Keep religion out of exercise

Dear editor:

In response to Steven Bank's suggestion (Wednesday, Sept. 10) about how he thinks I should just "hole up" in my home, I can assure him that I have no intention of joining the silent majority of Christians! The Rev. Franklin Graham recently said (Decision magazine; July/August 2014, Page 6), "If God's people do not stand strong, who will? His (Satan's) greatest victories today take place within the church by those who remain silent."

As far as the possibility of a lawsuit forcing the public schools to abandon subjecting our children to the religious-based practice of yoga, perhaps you may recall that in my last letter, I stated that it was the moral responsibility of the school administrators and the students' parents to look into this and to do the right thing (voluntarily) about it.

Some of you may think that yoga has nothing to do with religion. That's not what Webster's Dictionary tells us in its definition of yoga. Yoga: "1. Hinduism -- a mystic and ascetic discipline by which one seeks to achieve liberation of the self and union with the supreme spirit or universal soul through intense concentration, deep meditation, and practices involving prescribed postures, controlled breathing, etc., practiced in yoga."

Notice that Webster referred to it as an "ascetic discipline?" I also looked up the definition of ascetic: "1. a person who leads a life of contemplation and rigorous self-denial for religious purposes." The definition of asceticism is "2. the religious doctrine that one can reach a higher spiritual state ..." All this is certainly sounding very religious to me! Seems like any ol' religion will do except -- Christianity!

Oh, I noticed that some of the recent yoga advocates who wrote letters are also claiming to be Christians. When I Googled "yoga and Christianity," Laurette Willis, a Christian who is an expert on the practice of yoga, said that she "is convinced that yoga and Hinduism are inextricably linked and that there can be no such thing as Christian yoga. Christian yoga is an oxymoron. It is like saying someone is a Christian Buddhist or a Christian Hindu. Some people are trying to make yoga Christian. Even Hindus are saying that you cannot do that."

Another article from the Christian organization CARM said, "We must first understand that yoga is taught within all sects of Hinduism, in which it is taught as a means to (supposedly) have salvation. The problem is that yoga is religious in nature. The point of the practice of yoga is (the attempt) to unite oneself with some god."

"There are many other physical fitness programs out there with great benefits. So why take the chance of meddling with something that comes from, and is associated with, a false view of salvation? Why do we feel like we have to use an exercise that has religious values from a false religious system? The point of yoga is to combine body mind and soul together." These are not just stretching exercises, folks!

Lloyd Hoffman

Hot Springs

Editorial on 09/14/2014

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