I’m pretty new to the blogger scene. So I take time in my day to research other blogs, and yoga blogs in particular, to become more familiar with their setup, design, content, and authors. We are something of a community after all. Upon going about my usual research today, I found the yoga blog world to be abuzz with a particular article claiming that Christianity and yoga are mutually exclusive. My interest, and apparently that of many others, was piqued, and I feel compelled to clarify some misunderstandings revealed there. The article in question was written by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, which is one of the largest seminaries in the world and carries heavy weight with the Southern Baptist Convention. His piece, “The Subtle Body - Should Christians Practice Yoga?” argues that, “When Christians practice yoga, they must either deny the reality of what yoga represents or fail to see the contradictions between their Christian commitments and their embrace of yoga.”
He wrote a follow-up on his blog after being inundated with emails expressing quite the opposite. In this follow-up, Dr. Mohler defends himself by saying that his critics offer no scriptural or theological arguments, but merely opinions. Yet, in his original article on the subject, Dr. Mohler surprisingly offers no substantial theological evidence in support of his opinions. Instead of citing the Biblical text that he claims to be in opposition to the practice of yoga, he cites a book (Stefanie Syman’s The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America
) about yoga and its modern assimilation into Western culture. Reading Ms. Syman’s book is certainly on the to-do list now, to see for myself why it stirred Dr. Mohler so. Dr. Mohler’s only other citation beyond his own belief, is one sentence from a Denver Seminary professor quoted as such, “a respected specialist on the New Age Movement, warns Christians that yoga is not merely about physical exercise or health. ‘All forms of yoga involve occult assumptions,’ he warns, ‘even hatha yoga, which is often presented as a merely physical discipline.’” Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines occult as, “matters regarded as involving the action or influence of supernatural or supernormal powers or some secret knowledge of them.” The assertion that yoga involves “occult assumptions” does not necessarily distinguish it from Christianity. Jesus’ many miracles, including rising from the dead, seemingly had much to do with supernatural power. In fact, by this definition, the belief in an omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent God involves quite a bit of assumptions regarding supernatural or supernormal powers.
Dr. Mohler goes on: “Yoga begins and ends with an understanding of the body that is, to say the very least, at odds with the Christian understanding. Christians are not called to empty the mind or to see the human body as a means of connecting to and coming to know the divine.” Why then does the Bible in 1 Corinthians 3:16 state, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 goes on, “Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” Here, the practice of yoga seems to beautifully complement the Bible’s call to “glorify God in your body” and honor the body as the “temple of the Holy Spirit.”
What Dr. Mohler calls an emptying of the mind, appears to be a reference to meditation. He says, “Believers are called to meditate upon the Word of God — an external Word that comes to us by divine revelation — not to meditate by means of incomprehensible syllables.” He again attempts to draw a distinction that does not necessarily exist here. What are “incomprehensible syllables” to Dr. Mohler are the Word of God to others. In fact, the Word of God to which he refers (the Bible) would be incomprehensible syllables to him were he to encounter the texts in their original language, rather than the modern translated and edited versions we have today. Moreover, Jesus undoubtedly gave numerous examples of meditating to hear the Word of God and to commune with God in the Bible. His 40 day fast in the desert is but one incidence among many (Matthew 4 and Luke 4). He would often leave his disciples for long periods of time to sit quietly and pray, or meditate as it may be (Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, and Luke 4:42 are a few examples). Even more intriguingly, historical evidence mounts suggesting that Jesus would have had contact with Buddhism, as scholars draw compelling parallels between the teachings of Gautama, the Buddha and Jesus.
While the tone of Dr. Mohler’s article is mostly subdued, he does venture off on a particular extremity: “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.” How can this be, when one of the ethical disciplines, or yamas, recognized by most yogis is brahmacharya? This is often translated as outright celibacy, but for many modern yogis translates into “leading a life of pure thoughts, pure actions and pure aspirations.” Such unsubstantiated conjecture on the part of Dr. Mohler only further reveals that he has little to no familiarity with yoga, and is instead cherry-picking evidence to support a belief masquerading as fact, and to stir up fear.
Dr. Mohler concludes, “Nevertheless, a significant number of American Christians either experiment with yoga or become adherents of some yoga discipline. Most seem unaware that yoga cannot be neatly separated into physical and spiritual dimensions. The physical is the spiritual in yoga, and the exercises and disciplines of yoga are meant to connect with the divine.” I agree with this description of yoga. However, he is operating on the misunderstanding that the spiritual aspects of yoga are inherently tied to Hinduism and Buddhism (2 distinctly different systems), when in fact, yoga’s roots reach farther back in time than either system. Yoga has evolved its many facets over time as it has been incorporated into and found new characteristics in use as a component of various spiritual practices. Evidence of yogic postures in stone carvings dates back to 3000 BC.
Yoga means union. It is anything but a divisive practice, nor does it exclude anyone of any faith. A thoughtful analysis of the evidence reveals that yoga can eloquently complement not only Christianity but any faith, while also equally appealing to those who are uncertain or profess no spiritual faith at all. It truly has something to offer to everyone. On this topic, I don’t think I could put it better than Mr. B.K.S. Iyengar in Light on Yoga
, “Yoga is not a religion by itself. It is the science of religions, the study of which will enable a sādhaka (seeker) the better to appreciate his own faith.”
He wrote a follow-up on his blog after being inundated with emails expressing quite the opposite. In this follow-up, Dr. Mohler defends himself by saying that his critics offer no scriptural or theological arguments, but merely opinions. Yet, in his original article on the subject, Dr. Mohler surprisingly offers no substantial theological evidence in support of his opinions. Instead of citing the Biblical text that he claims to be in opposition to the practice of yoga, he cites a book (Stefanie Syman’s The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America
) about yoga and its modern assimilation into Western culture. Reading Ms. Syman’s book is certainly on the to-do list now, to see for myself why it stirred Dr. Mohler so. Dr. Mohler’s only other citation beyond his own belief, is one sentence from a Denver Seminary professor quoted as such, “a respected specialist on the New Age Movement, warns Christians that yoga is not merely about physical exercise or health. ‘All forms of yoga involve occult assumptions,’ he warns, ‘even hatha yoga, which is often presented as a merely physical discipline.’” Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines occult as, “matters regarded as involving the action or influence of supernatural or supernormal powers or some secret knowledge of them.” The assertion that yoga involves “occult assumptions” does not necessarily distinguish it from Christianity. Jesus’ many miracles, including rising from the dead, seemingly had much to do with supernatural power. In fact, by this definition, the belief in an omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent God involves quite a bit of assumptions regarding supernatural or supernormal powers. Dr. Mohler goes on: “Yoga begins and ends with an understanding of the body that is, to say the very least, at odds with the Christian understanding. Christians are not called to empty the mind or to see the human body as a means of connecting to and coming to know the divine.” Why then does the Bible in 1 Corinthians 3:16 state, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 goes on, “Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” Here, the practice of yoga seems to beautifully complement the Bible’s call to “glorify God in your body” and honor the body as the “temple of the Holy Spirit.”
What Dr. Mohler calls an emptying of the mind, appears to be a reference to meditation. He says, “Believers are called to meditate upon the Word of God — an external Word that comes to us by divine revelation — not to meditate by means of incomprehensible syllables.” He again attempts to draw a distinction that does not necessarily exist here. What are “incomprehensible syllables” to Dr. Mohler are the Word of God to others. In fact, the Word of God to which he refers (the Bible) would be incomprehensible syllables to him were he to encounter the texts in their original language, rather than the modern translated and edited versions we have today. Moreover, Jesus undoubtedly gave numerous examples of meditating to hear the Word of God and to commune with God in the Bible. His 40 day fast in the desert is but one incidence among many (Matthew 4 and Luke 4). He would often leave his disciples for long periods of time to sit quietly and pray, or meditate as it may be (Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, and Luke 4:42 are a few examples). Even more intriguingly, historical evidence mounts suggesting that Jesus would have had contact with Buddhism, as scholars draw compelling parallels between the teachings of Gautama, the Buddha and Jesus.
While the tone of Dr. Mohler’s article is mostly subdued, he does venture off on a particular extremity: “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.” How can this be, when one of the ethical disciplines, or yamas, recognized by most yogis is brahmacharya? This is often translated as outright celibacy, but for many modern yogis translates into “leading a life of pure thoughts, pure actions and pure aspirations.” Such unsubstantiated conjecture on the part of Dr. Mohler only further reveals that he has little to no familiarity with yoga, and is instead cherry-picking evidence to support a belief masquerading as fact, and to stir up fear.
Dr. Mohler concludes, “Nevertheless, a significant number of American Christians either experiment with yoga or become adherents of some yoga discipline. Most seem unaware that yoga cannot be neatly separated into physical and spiritual dimensions. The physical is the spiritual in yoga, and the exercises and disciplines of yoga are meant to connect with the divine.” I agree with this description of yoga. However, he is operating on the misunderstanding that the spiritual aspects of yoga are inherently tied to Hinduism and Buddhism (2 distinctly different systems), when in fact, yoga’s roots reach farther back in time than either system. Yoga has evolved its many facets over time as it has been incorporated into and found new characteristics in use as a component of various spiritual practices. Evidence of yogic postures in stone carvings dates back to 3000 BC.
Yoga means union. It is anything but a divisive practice, nor does it exclude anyone of any faith. A thoughtful analysis of the evidence reveals that yoga can eloquently complement not only Christianity but any faith, while also equally appealing to those who are uncertain or profess no spiritual faith at all. It truly has something to offer to everyone. On this topic, I don’t think I could put it better than Mr. B.K.S. Iyengar in Light on Yoga
, “Yoga is not a religion by itself. It is the science of religions, the study of which will enable a sādhaka (seeker) the better to appreciate his own faith.”
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