We all want to feel right, to feel like we are the best, that we are fulfilling our mission or purpose in our lives. We all want to know in the deepest parts of our being that we are loved by God and that we are responding fully to God's love by the way we live our lives and our beliefs.
This is probably a fairly accurate description of the reason why we pray, read, search or take the time to explore various topics on this blog...
I am starting to realize the cause of anger between people of different beliefs and value systems is the self preservation of their commitment to their specific path to God. To open up to a truth from a different religion, to truly realize that there may some truth there, would be to jeopardize my belief that I have the full truth, that I am on the Best path for me, that I am sailing toward God uninhibited...
Those of us who follow Christ can take a look at His life and see if He, the Son of God, sailed uninhibited toward His Father in Heaven. Yes, He did, but not according to what the world saw or understood. In the eyes of everyone on earth, Christ was followed by many, but was rejected by many. He lived a "dangerous" life in that He accused the leaders of the Jews, the Pharisees, of hypocrisy...and Christ was a Jew! He was literally revealing the reality of these Pharisees in front of everyone. How bold and dangerous that must have been at that time! And we know what ultimately happened- His own people rejected Him and had Christ scourged, mocked and crucified alongside criminals. Now, if Christ Whom we follow was uninhibited in His journey toward the Father in His life...then we have to understand that sometimes the Best way to follow God means going against the current fashion- including those inside religious circles. I say this because, if you've read my past posts, you will see that I have struggled alot with feeling like an outsider among my friends in the Church as a Catholic who teaches yoga...
Just because you commit yourself to following Christ and living a Christian life does not always mean you will have a free flowing, easy, secure journey there. Sometimes, you might need to suffer to find your place in Christ's plan, even if that means going against the flow of what your Christian friends tell you.
In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians Ch.6: 1-13, He warns the church in Corinth against over-confidence:
"I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert...These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us...Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall. No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it."
So what I'm saying, to be so focused on the truths of one's faith as to blot out the truth and beauty found in other faith traditions is not reality. It's not. Creation, the world we live in, the solar system, the stars, were made from an explosion, an expansion. The creation of mankind and the planets was not a neat, orderly process of "perfection" as we humans define it, but a chaotic event that brought about a new world and new life.
If we could only transcend those boundaries that keep us divided, and that cause so much hurt and anger, we could be at ease enough to see the a more complete picture and perhaps desire a new commitment to the fullness of truth to which every single one of us is called.
This is probably a fairly accurate description of the reason why we pray, read, search or take the time to explore various topics on this blog...
I am starting to realize the cause of anger between people of different beliefs and value systems is the self preservation of their commitment to their specific path to God. To open up to a truth from a different religion, to truly realize that there may some truth there, would be to jeopardize my belief that I have the full truth, that I am on the Best path for me, that I am sailing toward God uninhibited...
Those of us who follow Christ can take a look at His life and see if He, the Son of God, sailed uninhibited toward His Father in Heaven. Yes, He did, but not according to what the world saw or understood. In the eyes of everyone on earth, Christ was followed by many, but was rejected by many. He lived a "dangerous" life in that He accused the leaders of the Jews, the Pharisees, of hypocrisy...and Christ was a Jew! He was literally revealing the reality of these Pharisees in front of everyone. How bold and dangerous that must have been at that time! And we know what ultimately happened- His own people rejected Him and had Christ scourged, mocked and crucified alongside criminals. Now, if Christ Whom we follow was uninhibited in His journey toward the Father in His life...then we have to understand that sometimes the Best way to follow God means going against the current fashion- including those inside religious circles. I say this because, if you've read my past posts, you will see that I have struggled alot with feeling like an outsider among my friends in the Church as a Catholic who teaches yoga...
Just because you commit yourself to following Christ and living a Christian life does not always mean you will have a free flowing, easy, secure journey there. Sometimes, you might need to suffer to find your place in Christ's plan, even if that means going against the flow of what your Christian friends tell you.
In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians Ch.6: 1-13, He warns the church in Corinth against over-confidence:
"I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert...These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us...Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall. No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it."
So what I'm saying, to be so focused on the truths of one's faith as to blot out the truth and beauty found in other faith traditions is not reality. It's not. Creation, the world we live in, the solar system, the stars, were made from an explosion, an expansion. The creation of mankind and the planets was not a neat, orderly process of "perfection" as we humans define it, but a chaotic event that brought about a new world and new life.
If we could only transcend those boundaries that keep us divided, and that cause so much hurt and anger, we could be at ease enough to see the a more complete picture and perhaps desire a new commitment to the fullness of truth to which every single one of us is called.
I have found that my yoga practice gets me connected to that longing for God- that is universal to every human being on earth…that longing to be loved and to love the One, True, Living, Omnipotent God.
10 comments:
So what I'm saying, to be so focused on the truths of one's faith as to blot out the truth and beauty found in other faith traditions is not reality. It's not.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life."
-John 14:6
The fullness of truth can only be found in the Catholic Church. Yoga in incompatible with Catholicism, read on:
http://www.crossveil.org/page7.html
Hi Bob,
This is the exact same arguement I keep coming across...over...and over...and over again.
I am a yogi, I practice yoga, I teach yoga and I am Catholic and I LOVE JESUS CHRIST!!
So please...lets discuss the real issue underneath the arguement.
I'm not sure what you mean by the "real" issues. If you've come across this same argument against yoga before, perhaps the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you something? I used to practice yoga but gave it up once I understood how offensive it is to our Lord. As an instructor, you are also taking other Catholics down the wrong path, which is also a mortal sin. Being Catholic and loving our Lord requires obedience and humility. God bless!
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few."
-Mt 7:13-14
PS. Many Christians confuse love for our Lord (or others) as feelings of closeness, joy, perhaps even ecstasy such as one might feel after an intense workout or prayer, but this is mistaken. These feelings are only fleeting responses and do not always last. True love requires a CONSCIENCE ACT OF THE WILL to do what God has asked and even commanded of us.
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"So what I'm saying, to be so focused on the truths of one's faith as to blot out the truth and beauty found in other faith traditions is not reality."
One thing that I have learned in my walk of faith is that there are many truths in this world not found in scripture...but if it is some idea that goes against scripture, then it is not truth.
The great John Paul II, said that there is "some truth" in all religions..
Concerning the search for truth. Here is more of his wisdom:
"Let us entrust to the Blessed Virgin those who are going through periods of confusion and doubt, which make them feel there are no certitudes or hope. At the same time, let us learn humility and boldness from Mary so that we can always advance toward the truth, seeking it and bearing witness to it with all our strength. May she help us understand that the search for truth in the last analysis is a search for God"
John Paul II
Sounds very new-agey. No surprise here.
There can only be one Truth. If an apple is an apple then an orange can't be an apple just because someone else wants to believe it is.
You are right--we need to find ways to interact with other religions and cultures, but by finding common ground and by having true respect for all God's children, by loving them where they are, NOT by saying that everyone is right and no one is wrong and we should be satisfied with that. This is a heresy called "pluralism" (the belief that all religions are just different paths to the same place).
Take radical Muslims for example--they aren't killing and oppressing people all over the world because they are "misunderstood". They are doing it because their religion teaches them to do it, and that is something the rest of us has to face no matter how uncomfortable it is. Would you say that Islam--whose holy book teaches to "slay the infidel wherever you find them", which advocates sex with 9-year old girls (Mohammed married Aisha at 6 and bed her at 9, this is in the Koran and Muslims do this TO THIS DAY), which refers to Jews and Christians as "apes and swine"--would you say this religion, this belief system is equal to Christianity??
Be careful, Melisa, that you don't let a false, worldly sense of "multiculturism" cloud your judgment.
" I LOVE JESUS CHRIST!!"
You love him so much that you rarely mention his name on your blog, choosing instead the politically and culturally comfortable "God".
Incredible!
How many opinions and comments your blog generates.
IT is good to hear others insights. Ultimately, though, it comes down to what is right for YOU. If your combining yoga with your Catholic faith, deepens your love for Jesus Christ,it is good. If the combination confuses you and unsettles you, it needs re-evaluation.
And I think all these different opinions and insights are good.
Ask the Mother of God in your prayers to guide you to the WAY that is the correct one for you. She will never fail you. Just be patient and at peace.
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