Prominent Christian leader Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary -- one of the world's largest theological seminaries -- is not a fan of yoga. (This probably isn't surprising, given that he thinks Hinduism exhibits "satanic powers.")
A recent post on Mohler's blog explains:
[Y]oga is not merely about physical exercise or health. “All forms of yoga involve occult assumptions,” [Douglas R. Groothuis, Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary] warns, “even hatha yoga, which is often presented as a merely physical discipline.” While most adherents of yoga avoid the more exotic forms of ritualized sex that are associated with tantric yoga, virtually all forms of yoga involve an emphasis on channeling sexual energy throughout the body as a means of spiritual enlightenment.Maybe he's got a point:
So should Christians add yoga to the list of fun things they're not supposed to do, like premarital sex and buying music from places other than Wal-Mart? WWJD about yoga? Must we burn our Christoga DVDs to save our souls from Janine Turner? Is yoga evil?
Pat Robertson thinks so. He says yoga's "really spooky." And Robertson knows spooky.
My two cents? If you're not confident that your faith is strong enough to withstand a couple of sun salutations (OH NOES -- I JUST WORSHIPPED THE SUN!!!), you're probably not very religious in the first place.
And why single out yoga? If I were Mohler, I'd point to much more salient examples of the devil's handiwork, like gourmet cupcakes, the Salahis, honor killings, and the excruciating sounds of Justin Bieber. (In no particular order, obviously.)
(Source: BoingBoing)
