Christian Yoga? It's a Stretch...(Is Yoga Demonic? Yes, it is.)

[TER]

If you think I will go to hell if I do not declare Jesus my personal savior...

Then you think I am going to hell.

There is still a lot of time remaining before our eternal fate is determined, and it is the Christian belief that you (like everyone else) will one day stand before Jesus Christ. How you will react and accept Him as Lord and Judge over creation and how you have lived your life will determine whether you will go to hell or not, and not anything eduardo or I or anyone else here says.

 

[wannaberocker]

Hinduism was monotheistic before Christianity existed. It is just that no one happened to tell you.

It is a little known fact in the West. Maybe someone here wants to hide it, in order to more easily marginalize Hinduism.

There is only one Supreme God in Hinduism, and He has a limitless number of names. But if I were to get into His divine personality, you would not understand it and would reject it flat out, so it does not seem useful to discuss that.

To keep everything simple to understand, it is most accurate to simply state that we worship the same God, and that there is only one.

The demigods in Hinduism are not Gods. They are more like emperors of planets. They are beings that God has empowered for a certain purpose in His divine plan. But they are not God.

there is absolutely no no no evidence that Hinduism is monotheistic. Yet here you are claiming it is a monotheistic religion. Its getting harder and harder for me to take anything you say seriously.

 

[Yieu]

There is still a lot of time remaining before our eternal fate is determined, and it is the Christian belief that you (like everyone else) will one day stand before Jesus Christ. How you will react and accept Him as Lord and Judge over creation and how you have lived your life will determine whether you will go to hell or not, and not anything eduardo or I or anyone else here says.

Then why do people want to judge me and reject me so much?

If God (or Jesus) is the ultimate judge, then I think it makes more sense to not declare who is going to hell for stating or not stating a phrase.

I accept Jesus for who he claims to be, and that is the son of the almighty Lord of creation.

I view that as accepting him, not as rejecting him. I am not saying I think low of him. I think he's awesome and I love him.

 

[Lishy]

Well aliens DO make more sense than a magic man living in the clouds who can snap his fingers and create cheezburgers!

 

[Yieu]

there is absolutely no no no evidence that Hinduism is monotheistic. Yet here you are claiming it is a monotheistic religion. Its getting harder and harder for me to take anything you say seriously.

Says the person who has not studied Hinduism to the Hindu.



I am Hindu, and I am monotheistic. To consider Hinduism not monotheistic is only a Western bias, and it is not true.

Yes, there are some Hindus who are not monotheistic. But there are more than one type of Hinduism.

I speak only of the Vaishnava Bhakti system, which comprises about 70% of Hindus.

Vaishnavas are 100% monotheistic.

 

[eduardo89]

Then why do people want to judge me and reject me so much?

I think you're being too sensitive now. I am neither judging your nor rejecting you. I am extending my arms and wish to embrace you as a brother in Christ. I sincerely hope that one day we will be able to do that.

I simply do not share your view that there are many paths to God. I believe in one path and that path is Jesus Christ.

 

[TER]

Right, and I'm talking about how it is used by ordinary catholics when they "pray" to various saints. I'm not judging your religion, just pointing out that from an outsider perspective catholics treat saints as minor gods and pray to them and ask things from them. i've known hundreds of catholics in real life, and they all treat them this way. I bring it up; because my impression of catholic saints is very similar to what it sounds like you guys think of the hindu gods.

I think you make a common error which is understandable to a degree because of the practice of certain pious Christians who do indeed make some of the saints to be almost as some sort of demigod. But they do this against the teachings of the Church, whether Orthodox or Catholic or Anglican. The Church does not worship saints but God alone. The Church's understanding of praying to saints is that we entreat them for their assistance knowing that they have run the race and have found favor with God and that to Him they are indeed alive and do entreat God for us, just as described in Revelation. This is the testimony of the Church. Likewise, the western term for prayer may commonly mean worshiping a deity as you described, but that is because the western world has lost the distinction of prayer and worship, the one meaning to ask and entreat and the other done only towards God.

 

[WilliamC]

 

[Yieu]

I think you're being too sensitive now. I am neither judging your nor rejecting you. I am extending my arms and wish to embrace you as a brother in Christ. I sincerely hope that one day we will be able to do that.

I simply do not share your view that there are many paths to God. I believe in one path and that path is Jesus Christ.

I am standing here with my arms already open to embrace you as a brother under God, not some time in the future.

But currently, your back is turned.

 

[eduardo89]

I am standing here with my arms already open to embrace you as a brother under God, not some time in the future.

But currently, your back is turned.

Perhaps it is my preconceptions of Bhatki and Hinduism. I will certainly look into it more closely. But that doesn't stop me hoping and won't stop me from praying for you. I will be praying that the Holy Spirit guides you towards accepting Christ as your Savior. I do not say this out of disrespect for your religion, but because I love you. And I don't just want to say this to you, but to everyone here on the forum who has not found Christ. (yes, that even includes Nirvikalpa ) I have prayed for you all and will continue to include you all in my prayers.

 

[specsaregood]

//

 

[wannaberocker]

Says the person who has not studied Hinduism to the Hindu.



I am Hindu, and I am monotheistic. To consider Hinduism not monotheistic is only a Western bias, and it is not true.

Yes, there are some Hindus who are not monotheistic. But there are more than one type of Hinduism.

I speak only of the Vaishnava Bhakti system, which comprises about 70% of Hindus.

Vaishnavas are 100% monotheistic.

you are also the same guy who claimed that you believe that Jesus is God. But then went on to claim that you worship Jesus's father. That stance in of itself makes your belief system polytheistic.

make up your mind.

 

[TER]

Then why do people want to judge me and reject me so much?

If God (or Jesus) is the ultimate judge, then I think it makes more sense to not declare who is going to hell for stating or not stating a phrase.

I accept Jesus for who he claims to be, and that is the son of the almighty Lord of creation.

I view that as accepting him, not as rejecting him. I am not saying I think low of him. I think he's awesome and I love him.

I am sorry Yieu, but you are not accepting Him for Who He says He is, for He says that He is the Alpha and the Omega, and that no one can go to the Father except through Him. We, as Christians, take Him literally in this regard, and that is why we cannot accept Hinduism or any other religion. There can be no relativism here, He is either Who He says He is or He is not. That is not a condemnation to you AT ALL. This is not a judgment upon you AT ALL. This is rather the faith that has been preserved, defended, and died for from the Apostles 2000 years ago, and as Christians we confess this same faith. Not AGAINST what you believe, but FOR what we believe. NOT to condemn you, but to SHARE with you. NOT to judge you, but to do what we can to have you come to the Truth.

But you must be able to separate what I am saying and not assume that by what I am saying I have condemned you or judged you to eternal hellfire. Far from it my friend! It is not up to me, for I am a habitual sinner who will most likely be shut out of the Kingdom while many other Hindus who lived virtuous lives of mercy and love and charity will find mercy from God in that Final Day.

 

[eduardo89]

I get that. Which is partly why I brought it up; to remind all of you that you might have made similar "common errors" about yieu's beliefs.

sidenote: I was just telling my wife the other day (somehow subject came up) that I'd dig checking out an orthodox service sometime (based on your description). it is one of the few religious events i haven't attended at some point in my life -- i've been to lots of various ones.

If you can't find a strictly Orthodox service in your area, also look for an Eastern Catholic or Orthodox Catholic service. They also sometimes carry the name Byzantine Catholic or Greek Catholic. They are similar in many ways to Eastern Orthodox services.

Also, if you can, I highly recommend checking out a Tridentine Mass. It's the old Catholic Mass in Latin which was used before the Vatican II reforms. It's quite the experience.

 

[specsaregood]

//

 

[Brown Sapper]

In Hinduism there is one supreme god. The idols you think that we worship are manifestations of God. That is why Yieu can believe in Jesus because he considers him a manifestation of god.

 

[wannaberocker]

In Hinduism there is one supreme god. The idols you think that we worship are manifestations of God. That is why Yieu can believe in Jesus because he considers him a manifestation of god.

and that is why the question becomes was Jesus right when he said he was the ONLY way or was he a liar. He cannot be the truth and a liar both.

 

[TER]

I get that. Which is partly why I brought it up; to remind all of you that you might have made similar "common errors" about yieu's beliefs.

sidenote: I was just telling my wife the other day (somehow subject came up) that I'd dig checking out an orthodox service sometime (based on your description). it is one of the few religious events i haven't attended at some point in my life -- i've been to lots of various ones.

Go, and you might understand this little anecdote a little better: (of course, I may be a bit biased!)

Here is a story in the Russian Primary Chronicle of how in the tenth century, Vladimir, Prince of Kiev, while still a pagan, desired to know which was the true religion, and therefore sent his followers to visit the various countries of the world in turn. They went first to the Moslem Bulgars of the Volga , but observing that these when they prayed gazed around them like men possessed, the Russians continued on their way dissatisfied. ‘There is no joy among them,’ they reported to Vladimir , ‘but mournfulness and a great smell; and there is nothing good about their system.’ Traveling next to Germany and Rome , they found the worship more satisfactory, but complained that here too it was without beauty. Finally they journeyed to Constantinople , and here at last, as they attended the Divine Liturgy in the great Church of the Holy Wisdom, they discovered what they desired. ‘We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendour or beauty anywhere upon earth. We cannot describe it to you: only this we know, that God dwells there among men, and that their service surpasses the worship of all other places. For we cannot forget that beauty.’

 

[eduardo89]

Go, and you might understand this little anecdote a little better: (of course, I may be a bit biased!)

The anecdote pretty much sums up why I don't enjoy Protestant services and why I dislike post-Vatican II Catholic Mass.

 

[Kotin]

you are also the same guy who claimed that you believe that Jesus is God. But then went on to claim that you worship Jesus's father. That stance in of itself makes your belief system polytheistic.

make up your mind.

I grew up Christian with many people that thought like you.. In very simple, rigid terms..


That's why I moved on from organized religion as a whole.


Please stop arguing over semantics