Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Blog
→
Is There Danger in Yoga? 

Is There Danger in Yoga? 

July 9, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Yoga

A ministry called Lighthouse Trails Publishing sent me a booklet by the late Ray Yungen (he died of complications from cancer treatment in 2016) entitled, Yoga—Exercise or Religion—Does It Matter?i This blog is in part a review and in part comments by me regarding my experiences with yoga.

I came to faith through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ in September of 1972, the start of my senior year in college. I remember a young man I met who was involved in the CCC ministry at my school, U. C. Irvine. When we were riding to a College Life meeting one night, he told me that he had found yoga and Eastern meditative practices to be wonderful aids in his walk with Christ. I was alarmed. Even as a new believer, I knew that those practices opened the door to the occult.

Over the years I have known many born-again people who have taken yoga. They viewed it purely as exercise. In fact, I’ve known of churches that offer Christian yoga classes.

Yungen does a great job, IMO, of showing why yoga is more than mere exercise. The ultimate aim of yoga is for its adherents not simply to practice the various poses and breathing practices. Ultimately, it is a religion that seeks to have its followers adopt its worldview. Included in that worldview is that God is in all of us; we are God; we are all one; there are no sexual taboos; Eastern meditative practices are crucial to self-transformation and to experiencing God within us; the cross of Christ was not necessary; man needs no redemption; and, enlightenment is not found in the Bible or Christianity, but in the ongoing practice of yoga over a lifetime.

Concerning yoga’s view of sexuality, Yungen asks this provocative question, “Could it be that at least part of the reason homosexuality has become so accepted over the last thirty years, even now within mainstream Christianity, is due to the widespread influence of yoga and other mystically based practices?” (p. 7).

I realize that some people might be able to do the exercises without buying in to the religious worldview. However, Yungen persuaded me that many people do end up adopting the worldview of yoga. I agree with him that yoga is dangerous.

I found Yungen’s booklet to be a helpful warning. I recommend it.

______________________

iRay Yungen, Yoga—Exercise or Religion—Does It Matter? NP: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2015. 11 pages. $1.95, with quantity discounts.

Subscribe by Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
Bob_W

by Bob Wilkin

Bob Wilkin (ThM, PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the Founder and Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society and co-host of Grace in Focus Radio. He lives in Highland Village, TX with his wife, Sharon. His latest books are Faith Alone in One Hundred Verses and Turn and Live: The Power of Repentance.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

Cart

Recently Added

January 31, 2023

Romans–Part 02–Theme

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Kathryn Wright, and Ken Yates continue their short introductory study of Romans. What is the theme and the...
January 31, 2023

What Does the Bible Say about Doctrine? 

I remember the DTS chapel service. A Professor from Liberty University (then Liberty Baptist College) spoke. He was discussing how doctrine can divide. “If you...
January 30, 2023

Romans–Part 01–Introduction

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today and all this week, Ken Yates and Kathryn Wright are looking at the New Testament book of Romans....

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Confident in Christ, 2nd Edition $22.00 $5.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Hardcover) $13.95 $5.00
  • Grace in Eclipse: A Study in Eternal Rewards (Second Edition) $15.00 $8.00
  • Grudem Against Grace: A Defense of Free Grace Theology $15.00 $10.00
  • The Journey of Faith $15.00 $9.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube