Christianity and Acupuncture
Here is a link to an article...a very interesting discussion concerning an article between two Christian professionals about the subject of Christianity and acupuncture. It is long, but I found it thought provoking. Lol...Jessica, maybe you are not even that interested - I don't know, but I thought the whole thing was a good example of how Christians can see things from different view points.
http://www.christianacupuncture.com/eliotresponse.htm
As for me, I agree with the author that too many times in the past Christians have been guilty of reacting too quickly to something with too much of a "religious" mindset. However, I don't agree with the one author who tries to make the claim that "qi" is just a metaphor. I also do agree with the author that makes the case that Chinese medicine is based on a philosophy that says that we have within us "forces", and Chinese medicine attempts to control and manipulate and balance these forces - which is where I believe the Christians must draw a line. Yes, the spiritual realm is real and there are "forces". We are never to try to manipulate these "forces" through our own power, will and understanding. Only the Holy Spirit and His power, which we submit ourselves to - (not "manipulate") is what Christians should be engaging in.
This whole thing really reminds me of how the Catholic Church dealt with issues when they were established in pagan parts of the world. When there is true conviction of the Holy Spirit at work, a person will be convicted of their old paganistic ways and freely and readily give up those ways. God works in us from the inside, which manifests outwardly. When the Catholic Church forced people, or employed human efforts to convince people to serve God, they employed tactics that were man made, working from the outside only. There was no Holy Spirit conviction within, and the people kept their old ways, and merely put a Christian twist on them. For instance, in response to the peoples' worship of goddesses, the Church gave them a "goddess" and named her Mary. In response to the peoples' celebration of the solstice and the return of the sun god after a cold dark winter, the church put a Christian spin on the celebration and called it "Christmas", telling us it is the birthday of Jesus - when it is not. It was the rebirth of the sun god they had been celebrating. The same goes for all the pagan symbolism related to Easter. The eggs and bunny were pagan symbols of fertility.
Of course, like Pat has said, we don't receive these things in the spirit of paganism. We color eggs at my house because it is fun, and it is more of a "cultural" thing, and we don't tie any meaning to it. Can you just see Peter or Paul sitting around coloring eggs and celebrating spring season with bunnies? lol Or kissing people under mistletoe? How about celebrating valentines day by buying chocolate candy for all the church members? lol. No, these are really "paganistic" traditions that we have done so long that they are part of our culture thanks to the Catholic Church. I guess there are Christians who would frown on me doing karate, since there is some "spiritual" aspects to its foundations. For a long time I would not have considered it either. Some schools do get more into the traditions and spiritual teachings associated with it - of course USA Karate is Americanized, and the Chinese philosophies are left out entirely. Now if they taught me to focus my inner force or something, it would be wrong of me to simply take that teaching, and apply Christian principles, and say, "I am focusing on the Holy Spirit within" to try and Christianize a pagan principle. Why? Because I would be doing it in submission to a pagan, Chinese teaching. Would I be doing it in response to the Holy Spirit's leading? No.
We ought not to take pagan ideas and "Christianize" them. We don't just take pagan ideas and put a different "spin" on it. That is not Christianity - thank goodness. Christianity is Christ-centered. We are built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles. The Word of God is our "balance", our anchor. The Holy Spirit is our source of "energy" (I can do all things through Christ who gives me power. Phil. 4:13) and I will not insult the Spirit of God and simply call him a "higher power" - that is not one of the names given to us in Scripture to address Him by.
The Scriptures contain all I need for guidance, strength, wisdom and power to live this life worthy of our Saviour. I find no need to "add to them" philosophies developed by pagan societies. God has said in the Scriptures that He is our healer. He is our provider. He is our wisdom. He is our peace. If these things are not present in my life, I need to seek Him, His Word in greater measure - not abandon His Word, and seek answers by embracing other philosophies or religions. Remember when Eve got deceived in the Garden? The Bible says she, "saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise".
Remember, the purpose of our lives is to glorify God. We are His witnesses. We were bought with a price...the precious blood of the Lamb of God who died and rose again so we could reign and rule with Him for eternity.
http://www.christianacupuncture.com/eliotresponse.htm
As for me, I agree with the author that too many times in the past Christians have been guilty of reacting too quickly to something with too much of a "religious" mindset. However, I don't agree with the one author who tries to make the claim that "qi" is just a metaphor. I also do agree with the author that makes the case that Chinese medicine is based on a philosophy that says that we have within us "forces", and Chinese medicine attempts to control and manipulate and balance these forces - which is where I believe the Christians must draw a line. Yes, the spiritual realm is real and there are "forces". We are never to try to manipulate these "forces" through our own power, will and understanding. Only the Holy Spirit and His power, which we submit ourselves to - (not "manipulate") is what Christians should be engaging in.
This whole thing really reminds me of how the Catholic Church dealt with issues when they were established in pagan parts of the world. When there is true conviction of the Holy Spirit at work, a person will be convicted of their old paganistic ways and freely and readily give up those ways. God works in us from the inside, which manifests outwardly. When the Catholic Church forced people, or employed human efforts to convince people to serve God, they employed tactics that were man made, working from the outside only. There was no Holy Spirit conviction within, and the people kept their old ways, and merely put a Christian twist on them. For instance, in response to the peoples' worship of goddesses, the Church gave them a "goddess" and named her Mary. In response to the peoples' celebration of the solstice and the return of the sun god after a cold dark winter, the church put a Christian spin on the celebration and called it "Christmas", telling us it is the birthday of Jesus - when it is not. It was the rebirth of the sun god they had been celebrating. The same goes for all the pagan symbolism related to Easter. The eggs and bunny were pagan symbols of fertility.
Of course, like Pat has said, we don't receive these things in the spirit of paganism. We color eggs at my house because it is fun, and it is more of a "cultural" thing, and we don't tie any meaning to it. Can you just see Peter or Paul sitting around coloring eggs and celebrating spring season with bunnies? lol Or kissing people under mistletoe? How about celebrating valentines day by buying chocolate candy for all the church members? lol. No, these are really "paganistic" traditions that we have done so long that they are part of our culture thanks to the Catholic Church. I guess there are Christians who would frown on me doing karate, since there is some "spiritual" aspects to its foundations. For a long time I would not have considered it either. Some schools do get more into the traditions and spiritual teachings associated with it - of course USA Karate is Americanized, and the Chinese philosophies are left out entirely. Now if they taught me to focus my inner force or something, it would be wrong of me to simply take that teaching, and apply Christian principles, and say, "I am focusing on the Holy Spirit within" to try and Christianize a pagan principle. Why? Because I would be doing it in submission to a pagan, Chinese teaching. Would I be doing it in response to the Holy Spirit's leading? No.
We ought not to take pagan ideas and "Christianize" them. We don't just take pagan ideas and put a different "spin" on it. That is not Christianity - thank goodness. Christianity is Christ-centered. We are built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles. The Word of God is our "balance", our anchor. The Holy Spirit is our source of "energy" (I can do all things through Christ who gives me power. Phil. 4:13) and I will not insult the Spirit of God and simply call him a "higher power" - that is not one of the names given to us in Scripture to address Him by.
The Scriptures contain all I need for guidance, strength, wisdom and power to live this life worthy of our Saviour. I find no need to "add to them" philosophies developed by pagan societies. God has said in the Scriptures that He is our healer. He is our provider. He is our wisdom. He is our peace. If these things are not present in my life, I need to seek Him, His Word in greater measure - not abandon His Word, and seek answers by embracing other philosophies or religions. Remember when Eve got deceived in the Garden? The Bible says she, "saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise".
Remember, the purpose of our lives is to glorify God. We are His witnesses. We were bought with a price...the precious blood of the Lamb of God who died and rose again so we could reign and rule with Him for eternity.
posted by Laurie T at
11:26 AM
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