It’s 7:45 p.m. on a weekday and for the first time today, I consciously slow down my breathing. I send the air deep down into my belly, letting it rise and fall like a wave.
In other words, it’s OK to do yoga if you only do it halfway. But the problem is, you cannot disobey God just halfway—and the demons know it. So what would Jesus say? Can a Christian incorporate Hindu spiritual practices in order to get closer to the Jesus of the Bible? I have a strong suspicion the “Hindu gods” have an agenda to introduce unsuspecting yoga practitioners to a different Jesus.
This Hindu yogi resents Christians grabbing Hinduism’s spiritual practice and calling it Christian. His resentment is understandable. How would we feel if there was suddenly a new craze called Hindu communion. We’d say, “Communion is about Jesus Christ. It can’t possibly be called Hindu.” How tragic that a Hindu guru sees the problem, but Christian leaders don’t. In 2006, the same year this article came out, Thomas Nelson, the largest Christian publisher, published a book titled Yoga for Christians. And incredibly enough, many ministries and Christian organizations are selling the book in their bookstores!
This article was adapted from the book Faith Undone by Roger Oakland, pages 94-95.
i. Agnieszka Tennant, “Yes to Yoga” (Christianity Today, May 2005, http://www.christianity today.com/ct/2005/120/42.0.html).
vi. Yogi Baba Prem, Vedavisharada, CYI, C.ay, C.va, “There is No Christian Yoga” (October 2006).