My last posting mentioned the teaching of my tai chi instructor to "lean into the pain". I'm fairly sure that he is not Christian (probably informed by some "eastern" philosphy or religious practice). Remembering his gentle teaching got me thinking about recent media attention of a blog by R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and intellectual leader within evangelical groups and a proponent of five point Calvinism (TULIP doctrine). I keep reading about Mohler ( a big article in Christianity Today) and a piece in Christian Century, Oct. 19, 2010, which quotes his Sept. 20 blog: yoga begins and ends with an understanding of the body that is, to say the very least, at odds with the Christian understanding. ... Believers are called to meditate upon the Word of God. ... not to meditate by means of incomprehensible syllables."
Be still and know that I am God. Ps. 46:10. But the Lord is in his holy Temple; let all the earth keep silence before him! Hab. 2:20 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. Ps. 23: 2,3a Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. John 15: 4
Jesus and the scriptures teach spiritual discplines and practices of keeping watch and waiting; being ready and prepared; listening and staying open to the way and will of the Lord. The classic way of praying with scripture (lectio divina/divine reading) leads one from the head to the heart and soul into a time of abiding with God. Surely Dr. Mohler is not denying the long centuries of contemplative prayer practices of the church.
Not to mention that Christians have long borrowed and adapted symbols, concepts and practices from other cultures and made them Christian. In my limited practice of tai chi I found myself praying. I found myself wanting to develop a form of body prayer that would be rooted in the Word and become a healthy expression of adoration. Catholics use prayer beads. The entire Centering Prayer movement is not an attempt to follow eastern practices but to reclaim ancient Christian traditions.
It is my understanding that the Hebrew word for the name of the Lord (YHWH) is so sacred as to not be pronounced. I would encourage Al Mohler to devote his advent prayer time to the story of Zechariah in Luke 1. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1:78, 79
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