Unclean: Churches that sponsor and host Christian Yoga

Transcription

1 Unclean: Churches that sponsor and host Christian Yoga Although we are mentioning this, we are puzzled at why any Christian would want to do yoga, especially knowing that this practice is a spiritual practice that comes from India. The very word yoga means to yoke, or to join. Who are the yoked to? We find out that the practices of yoga are conjuring up kundalini spirits, and the poses and practices are there to appease the demons that people are ignorantly calling on and worshipping. So where is the discretion? Who thought this was a good idea in the first place? O foolish Christian, who has bewitched you?

2 In this very short book, we will explore the Yoga phenomenon that is sweeping the western world. Even some churches have yoga classes now! So what, you say. Everyone has them. What you overlook, Christian, is that yoga is a form of worship, and as you worship using these poses, that poses a serious problem with the Lord Jesus Christ. I will show you in this book what the problems are and what many people are overlooking as they try and exercise using something that is more religious than not. Beware, Christian, as the things that everybody is doing are NOT the things that a disciple of Christ should be doing. What is Yoga? Let s take a look at what yoga is first. From Wikipedia: Yoga (/ˈjoʊɡə/;[1] Sanskrit, Listen) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. There is a broad variety of yoga schools, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Among the most well-known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rāja yoga. The origins of yoga have been speculated to date back to pre-vedic Indian traditions; it is mentioned in the Rigveda, but most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, in ancient India's ascetic and śramaṇa movements. The chronology of earliest texts describing yoga-practices is unclear, varyingly credited to Hindu Upanishads. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali date from the first half of the 1st millennium CE, but only gained prominence in the West in the 20th century. Hatha yoga texts emerged around the 11th century with origins in tantra. Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west, following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. Yoga in Indian traditions, however, is more than physical exercise; it has a meditative and spiritual core. One of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism is also called Yoga, which has its own epistemology and metaphysics, and is closely related to Hindu Samkhya philosophy. 2

3 Uh oh, Christian, we are already in trouble, as we see this is something the Lord warned against. Did you catch that yoga has a meditative and a spiritual core? Let s see what metaphysics means: adjective 1. relating to or concerned with metaphysics 2. (of a statement or theory) having the form of an empirical hypothesis, but in fact immune from empirical testing and therefore (in the view of the logical positivists) literally meaningless 3. (popularly) abstract, abstruse, or unduly theoretical 4. incorporeal; supernatural Did you catch that, Christian? There is a supernatural component to yoga. I bet you didn t know that. 3

4 Let s read on: In Sanskrit, the word yoga comes from the root yuj which means "to add", "to join", "to unite", or "to attach" in its most common senses. By figurative extension from the yoking or harnessing of oxen or horses, the word took on broader meanings such as "employment, use, application, performance" (compare the figurative uses of "to harness" as in "to put something to some use"). All further developments of the sense of this word are post-vedic. More prosaic moods such as "exertion", "endeavour", "zeal", and "diligence" are also found in Indian epic poetry. There are very many compound words containing yoga in Sanskrit. Yoga can take on meanings such as "connection", "contact", "union", "method", "application", "addition" and "performance". In simpler words, Yoga also means "combined". For example, guṇáyoga means "contact with a cord"; chakráyoga has a medical sense of "applying a splint or similar instrument by means of pulleys (in case of dislocation of the thigh)"; chandráyoga has the astronomical sense of "conjunction of the moon with a constellation"; puṃyoga is a grammatical term expressing "connection or relation with a man", etc. Thus, bhaktiyoga means "devoted attachment" in the monotheistic Bhakti movement. The term kriyāyoga has a grammatical sense, meaning "connection with a verb". But the same compound is also given a technical meaning in the Yoga Sutras (2.1), designating the "practical" aspects of the philosophy, i.e. the "union with the supreme" due to performance of duties in everyday life. According to Pāṇini, a 6th-century BCE Sanskrit grammarian, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samādhau (to concentrate). In the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samādhau (to concentrate) is considered by traditional commentators as the correct etymology. In accordance with Pāṇini, Vyasa who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras, states that yoga means samādhi (concentration). According to Dasgupta, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samādhau (to concentrate). Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment is called a yogi (may be applied to a man or a woman) or yogini (traditionally denoting a woman). Well, Christian, we got more issues. Did you catch that yoga actually means to yoke and to concentrate? What or who are you yoked to? Have you forgotten your oath to the Lord Jesus Christ that He and only He will be your Lord and Saviour? What does the bible say about yoking yourself? 4

5 Let s find out: Acts 15:10 - Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? Galatians 5:1 - Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2 Corinthians 6:1 - Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? Sounds to me that the Lord is warning us to NOT yoke ourselves to anyone other than Him, as shown in this scripture: Matthew 11: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. You may argue this any way you want, Christian, but if I remember correctly, didn t the Lord tell us to NOT put any gods before Him and that He is a jealous god? Consider this scripture: Exodus 20:3-5 - Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 5

6 Deuteronomy 5:9 - Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, Deuteronomy 6: Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;(for the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. Here is a definition of yoga that I found interesting: noun, ( sometimes initial capital letter) 1. a school of Hindu philosophy advocating and prescribing a course of physical and mental disciplines for attaining liberation from the material world and union of the self with the Supreme Being or ultimate principle. 2. any of the methods or disciplines prescribed, especially a series of postures and breathing exercises practiced to achieve control of the body and mind, tranquility, etc. 3. union of the self with the Supreme Being or ultimate principle. Well, isn t that interesting yoga is defined as a union with the Supreme Being or ultimate principle. If I remember correctly, we are already Disciples of Christ, so who is this Supreme being that is talked about? As a Disciple of Christ, you are ALREADY yoked to Jesus! This Supreme Being is who? Sounds to me like it is another god, 6

7 and didn t the Lord warn us not to bow down to another god? Didn t He tell us that if we do, we will be cursed through 3 & 4 generations because of that? Galatians 5:1 told us to Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Any you want to yoke yourself to a Supreme being, Christian? C mon, man. Be serious. Reading on, let s see what yoga s roots are. From Wikipedia: Yoga philosophy is one of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism. Ancient, medieval and most modern literature often refers to the Yoga school of Hinduism simply as Yoga. It is closely related to the Samkhya school of Hinduism. The Yoga school's systematic studies to better oneself physically, mentally and spiritually has influenced all other schools of Indian philosophy. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a key text of the Yoga school of Hinduism. Wait yoga has roots in Hinduism. So, this is NOT something that the Lord Jesus Christ has sanctioned for His disciples, correct? Hinduism is NOT the gospel, so already we have more issues concerning the practices of yoga. So, let s put these things together. Yoga actually means to yoke and to concentrate ; it is a school of Hindu philosophy advocating and prescribing a course of physical and mental disciplines for attaining liberation from the material world and union of the self with the Supreme Being or ultimate principle. The Yoga school's systematic studies to better oneself physically, mentally and spiritually has influenced all other schools of Indian philosophy. Well, Christian, I see no word anywhere of Jesus, or the Lord of Hosts or the Holy Ghost anywhere in any of these definitions. As a Disciple of Christ, The Lord Jesus Christ is your Lord and Master. Yoga wants to yoke you to a supreme being, whoever that is. Just for good measure, let s look up what Hinduism is. noun 1. the complex of beliefs, values, and customs comprising the dominant religion of India, characterized by the worship of many gods, including Brahma as supreme being, a caste system, belief in reincarnation, etc Did you catch that, Christian? Hinduism is the worship of many gods. What did the Lord say about worshipping any other gods? Check the scripture: 7

8 Deuteronomy 5:9 - Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, So, Christian, if you are practicing yoga, like these deceived people above, you are ascribing to the Hindu religion which worships many gods. Did it not dawn on you, Christian, that those poses and how they meditate that this may OPEN the door to those many gods which you will have to worship? Did you not just read that the Lord of Hosts will curse you to the 3 & 4 th generation if you start to worship any other god other than HIM? This is a dangerous game you are playing, Christian. 8

9 Let s see how yoga has been adopted in the West. Wikipedia tells us: Outside of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain traditions in Asia, the term "yoga" has been usually synonymous with its asanas (postures) or as a form of exercise. This aspect of Yoga was adopted as a cultural trend in Europe and North America starting in the first half of the 20th century. There were periods of criticism and paranoia against yoga as well. By the 1960s, western interest in Hindu spirituality reached its peak, giving rise to a great number of Neo-Hindu schools specifically advocated to a western public. During this period, most of the influential Indian teachers of yoga came from two lineages, those of Sivananda Saraswati ( ) and of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya ( ).[229] Teachers of Hatha yoga who were active in the west in this period included B.K.S. Iyengar ( ), K. Pattabhi Jois ( ), Swami Vishnu-devananda ( ), and Swami Satchidananda ( ). Yogi Bhajan brought Kundalini Yoga to the United States in Comprehensive, classical teachings of Ashtanga Yoga, Samkhya, the subtle body theory, Fitness Asanas, and tantric elements were included in the yoga teachers training by Baba Hari Dass (1923 ), in the United States and Canada. A second "yoga boom" followed in the 1980s, as Dean Ornish, a follower of Swami Satchidananda, connected yoga to heart health, legitimizing yoga as a purely physical system of health exercises outside of counter-culture or esotericism circles, and unconnected to any religious denomination. Numerous 9

10 asanas seemed modern in origin, and strongly overlapped with 19th and early- 20th century Western exercise traditions. Since 2001, the popularity of yoga in the USA has expanded. The number of people who practiced some form of yoga has grown from 4 million (in 2001) to 20 million (in 2011). It has drawn support from world leaders such as Barack Obama who stated, "Yoga has become a universal language of spiritual exercise in the United States, crossing many lines of religion and cultures,... Every day, millions of people practice yoga to improve their health and overall well-being. That's why we're encouraging everyone to take part in PALA (Presidential Active Lifestyle Award), so show your support for yoga and answer the challenge". The American College of Sports Medicine supports the integration of yoga into the exercise regimens of healthy individuals as long as properly-trained professionals deliver instruction. The College cites yoga's promotion of "profound mental, physical and spiritual awareness" and its benefits as a form of stretching, and as an enhancer of breath control and of core strength. Looks like the western world has adopted yoga as a form of exercise, trying to discount the spiritual aspect of yoga and what is behind the philosophy. Many are saying that they can benefit from the exercise, but they do not believe in the spiritual aspects of yoga because it does not apply to them. That s typical. Someone is always trying to clean up something that they know is foul. Practicing yoga will yoke you to the philosophies of yoga, and therefore you will turn away from The Lord Jesus Christ and adopt and start to worship the multitude of gods that yoga has. You will, in effect be putting that yoke on you and you will bear that yoke instead of the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider these scriptures: Nahum 1:13 - For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. Ezekiel 34:27 - And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. In this scripture, it shows that the Lord breaks yokes of bondage that a person may have. If this is what the Lord is doing, why on earth would you PUT ON a yoke of bondage to many gods?? 10

11 We have some serious issues here Christian, in just the hour I spent looking up yoga and what it is all about, I can see that anyone who practices yoga is in serious rebellion against the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ will leave you in your rebellion if you do not repent quick, fast, and in a hurry. By adopting yoga, you have turned and walked away from The Lord Jesus Christ, who is your salvation. If you had the Holy Ghost, you would seriously grieve Him and He would leave you. You would be opening up yourself to generation curses because you had turned away from the Lord Jesus Christ to go a-whoring with other gods. That is NOT good, Christian. So, if I can find this out in less than 3 hours, why is it that many churches are adopting yoga as exercise that they afford to the people in that church? Many people are deceived and damned There are many people deceived and damned that are going to church, Christian. They are deceived because they did not do the research that they should have (2 Timothy 2:15) and just went along with what they said. These same people are ignorant of the curses that they have brought upon themselves, and with these curses, The Lord has turned away from them!! These people are now out there, unprotected, damned, and cursed, thinking that they are saved. May the Lord help us out of the delusions we are getting ourselves into. 11

12 The bottom Line Christian, stay away from yoga. If you are into yoga, STOP and repent of what you are doing. Let Jesus Know you have done this in ignorance and you want to remain true to Him. If you see a church offering Christian yoga, get out of that church quick, fast and in a hurry. The Lord is nowhere near that church and you are listening to doctrines of devils, as the devil himself is in that church. Get with Jesus and get right with Him as soon as you can. If you delay, you can be damned to hell as a Christian because you were yoked to other gods. Now, if a church sponsors and/hosts Christian yoga, that church is in serious error and there needs to be a rebuke for that church. How is it that a church, which is supposed to be there to teach people about the Lord Jesus Christ and to edify the Body of Christ, is hosting yoga? Where are the church elders? Where is the pastor? Why isn t somebody slapping them all down as they have defiled the Church with ANOTHER SPIRIT? The Lord Made it VERY clear that He is NOT going to share His people with any other spirit, and as our Lord and Saviour, we should have enough sense and discretion to heed His words. If we do not, then The Lord Jesus Christ is going to turn His back upon those who have transgressed against Him. As you saw in the gospels, Jesus got upset with the money changes and the people who defiled the temple, as He declared that the temple was a house of prayer and NOT a den of thieves. Have we forgotten Jesus words? 12

13 What possessed these churches to allow, sanction and host having yoga, which uses unclean spirits, to be done in their churches, and more importantly, to the congregation if that church? We submit that the churches that do these acts do NOT know the Lord Jesus Christ and they are apostate. An apostate church is NOT one you want to be around. The Spirit of the Lord is NOT resting on that kind of church. Now, the Holy Ghost is NOT going to be anywhere near these types of churches, so if you are under a pastor at this church, The Lord Jesus Christ is telling you to get out of that church NOW. Seek the Lord and ask Him to find you a church that pleases Him so you can be edified with His blessing. Finally, listen to some exhortations against Christian Yoga: DANGERS of YOGA! There Is No Such Thing as "Christian" Yoga!!! Yoga Uncoiled: The Satanic Roots of Yoga EXPOSED! 13

14 Here is Our Challenge to all of you: We challenge you to go to Jesus directly RIGHT NOW and ask Him if what is shown here is true. Use this as a means to start a conversation with The Lord Jesus Christ and sit with Him and ask Him questions. Start with (asking out loud): Jesus, is what I just read true? He will answer you, Christian; use this as an opportunity to start the conversation with the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep talking with Him. Get to know Him and He will start to reveal Himself to you. You need to find out for yourself if what you support or believe is true, and what better way to find out than to ask the Lord Himself? You need to find out for yourself and work out YOUR salvation for YOU, as the scriptures tell us to. 14