Meditation is against christianity?

[Seawolf]

Originally Posted by solo_kum

Hello guys,

May be the same question has been raised by people too many times earlier.I really would like to clarify this doubt? Is meditation an Anti-christ? A lot many Christians say that meditation is against christianity, because it deals with past life, but christianity mentions Only one life...Also, meditation is somewhat related to controlling the breathing stuff..that's also people say that it's against christianity..I am a Christian and have been practising meditation since June 2013..Some of my christian friends and my my relatives say Practising meditation is a sort of Anti-christ. Whenever they say like this I feel guilty and encounter a feeling like I am the biggest sinner on earth..:(..I'm looking forward to your prompt reply..Thanks in advance!!

Meditation is a very big part of Christianity, you can research it.

Those that say things like 'meditation is the AntiChrist' are most likely of the fundamentalist variety, which is not the majority in Christianity by any means. If you look beyond the walls of extremist thinking, you'll find a wide world of wonder and diverse spiritual experience.

[Jatd]

Originally Posted by Molearner

solo_kum,

There is no reason for you to be conflicted over this. You have indicated that you have now practiced meditation for a full year. I assume your experience has been good or you surely would not have continued this practice. Trust your experience. There are several Bible verses concerning this that are relevant to this practice.

Matthew 6:6......"But whenever you pray(meditate), go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
If you have disclosed that you meditate it is no longer secret. Follow the instructions of Jesus and change this. By disclosing that you meditate you are seeking approval and this is allowing your ego to dictate to you. The ego always urges you to seek the approval of others. Prayer should be a personal relationship with God.

Matthew 10:37......."Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me."..............Solo you must determine what is your highest priority.

Now for a tricky one: Luke 14:26........"Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother...and even life itself....cannot be my disciple."
This is 'tricky' because of the translation used in this verse. There is an Aramaic(the language Jesus used) translation of the Bible that more correctly translates 'hate' as being instead.....'put aside'. Hate, of course, would be contrary to Love which is the primary message of Christ. Once again, this makes clear what one's priorities should be.
I hope this helps.

The problem here lies within Christianity and its birth in us. Through Christianity teaching we are taught what guilt and shame are and thus we are made to feel this way when something isn't inline with the "Christian thinking".
Its a hard mold to break but it can be done.
Again its all about mind control.

[Molearner]

Originally Posted by elisi

there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with meditation.

meditation is not praying. meditation is waiting for answers. you can meditate on god or jesus but you can also meditate without them. my definition.

there is also nothing wrong with yoga. i cannot believe the narrow mindedness of those who think it's 'evil'.

elisi,

Yes and no.....:) I agree with everything that you posted with the exception of saying "meditation is not praying". Prayer is communication. We speak.......God speaks(answers). You indicated this by saying....."meditation is waiting for answers". Technically speaking it is unnecessary for us to say anything. People that believe in God should already know that God knows our every desire....our every thought. He does not need reminding. If we allot a certain amount of time to prayer(meditation) our time is better served by eliminating our petitions.....God already knows them. By doing this we are apportioning more time for answers(which is what we wanted in the first place).

[Seawolf]

Originally Posted by Jatd

The problem here lies within Christianity and its birth in us. Through Christianity teaching we are taught what guilt and shame are and thus we are made to feel this way when something isn't inline with the "Christian thinking".
Its a hard mold to break but it can be done.
Again its all about mind control.

Christianity is not about mind control any more than Buddhism is, New Age is, Hinduism is etc. it's about spirituality.

It's not very wise to lump all in with the few extremists. Christianity is a wonderful spiritual experience for many people resulting in love and charity, and to say it's all mind control is just ignorance.

"Hate speech is speech that offends, threatens, or insults groups, based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other traits."

[Jatd]

Originally Posted by Seawolf

Christianity is not about mind control any more than Buddhism is, New Age is, Hinduism is etc. it's about spirituality.

It's not very wise to lump all in with the few extremists. Christianity is a wonderful spiritual experience for many people resulting in love and charity, and to say it's all mind control is just ignorance.

"Hate speech is speech that offends, threatens, or insults groups, based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other traits."

Tell me what you mean by "fundamentalist Chritians"...

and I'm not trying to be unkind and not nice, i am simply speaking from my experience of Christians and Christianity. I've been around it my whole life.
Its not something I want to be a part of from what I have experienced.

[Molearner]

Originally Posted by Jatd

The problem here lies within Christianity and its birth in us. Through Christianity teaching we are taught what guilt and shame are and thus we are made to feel this way when something isn't inline with the "Christian thinking".
Its a hard mold to break but it can be done.
Again its all about mind control.

Jatd,

This is the exact reason I provided specific verses. If a Christian looks at these verses how can they dispute them ? To dispute them they must deny the truth of scripture. It is not a position that confessing Christians are likely to take. No one ever said that Christians are beyond instruction in regards to understanding scripture. There is a way to go about this. Rather than confronting them with their ignorance(which is a challenge to their egos) it is simply preferable to offer scriptures such as the ones I quoted and seek to understand how they interpret those scriptures. If it is done in a non-confrontational way and if an immediate response is not demanded then they are likely to be more understanding and amenable. To complete this teaching opportunity it is advisable not to crow over your own superior understanding.

[Seawolf]

Originally Posted by Jatd

Tell me what you mean by "fundamentalist Chritians"...

and I'm not trying to be unkind and not nice, i am simply speaking from my experience of Christians and Christianity. I've been around it my whole life.
Its not something I want to be a part of from what I have experienced.

No problem. Fundamentalist Christians are typically the ones who see others as going to hell that don't believe the same as they do. They also will often see any spiritual practice besides their own as a threat. This is not the majority in Christianity, it's more part of the fringe extremist sects. The majority of Christians do not see others as going to hell who believe differently, nor do they see all spiritual practices as 'of the devil' that are different.

I can understand that it might seem like Christians are all like the one's you know when you've grown up in that environment. But in reality, fundamentalism is a minority.

[Jatd]

Originally Posted by Seawolf

No problem. Fundamentalist Christians are typically the ones who see others as going to hell that don't believe the same as they do. They also will often see any spiritual practice besides their own as a threat. This is not the majority in Christianity, it's more part of the fringe extremist sects. The majority of Christians do not see others as going to hell who believe differently, nor do they see all spiritual practices as 'of the devil' that are different.

I can understand that it might seem like Christians are all like the one's you know when you've grown up in that environment. But in reality, fundamentalism is a minority.

Well this is a blessing and a relief to know! I've not met a Christian that doesn't think a spiritual person like me is going to hell, this includes my mother. (I'm guesing you can understand my frustration and sadnes for these people)
So, I suppose I am surrounded by the wrong kind of chritians? I didn't know there were two kind. Where do I find the others, and what are they called?

Originally Posted by Jatd

The problem here lies within Christianity and its birth in us. Through Christianity teaching we are taught what guilt and shame are and thus we are made to feel this way when something isn't inline with the "Christian thinking".
Its a hard mold to break but it can be done.
Again its all about mind control.

Plenty of parents have made gross mistakes in the raising of their children...
After the children and become drug addicts etc. and the mother feels remorse and takes responsibility for her mistakes, there is a natural sense of guilt.
Guilt is a natural reaction for a godly person with a conscience.
It has nothing to do because the bible says so.
What say you?

[LadyMay]

Originally Posted by solo_kum

Hello guys,

May be the same question has been raised by people too many times earlier.I really would like to clarify this doubt? Is meditation an Anti-christ? A lot many Christians say that meditation is against christianity, because it deals with past life, but christianity mentions Only one life...Also, meditation is somewhat related to controlling the breathing stuff..that's also people say that it's against christianity..I am a Christian and have been practising meditation since June 2013..Some of my christian friends and my my relatives say Practising meditation is a sort of Anti-christ. Whenever they say like this I feel guilty and encounter a feeling like I am the biggest sinner on earth..:(..I'm looking forward to your prompt reply..Thanks in advance!!

My mother believes it's demonic. She's a Christian.

Don't feel guilty for anything you do. God does not judge. And there is no such thing as 'sin', btw.