Southern Baptist Leader Dr. Albert Mohler Says Yoga is Bad for Christians

Southern Baptist Seminary president Albert Mohler is at it again. You will recall he condemned the plight of the Haitian people in the wake of the massive earthquake that hit the island by saying "the wrath of God had fallen" upon the island nation. Well, this time, Dr. Mohler is calling on Christians to avoid yoga and its spiritual attachments is getting plenty of pushback from enthusiasts who defend the ancient practice, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Really Dr. Mohler? Is this the best you can do?

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.

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." Source

Wow, so of all the pressing issues we are facing as a country, the best Dr. Mohler could come up with is to attack yoga. I am pretty sure God won't condemn a person who practices yoga, particularly if the chanting was eliminated. These Southern Baptists love to twist the Bible to fit their narrow interpretations and expect others to follow suit. Why not talk about the powerful banks turning their backs on Main Street and how that is contrary to God's word? Of course, Dr. Mohler isn't alone in his position. Pat Robertson, the religious nutjob on the 700 Club, has reportedly called the chanting and other spiritual components that go along with yoga "really spooky." It would seem that despite the dust-up over the mosque near Ground Zero, the Muslims and Robertson and Mohler have something in common. According to the AJC, muslim clerics have banned Muslims from practicing yoga in Egypt, Malaysia and Indonesia, citing similar concerns.