Should we do Yoga and Karate:___________________________________
What is Yoga: A Hindu discipline for achieving
union with the supreme spirit through intense concentration, prescribed
postures, controlled breathing, etc. Simply put, it is
‘the path followed so as to realize the God within’. This is accomplished by
getting on the right path, through meditation. Meditation is emptying the mind
through physical, mental or spiritual exercises. Yoga, like the martial arts,
is primarily spiritual and then physical.
What is Karate: Zen Master’s synthesize karate
techniques and yoga meditation in order to unite mind, spirit and body to
attain enlightenment ( discover the way or path).
Karate is a form of fighting which combines physical movements with a
pantheistic religious philosophy that attempts to harness and nurture our inner
energy to face conflict and tension by experiencing Zen—meditation that makes
you one with the universe.
What is Tae Kwon Do: It is a kicking and punching
technique combined with the spiritual idea of discovering the path of
enlightenment and oneness with the energy field god of the universe. This techniques is connected with the basic Buddhist’s idea (Yoga
is with Hinduism and Karate with Taoism) that we must empty our minds and flow
with a free mind in touch with your true self.
Observations of passages relevant to Yoga, Karate,
and Tae Kwon Do____
Relevant Passages:
1) Exodus 20:3 I am the Lord your God…..you shall have no other gods before me.
2) Psalm 119:14 Let the word of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in
Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 63:1 I meditate
on You, O God. My soul thirsts for You, my flesh
yearns for You. Philippians 4:8 …whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good
repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your
mind dwell on these things. Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the
things of the earth.
3) Mark
4) Isaiah 2:5-6 Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, because
they are filled with influences from the east.
5) Colossians 2:8-10 See to it that no
one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the
tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather
than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily
form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule
and authority.
6) 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have
righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Of
what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a
believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the
7) 1 Corinthians 10:14, 19-21 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry…What do I mean then? That a thing
sacrificed to idols is anything or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that
the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to
God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. You cannot drink the cup of demons; you
cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
1) Who is involved? The Lord is exclusively alone to
be honored. Our meditation is on God, praiseworthy things, and on things above
not on earth. We must love God with all our minds. God abandoned
2) What is happening? God says he alone is to be
honored. Psalms says meditation is exclusively upon God, good things as God
defines, and eternally valuable things. Mark says we should love the Lord our
God with our minds. We should not be taken captive by philosophy, empty
deception, traditions of men, elementary principles of
the world. We should be taken captive by Christ. We should not be bound
together with unbelievers, partnering in heir unrighteousness, fellowshipping
in their darkness, in harmony with their deceptions, having things in common
with them, agreements with their idols. We should walk with our God who
indwells us by His Spirit. We should flee from idolatry even though these are
figment of unbeliever’s imaginations because these idols are demonically
influenced. We cannot participate in demonic influence and with God at the same
time.
3) Where and when is it taking
place? Our
exclusive devotion to God, our meditations upon Him, our thinking of Him, our
avoidance of being taken captive, bound together with unbelievers, and fleeing
idolatry is happening now in our lives. Where and when I am
raising my families, involved in my work, serving in ministry, paying my bills,
getting my education.
4) Why is this included by the
author? God is
telling us we must have no other gods in our lives. That my meditation may be
acceptable in God’s sight. I set my mind on eternal things so earthly temporal
things kept in perspective. God abandoned
5)Is anything emphasized by repetition, relationship, contrast,
comparison? God,
eternal things, Jesus Christ must exclusively have our attention. Repetition: God gets our exclusive devotion no other
Gods before Him and we love Him completely. Our minds and meditation is never inward
but always upward to God or eternally valuable things like heaven, rewards, God’s works. Contrasts:
My mind should be set on things
above—not on things on earth. Empty worldly philosophy vs.
the fullness of Christ’s deity. What partnership between righteousness
lawlessness; what fellowship between light and darkness; what harmony between
Christ and Belial; what in common between unbeliever and believer; what
agreement with
6) What commands or principles
does author give? Commands: You shall have no other gods.
Set my mind on things above not on things on earth. Love God with all of my mind. Walk in the light of the Lord. See that I am
not taken captive. Do not be bound in thinking like unbelievers. Flee from
idolatry. Don’t be deceived by idols,
influences of the east, philosophies, empty thinking, men’s traditions,
darkness, unbelievers, demons, idolatry practices. Practice devotion to God,
meditation on God, good things like honorable, pure, right, good repute, on
eternal value.
7) Any basic solutions or
direction given by the author? What we say, what we meditate upon must be acceptable to
God not me or others. Virtue and excellence comes from letting my mind dwell on
the correct things. Setting my mind on eternal things, loving
God wholeheartedly including with all my mind, and avoiding all deceptive
practices and thinking of this world.
8) Summary: We will face the conflict between
the thinking of the world and the thinking of heaven. These will never co-exist
so we must decide to only value that which God values and that includes our
minds, our thinking, our devotion focused on who we are in Christ, who God is
and what He expects from us. Worldly religious or secular practices or
philosophies are to be avoided because they disagree with the way God thinks
and has revealed Himself to us. Nowhere are we told to
tap into the God within us. All worldly philosophies and practices including
yoga, karate and tae kwon do are associated with demonic and idolatrous
religions that God condemns. Better to learn wrestling, boxing or some other
sport not religiously or philosophically affiliated.
Subject: Warning about association with
worldly philosophies and religious practices
Predicate: because these are deceptions
focused on false gods rather than on devotion to God and Christ.
Big Idea: We must not be associated with the
world’s concepts or religious expressions because they deceive people into
believing in false gods instead of devotion to God and Christ.
Interpretations of passages relevant to Yoga,
Karate, and Tae Kwon Do________
1) Exodus 20:3 The worst sin in the Bible from cover
to cover is to bring idolatry into
2) Psalm 119:14; Psalm 63:1;
Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:2 Meditation is not wrong or bad in itself,
but acceptable meditation is always upon God, His works, heaven, eternally
valuable things, His Word. Clearly we are not to meditate on nothing or attain
‘Zen’ or ‘enlightenment’ by discovering the god within us. Rather than emptying
our minds, we should fill them by dwelling on true and honorable things as God
defines these.
3) Mark
4) Isaiah 2:5-6 These are all eastern art forms.
5) Colossians 2:8-10 This eastern philosophy has not only influenced the church today, it has
infiltrated it. Through the deception of self-defense or physical exercise and
inner peace, believers have been taken captive into a godless philosophy.
6) 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 Participation in the martial arts is flirting with idolatry. There is
absolutely nothing in common between Christianity and any worldly philosophy
that promotes any worship or devotion to the inner self or idols instead of the
God of the Bible. We are commanded not to be bound with or have anything to do
with unbelievers world-views of religious affiliations
or practices.
7) 1 Corinthians 10:14, 19-21 Practices associated with idols,
like eating meat offered to them, is repeatedly condemned. To carry out
mechanical acts associated with pagan religions originating from demons is
sinful. If you meditate, kick, box, punch, self-defense for personal or
physical reasons you might try it. But if anyone knows it is associated with
yoga, karate or tae kwon do, then you should not do it.
Summary: Since these techniques are linked with
eastern philosophies that promote the higher self instead of God, participating
in them and associating with their philosophies is sinful and should not be
practiced since God condemns are forms of idolatrous practices and reserves
exclusive devotion to Him alone for His people.
Application of relevant passages to Yoga, Karate,
and Tae Kwon Do__________
1) Author’s Intention Exodus 20:3:
God says
He alone is God and we must not be associated with anything that has other
gods, idols, philosophies, and practices that do not honor Him as God.
Application:
Therefore,
I should never participate in anything that diminishes or competes with God,
His nature, His
Word, His demands, His expectations or His commands.
2) Author’s Intention Psalm
119:14; 63:1; Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:2
Meditation
is a good thing if it is focused on God, His works, heaven, eternally valuable
things and His Word. So our minds are to be filled with these not empty.
Application:
Therefore,
I must fill my mind with God’s Word and reflections from it and never attempt
to try and empty my mind for enlightenment.
3) Author’s Intention Mark 12:30
Loving
God completely, includes loving Him with my
self-conscious life and my thought capacity.
Application:
Therefore,
I must love God wholeheartedly by the way I think, what I think about, and how
my thinking helps me to please God with my life.
4) Author’s Intention Isaiah 2:5-6
There
will always be contrary philosophies and practices that undermine Christianity
and many of these will come from eastern pantheistic religious philosophies and
practices.
Application:
Therefore,
I should not participate in eastern pantheistic religious practices because
these abandon God.
5) Author’s Intention Colossians
2:8-10
Philosophy,
empty deceptions, men’s traditions and juvenile principles of this world can
lead us astray and we become captivated by them even though they do not promote
Christ, as God, in control over everything.
Application:
Therefore,
I must understand that self-defense techniques and inner peace pursuits can
seem like a good thing and take me captive by persuading me that it has value
for my life.
6) Author’s Intention 2
Corinthians 6:14-17
There is a strong contrast between the people of this
world and their thinking, one that is darkened, of the Devil, devoted to idols,
and of believers and their thinking, one that is light, in harmony with Christ,
God’s temple, righteous, and indwelt by God. You cannot mix them together and
come up with something salvageable.
Application:
Therefore,
I cannot accommodate any association with these philosophies since they have
nothing in common with my God who indwells me.
7) Author’s Intention 1
Corinthians 10:14, 19-21
Carrying
out acts associated with idolatry, pagan philosophies or worldly religious
practices, is participating in something demons are behind.
Application:
Therefore,
I should not participate in practices that are known to be connected with any
worldly religious philosophies that do not promote Jesus Christ, or exclusively
honor the God of the Bible.