Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6. Ms. Dillon has indicated that yoga opened up her spirituality and then she was able to go back to church. In a nutshell, she is saying she came to God again through yoga. This is wrong and contrary to what the Bible says and Ms. Dillon is lying to herself. She needs to allow God to come into her heart and show her the error of her thinking.

Judging others isn't Christianity either. I do like his statement that it isn't just an eccentric Christian position then to support it quotes two other eccentric Christian leaders who share his view as well as the view of other faiths clerics. I wonder how much Mr Mohler actually knows about yoga.

Thanks Mr. Lovan and Pres. Mohler. This is exactly what I have learned and believe. Any practice of mind altering other than worship of Christ is a demonic influence. Many Yogo experts say this trance type state brings about voices and scarey thoughts not expected and now speak against this practice. One now a true Christian has been on Christian TV specials declaring this is a tool of these entities to possess minds and bodies by yogo submission to familiar spirits which are demonic. Jesus is the only way to spiritual awareness and he is the Prince of Peace. Seek only Him with meditation on the Word of God in the Bible scriptures. His words bring peace, joy, love, hope, eternal salvation thru His death and resurrection.

LMAO,

Yes, yoga is bad for you, very bad. It was devised by the devil to slowly rot your brain and spirit.
What we should all be doing instead is praying constantly to a psychopath that will have us burn in eternity if we dont worship him because he loves us sooo much. Thats so much better.

I agree with Mohler. The fact of the matter is that yoga is a form of divination and Christians are forbidden from participating in such. Calling on any other spirit besides the Holy Spirit of the One True God is forbidden for both Christians and Jews. I understand that many people do not realize what they are doing, as far as spiritually and worshipping false gods, but that doesn't change the fact that they are doing it. There are other common practices such as feng shui and tai chi that are also rituals that demonstrate a worship of false gods and a calling of non-holy spirits. So in addition to denying the flesh, Christians must resist conforming to popular culture. If you have read the book of Jeremiah, you see what happened to the Jewish people when they strayed from God by turning to false gods and non-holy spirits. The good thing is that God wants His children back - all we have to do is repent by being sorry and changing our behavior. Romans 12:2 2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." God is very clear on this topic throughout the Bible, Christians are forbidden from participating in practices that honor false gods or calls on non-holy Spirits. There is no room for confusion or doubt on this issue. As Christians we are to do what God wants - His will, not our own. The devil is a schemer and he wants us to fall prey to demonic influences that turn us away from God and His will for us. He often uses popular culture to deceive Christians.

To Bible believer: Note that in Matthew 7:1 Jesus was saying not to be a hypocrite. He did not say that we are not to judge others. He said that we should purify ourselves first before trying to purify others. A person should be righteous themselves before judging others. Please read that verse in its context with the surrounding verses. The devil has many people thinking that we are not supposed to judge each other when we are supposed to help others in their Christian walk by judging - lovingly correcting one another. Christians are supposed to judge other Christians and we are to judge ourselves. The Bible does give us guidelines for judging others, but still we are to judge fellow believers. 1 Cor 6:1-2 "If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?" Psalms 37:30 "The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment." These are just 2 verses but there are many in the Bible reagarding judging. Please read them all so that you can get a clear picture of our duty to help each other as believers by lovingly judging and correcting wrong behavior and thoughts.

My comment regarding judging was actually directed towards the anonymous poster, not Bible believer.

You're worshipping the Devil!!!

People can choose to practice eastern religions and other gods besides the One True God. Yoga is a ritual of eastern religions that worship gods others than the One True God that Christians worship. People who want to be Christians should just be aware that when they are participating in certain activities, their actions are contrary to the will and the way of the One True God - the God of Abraham, the Father of Jesus Christ our Savior. A person is not really a Christian if they worship false gods or practice eastern religions. But people can change their behavior and turn back to God - becoming right with God once again or even for the 1st time. That is the goodness of His mercy and grace.

Unbelievable! Mohler, you're stupid. Obviously, some people are way too religious. I doubt God is going to condemn people who do yoga lmao. What a freak!

Funny that some always equate a alternate means of exercise, meditation, and/or relaxation with the devil's work. Funny too that my yoga instructor is an ordained Lutheran minister and that our classes are held in our church's fellowship hall....but I'm not laughing...I'm exercising for my better health, meditating on Jesus, and relaxing with my Christian brothers and sisters. What a concept for a better life!

Believer1973 Your understanding of scripture is in error and not in line with what Christ said. Nowhere in scripture are Christians given the right to judge one another. Those without sin were given it by Christ. That was the reason Christ told those who desired to stone the women guilty of adultery that the one without sin should cast the first stone. Since I doubt Mohler is without sin I don’t believe he is qualified from passing judgments. Evangelical Christians have been twisting scripture in an attempt to justify passing judgment for a long time. A dispute and a judgment are not the same thing. We are having a dispute. That said I make no judgment on you. That is for God. Christ on more than one occasion cautioned about judging others. We are to focus on removing the log from our own eye. I also doubt that he has a complete knowledge of yoga so that last comment about not doing yoga is just his way of getting around a general condemnation.

Yet another example of the Christian Reconstruction/Dominionist agenda in America; just like Muslim extremists who seek to convert the entire world to Islamic Sharia law, so too do these hardline conservative "Christians" seek to impose Christian dominion over the Earth.

Religion is a highly personal matter & should be kept strictly to oneself, not shoved into the faces of believers & nonbelievers alike; Jesus advocated praying alone in a closet, so I doubt he'd be very comfortable with the gaudy televised megachurch spectacles being conducted in his name today.

The ones who judge others for their sins are usually the biggest sinners themselves.

@ Believer1973: Wow, just wow. You really have no idea what you're talking about, do you?

Believer1973 I am curious how much you actually know about yoga and how much is based on what others have told you.

It is always easy to condem or blame the devil for everything. After all he is out to win, and he probably dose have his fingers in just about everything that can or could be used or abused, good or bad. I just am a little concerned about the Southern Baptist joining up with the Tailiband for a religious jahad on yoga. Jesus is my Lord and Savior, I keep the Ten Commandments. But blind fanaticism distills into hate, we as Christians sould temper our thoughts and actions with reason and forgiveness. The recent fanaticism over the Koran burning was just another black eye for all of Christianity. We as Christians are responcable for a our words and actions. If our words cause others to do harm the we the authors of those words or actions are to be held accountable on judgement day. Salvation is a personel thing between you and god. No country, religion, thing, or person should come between you and your relation ship with the Almighty

Deb,

Mohler didn't say that God was going to condemn people who do yoga. Please don't put words into his mouth in your attempt to discredit Mohler. Mohler said that true yoga, which includes eastern mysticism by definition, is at odds with the Christian faith. And he's right. Will every self-professing Christian who practices true yoga be condemned by God? Probably not. God condemns those people who do not believe in Jesus Christ and repent of their sins. You don't have to be sinless to be saved. Jesus must be your Savior and your Lord for you to be saved. It's certainly possible for a Chrisitian to be saved from their sins but be confused about fundamental doctrine. And a professing Christian who participates in eastern mysticism would, at a minimum, be confused about the fundamental doctrines of the faith.

IconoclastX,

I wonder if you have ever read that passage (about praying privately in a closet) in context.

Matthew 6:1-8

1"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2"So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

3"But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

5"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

6"But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

8"So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Jesus is not teaching that "religion" is a private matter to not be thrown in someone's face. Jesus is teaching that you should pray, and give to the poor, for the right reasons. If you are giving to the poor or praying in public in order to receive praise from men, or for men to gain influence among men then you are giving for praying for the wrong reason and you will have already received your reward for those good deeds. But if you pray for the right reason, so that Christ will be glorified, then you will be rewarded in heaven for it.

Scripture actually teaches that "religion" is not a private matter. For example, 1 Peter 3:14-16:

14But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED,

15but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

16and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

Did you catch that in verse 15? "Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence." The Christian must be willing to defend the faith.

Or consider 2 Timothy 3:16:

16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

Did you catch that? Scripture is profitable for:

o Teaching
o Reproof
o Correction and
o Training in righteousness

The Christian faith not a private matter. It's based on facts that can be taught to others. Christians who are unfaithful to the Lord can be corrected. And we can train others in righteousness. All of that comes from Scripture.

No, "religion" is not a private matter. Christ established the Church to preach the Gospel to the world. The last thing that Christ said before He ascended into heaven was:

19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

That's entirely inconsistent with your view that man's relationship with God is an entirely private matter. No, one of the three purposes of the Church is to make disciples.

What the hell do screwed up baptists know! They are afraid of everything they can't control.

What do you know, Anonymous?

Amused reading all these comments about Yoga. Views differ based on the colour of glasses one chooses to wear. Yoga is NOT specific to any religion. GOD is Omnipotent - present everywhere and not just in the Heavens. If one meditates on HIM with a pure mind, one can feel his presence --- one gets a chill running down one's spine OR goose pimples. Good Luck to YOU All & GOD BLESS !!!

Pat Robertson's brilliant theological conclusion that yoga is "really spooky" should give us a clue as to the level of discourse these folks are able to muster.

While there may be a religious aspect to some forms of yoga the people I see walking quietly to class with their yoga mat's are going to improve their overall health. If taking care of the body that God made in his image is a religious practice than maybe yoga is a religious practice, but then so would be working out at the gym or eating a high fiber diet.

One thing is certain though, practitioners of yoga are not making a mockery of God by protesting soldiers' funerals, telling me who I may marry, or building mega-churches to worship the almighty dollar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxPuyrfHA3o

Dana,

The issue with "yoga", from the Christian perspective, is not the physical exercise. The issue is the eastern mysticism associated with yoga. When people do "yoga" that isn't associated with eastern mysticism, that's not what Mohler is talking about when he uses the word "yoga". In fact, at the end of the article, Mohler is explicitly quoted as saying that in that case: "My response to that would be simple and straightforward: You're just not doing yoga".

So physical exercise is not at odds with the Christian faith. Mohler is only talking about the eastern mysticism. I seriously doubt that Mohler would counsel against anyone using a yoga mat to improve their health. He does object, however, to "the idea that the body is a vehicle for reaching consciousness with the divine."

Before people accuse faithful Christians of being nutty (and I know that you didn't use those words, but others have), it would be beneficial, in the interest of mutual understanding, if you knew what the faithful Christian was actually saying. I see little evidence that those objectors tried to actually understand what Mohler was saying. It's much easier and much faster to just read a few words and fill in the rest from one's imagination, apparently. But when you fill in the rest, you aren't objecting to what the faithful Christian said. You are objecting to something from your imagination. So, not only do you potentially offend someone who actually has a good point to make, you miss the opportunity to hear the good point.

Brian that reference in 2 Timothy 3:16 refers to the Old Testament. The New Testament didn't even exist at the time Timothy was written. So all of the verses you quoted were not scripture at the time those words were written. Correction dn judgement are different actions. Far too many Christians go beyond correction to passing judgement.

Considering the number of fat Christians I know, obesity being directly proportional to Christian fervor, I think yoga is the only antidote to the corpulence of the body, left unaffected by the beaten spiritual pathway to Christ. Somewhere in the Bible someone I believe, railed against sloth and gluttony. Think of church dinners and lunches folks--nothing but gluttony.. So get off your behinds--twist your slothful bodies into yogic shape and stop carping about what Christ would have wanted--64% of America is fat--religious fundamentalists are the fattest of them all--religion being nothing but an opiate for the fat masses who can't even see that what's bad for their adipose tissue has nothing to do with what's bad for their brains--ie--religion.
R Anon

Doesn't anybody have anything better to debate? This attitude about yoga is absolutely ridiculous. Everbody (even Baptists) would enjoy the benefits of yoga. Try it, you might like it.

R Anon I didn't think it was possible to post something more absurd than Mohler's comment on yoga until I read yours trying to link being fat with Christianity. You managed to show that close minded thinking isn't just for the religious, but for athiests as well.

Come on Anon--it is quite the fact--check out all the churches in your vicinity when services are on--count the fat folks versus the thin ones--count the televangelists--fat ones far outnumber the thin ones--belief seems to increase the feeding frenzy.
R Anon

R Anon the ratio in my particular church isn't any higher than I see in the general population. That kind of response tells me you can't actually support yuor claim with any real data. Given the fact that obseity in America is increasing and that the number of people who identify as Christians is decreasing as the nation becomes more secular one could say the reverse is true.

http://www.getamericafit.org/statistics-obesity-in-america.html

We both no there is no connection one way of the other between religion and being fat. After reading the last two posts maybe it should be considered if those who deny God who are surrendering their intellect.