An interesting article that highlights issues Christian fundamentalists (and other theistic traditions ?) have with meditation, yoga and non-theistic practice.
Though the presentation of yoga and meditation are skewed and distorted, there are valuable points in the article.
"Yoga begins and ends with an understanding of the body that is, to say the very least, at odds with the Christian understanding. Christians are not called to empty the mind or to see the human body as a means of connecting to and coming to know the divine."
"The purpose of such meditation is to empty oneself. . . . [Satan] is happy to invade the empty vacuum of your soul and possess it. That is why people serve Satan without ever knowing it or deciding to, but no one can be a child of God without making a decision to surrender to him. Beware of systems of spirituality which tell you to empty yourself. You will end up filled with something you probably do not want."
http://www.theatlantic.com/garance-franke-ruta/
Some valuable questions to ask are:
What is "meditation"?
What is "surrender" and to what does one surrender?
How do we understand "empty oneself"?
What practice efforts would support and enable "emptying oneself"?
And what is discovered when self is "empty"?
(c) 2013 Elihu Genmyo Smith
