Thank God for Bible Thumpers–if it weren’t for them, where else could we learn how sinful we are? Now, they’ve started rallying against yoga in school. Yoga, of course, was being taught as a means of physical fitness.
“They were being taught to thank the sun for their lives and the warmth that it brought, the life that it brought to the earth and they were told to do that right before they did their sun salutation exercises,” she says.
Strikes me as ironic that you can’t thank the sun for its warmth, but somehow it’s fine to thank some long-haired dude from 2,000 years ago for dying for your sins. The protestors are getting better by not taking a secular stance and simply saying that schools shouldn’t bring in religion without claiming a Christian identity, but we know where all the talk is coming from–no one is buying the idea that they’re opposing this on secular grounds. I’m an agnostic/atheist, and I know of no agnostic/atheists who see yoga as a means of proselytization.
Well, the good news is that they’re just saying no. The benefits of yoga are so real that certain good Christian groups have simply stolen yoga, repackaged it, and then claimed to have invented it. I guess using one’s political/social power to stop yoga is better than simply stealing it.
I remember one article way back in the day that stated that martial arts were the work of the devil and that Satan corrupts human beings through learning how to kill people via martial arts.
The sun and other planets do have a place in the Hindu mythology. And yoga is strongly associated with Hinduism but still one can practice yoga in a secular way. In the same way that following the Christian Georgian calendar for official or business purpose doesn’t make me a practicing Christian.
Christians would have to give up on lot of things at this rate … like the decimal number system, perhaps even agriculture and concept of cities.
Pingback: Martial Art News: Yoga + Female Farsi Fighters – The First Dragon Rider
Ironically, some Hindus started a “Take Back Yoga” campaign:
http://www.npr.org/2012/04/11/150352063/to-some-hindus-modern-yoga-has-lost-its-way
Good for the Hindus. Whites shouldn’t be just allowed to appropriate other peoples’ heritage. I am not a Hindu, if that matters.
“Good for the Hindus. Whites shouldn’t be just allowed to appropriate other peoples’ heritage. I am not a Hindu, if that matters”.
And you just said this, before you made the above comment:And yoga is strongly associated with Hinduism but still one can practice yoga in a secular way. In the same way that following the Christian Georgian calendar for official or business purpose doesn’t make me a practicing Christian.There’s no contradiction in John’s words. None at all. In addition to trying to say something positive, Chr, try to make a friend here. Please.
These so-called Christians are just cultural chauvinists. They couldn’t give a damn about the Bible, which often contains personally inconvenient passages about having to help the poor and such.
Nah, they’d just rather use it as an authoritative textbook to enforce the “whitebread” American way of life upon everybody else, especially as the country is becoming increasingly diverse.
Next up: banning falafel from school cafeterias because of its anti-Christian message that Muslims can actually create tasty food as opposed to solely being terrorists and Christian babykillers.
I think that Chris JL is right in that in recent decades an unhealthy “Culture war” theme has been promoted by some Christian extremists. The idea being that Christianity must dominate the culture in order to exist successfully. A bad idea, on so many levels.
As for Yoga, I think in fairness, I would expect the same disclosure about it’s RELIGIOUS content as I would from any other religious activity that I was invited to participate in.
Let’s say that there a popular but ancient form of exercise from Europe was being promoted across the globe, known a “Tendo.” It involves some stretching along with a lot of standing to kneeling motion. Rest is also paramount, so lying face down prostrate, while breathing deeply is a natural part of the recovery process. Each session always ends with the entire class holding out both arms straight out to their sides, and not moving for 10 minutes. This form of exercise is taught to people all over the world.
Now, what if it was discovered by Muslims that Tendo was actually created by an extremely devout order of Roman Catholic monks, who’s purpose was to combine exercise with Christian worship? What if all the standing and kneeling was discovered to be a sequence of prayer positions, and that the arm and hand gestures were really a way of rehearsing the ‘stations of the cross?’ Lying face down prostrate is really a form of veneration to Mary, and the final 10 minutes is a way for each devotee… uh, I mean exercise class student… to hold their body in the shape of the cross of Calvary!
When there was a loud OUTCRY from the Muslim community would most of us be complaining about it? Or would we be agreeing with the Muslims that all of this should have been made clear from the beginning by those promoting Tendo to the public. And what if some of the more moderate Muslims decided to continue doing the exercises, but changed them enough to strip them of any Christian religious influence. Again… any objections? Probably not.
[deleted because the rule is that Chr has to make 20 positive posts in a row.]
[deleted because we're all tired of reading Chr's negative bullshit]
[deleted. I agree with what you wrote, but rules are rules. Be positive.]
Chris JL:
Great points!
King:
Excellent point!
I think you’re right. I do know some Christian groups do have “Halloween” parties, but they rebrand them as “Masquerade” parties since Halloween is supposedly the holiday of the Devil. This, to me, is somewhat (somewhat!) less wrong since it’s not an art or a cultural tradition–it’s just people dressing up.
I like the Tendo comment. Perhaps that’s what should probably happen–disclosure as to yoga’s roots and where it comes from. Christian parents can decide for themselves whether to allow their kids to take part in an exercise that does have roots in a religion.
So many things already masquerade in plain sight. The practice of circumcision in America, for example. On what basis was such a thing so successfully promoted by vested interests in the medical community (various kinds) more than a hundred years ago and then subsequently forced on to infants?
The eye in the pyramid?
A flag that looks suspiciously like that of the British East Indies Company?
Also, Christianity’s adoption of the dates for Easter and Christmas. Not to mention All Hallow’s Eve. All of these came from other religions and belief systems.
As pertains to this topic, I think the most damaging thing is not the necessity of disclosure but the way some of these religious fanatics set things up so that theirs is the only “true” path and everybody else is wrong, damned to hell, whatever.
But my dear Raguel, you are arguing that current deceptions vindicates further deception.
“The eye in the pyramid?”
“A flag that looks like the East Indies Company.”
“Adoption of the dates for Easter and Christmas.”
You see much, Raguel… perhaps TOO much…
But I would argue not for more secrecy, based on the various deceptions of the past, but for a disclosure of past in order to learn the lessons of hiding religion in order to gain power. I think that disclosure is a primary principle of truth
There is nothing wrong with that. It happens in the scientific community all the time. The concept that you have found the one way that a thing works is often exclusionary of all other explanations. Sometimes there simply is only one way, and that’s OK.
Disclosure might also be good because it shows the Christians that there is much in the other worlds worth valuing. I thought it was awesome that Tulsi Gabbard swore in on the Bhagavad Gita. Not because I’m Hindu, but because it exposes people to the idea that this isn’t JUST a Christian nation.
http://www.bigwowo.com/2013/01/tulsi-gabbard-sworn-in-on-the-bhagavad-gita/
^ Bhagavad Gita.: Well, and it also just makes sense. Why have someone swear on a holy book that they don’t consider to be true or binding in the first place? I’d better trust a Muslim who swore an oath on his Quran than a Muslim who swore an oath on somebody else’s Bible.
I remember hearing about this on the news. They asked people to call in and I was but chickened out. I was going to mention how I heard my niece come home from school singing some song about Jesus that her teacher no doubt taught the class but I didn’t know how to word it properly. I didn’t want to sound like a loony.
“You see much, Raguel… perhaps TOO much…”
http://tinyurl.com/axgmkwf
No, it cannot.
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2817057841/428857c8f1abcff5780ebf1424c57523.jpeg
Dude, do you know I nearly had a heart attack when I clicked that link and that eye stared right back? LOL! XD
LOL! I was curious enough to see what that stood for.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_Providence
Interesting.
I’m a Christian and I’ve had a chance to practice both martial arts and yoga. If your faith was so brittle that doing “standing bow pulling pose” caused you to worship the Devil and renounce your belief in God, than I feel sorry for you.
What a bunch of idiots. More proof that the hardest part of being a Christian is… *drum roll*… other “Christians.”
@ gar
Would you be OK with my hypothetical Catholic-based exercise being done in public schools?
http://www.bigwowo.com/2013/01/christians-rally-against-yoga/#comment-122441
@King,
You put me in the uncomfortable position of defending the Hindus. Such is life so I will do it.
I think in your argument the context (and history) is missing. Yoga developed in South Asia in a Hindu cultural setting. It is not required to perform Yoga to be a practicing Hindu, neither is it an essential part of the Hindu religion. But there are things in it that is tied in with Hindu culture. Now, yoga was not pushed in the US by some religious Hindu organization to advance some hidden religious agenda. Some “gurus” taught it to make money or some Whites (mostly) went out of their way to seek it. And then some well known gurus in the US even tried to patent some yoga postures. This got a lot of people angry in India who view it as their cultural heritage. This patent thing (very American) actually was tried. For reasons that are a bit complex, a lot of Hindus in the US tend to be very right wing like some of our Christian brothers. And if I read what the Hindus in the US are saying correctly, all they want is an acknowledgment that yoga originated in Hindu traditions before (as has happened before) Whites claim yoga as their own or claim they developed yoga into the next level, and completely gloss over its origin.
Case in point, mixed martial arts. The Whites would have you believe they invented all this stuff in UFC.
Now, as to your example, if a religious organization (whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, etc.) were to develop a system of exercises very deliberately so that they can push it to the school kids or the general population on the sly that would be a problem. Thats not the case with yoga. It might be hard for some Christians to accept but people did live before the so called Christ came along, and that they invented tons of stuff like religious myths, martial arts, medicine, even before their so called Lord came by. Yoga was probably there even before Christians were.
@ John Doe
Haha!
Defending the Hindus are you! It’s probably good for your soul!
OK, let me apply your same defense to “Tendo” then:
Tendo was developed in Souther Europe in a Catholic cultural setting. It is not required to perform Tendo to be a practicing Catholic, neither is it an essential part of the Christian religion. But there are things that are tied in to Catholic worship tradition. You see, Tendo was not created as a way to infiltrate the world with Catholic ideas. Its just that the creators of it happened to be religious people, so their religion naturally filtered into the form.
So you see, it’s not any kind of diabolical plot that Tendo is based on elements of Catholic worship forms. So can’t it be taught in public schools to Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish children?
After all, the religious parts aren’t compulsory to accept.
Tendo being practiced at the beach
http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/100821506.jpg
It is a pity that YOGAhas been wildly spread all over from KG to all form of educational firms in medicine,psychology etc.
The worse evil started to rule even the Christian institutions!!even nuns are learning and teaching these evil powered so called”union with God” and being same like god.
Bible clearly says”You said in your heart,I will scale the heavens above the stars of God I will set up my throne…………….I will be like the most High(Is 14:13-14)
The serpent said to the woman.”You will not die,for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God who knows what is good and what is bad” (Gen 3:4-5)
so please dear Christians you shall not be the missionaries of devil.