handy
Member
Biblereader, I'm not aware of anyone taking any kind of subjective stand on this, I think you might be misunderstanding where I'm coming from on this. I'm not trying to be subjective, just following the principle laid down for us in Romans 14 which speaks to us on our liberty in Christ, and the need for us not to be judgmental towards one another, but at the same time not lead others into sin. Which is why, if one doesn't feel any kind of spiritual connection to the yoga exercises in of themselves, and find them a beneficial form of exercise, then one has the freedom to participate. But, if one feels that it is too wrapped up in idolatry, then one needs to abstain.
And, since you've asked me to define abstain, OK:
To abstain, easy enough, don't do it.
Hinduism is a form of evil because it promotes the idolatry of false gods. Therefore, one should not practice Hinduism.
Exercise is not evil, but on the contrary quite good for us. Therefore, we should engage in healthy exercise.
If one cannot separate the physical benefits of yoga as exercise from the spiritual practice of Hindu's, then one must abstain from yoga.
If however, one sees the exercises as healthy and doesn't enter into any kind of spiritualism when doing the exercises, then one has liberty in Christ. As I mentioned before, someone could make the argument that then the exercises cease to be "yoga" altogether, but many define a certain type of exercise as yoga, even when it does not encompass any spirituality.
Some think that abstaining from every form of evil means that we should never do something that might be mistaken as "evil" by someone, however innocuous it is. If we were to follow this thinking it would lead to the same kind of "fencing the law" that the Pharisees were guilty of, leading us into the sin of adding to God's commandments.
The key word in the texts seems to be "appearance" which is the word "eidos". This word is a word which means the outward form of something. It's the same word that described the Holy Spirit as appearing in the form of a dove at Christ's baptism (Luke 3:22) and the alteration of Christ's facial features and physical form during the Transfiguration(Luke 9:29). It is a word that is about what form something is rather than what someone might mistakenly think something might be.
When we look at the context of 2 Thessalonians 5 we see that Paul is speaking in concrete terms: Rejoice, pray, do not quench, examine, hold fast, abstain. These are not just symbolic ideals he is speaking of here, but very practical directions in how we are to conduct ourselves. The evil that we are to abstain from is real evil, not just some innocuous activity that might be misunderstood as such.
I realize that my answer about taking it up with Christ sounded a bit snippy, after being away from the subject a bit and then coming back to it. Let me explain: I used to be a part of a community theater company. We would rehearse at night, sometimes well past 11:00. Often, I would get home after 11:30 and yet would have to be at work by 6:30. Other Christians in the company suggested yoga as an excellent way to physically transition from "hyper-mode" to "relaxed enough to sleep". My doctor was also prescribing yoga as a way to alleviate the discomfort of my bad hip. However, I had read that some Christians felt that yoga was inherently evil. So, I prayerfully studied the issue, and searched the Scriptures and found complete liberty in doing the yoga sans/spiritualism. Yes, I did find the exercises to be an excellent way to relax so that I could get to sleep earlier and yes, it helped my hip tremendously. I really should never have stopped doing them.
(Frankly, if there was ever a hint of anything sinful about yoga, I have to confess it wouldn't have been any more sinful as how I've let my body become out of shape just 'cause of some health issues.
)
So, in that sense, yes, I did "take it up with Jesus" and yes, it was confirmed that there is full liberty to partake of all that is good.
But, as is always the case when it comes to these issues of things that are neither condemned nor approved of in the Scriptures, if one feels that something is sinful, then one must abstain, not because it has the "look" of something evil, but because one is not doing it from faith in one's liberty in Christ.
And, since you've asked me to define abstain, OK:
To abstain, easy enough, don't do it.
Hinduism is a form of evil because it promotes the idolatry of false gods. Therefore, one should not practice Hinduism.
Exercise is not evil, but on the contrary quite good for us. Therefore, we should engage in healthy exercise.
If one cannot separate the physical benefits of yoga as exercise from the spiritual practice of Hindu's, then one must abstain from yoga.
If however, one sees the exercises as healthy and doesn't enter into any kind of spiritualism when doing the exercises, then one has liberty in Christ. As I mentioned before, someone could make the argument that then the exercises cease to be "yoga" altogether, but many define a certain type of exercise as yoga, even when it does not encompass any spirituality.
Some think that abstaining from every form of evil means that we should never do something that might be mistaken as "evil" by someone, however innocuous it is. If we were to follow this thinking it would lead to the same kind of "fencing the law" that the Pharisees were guilty of, leading us into the sin of adding to God's commandments.
The key word in the texts seems to be "appearance" which is the word "eidos". This word is a word which means the outward form of something. It's the same word that described the Holy Spirit as appearing in the form of a dove at Christ's baptism (Luke 3:22) and the alteration of Christ's facial features and physical form during the Transfiguration(Luke 9:29). It is a word that is about what form something is rather than what someone might mistakenly think something might be.
When we look at the context of 2 Thessalonians 5 we see that Paul is speaking in concrete terms: Rejoice, pray, do not quench, examine, hold fast, abstain. These are not just symbolic ideals he is speaking of here, but very practical directions in how we are to conduct ourselves. The evil that we are to abstain from is real evil, not just some innocuous activity that might be misunderstood as such.
I realize that my answer about taking it up with Christ sounded a bit snippy, after being away from the subject a bit and then coming back to it. Let me explain: I used to be a part of a community theater company. We would rehearse at night, sometimes well past 11:00. Often, I would get home after 11:30 and yet would have to be at work by 6:30. Other Christians in the company suggested yoga as an excellent way to physically transition from "hyper-mode" to "relaxed enough to sleep". My doctor was also prescribing yoga as a way to alleviate the discomfort of my bad hip. However, I had read that some Christians felt that yoga was inherently evil. So, I prayerfully studied the issue, and searched the Scriptures and found complete liberty in doing the yoga sans/spiritualism. Yes, I did find the exercises to be an excellent way to relax so that I could get to sleep earlier and yes, it helped my hip tremendously. I really should never have stopped doing them.
(Frankly, if there was ever a hint of anything sinful about yoga, I have to confess it wouldn't have been any more sinful as how I've let my body become out of shape just 'cause of some health issues.
)So, in that sense, yes, I did "take it up with Jesus" and yes, it was confirmed that there is full liberty to partake of all that is good.
But, as is always the case when it comes to these issues of things that are neither condemned nor approved of in the Scriptures, if one feels that something is sinful, then one must abstain, not because it has the "look" of something evil, but because one is not doing it from faith in one's liberty in Christ.
)