Where's Jim Jones when we need him ??

[Minnesota Libra]

12. This kind of crap is beginning to remind me of the Salem witch hunts nt

[Fleshdancer]

13. When can we call this attitude a mental disorder?

Seriously. If you look around and everything you see is "The Devil" then isn't this a sign of failed mental health?

So far this evangelical devil list includes:

Yoga
Liberals
Teletubbies (TinkyWinky at least)
Homosexuals
Barney
the United Nations
Pagans
Catholics
Episcopalians
Presbyterians
Methodists
Hinduism
Islam
Halloween
the Easter Bunny
Santa
Hugo Chavez
NOW
Planned Parenthood
Dover, Pennsylvania
ACLU
Labor Unions

and the list goes on......
:crazy:

[geniph]

26. Silly, you forgot Feminists

Secular Humanists, Scientists, labor unions, May Day...

[sweetheart]

14. The body is a trap, if you fall for it

He's got a point in spirituality, that simply perfecting the body, however
ideal its flexibility and strength, is of little profound.

But it is really called "Hatha Yoga", a branch of RAga yoga, the yoga of
power. It is common knowledge, on the path of power, that any power
can suck you in, can trap you, and yet in life, we dance with many partners,
many powers, and each has this potential, to enlighten or enslave.

As well, other "branches" or approaches in yoga, include bhakti yoga, where
love of the divine is the only path to knowledge, or jnana yoga, where awakening
directly to immaculate consciousness, or karma yoga, awakening through service
to the truth of who you are.

If jesus, lord is a liberator, then there is no place or circumstance in existance
that is not of this eternal lord. Then there is nothing to fear, and yoga and
the body are just another thing, just another rock on the path, you can either
trip over it, become enamoured with the body and its triviality, or transcend it,
and yoga offers the rich tapestry for both, and beyond.

Hare Rama Hare Krishna
Hare Hare Kale Kale

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Heard it all before

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

16. Shiva's not afraid of Christians

What are they afraid of?

[Ladyhawk]

17. I remember believing this crap.

I've come a long way, baby. B-)

[canetoad]

18. "Dangerous Persuaders" was written in 1994

by Melbourne psychologist Louise Samways. I will summarize her main points from memory as it's a long time since I read this little gem.

-Cults, churches, religions, self-improvement courses, marketers such as Amway often use mind control techniques, ie a kind of hypnosis
-Hypnosis is not necessarily 'stare at the crystal, you are getting sleepy, sleepy.....' It can also be brought about by a heightened state of arousal
-During this state of high/low arousal, the subject often loses CRITICAL THINKING CAPABILITIES
-Medical practitioners are held accountable when they use mind control techniques, the groups above are not

So picture say, a big born again church. Singing, hugging, jumping about in raptures - a perfect case of group heightened arousal. Hypnosis if you will, but no one being held responsible for the partial trance state of the participants. In a similar fashion, the chanting, incense and liturgy of a catholic can produce a state of hypnosis.

I speak from experience, as many years ago I consulted a reputable hypnotherapist to give up smoking. When he began the process, I automatically knew the state I was expected to reach, as I use a similar relaxation technique not knowing it is actually a state of hypnosis. A funny aside is that after that I understood how to hypnotize people and using my old reprobate neighbour Wayne as guinea pig (with his full, if slightly cannabinoid approval).

In this regard, I agree with Christian author Dave Hunt of the OP, that yoga can lead to a state of hypnosis - but so can preaching, hymn singing and tongue babbling, so I call him out for being a big fat hypocrite of the worst kind.

[greenman3610]

20. actually, I believe proper yoga could help DE-hypnotize us

People think of hypnotism as the stage version with
glassy eyed zombie stares.

but look around. People everywhere are to some
degree "hypnotized", narcotized, asleep in a dream that the
culture and their parents have helped to impose
on them.
There is no guarantee that any particular church or
"spiritual Practice" will wake people up. Life itself
will eventually do that,...love may do it, grief
may do it, near death may do it, if we live long enough with
our hearts even the tiniest bit open and alive.

[Warren DeMontague]

19. That's funny. I usually try to warn Yoga practicioners of Christianity's

Demonic Influence.

Go figger.

[cally]

21. I once attended a lecture on early practices of meditation in Christianity

The lecture was at a mainstream Christian church and was how meditation played a part in early Christianity. I know this is different than yoga but the lecturer was advocating yoga as a way of reconnecting to faith. :shrug:

[KittyWampus]

22. Jesus was, in fact, a Yogi. Patanjali's Yoga Aphorisms detail what one

can accomplish through vigourous practise in joining ones Mind and Body. All of the advanced stages and capacities cited by Patanjali mirror the Miracles Jesus performed.

[Maestro]

23. Meanwhile fundies

prance around in some strange fake trance blathering crap saying they are speaking in tongues. Idiots!

[ComerPerro]

24. Isn't the Christian relgion a vehicle for putting people into a

hypnosis-like state, and then taking their money?

[midnight]

25. Just came home from my yoga class tonight.

I'm a practicing Catholic, and love my faith, and see no hindrance what so ever to my awareness. While a meditation is practiced it is a God send for the daily trials I've experience since this gang took over my country. Every day I call on Mary, Jesus, and all the angels and saints to deliver us from this hell.