POSTURE TO APOSTASY – Part 1

By Anne Kisly

Can Eastern religious practices, New Age medicine/yogic practices be integrated with the Christian faith?

Why is it that the Church is so easily deceived?  Slap a Christian label on something, and just like that it becomes Christian?

I think a good read of the Old Testament would do a lot of the Church good.  It would certainly clarify the fact that God hates idolatry.  How many times did His people, the Jews, face judgment because of their disobedience to the Covenants with God.  How many times did they refuse Him and His word?  Idolatry and ALL of it's practices are evil in the sight of the Lord, and as believers, we need to take this seriously.

I began to research this topic after seeing  a widespread interest in our culture, and within the Church. New Age medicine is now mainstream, and fellow believers are falling prey as they embrace the practices of Eastern Religions as a natural approach to medicine. Surfing the web was a real eye opener. MANY who claim to be Christian are not only practicing these methods, but teaching them as well. I was absolutely dumbfounded to learn that a local church group, that I'm familiar with, had allowed a presentation of Reiki, a 'New Age' occultic practice during a church service. 

Just what is Reiki and where did it come from? Reiki (ray`-kee) is a system of energy healing based on the theory that a universal healing energy or life force permeates and infuses the universe, and that this energy can be channeled into someone so that their own life force is enhanced (Barbara Loecher, Sara Altshul O'Donnell, and the Editors of Prevention Health Books, Women's Choices in Natural Healing [Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, Inc., 1998], 268). Christian Answers for the New Age: Reiki

Pastors should not open their pulpits to anything but the teaching of the Word of God.  How is it that someone who is called by God exposes his entire congregation to Buddhist philosophy and occult practices?  To allow false teachers with strange doctrines to prey on the flock of God is insane and creates confusion in the body of Christ, division in the Church, and a grieving of the Holy Spirit of God. Please know who you are inviting to speak at your church, know their background, their belief system and specifically what they plan on presenting to your flocks.

Any presentation which promotes integrating occult practices and false religions into our Christian faith should set off an immediate alarm in the hearts and minds of a true Believer.

Looking at the book of Genesis, Satan was able to deceive Eve by twisting the Word of God. His ways have not changed throughout the centuries. There are many false teachers who are proficient in twisting the Word of God, and if we aren’t checking man’s word under the lens of God's Word, false doctrine will creep in amongst us and if possible, deceive even the very elect of God. 

I love this verse because it really does show us that Satan's deception and man's ways go right back to the very beginning,

Ecclesiastes 1:9
"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."

The deception of all false religious practices began in the book of Genesis, there really isn't anything new under the sun. 

From Genesis 3:1-5
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

To believe that occult medicines and practices are good because some deceiver who does not believe the Word of God, takes away from the Word of God, or adds to the Word of God claims that it is Christian and is good for us is foolish.  We must know for ourselves what God says about these things.  Truth doesn't cease to exist because it is ignored.

Back to Genesis, we see what the Lord actually said to Adam, from: 

Genesis 2:8

“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
And this is what God commanded Adam from verse 16-17:
“And the Lord God command the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

A Few Important Observations:

1. What God commanded, and what Satan said are two very different things. How important it is to not only read the Word of God, but to Know God’s Word. 1 Timothy 2:15-16 says, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness."  If someone comes to you with strange philosophies, and methods, those who know God's word will not be deceived. Those who love God, and His Word will not compromise their faith.
2. When God commanded Adam, Eve didn’t exist yet, though it is likely that she knew God's command through Adam.  Eve becomes the target of Satan, perhaps because she was not personally commanded by God, though scripture doesn't say.  To me that would suggest that a personal relationship with God is necessary before man can really understand His word.  We obey Him, because we know Him intimately, we love Him and trust Him.  God’s word is higher than man’s and demands our full attention. We must know the Word of God and esteem it higher than any source of information that exists.
3. God was not withholding anything good from Adam and Eve, quite the opposite. God gave Adam a free choice.  Without free will to choose, Adam and Eve would have been mere puppets. True love always requires choice. God wanted Adam and Eve to choose to love and trust Him. The only way to give this choice would have been to command something that was not allowed. Since God had planted in the garden all the different trees from which we now get fruit, the test was not too difficult. Adam and Eve had plenty to eat and a large variety of fruits from which to choose, and could have chosen to believe God. They were only commanded not to eat from one tree out of the many.

God's Word brings light and life; Satan's deceit always brings death.

Throughout the ages, the same scenario has been played out over and over, “Hath God Not Said?” Mankind still has the same choice, and yet many are still being deceived today.

What is "New Age" occultism? The following interview with Dave Hunt provides us with some insight:

The New Age Movement and the Church

Can Yoga Be Christianized?

Seducing Spirits in the Church - New Age Movement

Lighthouse Trails published the following information which links the now popular ‘Christian’ yogic practices to the Emergent Church (New Age Movement) and Rick Warren.

Have you heard of Leonard Sweet? He wrote the book entitled, “Quantum Spirituality and Christ Consciousness.” Leonard Sweet (endorsed by Rick Warren) thanks New Agers for helping him find the "New Light":

From the 'acknowledgments' section of Leonard Sweet's book Quantum Spirituality: "Those who have taught me how to catch the tail winds of energies whoosing from new spiritual jet streams are: ~ Willis Harman."

WHO IS WILLIS HARMAN? He’s one of the Fathers of the New Age Movement.

"I have followed those "New Light leaders" ... "Some of those who led [me] into new light are: ... Matthew Fox, Richard Mouw, Rowan Williams." Others that Leonard Sweet thanks include: Morton Kelsey, M. Scott Peck, Walter Bruggemann, Ken Wilber, Thomas Berry and many other New Agers.

THEIR GOAL:

“The new focus is on unity -- a world-wide oneness reflected in the growing union between the East and West. Leonard Sweet's online book, Quantum Spirituality sheds some revealing light of the envisioned global "church" for the 21st century. In his view, the offense of the cross has been replaced with a passion for interfaith peace and possibility-thinking. To illustrate this point, Dr. Sweet points to Thomas Merton, the popular Catholic author who popularized mysticism and died in Asia searching the depths of Tibetan Buddhism."

This is part of Satan’s plans to set up a ‘One World Religion’ which will be a prelude to the worship of the Anti-christ, as prophesied in the Holy Scriptures.

IN SWEETS OWN WORDS:

"The first of these five un-theorized observations is that New Light embodiment means to be "in connection" and 'in-formation' with other Christians. Deeper feeling and higher relating go together. The church is fundamentally one being, one person, a comm-union whose cells are connected to one another within the information network called the Christ consciousness." — Quantum Spirituality, P. 122

"Energy-fire experiences take us into ourselves only that we might reach outside of ourselves. Metanoia is a de-centering experience of connected-ness and community. It is not an exercise in reciting what Jesus has done for me lately. Energy-fire ecstasy, more a buzz than a binge, takes us out of ourselves, literally. That is the meaning of the word 'ecstatic.'" — Quantum Spirituality, P. 93

Note: This ecstasy Sweet speaks refers to the New Age ecstasy that occurs in an altered state of consciousness.

The power of small groups is in their ability to develop the discipline to get people "in-phase" with the Christ consciousness and connected with one another. P. 147

New Lights offer up themselves as the cosmions of a mind-of-Christ consciousness. As a cosmion incarnating the cells of a new body, New Lights will function as transitional vessels through which transforming energy can renew the divine image in the world, moving post-moderns from one state of embodiment to another. P. 48

A surprisingly central feature of all the world's religions is the language of light in communicating the divine and symbolizing the union of the human with the divine: Muhammed's light-filled cave, Moses' burning bush, Paul's blinding light, Fox's "inner light," Krishna's Lord of Light, Bohme's light-filled cobbler shop, Plotinus' fire experiences, Bodhisattvas with the flow of Kundalini's fire erupting from their fontanelles, and so on." P. 235

ONE OF SWEETS CONNECTIONS: Rick Warren

1995: Tides of Change - According to Zondervan Rick Warren TEAMED WITH Leonard Sweet to do this Audio set.

1999: Rick Warren Endorses Cover of Sweet's book, Soul Tsunami

2001: Pastors.com - Sweet's "24 Transitions For Moving Into The 21st Century" on Rick Warren's website

2008: Rick Warren invites Sweet to be a speaker at the Saddleback Small Groups conference.

My question is, does the child of God really believe the he or she will not suffer the consequences of touching that which is offered to idols simply because they believe in God?

God’s Word says, Touch not the unclean thing!

2 Corinthians 6:14-17
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, (18) And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

The practice of these Eastern Medicine techniques: i.e. yoga, reiki, charkas, meditation and so on, are occult practices. These practices and the power to heal ones self has no place in the Christian Church. And for those of you who are already involved in such practices, let me say that calling it “Christian Yoga” and taking a Scripture out of context does not make it of God. In fact if you are practicing these techniques and sharing with others that it is “Christian” you are deceived and deceiving others. I beg of you to stop, and to seek the Lord your God and study the Scriptures. For He alone is the way, the truth and the life.

Some Christians justification for practicing such things is “Well, it works!” Really, say’s who? I would suggest that you do a bit more research, for instance why not read the testimonies of those who were once like you, deceived, and how God delivered them out of the clutches of Satan.

YOGA is a part of Hinduism, not Christianity. The two are very different and cannot be combined. As a Christian you must know this.

Matthew 7:13-14 says,
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

The history of YOGA, the spiritual influence of Yoga and explain why it is not a part of our Christian faith.

Those of you who claim to be “open” to all things, I hope and pray that you will also be open to what the Scriptures have to say about such things.

I pray that the Lord will fill you with His Word and His Holy Spirit so that you might be able to discern what is of God and what is not.

It behooves us a CHRISTIANS to KNOW WHAT WE BELIEVE and WHAT WE DON’T BELIEVE and WHY.

"Christian yoga" is gaining popularity. Thomas Nelson, a Christian publisher, recently released a book titled, Yoga for Christians, by Susan Bordenkircher. 

In an interview with the Denver Post, the author, a fitness instructor, explained, "What we are attempting to do with a Christ-centered practice is fill the heart and mind with God, becoming 'single-minded' as Scripture calls it." Unapologetic for promoting so called "Christian yoga", she explains that "Christ-centered yoga is definitely not just a repackaging of . . . yoga. The difference, she says, lies in the intention: shifting the focus from self to God with yogic postures ('breathing in' the Holy Spirit, for instance), integrating health as critical to effective godly service, and slowing down enough 'from our fast-paced lives to actually hear God's voice.'

Problem 1:

"breathing in the Holy Spirit . . . slowing down . . . to actually hear the voice of God."

This instructor’s menacing ignorance of Christian truths brings deception in the hearts of young believers. Believers do not breathe in the Holy Spirit. When we by FAITH are justified through Jesus Christ, we are regenerated or born again of His Spirit, and instantly indwelt by the Spirit of God. John 3:3, 5-7

Believers are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”

Again the Scripture states in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”

As Paul wrote to the Roman believers,

"However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him" (Romans 8:9).

There are only two types of persons in the world, those in whom the Holy Spirit lives, and those in whom He does not.

Given the Spirit's abiding presence in the life of the believer, how can He then be inhaled into the soul via yogic practice? He cannot! At salvation the Holy Spirit makes the justified believer's soul His sanctuary!

Suggesting that regeneration takes place by a sort of yogic "inbreathing" of the Holy Spirit adds a human mechanism (i.e., "breathing in") for salvation. This version of spirituality stands in blatant contradiction to the salvation that comes "by grace . . . through faith" (Ephesians 2:8-9). It opposes Jesus' testimony that like the wind, the Sovereign Spirit blows when and where He "wishes" (John 3:8). The Sovereign Spirit will not be manipulated or controlled by yogic "inbreathing."

Problem 2:

Where in the Bible does it say that practicing yoga will allow you to hear the "voice of God"? I can tell you that it’s not in the Bible and this statement is completely false.

To suggest that yogic practices actually prepare people to "hear the voice of God" is a blatant lie of Satan. It is eastern mysticism in the New Age religion and the practice of yoga is an attempt to steal away from the validity of the Scriptures and it’s sufficient sustaining power in the life of a believer.

2 Timothy 3:16
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

Do you want to hear God’s voice, read His Word!

"Faith comes by hearing and HEARING by the word of God." Romans 10:7

The managing editor of Hinduism Today, Sannyasin Arumugaswami, remarks,

"Hinduism is the soul of yoga 'based as it is on Hindu Scripture and developed by Hindu sages. Yoga opens up new and more refined states of mind, and to understand them one needs to believe in and understand the Hindu way of looking at God. . . . A Christian trying to adapt these practices will likely disrupt their own Christian beliefs'." 

The soul that is engaged to Jesus Christ cannot commit spiritual harlotry by flirting with the yogic practices intended to introduce them to Hindu gods. As John the Apostle wrote: "Little chidren, guard yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21).

What is Yoga - The Devotees

According to the Columbia Journalism Review: 

Everybody loves yoga; sixteen and a half million Americans practice it regularly, and twenty-five million more say they will try it this year. If you’ve been awake and breathing air in the twenty-first century, you already know that this Hindu practice of health and spirituality has long ago moved on from the toe-ring set. Yoga is American; it has graced the cover of Time twice, acquired the approval of A-list celebrities like Madonna, Sting, and Jennifer Aniston, and is still the go-to trend story for editors and reporters, who produce an average of eight yoga stories a day in the English-speaking world.….Consumers drop $3 billion every year on yoga classes, books, videos, CDs, DVDs, mats, clothing, and other necessities. 

As noted by New Age expert Elliot Miller, “Yoga is rapidly becoming integrated into such traditionally secular institutions as public education, health care, and the workplace. It has been widely embraced by Roman Catholics and mainline Protestants, and over the past several years a Christian Yoga movement has been thriving among evangelicals.”

What is Yoga - The Name (Excerpts by Larry Debruyn)

“Y” reminds us that the word “yoga” comes from the Sanskrit word “yogah,” which means “to yoke or to unite.” Indeed, the goal of yoga is to uncouple oneself from the material world and to unite oneself with the god of Hinduism, commonly understood to be Brahman, the impersonal cosmic consciousness of the universe. Put another way, yoga is the means by which the user’s mind is merged into the universal mind.

“O” represents the Hindu mantra “Om”—a sacred Sanskrit syllable cherished by Hindu yogis as the spoken quintessence of the universe. Repeating such mantras as Om over and over is a principal means by which yoga practitioners work their way into altered states of consciousness. The objective of achieving an altered state of consciousness is always the same: to dull the critical thinking process because the mind is seen to be the obstacle to enlightenment. As noted by the late Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, “the goal is to create a new man, one who is happily mindless.” Shockingly, what was once relegated to the kingdom of the cults is now being replicated in churches. In the ashrams of the cults there is no pretense. Despite such dangers as possession or insanity, Hindu gurus openly encourage trance states through which devotees tap into realms of the demonic and discover their “higher selves.” Whether experiencing involuntary movements or encountering illusory monsters, all is written off as progress on the road to enlightenment.

“G” is reminiscent of the gurus who developed and disseminated yoga for the express purpose of achieving oneness with the impersonal god of Hinduism. Most noteworthy among the Guru’s is Patanjali—the Hindu sage who founded Yoga around the second century B.C. Of particular significance in the West is the aforementioned guru, Swami Vivekananda, a disciple of the self-proclaimed “god-man” Sri Ramakrishna. In 1893 Vivekananda used the Parliament of World Religions to skillfully sow the seeds for a new global spirituality. Second only to Vivekananda in the Westernization of yoga was Yogananda—proudly hailed as “Father of Yoga in the West.” In 1920 he founded the L.A. based Self-Realization Fellowship, a principal means of disseminating Yoga to multiplied millions of Americans. Finally, of special note is Swami Muktananda, popularizer of kundalini yoga, a method by which divine energy thought to reside as a coiled serpent at the base of the spine is aroused; ascends through six chakras; and aims for union with the Hindu deity Shiva in a seventh center allegedly located in the crown of the head. Such Hindu gurus have been so successful in exporting yoga to the West that today it is common fare in classrooms, corporations, and even churches.

Finally, the “A” in Y-O-G-A will serve to remind you of the Hindu word asana. As repetition of the word “Om” is used to work devotees into altered states of consciousness, so too a regiment of asanas—or body postures—are used to achieve a feeling of oneness with the cosmic energy flow of the universe. Coupled with breathing exercises and meditation practices, asana positions are the pathway to serenity and spirituality. According to Yoga Journal, “asanas are their own type of meditation; to perform difficult postures you have to focus on your body and breath and relax into the pose.” While multitudes are being seduced into believing that asanas are spiritually neutral, nothing could be farther from the truth. Indeed, as pointed out by Swami Param of the Dharma Yoga Ashram in New Jersey, to think of asanas as mere body positions or stretching exercises is analogous to believing “baptism is just an underwater exercise.”

An alarming number of Western Christians suppose they can achieve physical and spiritual well-being through a form of yoga divorced from its Eastern worldview.

The reality is that you cannot Christianize Hinduism only Hinduize Christianity.

Today, many people are taking up yoga techniques for physical exercise, and most don’t know the history of yoga. They believe there is nothing wrong with implementing this form of exercise into their daily regiment to promote a more healthy body.

However, the practice of yoga is much more than a system of physical exercise for health. Yoga is an ancient path to spiritual growth, and originates out of India where Induism is practiced.

Is Yoga Spiritual?

The history of yoga is based in the Indus Valley civilization. The techniques are practiced by the Indus to initiate spiritual growth. The yogis encourage union with the finite jiva (transitory self) and with the infinite Brahman (eternal self). Brahman is a term used by the Hindus to mean “God.” So, what are we supposed to unite with? Yogis usually think of God as an impersonal, spiritual substance, coexisting with all of reality. This doctrine is called pantheism which is the view that everything is God. In the Bible, God reveals Himself as the personal Creator of the universe.

Since it is taught by the yogis that everything is God, it then stands to reason, man is God. Christianity, on the other hand, teaches us there is a clear distinction between man and God. Since God is the Creator, we are one of his creations and created “in the image” of God.

Unlike the yogis, the Bible presents man’s primary problem to be sin -- a failure to conform to God’s character and standards. The solution is Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. He calls men to freely receive all the benefits of His salvation through faith in Christ alone.

Yoga views man’s problem primarily in terms of ignorance. Man simply does not understand he is God so the solution is enlightenment, or an experience of union with God. In order to reach that goal, there must be a lot of striving and effort which is not needed in the Christian viewpoint.

Is Yoga Safe?

Can the methods used in the yoga techniques for exercising be separated from the philosophy? The answer is a distinctive “NO” because yoga is considered to be a practice of psychosomatic exercises. There is no way to separate the two. The yoga scholar will tell you that in order to practice yoga in the fullest, one must experience what is called the “kundalini” effect within meditation.

Meditation is generally seen as a practice of the New Age movement. This comes primarily from the movement's association with Transcendental Meditation. Transcendental Meditation (TM) was developed by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of the Hindu religion.

What does this mean? For spiritual lessons to be grasped by the soul within the person, the chakra (different locations within the body where a circle of metaphysical and/or biophysical energy resides) join together in the process.

Kundilini stimulates the chakra center to open and release the energy held within. If not done properly, some believe that a person can injure the brain.

Yoga is not safe spiritually.
Yoga teaches us to focus on ourselves instead of on the one true God.
Yoga encourages us to seek the answers to life's difficult questions within our own conscience instead of in the Bible.

Yoga leaves one open to deception from Satan, who seeks to turn us away from God. Dear Christian Believer, do not tempt the Lord your God. Touch not the unclean thing… depart from evil and do good…For thou shalt love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength.

Colossians 2:4, 6-10 

“And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. (6) As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: (7) Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. (8) Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. {rudiments: or, elements} {make a prey: or, seduce you, or, lead you astray} (9) For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (10) And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”