Yoga has been around for a long time, but only recently has it made inroads into Christianity. In the eastern world of its origin, yoga is a spiritual practice connected to the worship of Hindu false gods. In the western world, it is being presented as a stress reliever or physical exercise.
The goal of yoga in Hinduism is to acquire deep knowledge of the Self and to unite the Self with the impersonal, all-pervading Brahman (the transcendent Ultimate reality).
Yoga's focus on self is fundamentally unbiblical. The word of God never tells us to focus on ourselves, rather we are to die to self and follow the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:24). Our focus is to be on Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Concentrating on (or worshiping) creation rather than the Creator of heaven and earth is explicitly condemned in Romans 1.
Praying in Color is a new phenomenon sweeping the spiritual landscape. “A new prayer form gives God an invitation and a new door to penetrate the locked cells of our hearts and minds,” explains Sybil MacBeth. It is claimed that this new prayer form helps to communicate with higher powers.
Now, from your first examination of these color books, you’ll note they aren’t like the color books of your youth, for over half of them are distinctly New Age in look and content. And second, you’ll note that they almost all purport to help calm, soothe, de-stress, and relax you into a meditative state. Finally, you’ll soon discover some of these intriguing books have tantalizing patterns called “mandalas” that will entice you to look at them over and over. These mesmerizing “sacred circles” are designed to visually take you to their centers to discover “Your Higher Self.” Yes, they are deceptive, and no, they aren’t Christian!
While coloring is not wrong in itself, the “praying in color” movement is a vehicle for contemplative prayer. This is rooted in Hinduism, Catholicism, visualization, and mysticism.
Steven Vrancken in “Your Introduction of the Healing Powers of Mandala Color Pages” spells out the powers behind the mandala:
I awaken to the power of the mandala, A sacred circle of light and energy, A pathway to center—to my center and to the Universal All, A channel for healing body, mind, and spirit.
Observations
Our health message and attendant healthcare institutions were given to us to lead people to the One True God. When we use them for that purpose, people are blessed with better health, biblical truth, and salvation in Christ.
When we lose sight of that heavenly mission, our institutions will have a corrupting influence on honest seekers of truth, and cause people to be lost. It also has a corrupting influence on the SDA Church.
The church is strengthened by attacks from the outside. It is weakened by attacks from the inside.
The two examples cited above are pure spiritualism. How can this be, in an Adventist institution that understand spiritualism to be one of the coalescing poisons of the End Time? Short answer, they are no longer Adventist. That ship has left the port, never to return.
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”And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. ‘Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 20:6-7).
“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Satanl? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16).
