VOL. 29, NO. 4 OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2009 EDITOR: KEITH A. MORSE

by J. Greg SherylHinduism, the primary religion ofthe subcontinent of India, has gaineda firm foothold and wide acceptancein the United States since first attract-ing significant attention in the 19thcentury. Images of Hindu ‘‘holy men’’are familiar in modern popular cul-ture, due to their frequent associationwith those among the Hollywood,music, and literary set. And manyAmericans have taken up yoga,which is inextricably inter-twined with Hinduism, forphys ica l exerc i se . Somechurches even offer yogaclasses, going so far as tocall it ‘‘Christian yoga.’’

But before taking a yogaclass, the discerning Chris-tian needs to consider theimplications of yoga andwhether it can be integratedinto one’s daily walk with theLord Jesus.

No examination of yoga’s in-fluence and impact can excludeHinduism. In his 1989 book, TheNew Age Cult, Walter Martin wrote:

‘‘The great English apologist andwriter C. S. Lewis saw the battlelines clearly drawn. He notedthat in the final conflict betweenreligions, Hinduism and Chris-tianity would offer the only vi-able options because Hinduism

Hinduism has no identifiablefounder and it does not require abelief in any god. It tends to absorb —or try to absorb — elements fromother religions. The conventional wis-dom is that Hinduism is the mostancient world religion. But MarkAlbrecht writes:

‘‘Modern scholarship hasestablished that the earli-est vestiges of the Hindu

religion are to be found inthe scripture known as the

Rig Veda, which was prob-ably compiled about 1500 B.C.

at the earliest. This makes Hin-duism the world’s second old-est religion after Judaism,which was established byGod’s covenant with Abra-ham, somewhere between

2000 to 1800 B.C.’’2

Another states:

‘‘Hinduism is not reallyone religion, but many

religions that interact and(continues on page 13)

Inside this Issue:Jehovah's Witnesses & the Enigma of Michael Jackson .. Page 2No Longer for Men Only ........................................... Page 3Yogananda: Purveyor of a Different Jesus ................... Page 4

absorbs all religious systems, andChristianity excludes all others,maintaining the supremacy ofthe claims of Jesus Christ.’’1

October-December 2009 The Quarterly Journal · 13

67. Paramahansa Yogananda, Why GodPermits Evil and How To Rise Above It. LosAngeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 2004,pp. 45-46.68. The Bible clearly states that, ‘‘Allunrighteousness is sin’’ (1 John 5:17).69. Paramhansa Yogananda, Karma andReincarnation. Nevada City, Calif.: CrystalClarity Publishers, 2007, pg. 53.70. Winfried Corduan, Neighboring Faiths:A Christian Introduction to World Religions.Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press,1998, pg. 197.71. Man’s Eternal Quest, op. cit., 2ndedition, pg. 300, italic in original.72. Autobiography of a Yogi, op. cit., chapter49, pg. 558.73. Mohandas K. Gandhi, Autobiography:The Story of My Experiments with Truth,translated by Mahadev Desai. New York:Dover Publications, Inc., 1983, pg. 119. Anunabridged republication of the editionpublished by Public Affairs Press, Wash-ington, D.C., 1948, under the title Gandhi’sAutobiography: The Story of My Experimentswith Truth.74. Philip Graham Ryken, Is Jesus the OnlyWay? Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1999,pp. 10, 11, italic in original.75. Ibid., pg. 37.76. Paramahansa Yogananda, The Yoga ofJesus: Understanding the Hidden Teachings of

the Gospels, Selections from the writings ofParamahansa Yogananda. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 2007, pg. 1. Thisbook is, in the main, excerpts from the2-volume set by Paramahansa Yogananda,The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrec-tion of the Christ Within You.77. Ibid., pg. 2, italics in original.78. Ibid., pg. 5, italics in original.79. Ibid., pg. 4.80. Man’s Eternal Quest, op. cit., 2ndedition, pg. 235.81. The Second Coming of Christ: TheResurrection of the Christ Within You, op.cit., Vol. I, pg. xxi, italics in original.82. Man’s Eternal Quest, op. cit., 2ndedition, pg. 292.83. Autobiography of a Yogi, op. cit., chapter34, pg. 362, italics in original.84. The Second Coming of Christ: TheResurrection of the Christ Within You, op.cit., Vol. II, Discourse 68, pg. 1336.85. Ibid., Vol. II, Discourse 48, pg. 931.86. The Yoga of Jesus, op. cit., pg. 13.87. Autobiography of a Yogi, op. cit., chapter49, pg. 568.88. Paramahansa Yogananda In Memoriam:Personal Accounts of the Master’s Final Days,op. cit., pg. 69. The entire text of Yoga-nanda’s short speech is given in this book.This book contains much good biographi-cal material about Yogananda.

89. See Ronald Enroth, editor, Evangelizingthe Cults: How to Share Jesus with Children,Parents, Neighbors, and Friends Who AreInvolved in a Cult. Ann Arbor, Mich.: VineBooks, 1990, pg. 21. This specific is takenfrom the chapter on ‘‘Hinduism’’ by MarkAlbrecht.90. The Second Coming of Christ: TheResurrection of the Christ Within You, op.cit., Vol. I, Discourse 18, pg. 308.91. Paramahansa Yogananda In Memoriam:Personal Accounts of the Master’s Final Days,op. cit., pp. 12, 32.92. Ibid., pp. 93-95.93. Ibid., pg. 68, emphasis added.94. This book consistently takes greatpains to make it appear that Yoganandaknew about and gave intimations of hiscoming demise. However, from what hesaid here in his speech, it certainly doesn’tsound like it. Otherwise, why would hepoint out the premature deaths of Ameri-can millionaires?95. ‘‘Swami Yogananda and the Self-Realization Fellowship,’’ op. cit., pg. 41.96. The Yoga of Jesus, op. cit., pg. 20, thisstatement rendered in italics in the book.97. John Ankerberg and John Weldon, TheFacts on False Teaching in the Church.Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House Publishers,1988, pg. 5, italics in original.

YOGA AND THE CHRISTIAN(continued from page 1)

blend with one another. There isno known founder of Hinduism,no creedal statements of faith tosign and no agreed-upon author-ity. In fact, one can be a goodHindu and believe in one god,many gods or no god at all!’’3

Christian researchers John Anker-berg and John Weldon state:

‘‘In its most simple definition,Hinduism may be defined as thereligious beliefs and practicescommon to India. Defining Hin-duism in a more precise manneris difficult because of the widenumber of practices and teach-ings it offers.’’4

The Oxford Dictionary of World Reli-gions says Hinduism is ‘‘The majorcontinuing and connected religions ofIndia, which have now spreadthroughout the world.’’5

It also says, ‘‘About 80 per cent ofIndia’s approx. one billion people

regard themselves as Hindu, andthere are about 30 million Hinduselsewhere in the world.’’6

Hinduism does have scriptures andcore beliefs. Hindu scriptures includethe four Vedas; their commentaries,called the Upanishads (also known asVedanta, ‘‘the last of the Vedas’’); theMahabharata (of which the BhagavadGita is a small portion); theRamayana; and other lesser books.

One of the popular gods withinHinduism’s pantheon is Krishna, themain character in the Bhagavad Gita.The Bhagavad Gita is sometimescalled ‘‘the Gita’’ and, as noted above,is a portion of the larger Hindu epiccalled the Mahabharata.

As far as ‘‘core beliefs,’’ Fritz Ride-nour states, ‘‘There are, however, twofoundational assumptions that almostall Hindus believe without question:reincarnation and karma.’’7 Christianresearcher Elliot Miller adds a third:‘‘practice of some form of yoga.’’8

Reincarnation is the belief that, afterdeath, one’s soul is recycled in

another body — human, animal, orinsect. Karma is the law of cause andeffect, involving the idea that a personmust somehow pay for the wrongsthey have done, either in this life orthe next. Hinduism also teaches thecaste (or class) system, although someHindus, such as Gandhi, opposed it.Seminary professor George Braswellexplains:

‘‘According to the Laws of Manu[a portion of the Hindu scrip-tures] the caste system is justifiedby the belief in Karma and thetransmigration of souls. Hindusare not in their social position byaccident, and there is no injusticein being in any caste. One getswhat one merits. ... The castesystem still remains in India.’’9

Braswell further describes the fivebroad castes within Hinduism:

1. ‘‘The Brahmin caste is the mostprivileged one. It is the protectorand transmitter of the Vedascriptures and has general over-sight of society.’’

14 · The Quarterly Journal October-December 2009

2. ‘‘The warrior caste (Kshatriya)is the governing class. The kings,princes, politicians, army, andpolice populate this group. Theymake policy, collect taxes, anddefend the people while recog-nizing the supremacy of theBrahmin in faith and moral in-struction.’’

3. ‘‘The Vaisya is the third caste.It includes the middle class occu-pations, including merchants,traders, teachers, and craftsmen.’’

4. ‘‘The Sudra class is composedof farmers, peasants, and manuallaborers.’’

5. ‘‘Another caste which has de-veloped is called the outcaste orthe untouchables. The untouch-ables are aliens who moved intoIndia. They have little associationwith the other four castes. Theyperform such jobs as washingclothes, making shoes, and cre-mating the dead. They have noaccess to the religious rituals ofthe other castes.’’10

Most, if not all, Hindus are vegetar-ians and many believe in and practiceastrology. Hindu religion bars theslaughter of cattle and the consump-tion of beef.11 Regarding astrology,one source states, ‘‘In Hinduism, deci-sion-making on all serious matters(e.g. the date and time of a wedding)and on many everyday matters isreferred to astrology.’’12

HINDUISM COMESTO AMERICA

At least three factors contributed toHinduism’s rise to prominence inAmerica in the 18th century. Concern-ing the first, Ridenour says:

‘‘Hindu ideas began to influenceWestern thought in the mid-nineteenth century when RalphWaldo Emerson, a leadingAmerican exponent of transcen-dentalism, steeped himself inHindu writings. His doctrine ofthe ‘Oversoul’ was an expressionof pantheism ... . Henry DavidThoreau, a contemporary of Em-erson and fellow transcendental-ist, was inspired by the Upan-ishads and Bhagavad Gita when he

wrote Walden and some of hisother books.’’13

A second factor was the rise of themind science religions, such as Chris-tian Science and Unity, and other newreligions, such as Theosophy, whichborrowed from Hinduism.

A third factor arose in 1893. L.T.Jeyachandran describes it:

‘‘The most memorable event thatinaugurated the entry of Hinduthought into the West was thevisit to the United States ofSwami Vivekananda in 1893when he took by storm theWorld Congress on Religions inChicago. He began his speechwith the politically correct phrase‘Brothers and sisters,’ which wasgreeted by several minutes ofthunderous applause. ... In hisinteraction with Christians at thisconference, Swami Vivekanandaalso denied the existence of sin,because all reality was one andtherefore there could be no finaldistinction between right andwrong. He is supposed to havemade the memorable statement‘It is sinful to call man a sinner.’He substantiated his position bypositing the ultimate unity of allthings, including apparently con-flicting beliefs.’’14

The next prominent guru wasSwami Yogananda,15 who came to theUnited States in 1920, bringing hispractice of kriya yoga with him. Hehas been called ‘‘the Father of Yoga inthe West.’’16 Yogananda’s authorizedorganization, Self-Realization Fellow-ship (SRF), continues to publish hiswritings and speeches.

In the latter half of the 20th century,other gurus came to America. Amongthem were Maharishi Mahesh Yogi,who developed the yoga technique ofTranscendental Meditation; Bhak-tivedanta Swami Prabhupada, whogave impetus to the Hare Krishnamovement in America; Guru MaharajJi, who was associated with the Di-vine Light Mission; Guru BhagwanShree Rajneesh, whom the late cultexpert Walter Martin said was ‘‘indis-putably the preeminent Eastern guruof the 1980s.’’17

The modern day New Age move-ment has continued the influence ofHinduism, as have such contempo-rary New Age gurus as DeepakChopra and Shirley MacLaine.

BREAKING DOWN HINDUISM

Hinduism comes in a number ofvarieties. John Ankerberg and JohnWeldon explain:

‘‘In America the dominant Hindubelief is called Vedanta. Of all theconflicting schools of Hinduism,Vedanta has had the most pro-found overall influence: ‘Vedanta(‘‘the End of the Vedas’’) was theschool which gave organized andsystematic form to the teachingof the Upanishads. While theother schools are almost orwholly extinct, Vedanta is stillvery much alive, for nearly allthe great Hindu religious teach-ers of recent centuries have beenVedantists of one branch or an-other.’ Since the texts of Vedantaare contradictory and impossibleto interpret uniformly, variousschools of Vedanta have arisen.The dominant Vedantic school inAmerica is called advaita or the‘non-dual’ school. This beliefteaches that there is only oneimpersonal God called Brahman.Brahman alone is real; everythingelse is considered a dream ofBrahman — an ‘illusion.’ ... Thisidea that the world is an illusion‘hiding’ Brahman is a key teach-ing of Hinduism in America.’’18

As one source says:

‘‘[The Hindu philosopher] San-kara summarized his system [i.e.,advaita Vedanta] in a single sen-tence, ‘Brahman alone is real, theworld is [only] appearance, at-man [i.e., ‘‘the true self’’] isnothing but Brahman.’’’19

And so the philosophical underpin-ning of what we in the West think ofas yoga is this advaita Vedanta schoolof Hinduism: A pantheistic belief thatthe only thing that truly exists is theimpersonal Hindu god Brahman. Ev-erything, including each individual, isalso Brahman (God).

October-December 2009 The Quarterly Journal · 15

According to this brand of Hindu-ism, man’s problem is that he hasforgotten that he is God (or that God— Brahman — is him/her). Yoga isdesigned to cause practitioners notjust to intellectually believe that theyare God, but to experience that they areGod. Yoga is also designed to causethe individual to experience the‘‘truth’’ that the material world is anillusion, and that everything inexistence is Brahman. The techniquefor accomplishing this is yoga, whichdoes this by producing an alteredstate of consciousness in which theindividual experiences these ‘‘truths.’’

As one Christian publication de-scribes it:

‘‘Our problem is not sin butignorance — the fact that wehave forgotten our divinity. ...We have to realize our owndivinity, and yoga is the path bywhich to experience God-con-sciousness. Salvation, in otherwords, is a matter of perceptionor realization. In this context,perceiving is not a cognitive ac-tivity. It is not a matter ofintellectually knowing or logi-cally deducing our divinity, butrather transcending our cogni-tive, rational consciousness andexperiencing a higher state ofexpanded consciousness, whichis believed to be God, or our trueself [also known as self-realiza-tion].’’20

‘‘To sum up, then, salvation inHinduism is found in the realiza-tion, perception or experience ofour so-called true nature, whichtakes place when we attain a‘higher’ state of consciousness.We attempt to reach this state ofconsciousness through manipula-tion of the nervous system, andthe techniques that help us dothis — techniques developedover several millennia — arefound in yoga.’’21

When most Americans think ofyoga, they may think of variousbodily poses and postures and/orbreathing techniques associated espe-cially with hatha yoga. This is, in-deed, a physical form of yoga. How-

ever, not all forms of yoga ‘‘involvesitting in yogic postures, controllingone’s breath, and concentrating on amantra or mandala.’’22

It doesn’t really matter whether onepractices a physical or relatively non-physical form of yoga, however, be-cause the goal is the same for allvarieties. Elliot Miller explains:

‘‘Yoga is derived from the San-skrit word yug, which means ‘toyoke.’ ... In Hinduism, as inmany religions, union is desiredwith nothing less than God orthe Absolute, and yoga is thesystem that Hindus have devel-oped to achieve that end. Thehistoric purpose behind yoga,therefore, is to achieve unionwith the Hindu concept of God.This is the purpose behind virtu-ally all of the Eastern varieties ofyoga, including those we en-counter in the West. This doesnot mean it is the purpose ofevery practitioner of yoga, formany people clearly are not prac-ticing it for spiritual reasons butmerely to enhance their physicalappearance, ability, or health.’’23

Certain forms of yoga that don’tparticularly involve physical poses arebhakti yoga, jnana yoga, and karmayoga.24 One source briefly delineatesthese non- (or less overtly) physicalforms of yoga in this way:

‘‘Bhakti Yoga: the Yoga of devo-tion. ... Jnana Yoga: the Yoga ofwisdom. Karma Yoga: the Yogaof self-transcending action.’’25

One well-known form of bhaktiyoga is practiced by the Hare Krishnasect, with its devotion to the Hindudeity Krishna. Classical yoga is calledRaja (‘‘royal’’) yoga or ashtanga(‘‘eight-limbed’’) yoga. Hatha yoga isa subset of raja yoga, as is therelatively non-physically exertingyoga technique of TranscendentalMeditation taught by the late Mahar-ishi Mahesh Yogi.26

Raja (classical or ashtanga) has eightsteps or ‘‘limbs.’’ One introductoryyoga text briefly describes these eightsteps and their intended results asfollows:

‘‘Yama (pronounced yah-mah):Moral discipline, consisting ofthe practices of nonharming,truthfulness, nonstealing, chas-tity, and greedlessness ... Niyama(pronounced nee-yah-mah): Self-restraint, consisting of the fivepractices of purity, contentment,austerity, self-study, and devo-tion to a higher principle. Asana(pronounced ah-sah-nah): Posture,which serves two basic purposes— meditation and health.Pranayama (pronounced prah-nah-yah-mah): Breath control, whichraises and balances your psycho-somatic energy, thus boostingyour health and mental concen-tration. Pratyahara (pronouncedprah-tyah-hah-rah): Sensory inhibi-tion, which internalizes your con-sciousness to prepare the mindfor the various stages of medita-tion. Dharana (pronounced dhah-rah-nah): Concentration, or ex-tended mental focusing, which isfundamental to yogic meditation.Dhyana (pronounced dhee-yah-nah): Meditation, the principalpractice of higher Yoga ... Sama-dhi (pronounced sah-mah-dhee):Ecstasy, or the experience of uni-tive consciousness in which youbecome inwardly one with theobject of your contemplation.’’27

As one source explains, hatha yogais ‘‘the first five steps of the eight-stepprocess’’ of raja yoga and ‘‘includesexternal preparations for transcendingphysical and psychological processesof the body.’’28 We are then told:

‘‘When this [i.e., the first fivesteps] is done, one is to begin thethree internal steps of raja-yoga.The first five steps of Yoga havebeen conscious external methodsof preparation for the internalgoals of raja-yoga.’’29

The occultic nature of raja yoga isrevealed in a discussion of ‘‘Raja-yoga’’ given by The Oxford Dictionaryof World Religions. It states in part:

‘‘The last three stages [of rajayoga], dharana, dhyana, and sa-madhi, collectively termedsamyama, are stages of concen-tration very closely connected. ...Through practicing samyama the

16 · The Quarterly Journal October-December 2009

yogin also develops variousmagical powers (vibhuti or sid-dha) such as knowledge of hisown previous births ... telepathy... knowledge of the past andfuture ... and levitation ... etc.’’30

In a short entry on ‘‘Hatha-yoga,’’the Oxford Dictionary also states thathatha yoga was:

‘‘Originally a part of Raja-yoga astaught by Patanjali [perhaps 2nd-3rd centuries A.D.], but nowfrequently detached as a yoga toseek mental and physical health.Its purpose is to locate and acti-vate the cakras (centres of en-ergy) and thus to raise the kun-dalini (dormant spiritual power)to life. It works especiallythrough bodily postures (asana)a n d c o n t r o l o f b r e a t h(pranayama), uniting the ha(breath of the sun) with tha(breath of the moon). The re-puted founder is Gorakhnath.’’31

In an article on ‘‘Yoga and Hindu-ism,’’ the authors wrote:

‘‘In ancient Indian philosophyyoga was not meant to be afitness regime. Rather, it was ameans to salvation or liberation(moksha) through the isolation ofthe soul from the body. Out-of-body experiences are still thegoal of some popular forms ofyoga. Later, after other schools ofIndian philosophy had adoptedyoga, its goal was reinterpretedas the union of the human selfwith the cosmic self, or God.’’32

So there is more to that hatha yogaclass than physical exercise. ElliotMiller states:

’’...many yoga teachers and advo-cates deliberately cover up thespiritual nature of yoga in orderto extend its influence in secularculture, but, on the other hand,there is no shortage of yogateachers and authorities whoopenly proclaim it. ‘Why be co-vert?’ Swami Param asks. ‘Par-ticipants should be invited up-front to ‘‘come study Hinduism,’’which is what they’re doingwhen learning hatha yoga.’’’33

Miller adds:

‘‘Hatha (physical) yoga is not soovertly religious, but Hinduismlies just beneath its surface andoften surfaces in unanticipatedways, and so it is unwise forChristians to practice it.’’34

Likewise, in an article on ‘‘Yoga andHinduism,’’ Christian authors VishalMangalwadi and Ronald Enrothwrote:

‘‘In our view, yoga cannot bedismissed as simply another aidto physical fitness. Someone hassaid that there is no Hinduismwithout yoga and no yoga with-out Hinduism. Yoga’s connec-tions to Eastern religious meta-physics are clear.’’35

A former Hindu yogi who became aChristian has written, ‘‘No part ofYoga can be separated from the phi-losophy behind it.’’36

In a 1993 publication, an American-b o r n H i n d u m o n k n a m e dPalaniswami predicted:

‘‘A small army of yoga mission-aries — hatha, raja, siddha, andkundalini — beautifully trainedin the last 10 years, is about to setupon the Western world. Theymay not call themselves Hindu,but Hindus know where yogacame from and where it goes.’’37

WHAT ABOUT‘‘CHRISTIAN YOGA?’’

Because yoga’s purpose is to enablethe individual to achieve union withthe impersonal Hindu god Brahman,in an experience called ‘‘cosmic con-sciousness’’ or ‘‘self-realization,’’ it isnot too much to say that yoga isintended to be and is in fact agateway into Hinduism itself.

Despite this, some Christians be-lieve that yoga can be separated fromHinduism, or that physical yoga can bedivorced from spiritual yoga38 and/orthat at least some Christians maysafely practice yoga, at least undercertain conditions and/or with certainstipulations.39 Some have tried todivorce the physical exercises of hathayoga from its Hindu intentions and

have gone so far as to claim that thisis a ministry the Lord has given them.Among these is Brooke Boon, authorof the book Holy Yoga: Exercise for theChristian Body and Soul40 and SusanBordenkircher, author of Yoga forChristians.41 Without questioning theirsincerity or their desire to serve theLord, one can still question the wholeidea of trying to ‘‘Christianize’’ aHindu practice developed for Hindupurposes.

Brooke Boon, for instance, is awarethat there are ‘‘people for whom theidea of ‘Christian yoga’ would seemoxymoronic.’’42 Because of this, shedevotes a chapter in her book todealing with objections that Christiansmight have to the practice of any formof yoga for Christians. One of Boon’sarguments for a Christianized versionof yoga is:

’’...yoga predates Hinduism by atleast one thousand years. Yogawas not created by Hindus butwas indeed co-opted by Hindusas a major part of their religion.Because of this, I’ve heard nu-merous variations on the themethat yoga is inseparably boundup with Eastern religion andphilosophy.’’43

Boon’s only citation to support thatclaim is a Website link (www.americanyogaassociation.org/general.html)which does state that yoga predatedHinduism.44 However, other sourcesare less dogmatic about that claim.45

Even if we grant, for the sake ofargument, that yoga predated Hindu-ism, Miller counters:

‘‘What makes the promoters ofChristian yoga think that pre-Hindu yoga was spiritually safe?The fundamental reason whymixing Hinduism with Christian-ity is objectionable is becauseHinduism is a pagan religion,but so was the Stone Age sha-manism practiced in the IndusValley 5,000 years ago. This argu-ment therefore makes a distinc-tion without a difference.’’46

Miller adds:

‘‘There is no evidence that raja orashtanga yoga ... existed prior to

October-December 2009 The Quarterly Journal · 17

the second century BC or there-abouts, when Patanjali set it forthin his Yoga Sutras. The stretchpostures that Westerners tend tothink define yoga do not appearuntil around the fifteenth centuryAD in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.It is therefore meaningless to saythat yoga predated Hinduismbecause what we mean by ‘yoga’clearly developed in a Hinducontext.’’47

While religions such as Buddhismand Jainism include yoga, one mustremember that both are offshoots ofHinduism. Additionally, yoga also isfound in Sikhism, an example beingthe late Yogi Bhajan, who was a Sikhyoga practitioner. Again, however,Sikhism is an attempt to synthesizeHinduism and Islam; and, so againwe see yoga’s Hindu roots.

One might imagine that the objec-tion to yoga is merely on the groundsof its Hindu origins and history.However, yoga is intertwined withHinduism in such a way that it isdifficult or impossible to separateyoga from its Hindu roots. Addition-ally, yoga is deliberately designed toproduce an altered state of conscious-ness in which Hindu, anti-Christiangoals are sought and achieved, be-yond whatever physical benefitsmight also accrue to the practitioner.

One short reference work defines‘‘yogic religions’’ as:

‘‘A term used to refer to thosereligious traditions where thepractice of yoga is the centralexperience and the doctrines as-sociated with it, such as karma,form the basis of belief.’’48

It then states, ‘‘Yogic religions arethe main rivals to Abramic reli-gions,’’49 which it defines as:

‘‘Religious traditions that tracetheir ancestry to the patriarchAbraham. The major religions inthis grouping are Christianity,Islam and Judaism.’’50

Brooke Boon, who has called herattempt to Christianize yoga, ‘‘HolyYoga,’’ also states:

‘‘The postures of yoga may havebeen co-opted by a religion but

they can’t ‘belong’ to that reli-gion any more than prayer canbelong only to a single religion.The body is of God. Prayer is ofGod. Scripture is of God. Otherreligions may have used the tech-niques of yoga toward their ownends, ends that conflict with aChristian worldview. They mayhave used yoga to worship cre-ation or anything in it. But inHoly Yoga we worship only theCreator.’’51

It should also be noted that Boonclearly believes that yoga is a spiritualpractice and not merely physicalexercise. She writes that some people:

’’... think I’m trying to tell themthat yoga exercises are really just‘physical in nature’ and that theyhave nothing to do with spiritu-ality, so yoga is not dangerous toChristians. That’s not what I’msaying. Yoga absolutely doesopen a person up to spiritualinfluences. But in Holy Yoga, theonly spiritual influence we areopen to is that of Jesus Christ. ...We must completely co-opt theamazing gift of yoga for Chris-tianity. That’s what we’re doingwith Holy Yoga.’’52

In an e-mail, Boon wrote, ‘‘Yoga is aspiritual discipline, much like fastingor prayer.’’53 Because, in one of theabove citations from her book, Boonbrings up the matter of worship, itonly seems fitting to cite the Scrip-ture, in which the Lord warned theIsraelites before they crossed intoCanaan:

‘‘When the LORD your God cutsoff from before you the nationswhich you go to dispossess, andyou displace them and dwell intheir land, take heed to yourselfthat you are not ensnared tofollow them, after they are de-stroyed from before you, andthat you do not inquire aftertheir gods, saying, ‘How didthese nations serve their gods? Ialso will do likewise.’ You shallnot worship the LORD your Godin that way; for every abomina-tion to the LORD which He hatesthey have done to their gods; for

they burn even their sons anddaughters in the fire to theirgods’’ (Deuteronomy 12:29-31).

A biblical example of disobedienceto this principle seems to be found inthe life of King Ahaz in 2 Kings16:10-16. Note that in the above Scrip-ture passage, the Lord warned Israelagainst trying to ‘‘co-opt’’ the paganmethods of Canaanite spirituality toserve the true and living God.

Miller states:

‘‘One who practices yoga is par-ticipating in a system that delib-erately was designed to leadparticipants ultimately to sama-dhi or union with Brahman, theHindu deity. When dealing witha practice that is potentiallyidolatrous, should the Christianhave the confidence that she willbe able to avoid those ele-ments?’’54

Miller also observes:

‘‘There are some rather sneakyelements in hatha yoga that helpexplain why enrolling in theneighborhood yoga class wouldbe a dubious decision for theChristian. First, teachers and stu-dents typically greet each otherwith the Sanskrit namaste, whichmeans, ‘I honor the Divinewithin you.’ This is an affirma-tion of pantheism and therefore adenial of the true God revealedin the Bible. Furthermore, hathayoga classes typically concludewith ‘a 10-15 minute relaxationperiod to relax the body and stillthe mind.’ As part of this processstudents often are given a mantrato repeat in meditation or chant-ing. Hindu mantras are generallythe names of Hindu gods orgoddesses.’’55

Additionally, ‘‘The postures of yogaare not religiously neutral. All of theclassic asanas have spiritual signifi-cance.’’56 As just one example of this,Miller cites the sun salutation.57

WHAT IS ‘‘OM’’?

Anyone the least bit familiar withyoga has heard of the term ‘‘mantra,’’and one in particular: ‘‘Om’’ — some-

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times rendered as ‘‘Aum.’’58 It may bechanted by itself, or as part of alonger mantra. According to The Ox-ford Dictionary of World Religions,‘‘Om’’ is:

‘‘The most sacred syllable inHinduism, which first appears inthe Upanisads. It is often re-garded as the bija (seed) of allmantras, containing, as it does,all origination and dissolution. ...Although it is made up of three... connected but distinct ele-ments (as sounded), the silence atits conclusion is regarded as afourth, expressing the attainmentof Brahman/atman.’’59

Professor Winfried Corduan ex-plains:

‘‘A notion that came out of theVedantic phase of Hinduism isthat the essence of Brahman canbe captured in the mystic syllableOM. OM has no meaning as aword. Its meaning lies in itssound as it is pronounced orchanted. The vibrations producedcapture the essence of Brahmanand put the chanter in touchwith it and thereby with hisAtman-Brahman identity.’’60

The ‘‘Atman-Brahman identity’’ ofwhich Corduan speaks above is theindividual’s mystical experience ofbeing one in essence with Brahman.In the words of an introductory yogatext, ‘‘Hindus consider this syllable[Om] to be sacred and to symbolizethe ultimate reality, or higher Self(atman).’’61

‘‘CHRISTIAN’’ YOGA:JUST SAY NO

Perhaps a good question to Chris-tian promoters of yoga would be,‘‘Why even attempt to Christianize apagan practice such as yoga whenthere are non-pagan alternatives toyoga for accomplishing the samephysical goals that Christian yogapromoters are attempting to achieve?’’

One former Hindu yogi, who be-came a Christian, has written:

‘‘If one desires to achievephysical fitness only, exercisesdesigned for that specific purpose

ought rather to be chosen. Nopart of Yoga can be separatedfrom the philosophy behind it.’’62

There are fitness alternatives toyoga. Elliot Miller speaks very highlyof PraiseMoves designed by LauretteWillis, a former yoga instructor. Ofthese exercises, Miller writes:

‘‘PraiseMoves is designed to ap-proximate all of the benefits asso-ciated with yoga, including relax-ation and reduction of stress,within a consistently Christiancontext. I have thoroughly exam-ined PraiseMoves and find noth-ing spiritually dangerous aboutit.’’63

Miller also notes that some of thepostures in PraiseMoves are similar tosome yoga postures (due to the lim-ited number of ways that the bodycan be positioned), however:

‘‘She [i.e., Laurette Willis] hasnot used any traditional yogapostures or gestures that haveclear-cut associations with Hin-duism, such as the ‘prayinghands’ gesture.’’64

Additionally, Miller suggests theexercise program ‘‘Pilates (when notmixed with yoga)’’65 as another spiri-tually safe alternative to yoga, al-though he admits that he doesn’tknow how effective or physically safePilates is.

In a chapter called ‘‘Yoga and Hin-duism,’’ Vishal Mangalwadi andRonald Enroth wrote, ‘‘Most exercisesare good for us, though my physiciansays that walking is better for me thanyoga.’’66

And, regarding the matter of spiri-tually safe alternatives to yoga, Chris-tian author Michael Gleghorn haswritten:

‘‘It seems to me that if someonewants an exercise program withphysical benefits similar to yoga,but without all the negative spiri-tual baggage, they should con-sider low-impact or water aero-bics, or maybe even water ballet.These programs have the poten-tial to be just as beneficial for thebody, without possibly endan-gering the soul.’’67

So for those who desire the physicalbenefits of yoga without having to beconcerned for themselves (or for oth-ers who may be influenced by them)about spiritual dangers associatedwith yoga, there are spiritually safealternatives.

The Hindu practice of yoga wasspecifically designed to produce analtered state of consciousness, inwhich the person ‘‘experiences’’ theiressential identity with the impersonalHindu supreme deity, Brahman. Tobe sure, yoga seems sort of ‘‘cool,’’contemporary, exotic, and avant-garde. It has certainly invaded popu-lar American culture. For all this,however, it is a pagan practicedesigned with Hindu, anti-Christiangoals and purposes in mind.

Even if one does somehow person-ally manage to avoid becoming influ-enced by the Hinduism with whichyoga is so intertwined, one’s practiceof yoga could become a stumblingblock for other Christians who mightbe spiritually weaker, less discerning,and more inclined to be influencedand/or led astray by yoga’s Hinduunderpinnings. Paul’s advice in1 Corinthians 8:1-13 seems especiallyappropriate here.

HINDU TENETS

Some of Hinduism’s tenets arekarma, reincarnation, astrology, veg-etarianism, polytheism, and idolatry.We will briefly consider each of these:

Karma (the relentless, unforgivinglaw of cause-and-effect). The Bibleteaches, ‘‘Do not be deceived, God isnot mocked; for whatever a mansows, that he will also reap’’ (Gala-tians 6:7). So the doctrine of karmadoes have some truth to it. However,karma is an impersonal, unforgivinglaw; whereas, God is personal and isalso a God of forgiveness and secondchances. The Bible also says, ‘‘If You,LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord,who could stand? But there is forgive-ness with You, that You may befeared’’ (Psalm 130:3-4).

Additionally, karma involves a be-lief that the consequences of ourbehavior may require us to live addi-tional lives to pay off the debt of oursins. Hence, we see the necessity in

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Hinduism for reincarnation, so thatwe may atone for our actions over thecourse of many lives until we achieveperfection and liberation (moksha)from the cycle of rebirths (samsara).This is certainly a system of workingfor one’s salvation. Contrary to thedoctrine of multiple lives and reincar-nation, the Bible teaches that ‘‘it isappointed for men to die once, butafter this the judgment’’ (Hebrews9:27). Also Psalm 78:39 says, concern-ing the Israelites, ‘‘For He remem-bered that they were but flesh, abreath that passes away and does notcome again.’’68 The Bible also teachesthat we are saved by God’s grace andmercy alone and not by our works ofrighteousness (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus3:4-7, esp. v. 5).

Astrology. God says, ‘‘You are wea-ried in the multitude of your coun-sels; let now the astrologers, thestargazers, and the monthly prognos-ticators stand up and save you fromwhat shall come upon you. Behold,they shall be as stubble, the fire shallburn them; they shall not deliverthemselves from the power of theflame; it shall not be a coal to bewarmed by, nor a fire to sit before!’’(Isaiah 47:13-14).

The prophet Jeremiah said, ‘‘Thussays the LORD: ‘Do not learn the wayof the Gentiles; do not be dismayed atthe signs of heaven, for the Gentilesare dismayed at them’’’ (Jeremiah10:2).

Vegetarianism. The Scripturesneither command nor condemn it.Therefore, it is a choice left to eachindividual. Many Scriptures, includ-ing Mark 7:18-19, Acts 10:9-16,69

1 Timothy 4:1-5, and Colossians 2:20-23, address these matters.

Polytheism and idolatry. These arecondemned throughout the Bible(Matthew 4:10). Scripture declaresthat there is only one true God(Deuteronomy 6:4-5; 1 Corinthians8:4-6). In fact, the Bible shows thatother so-called ‘‘gods’’ are actuallydemons (Deuteronomy 32:16-17;Psalm 106:35-38; 1 Corinthians 10:19-21). First John 5:21 says, ‘‘Little chil-dren, keep yourselves from idols.Amen.’’

The late founder of Campus Cru-sade for Christ, Bill Bright, once toldof an encounter he had with a Hindustudent. Bright said:

‘‘After I had finished speaking ata midwestern university campus,a group of students remained tolearn how they could becomeChristians. Among them was ayoung Hindu lad from Indiawho was pacing up and down,very angry and impatient. As wetalked he said, ‘I resent youChristians. I resent the arrogancewith which you say that youhave the only way to God. Ibelieve that Christianity is oneway, but only one way. Hindu-ism is another. Buddhism, Shin-toism and others are all ways toGod.’ I called his attention to thewritings of the great Hinduleader Mahatma Gandhi,70 who,for all of his devotion to hisreligion, states in his autobiogra-phy, ‘It is a constant torture tome that I am still so far fromHim whom I know to be myvery life and being. I know it ismy own wretchedness and wick-edness that keep me from Him.’This gifted young man said thathe had once believed that Gandhiwas God but, of course, he nolonger believed this. ... He admit-ted also that he had not foundthe answer to his needs, thoughhe was a devout follower of hisreligion, diligent in the readingof the sacred Hindu writings,and faithful in his times ofprayer and all the ritual of hisfaith. He had to confess that hehad never found God. I called hisattention to the difference in thelives of his Christian friends. Headmitted that they had some-thing that he did not possess. Itwas obvious that that ‘some-thing’ was the living Savior whohad come to live within themand had forgiven them of theirsins. ... Finally, the light came on.Now this young Hindu under-stood the great truth of pardonfor sin through our Savior’s sac-rifice on the cross. Quietly hebowed his head. This dear youngscholar who had sought after

God with all of his heart nowprayed that Jesus of Nazareth,the risen, living Son of God,would come into his heart,would pardon his sin and be-come his Lord and Master.’’71

In the chapter on ‘‘Hinduism’’ in abook that he authored on worldreligions, Methodist pastor AdamHamilton wrote:

‘‘The picture of heaven paintedin the Book of Revelation and inthe words of Jesus offers us greatjoy and hope. When we standbefore God, we will be asked,‘What did you do to deserve mygrace?’ Here is the answer:‘Nothing. I didn’t do enough tobuild up any good karma fromyou. I am only saved by yourmercy and love. So I’m onlyholding on to your grace, yourforgiveness, and your righteous-ness, and to the work that Jesusdid for me.’ And God will say,‘Welcome, my child. Enter yourrest.’ Christians believe thatwhen we die, we are not unitedwith the divine Brahman like adrop of water in an ocean. Oursoul is distinct from God. So wehave a chance to see God face-to-face, ... At the time I beganpreparing this chapter, I had anopportunity to visit a familywhose twenty-eight-year-old sonhad recently been killed. As Iwas driving to their home, Iprayed that God would helpminister through me and care forthis family. Then I started think-ing, What would I offer them if Iwere a Hindu priest? What would Itell them would become of their son?I could say, ‘Your son will comeback to try to learn his spirituallessons. If he has more badkarma than good, his next lifemight be a little harder than thislast one. You, his family, willnever know him after he is re-born. But you can take comfort inknowing that, one day, after along series of births and deathsand rebirths, he will be reunitedwith the divine Brahman.’ That isnot what I told this family whenI came to their home. I said,‘Your son belonged to Jesus

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Christ. He was not perfect. Butall of Christ’s righteousness [aHindu would say his ‘goodkarma’] was credited to yourson. Jesus bore your son’s sin onthe cross. And there will be aday when you will see your sonagain, face-to-face. Until thattime, your son is seeing thethings we only dream about onthis side of eternity.’ Being ableto say that made me very, veryglad that I am a Christian.’’72

In reflecting upon the definition ofthe word ‘‘yoga,’’ which means‘‘union’’ or ‘‘to yoke,’’ one mightremember Jesus’ statement recordedin Matthew 11:28-30: ‘‘Come to Me,all you who labor and are heavyladen, and I will give you rest. TakeMy yoke upon you and learn fromMe, for I am gentle and lowly inheart, and you will find rest for yoursouls. For My yoke is easy and Myburden is light.’’

Taking up Jesus’ yoke was easywhen compared with the yoke of theJewish law as the Pharisees taught it.Taking up His yoke instead of theyoke of Hinduism is just as wise achoice. ‘‘Yoking with’’ by submittingto Jesus the Savior brings eternal life,while taking up the yoke of yoga andHinduism can lead only to continuedconfusion and separation from God.

Endnotes:1. Walter Martin, The New Age Cult.Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers,1989, pg. 13. The title page of the bookalso notes that Martin wrote the book‘‘with The Research Staff of CRI.’’ ElliotMiller, Ron Rhodes, and Dan Schlesingerare mentioned by name as those whohelped. Martin also lists them on thebook’s ‘‘Acknowledgments’’ page, alongwith Craig Hawkins, and some unnamedothers on the staff ‘‘who assisted in thepreparation and editing of this volume.’’2. Ronald Enroth, editor, Evangelizing theCults: How to Share Jesus with Children,Parents, Neighbors, and Friends Who AreInvolved in a Cult. Ann Arbor, Mich.: VineBooks, 1990, pg. 21, italics in original. Thisquotation is taken from the chapter on‘‘Hinduism’’ by Mark Albrecht.3. Fritz Ridenour, So What’s the Difference?Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, revised edi-tion, 2001, pg. 91.4. John Ankerberg and John Weldon, TheFacts on Hinduism in America. Eugene, Ore.:

Harvest House Publishers, 1991, pg. 7.5. John Bowker, editor, The Oxford Diction-ary of World Religions. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press, 1999, pg. 430, s.v.,‘‘Hinduism.’’6. Ibid.7. So What’s the Difference?, op. cit., pg. 91.8. Elliot Miller, ‘‘The Yoga Boom: A Callfor Christian Discernment (Part One: Yogain Its Original Eastern Context),’’ ChristianResearch Journal, Vol. 31, No. 02, pg. 14.9. George W. Braswell, Jr., UnderstandingWorld Religions. Nashville: Broadman &Holman Publishers, revised edition, 1994,pg. 35.10. Ibid., pp. 34-35, italics in original.11. Ibid., pg. 40.12. The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions,op. cit., pg. 102, s.v., ‘‘Astrology.’’13. So What’s the Difference?, op. cit., pg.94, italics in original.14. Ravi Zacharias and Norman Geisler,general editors, Who Made God? AndAnswers to Over 100 Other Tough Questionsof Faith. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan,2003, pg. 155, italic in original. Thisquotation is from the question, ‘‘Why IsThere Such a High Degree of Interest inEastern Religions among Westerners?’’ byL.T. Jeyachandran.15. See further, J. Greg Sheryl, ‘‘Paramah-ansa Yogananda: Purveyor of a DifferentJesus and a Different Gospel,’’ in this issueof The Quarterly Journal (pp. 4-13).16. Paramahansa Yogananda, The Yoga ofJesus: Understanding the Hidden Teachings ofthe Gospels. Los Angeles: Self-RealizationFellowship, 2007, pg. vii. Also, Paramah-ansa Yogananda, The Science of Religion.Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship,2001, from the back cover.17. Walter Martin, The Kingdom of theCults. Minneapolis: Bethany House Pub-lishers, revised and expanded edition,1985, pg. 353.18. The Facts on Hinduism in America, op.cit., pp. 9-10, italics in original. Citation inthe above passage is from A.L. Basham,‘‘Hinduism,’’ in R.C. Zaehner, editor, TheConcise Encyclopedia of Living Faiths, (Bos-ton: Beacon Press, 1967, pg. 237).19. The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions,op. cit., pg. 22, s.v., ‘‘Advaita Vedanta.’’20. Ronald Enroth, editor, A Guide to NewReligious Movements. Downers Grove, Ill.:InterVarsity Press, 2005, pg. 45, emphasisadded. This quotation is from the chapteron ‘‘Yoga and Hinduism,’’ by VishalMangalwadi with Ronald Enroth.21. Ibid., pg. 46.22. ‘‘The Yoga Boom: A Call for ChristianDiscernment (Part One: Yoga in Its Origi-nal Eastern Context),’’ op. cit., pg. 17.23. Ibid., pg. 12, italics in original.24. Ibid., pp. 17-18.25. Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D. and LarryPayne, Ph.D., Yoga for Dummies. Hoboken,

N.J.: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 1999, pg. 14,bold in original.26. ‘‘The Yoga Boom: A Call for ChristianDiscernment (Part One: Yoga in Its Origi-nal Eastern Context),’’ op. cit., pg. 17.27. Yoga for Dummies, op. cit., pg. 18,italics in original.28. Ronald L. Carlson, Transcendental Medi-tation: Relaxation or Religion? Chicago:Moody Press, 1978, pp. 41-42.29. Ibid., pg. 42, italics in original.30. The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions,op. cit., pp. 793-794, s.v., ‘‘Raja- oras[h]tanga-yoga.’’31. Ibid., pg. 415, s.v., ‘‘Hatha-yoga,’’italics in original. The entry from the samesource on ‘‘Gorakhnath, Goraksa, orGoraksanatha’’ notes that he was ‘‘AHindu yogin of c. 10/11 cent CE’’ (ibid.,pg. 383).32. A Guide to New Religious Movements,op. cit., pg. 43, italic in original.33. Elliot Miller, ‘‘The Yoga Boom: A Callfor Christian Discernment (Part Three:Toward a Comprehensive ChristianResponse),’’ Christian Research Journal, Vol.31, No. 04, pp. 35-36. Miller’s quote isciting Dru Sefton, ‘‘Is Yoga Debased bySecular Practice?’’ Newhouse News, July 15,2005, document available at: http://onetruthministries.com/yoga_article.html.34. Ibid., pg. 33.35. A Guide to New Religious Movements,op. cit., pg. 43.36. Rabi R. Maharaj with Dave Hunt,Death of a Guru. Eugene, Ore.: HarvestHouse Publishers, 1984, pg. 208. (Formerlypublished under the title, Escape into theLight.)37. Stan Guthrie, ‘‘Hinduism Gains aFoothold in America,’’ Christianity Today,Feb. 8, 1993, pg. 50.38. Habel Verghese, Search For Inner Peace.Van Nuys, Calif.: Bible Voice Inc., 1977,pp. 81-85. This book, written by a Chris-tian from India, contains much otherwisehelpful material; however, I do differ withhim on this matter.39. Some of these Christian authors wouldbe recognized by many readers of theJournal, were I to name them here. Notonly so, but some of these same Christianauthors have beneficial ministries to theBody of Christ. This just shows that, asChristians, we must still ‘‘Test all things;hold fast what is good’’ (1 Thessalonians5:21), regardless of who it is that is doingthe teaching.40. Brooke Boon, Holy Yoga: Exercise for theChristian Body and Soul. New York: Faith-Words, 2007.41. Susan Bordenkircher, Yoga for Chris-tians. Nashville: W Publishing Group,2006.42. Holy Yoga: Exercise for the ChristianBody and Soul, op. cit., pg. 29.43. Ibid., pg. 31; see also, pg. 5.

October-December 2009 The Quarterly Journal · 21

44. Ibid., pg. 211.45. ‘‘The Yoga Boom: A Call for ChristianDiscernment (Part Three: Toward a Com-prehensive Christian Response),’’ op. cit.,pp. 37-38; The New Encyclopedia Britannica,15th edition, Vol. 12, pg. 846, s.v., ‘‘Yoga’’;and The Oxford Dictionary of World Reli-gions, op. cit., pg. 1058, s.v., ‘‘Yoga.’’46. ‘‘The Yoga Boom: A Call for ChristianDiscernment (Part Three: Toward a Com-prehensive Christian Response),’’ op. cit.,pg. 37.47. Ibid., pg. 38, italic in original.48. Irving Hexham, Pocket Dictionary ofNew Religious Movements. Downers Grove,Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2002, pg. 120, s.v.,‘‘yogic religions.’’49. Ibid.50. Ibid., pg. 7, s.v., ‘‘Abramic religions.’’51. Holy Yoga: Exercise for the ChristianBody and Soul, op. cit., pg. 33.52. Ibid., italics in original.53. E-mail correspondence from BrookeBoon on file, dated Sept. 15, 2007.54. ‘‘The Yoga Boom: A Call for ChristianDiscernment (Part Three: Toward a Com-prehensive Christian Response),’’ op. cit.,pg. 34.55. Ibid., pg. 32, italic in original.56. Ibid., pg. 35.

57. Ibid.58. Concerning its spelling as ‘‘Aum,’’ Dr.Winfried Corduan explains, ‘‘Sanskritdoes not have a separate vowel for o’’(Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introductionto World Religions. Downers Grove, Ill.:InterVarsity Press, 1998, pg. 345, endnote12, italic in original).59. The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions,op. cit., pg. 713, s.v., ‘‘Om or Aum.’’60. Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduc-tion to World Religions, op. cit., pg. 209,italics in original.61. Yoga for Dummies, op. cit., pg. 301,italics in original.62. Death of a Guru, op. cit., pg. 208.63. ‘‘The Yoga Boom: A Call for ChristianDiscernment (Part Three: Toward a Com-prehensive Christian Response),’’ op. cit.,pg. 40.64. Ibid.65. Ibid., pg. 41.66. A Guide to New Religious Movements,op. cit., pg. 43.67. Pat Zukeran, general editor, WorldReligions Through a Christian Worldview: Ahandbook to analyzing the world’s religionsfrom a Christian worldview perspective. Rich-ardson, Texas: Probe Ministries, 2008, pg.228.

68. My thanks to my college friendBenjamin Williams for pointing out thisverse to me as a biblical refutation ofreincarnation.69. It is true that this vision was symbolicof the inclusion of the Gentiles, whomJews considered unclean, in the Church.However, in Mark 7:18-19, Jesus hadalready declared all foods clean. Thus,even the symbolism in Acts 10:9-16 coin-cides with this truth.70. ‘‘Mohandas K. Gandhi’’ (1869-1948)was his actual name. ‘‘Mahatma’’ was atitle of respect, and means ‘‘great soul.’’The passage that Bright gives here occursnear the end of the Gandhi’s brief Prefaceto his autobiography.71. Bill Bright, Ten Basic Steps TowardChristian Maturity: Introduction: TheUniqueness of Jesus. San Bernardino, Calif.:Campus Crusade for Christ, Inc., 1968, pp.9-10, italic in original.72. Adam Hamilton, Christianity and WorldReligions: Wrestling With Questions PeopleAsk. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005, pp.46-47, italics and brackets in original. Inquoting this story, I am not necessarilyendorsing all that Pastor Hamilton says,either in this book or elsewhere.

EDITORIALS(continued from page 2)

articles described Jackson in costume going door-to-doorin Dallas and Birmingham visiting for the Jehovah’sWitnesses.

All of this was concurrent with Jackson releasing songsand music videos such as ‘‘Thriller’’ and ‘‘Billie Jean.’’Picking up on this inconsistency, The New York Timesobserved, ‘‘At the same time, perhaps more than anyoneelse he emplifies [sic] the music, videos, fashion andmuch else that is frowned upon by the hierarchy of hischurch.’’ With such contradiction, PFO wrote to theWatchtower Society in 1984 and asked them how aJehovah’s Witness should respond when presented withthe glaring hypocrisy of Jackson’s lifestyle, public per-sona, and musical art merchandise — specifically hisoccult-based ‘‘Thriller’’ music video. We wrote, ‘‘Cer-tainly, a good Jehovah’s Witness would not want topresent himself in this kind of light.’’

The Watchtower responded that, ‘‘The Society has beenadvised that Michael Jackson is a baptized member of theChristian congregation. However, his being one ofJehovah’s Witnesses should not be construed by anyoneto mean that either the Society or the congregation withwhich he is associated approves or endorses the musicthat he sings or plays, or all aspects of his life-style.’’(Interestingly, to our knowledge, PFO received the only

letter from the Watchtower which specifically identifiedMichael Jackson by name. When other counter-cultministries wrote similar letters of inquiry to the Watch-tower organization, the Society responded with ‘‘anentertainer associated with Jehovah’s Witnesses.’’)

Yet Jehovah’s Witnesses knew that evasion would notsuffice. The editors of People magazine revealed, ‘‘Aspokesman for Michael Jackson’s congregation confirmedthat he is a member in good standing and that he attendsmost of the meetings. However, the elders of hiscongregation are concerned about Jackson’s public imageand performances, including his recent forays into rockvideo’’ (Jan. 23, 1984, pg. 4).

The negative publicity for the Watchtower was begin-ning to mount. Some former Jehovah’s Witnesses height-ened the Watchtower’s embarrassment with claims of acult within the cult. US magazine stated, ‘‘The Jacksonappeal, however, has gone too far in some ways,according to [former Jehovah’s Witness Gary] Botting,who says an ‘MJ cult’ has developed within theWitnesses. The cult believes that Jackson is the ArchangelMichael, who is described in the Book of Daniel: ‘And atthat time shall Michael stand up, the great prince whichstandeth for the children of thy people’’’ (Oct. 8, 1984,pg. 69). Botting also contended that the Watchtower’s‘‘leadership was reluctant to alienate Jackson because thesinger has helped bring contributions and credibility tothe faith by what many consider his exemplary habits,