Yoga Alliance Shows Its Hindu Teeth

Article by Marcia Montenegro, Christian Answers for the New Age (CANA)

(For fuller information on the aspects of Yoga, such as pranayama, the asanas, kundalini, and other areas, please see the CANA website articles on Yoga. Links are below under “CANA Resources.”)

I am being contacted by more and more Christians who are seeing Yoga in the church, sometimes as “Christian Yoga,” sometimes under a name like “Mind Body Spirit” or a more innocuous name. The bottom line is that whoever is teaching these Yoga classes has likely been trained and tested in accordance with standards set by a larger Yoga organization, like the Yoga Alliance.

Those teachers who pass the test can register with The Yoga Alliance. On its website, the Yoga Alliance states that in 1999, the Alliance “established a national Yoga Teachers' Registry to recognize and promote teachers with training that meets our minimum standards. Teachers who meet these standards are eligible to register as Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT®s). In 2005, in conjunction with enhanced and revised standards for registration, we began recognizing and registering teachers with significant teaching experience in addition to training. These teachers can register as Experienced Registered Yoga Teachers (E-RYT®s).” (Online source)

One of my articles on Yoga on my website discusses an organization that trains Yoga teachers called YogaFit. In my article, I pointed out the Eastern spirituality being taught to the teacher trainees, and how the Eastern terms are disguised for the general public taking classes. YogaFit, it turns out, offers training in accordance with the standards of the Yoga Alliance.

 THE TRAINING 

The Yoga Alliance training “[i]ncludes asanas, pranayamas, kriyas, chanting, mantra, meditation and other traditional yoga techniques.” Right away, we can see that this not “just exercise.” (Online source)

Pranayama is the Hindu term for the breathing techniques, which are often merely called “breathing exercises.”  In Yoga (and Hinduism), prana is believed to be a “divine breath” which cleanses spiritually and causes spiritual alterations.  Doing pranayama is not merely for physical reasons, but principally for spiritual ones. It also induces a meditative state. Since the purpose of Hatha Yoga, the form of Yoga most popular in the West and what is marketed as exercise, is primarily is to prepare one for deeper meditation in more advanced Yoga, this is not surprising.

Kriya in terms of yoga training means “cleansing” and the purpose of these exercises are “to cleanse the internal organs and thereby create harmony between the major pranic flows, Ida and pingala, and attaining physical and mental purification and balance” (Online source).

“Pranic” refers to prana.  Ida and pingala are part of “subtle channels” (i.e., invisible) in the body through which energy flows. One of the Kriya exercises has to do with breathing alternately through the right and left nostrils such that energy moves through these two channels (when in the New Age, I did these exercises). Ida is the left channel and associated with the same properties as Yin in Taoism; pingala is the right channel (same properties as Yang).   This diagram depicts these two channels.

The Kriyas consist of “nasal cleansing, abdominal churning, upper digestive tract cleaning, colon cleansing, cleansing of lungs and bronchial tubes,” and “steady gazing.” (Online source – which also explains how these kriyas are done).

{Kriyas also refer to spontaneous movements or vocalizations associated with the “pranic energy” and the awakening of the kundalini, the alleged energy coiled at the base of the spine, but in this context, refer to the exercises and cleansings noted above).

Mantras are words or phrases which one repeats while meditating. Not only can a mantra act as a tool for self-induced hypnosis, but it also allegedly has a spiritual effect on the person chanting or repeating it. Many mantras are the names of Hindu deities. Some say “I bow to Patanjali” (Patanjali is a semi-mythical figure generally credited with organizing the system of Yoga) or “I salute the Sun.” (Online source, mantras).

Meditation is Eastern meditation, a technique used to bypass thinking. Hinduism (and Buddhism) believe that the mind is a barrier to grasping “true” reality and realizing the true Self (which in Hinduism is the Atman, the divine self).  This type of meditation suspends judgment and critical thinking and opens the mind to any influence that enters. (See article on Eastern meditation below.)

The training not only entails a study of the physical body (which is fine) but also “energy anatomy and physiology (chakras, nadis, etc.).”

Energy in this context has to do with Kundalini and/or Shakti, both invisible energies connected to all forms of Yoga.  Kundalini is the invisible energy coiled at the base of the spine which is to rise through the invisible chakras (wheels of energy) in order to awaken one to enlightenment.  Shakti is the primordial cosmic energy.

The Nadis are invisible channels of Kundalini energy in the body which connect to the nostrils. Breathing through each nostril separately is a cleansing technique (see Kriyas).

Additionally, the website states that there is study of “yoga philosophies.” Thought it’s not specified, this undoubtedly includes Hindu beliefs.

 THE YOGA ALLIANCE ANNUAL CONFERENCE 

The 2011 Yoga Alliance Annual Conference offered a number of sessions for attendees. These includes sessions on meditation, mantras, mudras (mudras are hand positions often depicted by Hindu deities and said to enhance the pranic flow), the “sacred spine,” and the Bhagavad Gita, the most famous Hindu text. (Online source)

The Yoga Alliance is no wishy-washy organization trying to dumb down the Hindu roots of Yoga. As I’ve said many times, anyone who has been trained to teach Yoga has had Hindu teachings, or at the very least, Hindu-tinged New Age teachings.

 WHY THIS ARTICLE? 

If you have a teacher at your church teaching “Christian Yoga” or “Sacred Movements” or whatever the name might be, and she or he has been registered by the Yoga Alliance, this information may be helpful if you decide to meet with your elders or pastors to question the introduction of Yoga into your church.

If the teacher has been trained by another outfit or is certified by another Yoga organization, find the website and check it out.

 RELEVANT QUOTES FROM YOGA SITES 

“In short hatha yogis found that the processes and techniques of hatha yoga produced a genuine purification which positively affected the body, the nervous system, the brain, the mind -- opening up man’s heart and eventually opening up the previously blocked channels between heaven and earth – between spirit and nature – between mind and body – crown chakra and root chakra, and the like. Dormant evolutionary circuitry were unearthed, resurrected, and opened up, activated, and integrated.” (Online source)

“In the Indian tradition, Hatha Yoga is one of the four main traditions of Tantra Yoga. Hatha Yoga is first of all concentrating on the practice of postures (asanas) and breath control (pranayama) to energize the subtle channels (nadis). Thus one might say Hatha Yoga concentrates on the third and fourth steps of the eight-fold path of Ashtanga Yoga. The objective of Hatha Yoga is obviously to remove the obstacles to address the further steps of Pratyahara (sense-withdrawal), Dharana (Concentration), Dhyana (Meditation) and Samadhi (Balance). In many Hatha Yoga schools, these further steps are seen as part of Hatha Yoga.” (Online source)

“Hatha is also translated as ha meaning "sun" and tha meaning "moon." This refers to the balance of masculine aspects—active, hot, sun—and feminine aspects—receptive, cool, moon—within all of us. Hatha yoga is a path toward creating balance and uniting opposites. In our physical bodies we develop a balance of strength and flexibility. We also learn to balance our effort and surrender in each pose. Hatha yoga is a powerful tool for self-transformation. It asks us to bring our attention to our breath, which helps us to still the fluctuations of the mind and be more present in the unfolding of each moment.” (Online source)

“Exercising postures or Asanas in Hatha Yoga has two essential objectives. The first is that to practice any real meditation, one needs at the least one posture in which one can be perfectly comfortable for a longer period of time. The more such postures one can master, the better the basis for developing the inner meditation techniques. The second objective of exercising asanas in Hatha Yoga is to bring health and energy to body and mind by opening the nadis.” (Online source)

“’Nad’ means movement. In the Rig Veda, it means stream. In Yoga, nadis are the channels of Kundalini energy. . . . The subtle channels or Yoga Nadis are the channels of mind and the channels of chitta, the feeling self or being.” (Online source)

“At the beginning of each yoga class, in order to raise the room's energy as well as to relax, focus and uplift our mind, we recite some mantras. These mantras come from the ancient, sacred Sanskrit language of Sanskrit. Through their repetition we invoke the spiritual powers of the following deities: Ganesha, Subramanya, Saraswati, the Guru, and Durga Devi.” (Online source)

“Mantras are sacred chants that harness higher vibrational energies, and can raise one’s level of consciousness.” (Online source)

 CANA Resources  

Christian Yoga: An Oxymoron?

Yoga: From Hippies to Hip

Yoga: Yokes, Snakes, and Gods

Out of Your Mind: Meditation and Visualization

Southern Baptist Seminary President Al Mohler on Yoga: "It's Not Christianity"

reprinted from The Church Report - www.thechurchreport.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (10/7/10) — A Southern Baptist leader who is calling for Christians to avoid yoga and its spiritual attachments is getting plenty of pushback from enthusiasts who defend the ancient practice.

Southern Baptist Seminary President Albert Mohler says the stretching and meditative discipline derived from Eastern religions is not a Christian pathway to God.

Mohler said he objects to "the idea that the body is a vehicle for reaching consciousness with the divine."

"That's just not Christianity," Mohler told The Associated Press.

Mohler said feedback has come through e-mail and comments on blogs and other websites since he wrote an essay to address questions about yoga he has heard for years.

"I'm really surprised by the depth of the commitment to yoga found on the part of many who identify as Christians," Mohler said.

Yoga fans say their numbers have been growing in the U.S. A 2008 study by the Yoga Journal put the number at 15.8 million, or nearly 7 percent of adults. About 6.7 percent of American adults are Southern Baptists, according to a 2007 survey by the Pew Research Center Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Mohler argued in his online essay last month that Christians who practice yoga "must either deny the reality of what yoga represents or fail to see the contradictions between their Christian commitments and their embrace of yoga."

He said his view is "not an eccentric Christian position."

Other Christian leaders have said practicing yoga is incompatible with the teachings of Jesus. Pat Robertson has called the chanting and other spiritual components that go along with yoga "really spooky." California megachurch pastor John MacArthur called yoga a "false religion." Muslim clerics have banned Muslims from practicing yoga in Egypt, Malaysia and Indonesia, citing similar concerns.

Yoga proponents say the wide-ranging discipline, which originated in India, offers physical and mental healing through stretching poses and concentration.

"Lots of people come to yoga because they are often in chronic pain. Others come because they think it's a nice workout," said Allison Terracio, who runs the Infinite Bliss studio in Louisville.

And some yoga studios have made the techniques more palatable for Christians by removing the chanting and associations to eastern religions, namely Hinduism and its multiple deities.

Stephanie Dillon, who has injected Christian themes into her studio in Louisville, said yoga brought her closer to her Christian faith, which had faded after college and service in the Army.

"What I found is that it opened my spirit, it renewed my spirituality," Dillon said. "That happened first and then I went back to church." Dillon attends Southeast Christian Church in Louisville and says many evangelical Christians from the church attend her yoga classes.

She said she prayed on the question of whether to mix yoga and Christianity before opening her studio, PM Yoga, where she discusses her relationship with Jesus during classes.

"My objection (to Mohler's view) personally is that I feel that yoga enhances a person's spirituality," Dillon said. "I don't like to look at religion from a law standpoint but a relationship standpoint, a relationship with Jesus Christ specifically."

Mohler wrote the essay after reading "The Subtle Body," where author Stefanie Syman traces the history of yoga in America. Syman noted the growing popularity of yoga in the U.S. by pointing out that first lady Michelle Obama has added it to the festivities at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the front lawn.

Mohler said many people have written him to say they're simply doing exercises and forgoing yoga's eastern mysticism and meditation.

"My response to that would be simple and straightforward: You're just not doing yoga," Mohler said. (AP)

photo credit: lululemon athletica via photopin cc

 Additional Resources 

"Christian" Yoga?

Julia Roberts: "I'm Definitely A Practicing Hindu"

The Yoga Deception

"Therapeutic Yoga" Leads Christian Woman to Mental Institution

Yoga Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

Posted by Cathy Mathews and Christine Pack

Because we have written with such frequency about the spiritual hazards of yoga, many of our regular readers might be tempted to look at the title of this article and think that we will again be discussing the spiritual dangers of yoga. Not so. Today we want to point you to an article in the New York Times (How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body) which enumerates the potential physical dangers of yoga. You didn't know yoga could be dangerous? Please read on from the article:

"A healthy woman of 28 suffered a stroke while doing a yoga position known as the wheel or upward bow, in which the practitioner lies on her back, then lifts her body into a semicircular arc, balancing on hands and feet. An intermediate stage often involves raising the trunk and resting the crown of the head on the floor. While balanced on her head, her neck bent far backward, the woman 'suddenly felt a severe throbbing headache.' She had difficulty getting up, and when helped into a standing position, was unable to walk without assistance. The woman was rushed to the hospital." 

"(A) 25-year-old man was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, in Chicago, complaining of blurred vision, difficulty swallowing and controlling the left side of his body. Steven H. Hanus, a medical student at the time, became interested in the case and worked with the chairman of the neurology department to determine the cause (he later published the results with several colleagues). The patient had been in excellent health, practicing yoga every morning for a year and a half. His routine included spinal twists in which he rotated his head far to the left and far to the right. Then he would do a shoulder stand with his neck 'maximally flexed against the bare floor,' just as Iyengar had instructed, remaining in the inversion for about five minutes. A series of bruises ran down the man’s lower neck, which, the team wrote in The Archives of Neurology, 'resulted from repeated contact with the hard floor surface on which he did yoga exercises.' These were a sign of neck trauma. Diagnostic tests revealed blockages of the left vertebral artery between the c2 and c3 vertebrae; the blood vessel there had suffered 'total or nearly complete occlusion' — in other words, no blood could get through to the brain." 

"The first reports of yoga injuries appeared decades ago, published in some of the world’s most respected journals — among them, Neurology, The British Medical Journal and The Journal of the American Medical Association. The problems ranged from relatively mild injuries to permanent disabilities. In one case, a male college student, after more than a year of doing yoga, decided to intensify his practice. He would sit upright on his heels in a kneeling position known as vajrasana for hours a day, chanting for world peace. Soon he was experiencing difficulty walking, running and climbing stairs. Doctors traced the problem to an unresponsive nerve, a peripheral branch of the sciatic, which runs from the lower spine through the buttocks and down the legs. Sitting in vajrasana deprived the branch that runs below the knee of oxygen, deadening the nerve. Once the student gave up the pose, he improved rapidly. Clinicians recorded a number of similar cases and the condition even got its own name: 'yoga foot drop.'"

The article can be read in its entirety here. (Please note that this article does not address the underlying religious roots of Yoga; it only addresses the potential harm it can cause to your body.)

photo credit: lululemon athletica via photopin cc


 Additional Resources 

Yoga Alliance Shows Its Hindu Teeth

Christian Yoga an Oxymoron? 

Yoga Training: Not Just Exercise

Yoga For children: Not Child's Play

Yoga: From Hippies To Hip

Yoga: Its Spiritual Roots Can't Be Separated From Its Physical Movements

"Christian" Yoga?

Julia Roberts: "I'm Definitely A Practicing Hindu"

Doctor Prescribes "Therapeutic" Yoga For A Christian Woman

Universalism: The Gospel Message of Emergent and New Age Spirituality

Southern Baptist Seminary President Al Mohler on Yoga: "It's Not Christianity"

Karma Just Doesn't Cut It

"Christian" Yoga?

Posted by Christine Pack



This recent YouTube video with Caryl Matrisciana on the dangers of yoga is both sobering and informative, and explains why Christians should not attempt to "blend" their worship of God with the pagan practices of Hinduism.  This is a very timely issue right now, given that a Hollywood movie starring Julia Roberts (Eat, Pray, Love) is about to be released and will be presenting a glowing cinematic portrayal of a sanitized, Americanized version of Hinduism.

Yoga is the salvific practice of Hinduism; in other words, it is the Hindu form of "salvation." But Hindus have no concept of sin against a holy God....instead, it teaches that man's greatest problem is his ignorance that he is "God" (or Brahman). Obviously, this is very different from the Christian understanding of what salvation is: Jesus's atoning death for the forgiveness of sins, and being made right with a holy God.

Just a few more reasons why yoga cannot be separated from its occultic origins are:

(1) The mantra meditation lowers mental barriers and opens one up to the demonic realm (though it often doesn't "feel" demonic at first...it feels "good" and "spiritual".....even holy);

(2) The yoga positions themselves are all prayer postures designed to honor one of the millions of hindu gods;

(3)  The "Namaste" is an unbiblical practice. "Namaste" is when the yoga practitioners bow to one another while each says "Namaste." "Namaste" means "I am bowing to the 'God' within you." This is obviously not a biblical concept because we cannot assume that everyone we would meet in life has God within them. For the Christian, there are only 2 kinds of people: those who are spiritually dead (the lost), and those who are born again believers in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit. For me to practice the "Namaste" would mean that I would be giving false hope and assurance to the lost that I am recognizing them as my spiritual brothers and sisters.

(4) The yoga positions themselves are not only for the purpose of honoring and worshiping Hindu gods, but they are done in a very specific order for the purpose of aligning and opening up the"chakra" system.  It is believed that this alignment will not only enable one to meditate more deeply, but will also awaken something called "kundalini," also known as "serpent power." In the yoga tradition, it is believed that a "serpent" lies coiled and sleeping at the base of the spine until it is "awakened" and begins to uncoil, slowly moving its way up the spine, and allowing the practitioner deeper meditation and union with "Brahman."

Brahman is supposed to be this infinite, transcendent reality from which all things came - including the millions of Hindu gods. The aim of yoga is to attain union with Brahman......basically, the ultimate purpose of yoga is to release people from the Wheel of Life, and their karmic debts, and to prepare its practitioners for death.

However, the response I often hear from Christians is this: "But as a Christian, I can 'do' yoga unto the Lord!" My question would be: How is that any different from the golden calf incident, recorded in Exodus 32:1-6, in which Aaron tried to claim that they were honoring the Lord with their syncretized religious worship?

"When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him." Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.  He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD." So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry." (Exodus 32:1-6, my emphasis)

This story is one of the most powerful biblical warnings there is against incorporating pagan practices into our worship of God.   What most people don't realize is that this well-known incident wasn't about straight up paganism. No, this story records how God's chosen people blended together (1) what they had been taught to do by God with (2) pagan practices that were familiar to them from their years of captivity in Egypt. They knew about altars and making offerings to God. And they knew about pagan animal worship from their exposure to Egyptian culture. When Moses delayed returning to the people from atop the mountain where he was speaking with God, the people  decided to create their own tangible way of worshiping God. So they set up an altar, added a little Egyptian flavor in the form of cow worship, and called it a festival for the Lord. And God saw this, and was very pleased? Not exactly. This is what the Bible records:

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.' "I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation." " (Exodus 32:7-10, my emphasis)

God was not pleased - and only Moses' intercession on their behalf saved them from being completely destroyed by God. As if that weren't a clear enough warning against mixing pagan worship practices with worship of God, we are also warned in Deuteronomy against spiritual syncretism:

"The LORD your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, 'How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.' You must not worship the LORD your God in their way..." (Deut, 12:29-31a, my emphasis)

God is quite clear on how we are to worship and approach him - and it is not through blending our worship of him with pagan practices.  I recognize that it is very hip and cool and popular in today's global, syncretized culture to meld different things together. We are most certainly an experience-driven culture, always seeking the fresh, exciting, "new" thing. And we also like our smorgasbord religions, with a little of this, a little of that. But we have clear mandates from Scripture about how we are to worship and approach God. We are to be set apart from the world - not syncretized with it - so that's God's truth will shine like a beacon in the darkness.

So, how did the story turn out?  How did the Lord view the golden calf incident? Was He "honored" by the claim of the Israelites and Aaron that they were, in fact, worshiping him with their incorporation of pagan religious practices?

"He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it." (Exo 32:20)

Bottom line? Christians must not be tempted to "borrow" practices from false religions and fool themselves into thinking that they can honor the Lord in this way. And if they have done so, they should repent.....or they might just end up drinking ground calf juice.

photo credit: vaXzine via photo pin cc


 Additional Resources 

Yoga Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

Yoga Alliance Shows Its Hindu Teeth

Christian Yoga an Oxymoron?

Yoga Training: Not Just Exercise

Yoga For Children: Not Child's Play

Yoga: From Hippies To Hip

Yoga: Its Spiritual Roots Can't Be Separated From Its Physical Movements

Julia Roberts: "I'm Definitely A Practicing Hindu"

Doctor Prescribes "Therapeutic" Yoga For A Christian Woman with Devastating Consequences

We're All Hindus Now?

Posted by Christine Pack

Dr. Peter Jones
Truth Xchange

Christian talk show host Janet Mefferd recently had Dr. Peter Jones of the Truth Xchange on her show to discuss the growing influence of Hinduism in America, even among professing Christians. This is a very important topic, because in my experience, many Christians today seem to grasp the religious syncretism and idolatry of the Old Testament at only an intellectual level. You would get head nodding all 'round if you brought up the topic of religious syncretism, with your Christian friends affirming oh yes, that would be bad, very bad indeed, if Christians today were to try to syncretize their religious practices with forbidden pagan religious practices! Of course, the problem is that they might say this while they're tucking their yoga mats under their arms and heading out the door for a yoga class. This is the kind of disconnect that Dr. Jones addresses in this very informative interview. From the show:

"(Newsweek author) Lisa Miller cited polling data (in the 2009 article We Are All Hindus Now) showing that, conceptually at least, (Americans) are slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, ourselves, each other and eternity. We do see it on a superficial level, of course, with our culture mainstreaming terms like karma, and yoga, and nirvana, avatar, and mantra.......How did this happen? And where is this trend headed? And most importantly, how should Christians think biblically in this day and age to avoid the spiritual pitfalls of openly - or unwittingly - embracing Hinduism." 

Janet Mefferd's interview with Peter Jones can be listened to in its entirety here.


 Additional Resources 

"Christian" Yoga?

Julia Roberts: "I'm Definitely A Practicing Hindu"

Doctor Prescribes "Therapeutic" Yoga For A Christian Woman

Yoga Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

Yoga Alliance Shows Its Hindu Teeth

Universalism: The Gospel Message of Emergent and New Age Spirituality

Southern Baptist Seminary President Al Mohler on Yoga: "It's Not Christianity"

Karma Just Doesn't Cut It

The "Om-School" Movement

Julia Roberts: "I'm Definitely A Practicing Hindu"

Posted by Christine Pack

Julia Roberts, who stars in the upcoming movie Eat, Pray, Love - which presents a sort of "Americanized" version of Hinduism - recently said in an interview that she is now a practicing Hindu.

Only in America could we find a way to romanticize the core theology of Hinduism to the point that it looks appealing - when in reality it is a religion of despair.  The "Americanized" form of Hinduism, however, as artfully put forth in Eat, Pray, Love, "feels" very good to the sinful flesh.   As a friend of mine pointed out....food binges, Eastern spirituality, and free love?  Please!  So much more appealing than the biblical concepts of crucifying the flesh, dying daily to self, and laying down one's life.

Julia Roberts needs to read Out of India by Caryl Matrisciana to get an understanding of the underlying ugliness and despair of true Hinduism.  Writer and producer Caryl Matrisciana was born and raised in India, and witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of Hindu thought and beliefs on the culture around her.  The goal of Hinduism is for its practitioners to realize that one's soul is identical to Brahman, the "Supreme Soul."  Or, in layman's terms....we are all "god," which is the core theology of the New Age.

But, UNTIL a Hindu attains this knowledge, they are, according to eastern belief (Hinduism/Buddhism), trapped in the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth (reincarnation).....a theology which leads to utter despair.

We've written before about the fact that the New Age, that "dated" 80s movement starring Shirley MacLaine running down the beach with her crystals clanking, never really went away, it just became absorbed into our culture.  New convert and "practicing Hindu" Julia Roberts has just proved this point...in spades.  Hinduism and New Age Spirituality are here to stay.

photo credit: david_shankbone via photo pin cc

photo credit: indi.ca via photo pin cc


 Additional Resources 

"Christian" Yoga?

Universalism: The Gospel Message of Emergent and New Age Spirituality

Karma Just Doesn't Cut It

Yoga Alliance Shows Its Hindu Teeth

Christian Yoga an Oxymoron? 

Yoga Training: Not Just Exercise

Yoga For children: Not Child's Play

Yoga: From Hippies To Hip

Yoga: Its Spiritual Roots Can't Be Separated From Its Physical Movements

Casting down every lofty thing

Posted by Christine Pack

Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (1 Cor 1:20)

As a former practicing Hindu (now born again Christian) my heart breaks for the poor, deceived people  below. This video is a short news clip of a group of people chanting outside the Wisconsin state capitol in the hope that their efforts might somehow cause a universal shift to take place that would force governor Scott Walker to be recalled. But I've got news for them: "practicing the Om" isn't going to get them good vibes, a governor recall, a universal shift, or peace with a high and Holy God. They need to repent and place their faith in the Savior for the forgiveness of sins.

What you see in this video is the wisdom of man, the same "wisdom" that God makes foolish by his own unapproachable omniscience. Christians, please let your hearts be moved by the deceptions that have captured the people all around us, and be emboldened to share Christ with a lost and dying world. This world desperately needs the light of the gospel, the light which exposes the darkness of lies, and destroys arguments and casts down every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God.

We are casting down arguments and every lofty thing raised against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Cor 10:5)

 Additional Resources 

Liberals Hold Massive "Omming" Ceremony Outside the State Capitol In Effort to Force Recall

Yoga Alliance Shows Its Hindu Teeth

Christian Yoga: An Oxymoron?

Yoga: From Hippies to Hip

Yoga: Yokes, Snakes, and Gods

Out of Your Mind: Meditation and Visualization

"Christian" Yoga?

Julia Roberts: "I'm Definitely A Practicing Hindu"

Doctor Prescribes "Therapeutic" Yoga For A Christian Woman

Karma Just Doesn't Cut It

Rick Warren Introduces "The Devil Plan"

The following article was so thoroughly researched I decided to print it in its entirety word-for-word, knowing that Marsha and I capture different audiences.  So thanks to my friend Marsha West for letting me reprint this article and for all her hard work.


by Marsha West, Renew America

Pastor Rick Warren continues to work at "fulfilling people's needs." His latest endeavor is "The Daniel Plan," a 52-week health and fitness program. Pastor Rick has decided it's high time to lose 90 pounds. But there's more to his health plan than meets the eye.

"The church says all of its more than 5,000 small groups will go through "The Daniel Plan," which is part of Saddleback's "Decade of Destiny," a 10-year plan launching this month "to help individuals succeed and be who God designed them to be in every aspect in life."" (Online source)

On January 15, over 6,000 people flocked to Saddleback's main campus while thousands more watched online at the other Saddleback campuses.

It would appear that Pastor Warren has good intentions and that he genuinely wants his congregants to be the picture of health. He says that Christians should honor God with our bodies and he draws from Scripture to prove his point, 1 Cor. 6:19 and Rom. 12:1, for example. Who can possibly dispute that Warren's plan to get the sheep shipshape is anything but admirable?

RECIPE FOR A WITCH'S BREW

Into a cauldron of green tea add in 1 eye of a knut, 4 lizard's tails, 3 dragon incisors, 4 forked tongues, 7 pages from the Message Bible, 1 page from the KJV Bible, then stir the pot while chanting "I am God...I am God...I am God." While the brew simmers get in a crossed-legged yoga position...meditate ...go deep...deeper still...until you're in a trance, then allow the kundalini energy coiled like a serpent at the base of the spine to run through your body...until an ecstatic experience erupts whereby you will shift between ecstasy and horror......voila, enlightenment!

In his new endeavor to help Saddleback congregants get healthy, Pastor Rick has enticed unsuspecting people, many of them professing Christians, into drinking his witch's brew.

Many of you are thinking, "Rick Warren wouldn't do that!" Oh really? Stay with me and you'll discover what "America's Pastor" is up to. Many of you will find what I'm about to reveal unbelievable. Don't take my word for it. At the end of this article I have included a number of links that reveal the truth about this man. Do the research.

AMEN, HYMAN AND OZ

When Rick Warren decided to implement his health plan he enlisted the help of three doctors: Daniel Amen, Mark Hyman and Mehmet Oz. "I am honored to be partnering with these internationally distinguished health experts," he boasted. Soon the fearsome foursome set out to develop a plan and what they came up with was "The Daniel Plan" (TDP). Amen, Hyman and Oz applied their medical expertise and Warren offered his expertise in spiritual matters. And herein lies the problem. As you will see, Amen, Hyman and Oz also have a great deal to offer in "spiritual" matters.


DR. MEHMET OZ

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths." — 2 Tim. 4:3-4

Oprah Winfrey's "favorite doctor" is a Muslim and has been influenced by the mysticism of Sufi Muslims. Moreover, he is keen on the ideas of cultist mystic Emanuel Swedenborg:

"As I came into contact with Swedenborg's many writing I began to understand Swedenborg's profound insights and how they applied directly to my life."

Swedenborg believed he could pass between the life to come and the present. What is more he claimed he had conversations with spirits of the dearly departed as well as angelic beings:

"[T]he spirit world was comprised of a number of concentric spheres, each with its own density and inhabitants. There is no such thing as hell or eternal punishment. Those spirits who find themselves in a hellish place after death can evolve toward a higher spiritual plane.

"In spite of it being granted to him 'to be constantly and uninterruptedly in company with spirits and angels,' Swedenborg did issue a caution in regard to receiving counsel from just any spirit that might manifest with an alleged personal message. "When spirits begin to speak," he wrote in Miscellaneous Theological Works (1996), "care should be taken not to believe them, for nearly everything they say is made up by them....They love to feign. Whatever be the topic spoken of, they think they know it, and if man listens and believes, they insist, and in various ways deceive and seduce." (Online source)

Dr. Oz is a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation:

"When I meditate, I go to that place where truth lives. I can see what reality really is, and it is so much easier to form good relationships then."

Do a Google search on Dr. Oz and you'll find posts from people complaining that he's irresponsible because he promotes things which have no scientific evidence to support them. Until something is proven, doctors should not promote it as it could endanger lives. One example of an unscientific practice he promotes is Reiki, which New Agers believe to be a "guided Universal Life Force Energy." Dr. Oz's wife is a Reiki Master. "Reiki," he said, "is my favorite treatment that could change the future of medicine forever." He also pontificated:

"I think [Reiki] may be ultimately the most important alternative medicine treatment of all. And we are embarking on this whole new vista of opportunities, it broadens dramatically the spectrum of where we might be able to go in our bodies, and this is the area of energy medicine."(Online source)

It is rather curious that Rick Warren would team up with a man whose fame he owes in part to New Age High Priestess Oprah Winfrey. Dr. Oz's worldview more closely aligns to New Age Spirituality than to historic orthodox Christianity.


DR. DANIEL AMEN

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." — Col. 2:8

Dr. Amen is a child and adult psychiatrist and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of California at Irvine School of Medicine. In addition he is a brain imaging specialist.

Dr. Amen teaches "techniques that will improve 'brain health,' claiming that poor brain health is associated with a host of problems from overeating to depression. ... He includes meditation (and in fact this is his primary tool) as a way to have a healthy brain."

Dr. Amen recommends a meditation called Kriya Kirtan which is from the Kundalini tradition:

"I teamed with Drs. Dharma Singh Khalsa and Nisha Money to study the impact of meditation on the brain. We chose a simple 12 minute form of meditation, Kriya Kirtan, that is easy for busy people to practice. It is based on the five primal sounds: Saa, Taa, Naa, Maa (aa being the fifth sound). Meditators [sic]say each sound as they consecutively touch their thumb to fingers two, three, four and five. The sounds and fingering are repeated for two minutes out loud, two minutes whispering, four minutes silently, two minutes whispering and two minutes out loud." (Online source)

Dr. Amen is also a practitioner of Tantric or tantric sex which is the use of Hinduistic-type mysticism during sexual intercourse. Lighthouse Trails Research (LTR) reports:

"In a 6-CD set called Create a More Passionate Night, Dr. Amen has teamed up with advanced certified Tantra educator, T. J. Bartel. ... Tantra is the name of the ancient Hindu sacred texts that contain certain rituals and secrets. Some deal with taking the energies brought forth in meditation through the chakras and combining them with love-making to enhance sexual experiences."

Dr. Amen also teaches Reiki.

"Make no mistake about it" says LTR, "Reiki, meditation, tantric sex — these are very powerful mystical experiences that have the capability to delude and deceive those who are involved with it."

For Christians who have read to this point, I hope you're becoming alarmed.


DR. MARK HYMAN

"For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." — 2 Cor. 11:14

Dr. Mark Hyman is editor-in-chief of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine which is said to be "the most prestigious journal in the field of integrative medicine, and the medical editor of Alternative Medicine, the Art and Science of Healthy Living."

In her article, Alternative/ Blended/ Complementary/ Integrated Healing, Marcia Montenegro examines alternative therapies:

"It is called alternative because the technique/ drug/ herb has not been or cannot be adequately tested, or has been found ineffective or dangerous. If it were a safe, tested treatment, it would not be in the alternative category. Many cited studies to support these methods are flawed, short-term, based on anecdotal evidence, conducted by believers in the techniques, & often are not published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. The terms complementary, blended, and integrated are now being used as well since alternative treatments are being combined with traditional medicine. This makes it more difficult to test the alternative methods or to know what is really working when the patient improves. It should be remembered that the placebo effect accounts for 30% or more for a person feeling better."

Dr. Hyman claims he's not into meditation but he does recommend yoga to create calm.

In my article Can A Pagan Practices Be "Christianized" I explain why Christians must avoid yoga:

"Christian apologists John Ankerberg and John Weldon maintain that, 'The basic premise of yoga theory is the fundamental unity of all existence: God, man, and all of creation are ultimately one divine reality.' To explain the basic premise, the authors quote from an editorial in the Yoga Journal: "We are all aware that yoga means 'union' and that the practice of yoga unites body, breath, and mind, lower and higher energy centers and, ultimately self and God, or higher Self. But more broadly, yoga directs our attention to the unity or oneness that underlies our fragmented experiences and equally fragmented world. Family, friends, the Druze guerrilla in Lebanon, the great whale migrating north — all share the same essential [divine] nature.""

Dr. Hyman participated in a program called Yoga, Body & Spirit at Shambhala Mountain. The program included Susan Piver, who offered instruction in the ancient wisdom tradition of Buddhist meditation, and Richard Reoch who presented Golden Ball Chi Kung.

Dr. Hyman retails expensive supplements "critical for supporting lifelong health," books and CDs in his "healthy living store" online. The UltraWellness Essentials Kit for Women costs $130 for a one month supply. For youngsters it's a tad less. Only $47 per month because "Like adults, children need a purified source of essential fatty acids to help build healthy brain cells, support focus and attention, and optimize metabolism."

This is UltraBunk!

Earth to Dr. Hyman! At your exorbitant cost for "high-quality multi vitamin and minerals" most families can't afford to get healthy! (Visit Dr. Hyman's store)


Why has this not dawned on Pastor Rick? In one of his promotional videos he held up each of the doctors' books and urged his congregants to purchase them! This makes one wonder if Dr. Hyman's books recommend the high priced vitamins, and if this is the case who derives benefit from the sale of these products?

That an evangelical pastor would allow his sheep to be influenced by New Age ideas and questionable medical practices should give us pause. Christians should avoid becoming involved in any sort of assembly where we are powerless to address issues that come up which could cause us to compromise our biblical principles. Moreover, it should give us pause when the minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ teams up with occultists!

RICK WARREN'S 'PLAN' TO CHANGE THE WORLD

Writer Jennifer Pekich journeyed to "The Daniel Plan" conference at Saddleback Church as an observer and blogged about her experience:

"To begin, I'd like to state that Saturday Jan. 15th, 2011 will go down in the history books as the day Saddleback Church was sold a bill of goods. The masses had come out in droves for answers to their weight loss difficulties & health problems, but unbeknownst to them, they were being given a prescription for restructuring society & population control.

"The prescription goes by the name Agenda 21, a.k.a. "Sustainable Development" or "Smart Growth." Agenda 21 is a published document put out by the United Nations with the intent to put limits on population and to restructure nation-states into a global society. Rick Warren's "new friends" had dubbed it, "The Daniel Plan — God's Prescription For Your Health." A more appropriate title would've been, "Sustainable Living — Destroying Inalienable Rights, One Community at a Time."

(For those who are unfamiliar with Sustainable Development, Tom DeWeese explains, "Nature has an integral set of different values (cultural, spiritual and material) where humans are one strand in nature's web and all living creatures are considered equal. Therefore the natural way is the right and human activities should be molded along nature's rhythms.")

Jennifer continues...

"I about fell off my chair when Dr. Hyman stated, "The key to the success of the "Daniel Plan" is "group living"..."individuals" will not succeed, our only hope lies in "community." And with that, it was announced that the "Saddleback community" would be an example of "sustainable living" and would set the course to "change this world"...and the crowd went wild! I have to admit that visions of the masses being manipulated by Adolf Hitler's oratory skills came to my mind, only this particular crowd had just been manipulated by a really bad infomercial."

Most Christians know that our only hope lies in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our only hope does not lie in sustainable living designed to keep American citizens under a microscope and under the thumb of BIG government. America will not succeed because of BIG government; it is falling apart at the seams because of BIG government! Americans who are looking to the nanny state to cure their ills only need to take a gander at the European Union to the see the destruction BIG governments have caused — and it continues to get worse every day.

But this is not about moving America into Eastern-style socialism — as it appears some so-called evangelical pastors would like to see happen — so I'll move on.

More from Jennifer...

"Dr. Hyman said that he is a Jew, Dr. Amen said he is a Christian, and Dr. Oz said he is a Muslim. And doesn't that represent the demographic of "most of the population of the world"? But then he said, "we're all the same underneath." True to his salesman fashion, Dr. Hyman didn't define his terms. What in the world does he mean "we're all the same underneath"? That can mean a number of things. Since he was speaking to a religious crowd, I'd venture to say some of the folks present took that to mean we're all children of God (Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, etc.), which is patently false according to the Bible. The Bible says there are only two groups, children of wrath and children of God. You're either one or the other, a believer in Christ Jesus, or a non-believer. We aren't "all the same underneath." (Ephesians Ch. 2).

"The tragic thing about this day at Saddleback is, Jesus was never mentioned ... and I mean NEVER There were a few passing references to God; Daniel Amen mentioned that our bodies were "a temple of the Holy Spirit and the brain is the inner sanctum" [Amen means that all humans are the temple of the Holy Spirit], but Jesus never made the cut — "sustainable lifestyles" and "group living" did."(To read Jennifer's entire report visit Ponderings from Patmos )

There is nothing wrong with wanting to feel better, look better, be stronger and think sharper. The problem lies with the witch's brew cooked up by Rick Warren and his team of doctors. As I've demonstrated, doctors Amen, Hyman and Oz are steeped in Eastern mysticism and the occult. A large number of Christians trust Rick Warren and will purchase their books — and a lot of them will be influenced by a worldview that is incompatible with Christianity, namely New Age Spirituality. Again, more than 5,000 small groups will go through TDP. God help them!

I'll close with Galatians 1:6-8:

"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."

photo credit: tericee via photopin cc

 Further Research 

Rick Warren's "Apologetics" Weekend Should Apologize for Representing "Another Gospel" — Lighthouse Trails Research

Emanuel Swedenborg's Occultic Beliefs Influence Rick Warren's Health Advisor and Now the Christian Church — By John Lanagan

Kundalini: Frequently Asked Questions and Selected References — By Kurt Kuetzer

What's Sex Got To Do With It? — Lighthouse Trails Research

A Visit to Rick Warren's Health Seminar — The Unfolding of a Global New Age Plan — By Jennifer Pekich, published on Lighthouse Trails Research

Good Fight Theater...move the cursor to the right...look for Rick Warren's face and click on the image. Listen to Pastor Warren's conversation with Larry King.

Mark Hyman: Mangling cancer research and systems biology in the service of woo — Scienceblogs.com

New Age Pandemic in the Church — By Marsha West

Book Review: Purpose Driven Life — By Robert Wise

Occult Pagan revival signals death of America and the West — By Linda Kimball

Rick Warren Connections...Especially to the Ecumenical Third Wave New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and "Positive Thinking" Movement — Compiled by Sandy Simpson

Youtube: Rick Warren Occult Deception Part 1 — Warren Smith interview "Deceived on Purpose"

A Christian Woman and Her Frightening Experience With Yoga

Eyewitness Account of the Devastating Power of Yoga

By: Dr. John Ankerberg & Dr. John Weldon

We first met Carole as a result of exchanging information on the famous Indian guru Swami Rama. The following information is taken from material sent to us.

Carole was very sick, and the doctors were unable to find the cause of her illness. She decided to go to a physician-nutritionist recommended by a friend. In his office she found some literature about the Himalayan Institute, of which the doctor was a staff member. The institute was founded by Indian Swami Rama, one of the most scientifically studied of the gurus, beginning with famous biofeedback researcher Dr. Elmer Green. Carole decided to attend the institute and began lessons in hatha yoga. Eventually she was initiated and received her mantra, or word of power, from Swami Rama. As he laid his hands upon her head, the typical transfer of occult energy began (termed shaktipat diksha). Carole was in heaven:

"Currents of electrical energy began to permeate my head and went down into my body.... It was as if a spell had come over me, the bliss that I felt was as if I had been touched by God. The power that had come from his hand, and simply being in his presence, drew me to him irresistibly."

The night after receiving her mantra, Carole was actually visited by a living spirit being who claimed to be the spirit of Swami Rama himself. Although no one had ever mentioned the spirit world in her church (they did not believe in such things), Carole felt that this was the means of directly communing with God. She proceeded to experience wonderful, powerful forces and energies, while thoughts were impelled into her consciousness with a magnetic-like force.

"Electrical currents were pulsating around my body and then moved into my hand, the currents were shaking my hand and strong, almost entrancing thoughts were being impressed into my mind, "Meditate, meditate. I want to speak with you." It was a miracle. I was communicating with the spirit world. I had found God. Sitting in the darkness of my living room I began to repeat my mantra. A presence seemed to fill the room. I began to see visions of being one with the universe and the magnetic thoughts were now leaving and I was hearing a voice, which identified itself as Swami Rama, saying he was communicating with me through astral travel. 

Within one week, after meditating many hours each day and still in constant communication with this spirit, forces began to come upon me and gave me powers to do yoga postures; I was floating through them, the forces giving me added breath even... postures that before would be very painful to do."

However, after two weeks of daily meditation, Carole became engulfed in a nightmare of utter dread and terror. Voices which once claimed they were angelic turned threatening, even demonic. She was brutally assaulted, both physically and spiritually. During meditation, in the midst of being violently shaken, she could sense that the very same energy received at initiation, energy which was now felt to be personal, was attempting to remove her life-essence from her physical body-in her words, "to literally pull the life from my shell of a body." She sensed an overwhelming and implacable hatred directed toward her, as if "monstrosities of another world were trying to take my very soul from me, inflicting pain beyond endurance, ripping and tearing into the very depths of my being."

The intermittent suffocation and torment seemed to be interminable; her fears only increased as she realized there was no one to help her. Finally the attack subsided. But unfortunately, it was merely the first of many to come.

It seems that nothing could stop the assaults. Her agonized pleas to the spirits were ignored; her husband was powerless. Her father wanted her to see a psychiatrist; others also doubted her sanity. In desperation, her mother contacted psychic friends from a local church of the Unity School of Christianity. They laid hands on Carole and commanded that "the divinity within" deliver her, but to no avail.

Dr. G. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D., entered the picture. He is a noted neurosurgeon, a former professor at Harvard University, past president of the American Holistic Medical Association, and the author of Occult Medicine Can Save Your Life. Dr. Shealy also works in conjunction with psychics and spiritists such as Carolyn Myss. Dr. Shealy was unable to help and referred Carole to Dr. Robert Leichtman, M.D., a spiritist who is coauthor of several dozen books received by revelation from the spirits.[1]

Leichtraan admitted that Carole's situation was not uncommon among followers of Eastern gurus. In fact, he told her some have died as a result of similar psychic attacks. But he, too, was unable to help. His instructions, such as visualizing herself in the white "Christ light" of protection were useless. By this time, Carole was near the end:

I had to endure the torture, unable to free myself. To those around me I was insane. No one believed me and no one could free me. The hopelessness I felt was unbearable. No one believed me except the psychics... and they could do nothing. 

I was defenseless against these never-ending attacks... hundreds of presences filling my room, which itself would be filled with thick, ice cold air, my body drenched with perspiration as my whole being fought against them. 

After spending several weeks at my parents' we decided perhaps I could try returning home. But that night the spirits started to exert their full power. 

First, against my skull. It felt as if they were trying to crack it open, like the air was being cut off to my brain. Incredible pressure was exerted upon my back and chest, pulling with a wrench-like grip. It felt like they were trying to pull my shoulder from its socket, pressing on my eyes trying to blind me, pushing on my throat trying to choke me. Filled with fear and exhaustion, on the brink of death I screamed to my husband, "I'm dying; I can't take it anymore. Get me to the hospital." 

I was taken to the hospital where I laid like a scared dog cowering on a cart. I could hardly speak but at least the spirits were gone-temporarily.... The doctor on duty recommended a psychiatrist who saw me the next morning. He told me I was covering up some deep problems with this "talk of evil spirits." 

"There is no such thing as the devil," he said coldly.

Carole admitted herself to the hospital, but once more no one could help. The attacks finally subsided and she was released.

Upon returning home, the attacks began again. More unimaginable torment. Although she was terrified of death, death was now her desire. Wishing to take her life but too fearful of dying, in desperation she readmitted herself to the hospital. Once again, she was placed in a locked ward. She felt that here she would die-alone and in torment.

But today, Carole is alive and well. Even her psychiatrist was amazed at the miraculous transformation. She was now in perfect health, both mentally and physically.

Carole knew she was free from the spirits. But how? Carole was unable to help herself. Her best friends could not help her, nor her parents or husband. Neither the medication nor the medical profession could do anything. The psychics were the most powerless of all. Today, Carole attributes both her health and her life to a living Jesus Christ who delivered her from a desperate plight.

Reflecting today on her predicament, she is awed that such terrible destruction could be purchased at the price of a simple, supposedly harmless form of meditation.[2]

- Excerpt from The Coming Darkness

Notes:

↑ E.g., the 24-volume "From Heaven to Earth" series with medium D. Kendrick Johnson (Columbus, OH: Ariel Press).
↑ Condensed and edited from material sent May 28, 1981.
Retrieved from "http://www.jashow.org/wiki/index.php/Eyewitness_Account_of_the_Devastating_Power_of_Yoga"

photo credit: lululemon athletica via photopin cc

 Additional Resources 

"Christian" Yoga?

Should Christian Practice Yoga? by Dr. Al Mohler

Julia Roberts: "I'm Definitely A Practicing Hindu"

The Yoga Deception

Radio Interviews

 Christine Pack and Cathy Mathews Interviews 

Faith in Culture Radio

Topic: Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts, and Our Open Letter to Tim Challies

Stand Up For The Truth

Topic: Testimonies and False Teachings We See In The Church

Fighting For the Faith

Topic: Mysticism, and How it Functions as a Counterfeit Holy Spirit

Echo Zoe Radio

Topic: Christian" Universalism? and Rob Bell's Book Love Wins (4-22-11)

Topic: Testimony of a New Ager (2-5-11)

Crosstalk-VCY America

Topic: Wellness: The New Age Trojan Horse in Healthcare


 Marcia Montenegro Interviews 

Midwest Christian Outreach
Topic: Contemplating Contemplative Prayer (9-5-17)

The Missions Mantle
Topic: Signs In The Stars (10-16-17)

The Jamaal Williams Show
Topic: Exposing The New Age (Dangers of Yoga, Opening the "3rd Eye") (7-22-17)

Truth Frequency Radio
Topic: Astrology, the Occult and Deliverance (10-2-17)

A Minute to Midnite Radio 
Topic: Former Professional Astrologer Now Warns About Astrology (10-9-17)

People of the Free Gift
Topic: Mindfulness in the Buddhist/New Age Context (5-25-17)

Evangelical Ministries to New Religions (EMNR)
Topics: Plenary talk 2016 EMNR Conference, "Is There A Mind In Mindfulness?" (5-14-16)
Topics: Astrology and the Age of Aquarius (5-14-16)

Messed Up Church (Steve Kozar)
Topic: An Astrologer Overtaken By The Love of God (1-28-17)
Topic: Discussion of the Movie "The Shack" Based on the Best-Selling Book (3-1-17)
Topic: Biblical Concerns About Popular Bestseller “Jesus Calling” (12-2-17)

Zoom Conference
Topic: Mindfulness in the Buddhist New Age Context (5-20-17)

TG4G Radio
Topic: Testimony, and Christians and Horoscopes (4-13-17)

Wretched Radio
Topic: Mindfulness (6-18-15)

Youth Apologetics Training (Michael Boehm)
Topics: New Age Practices and the Church (6-22-16)
Topics: Astrology, Yoga, Reiki, Chakras, and Acupuncture (7-6-16)
Topics: New Age Practices Coming Into the Church (7-18-16)
Topic: Zen Buddhism: Core Beliefs, as Explained By a Former Zen Buddhist Practitioner (Pt 1) (12-26-16)
Topic: What Is Zen Buddhism? (Pt 2) (1-3-17)

Dark Sun Rising Radio Show
Topics:  Astrology, Spirit Guides, Demons, Good vs. Evil (5-2-16)

Deeper Waters Radio Show
Topics: Marcia's Story and the Occult (10-25-14)

Peter Jones Conference - Truth XChange
Plenary Talk: "Astrology and Spirituality" (1-22-08)

Deeper Waters Podcast
Topic: In-Depth Interview About the Occult (10-25-14)

Christian Meets World
Topic: What the New Age Is and Why It's Not Just a Fad From the 1980s (10-21-14)

Crosstalk-VCY America
Topic: Wellness: The New Age Trojan Horse in Healthcare (4-26-11)

The Mind Renewed
Topic: What the New Age Movement Is, Personal Testimony (12-14-13)

Issues, Etc.

Topic: The New Age of Astrology (1-18-18)
Topic: Interview About Feng Shui (1-25-12)

Topic: The Occult and Witnessing to Those in the Occult (11-5-08)

The Janet Mefferd Show
Topic: The Occult (10-31-11)
Topic: A Discussion on Panentheism (9-24-12)
Topic: A Discussion About "Mindfulness" (10-23-12)
Topic: A Discussion About Panentheism (11-19-12)
Topic: A Discussion About Mindfulness in Schools (3-4-13)
Topic: Friday the 13th (and other superstitions)? Chain letters? Salt to disperse demons? Horoscopes? Luck? Marcia addresses these topics from a biblical worldview (6-13-14)

Apologetics 315
Topic: Testimony,  General Differences Between the New Age and the Occult, How to Witness to Those in the Occult (6-13-11)

Blog Talk Radio
Topic: A Discussion "The Shack," a Movie Based On The Best-Selling Book (3-8-17)
Topic: Interview With Dr June Knight, New Age In The Church (11-16-17)
Topic: Testimony, General Discussion About the Occult (9-16-10)
Topic: Halloween, the Occult, Witchcraft, Wicca, Neopaganism and more (11-1-10)
Topic: Is Yoga For Christians? (11-8-12)
Topic: Testimony, Caller Questions (5-12-12)
Topic: What Is Wicca? Can Wicca and Christianity Co-Exist? (5-19-12)
Topic: Biblical Answers to Counter Occultic Activity Such as Hypnosis, Transcendental Meditation and more (7-26-12)

Topic: Exorcisms, General Discussion About the Occult, Differences Between Magic in Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia (5-25-13)

Topic: The Roots of New Thought, how New Thought Ties into Positive Thinking, and Distinctions between New Thought / New Age (5-15-14)

Topic: Why You Don't Want A New Age Healer (7-17-14)

The Parker J Cole Show
Topic: The Universe and Other Words Pt 1 (7-15-17)
Topic: The Universe and Other Words Pt 2 (9-16-17)
Topic: The Universe and Other Words Pt 3 (12-2-17)
Topic: Are Essential Oils Really Essential? (12-10-16)
Topic: Prayer vs. Meditation, Part 1 (7-23-16)
Topic: "Never Mind the Mind" Meditation, Stress Relief, Christian Meditation vs. Eastern Meditation (4-11-15)
Topic: Energy Flow and Healing (6-20-15)
Topic: The Christian and Energy Healing, Essential Oils, Yoga, Homeopathy, and the Need for Objective Scientific Data (6-27-15)
Topic: The Psychics: Can They Really Help You? (11-11-15)

Stand For Truth Ministries
Topic: What Is Reiki? (9-7-13)

Echo Zoe Radio
Topic: In Depth Discussion About the Occult - Part 1 (Testimony, Experiences in New Age and Occult, Spirit Contact, Divination, Astrology, TV Shows and Movies Featuring Occult Themes, Feng Shui, etc.)  (3-25-12)
Topic: In Depth Discussion About the Occult - Part 2 (New Thought, Therapeutic Touch, Wellness, etc.) (9-22-12)

Stand Up For The Truth
Topic: Testimony, the Paranormal, the Occult in Popular Culture (10-12-11)
Topic: "That's Entertainment?" A Discussion about Astrology in Popular Culture (11-4-11)
Topic: The Dangers of Mindfulness (2-24-12)

Olive Tree Views
Topic: Marcia Montenegro's book, Spellbound: The Paranormal Seduction of Today's Kids (to be released as an ebook November 1, 2013) (10-13-07)
Topic: Testimony, Christian Meditation vs. Eastern Meditation (12-12-09)