Christianity and the whole "ki" issue

[daoshi]

I begin to feel somewhat conflicted about the whole issue behind spirituality found in the martial arts, and the use and development of "ki".

 

You are rightly conflicted. Christianity is one form of spiritualism in the world. Internal martial arts are another. The only true conflict though is with the fundamentalist. Many Christians respect Buddhism, Daoism, et al, but a basic tenet of fundamentalism is to deny the validity of other beliefs.

 

If you don't feel good about something, don't pursue it.

[karate4Christ]

Ok. Now I am confused! I agree that we,as Christians should draw power only from God. However, God gave our bodies energy to survive. He can choose to cut that energy off anytime. It came from Him and is in His hands. That doesn't mean that we should not draw from the energy or Ki He placed in us does it? I mean, should we stop breathing oxegyn because it is not God? To use something and to worship it is two different things. I do have a problem with all Eastern religions and I would not use zen Buddhism or anything that goes along with it. But, can't anythng God made be either used for good OR bad? The Bible tells us to "meditate" on God's word night and day. Interperet that however you will.

[JerryLove]

Well, I can't answer the question as well as address the support.

 

From the Christian standpoint, everythin comes from God. Satan came from him and is in his hands; but you would not consider drawing power from Satan appropriate.

 

Similarly, spiritualism and witchcraft are expicitly condemned Biblically. I'd say there is no clear support for or against your position; but there is clearly a flaw with the logic.

[Sky]

Ok, here are just a few of my thoughts. I mean to offend no one if I do...

 

I believe that ki is a not a form of outisde or inside "energy", but an extension of yourself. You are not drawing energy or a force or spirit from somewhere else, you are just harnessing the power within yourself that was there the whole time, you are just learning to focus it. I believe that the only thing holding us back is the mental road blocks inside each of us telling us we cannot do things. I am a Christian, if that is what you would like to call it. (religion is a word for an overplayed establishment and Christianity is just a name that believers in the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He was crucified as a sacrifice for my sins and the sins of the world, and that he rose again have been called) So yes, I am a Christian, and I believe that ki is just learning to focus and apply yourself to reach far beyond your limits and tap into the potential that God created us to be.

 

When God created man, he made man perfect. There was no mental roadblocks for Adam to have to push through, because Adam was already so in touch with God, and was created knowing his full potential. There was no need for ki in the beginning, as man already had complete mastery over the mind. Once sin entered the world, he began to doubt himself, and was no longer a perfect being. He was flawed, and had to work through and around these flaws (as we all do today). So ki is just tapping into that original intent, the maximum potential of ourselves that we were in fact created to be. Another thing to think about that follows the same type of principle as I am trying to convey is technology. People say things like "Wow, look at all this new technology!" The fact is, there is no "new" technology: we are just now figuring it all out. The means were there the whole time, we are just now learning to use them and (again) tapping into the potential of our resources.

 

Too, there is no need for ki when there are no mental stops. As that is not true in any of us, we have found out how to overcome these stops and have given this method of overcoming obstacles a name: ki or chi or however you wish to say it. One of my techers was raised at a mental institute (his parents were doctors), and he told me of two brothers who were both deaf and dumb. He would go watch them lift weights, and they would be lifting incredible amounts, things that were unheard of and considered a small superhuman feat. He believes that this is due to the fact that, because no one ever told them they couldn't do it, they just figured it was normal. There was nothing holding them back from reaching their strength potential and pushing the limits that they never had to worry about breaking; for them, these limits never existed.

 

I realize that this may have been confusing, and I am not very good with words or expressing my thoughts. But I was trying to make a point that, ki is something inside of you. It is your true potential. It is something we were created with even as the original perfect beings. As a Christian, I see nothing wrong in practicing ki as long as you realize where the power comes from (no outside mystical powers) and that you are trying to reach your perfection and true potential to glorify God.

[JerryLove]

I believe that ki is a not a form of outisde or inside "energy", but an extension of yourself.

Mind if I ask what your basis for this belief is?

When God created man, he made man perfect. There was no mental roadblocks for Adam to have to push through, because Adam was already so in touch with God, and was created knowing his full potential.

Well, except for that pesky "couldn't tell good from evil" problem.

 

At any rate, and interesting post; but one which seems very arbitrarily created.

[TheDevilAside]

As a Christian, I see nothing wrong in practicing ki as long as you realize where the power comes from (no outside mystical powers) and that you are trying to reach your perfection and true potential to glorify God.

 

I think that's exactly the problem Christians have with Ki. The concept that it comes from you. It's scattered all over the Bible (probably you'll most likely find it in one of the letters Paul wrote to Corinth) that everything we are and everything we do is directly due to Christ. The point is, without Christ, we don't have any power. That's why Ki rubs many Christians the wrong way. Ki is a power that is recognized to come from within and is unleashed by the one person alone. And next thing you know, people are arguing that Ki doesn't come from above, it comes from the earth (and Paul wrote that everything which stems from the earth and the dimension we live in, is Satan's little playground) and then Christians see it as paganism or *satanism.

 

Then again, Ki is interpreted in so many different ways. But I'm just trying to explain a point of view that many people have, and I don't believe they're very far-fetched from the scriptures of the Bible.

 

Now personally, I don't see Ki as any sort of energy, if anything, it's the ability to focus and control yourself 100%. As you put it, to kind of reach your full potential. But I wouldn't call that Ki.

 

In the end, what I was trying to point out was that, as Christians, we are supposed to realize that everything comes from God.. that A you got on your report card? That wasn't all you, that was Christ working inside of you (just an example).. and anything that we believe to come from ourselves only (which I think the whole idea of Ki is, unleashing the power of one's self) we can conclude to be *satanistic.

 

*Not as in, "from the devil", but as in the worship and praise of yourself. Yeap, satanism is an actual religious establishment where people worship themselves and no other gods or supernatural powers.

[TheDevilAside]

The only true conflict though is with the fundamentalist. Many Christians respect Buddhism, Daoism, et al, but a basic tenet of fundamentalism is to deny the validity of other beliefs.

 

Well, read the New Testament, and you'll find them shotgun wielding fundamentalists ain't so far off

 

As a Christian, you're not supposed to respect other religions or accept their vailidity. If you accept all religions in the world as valid, why only choose one? Choose 'em all, get the best of both worlds.

 

Tolerance and respect are two very different things.

[TheDevilAside]

After reading the entire thread, it seems that many people in here are modifying the meaning of the word Ki to suit their needs. I'm sorry, but how Ki is practiced and viewed in Eastern culture clearly and definitely conflict with Christian beliefs. You're giving it a new meaning but not a new name.

 

Maybe someone should create a thread where we can discuss your interpretation of Ki.

[Sky]

I think that is a very good idea, as many people do interpret it different ways. I do not claim to know everything about Christianity. There is a good possiblity that my words in my previous post will be twisted against me in order to suit someone else's needs, as we have all modified the concept of ki.

 

As for what you said about Christians having problems with ki as the power inside: I was stating that it is an internal power that comes from you, but that the God that created you gave you a spirit and a soul to harness that power and use it with the body. If this is wrong, in that I have mis-interpreted the meaning of ki, please explain ki to me.

[TheDevilAside]

Hm.. to explain Ki...

 

It's like the force in Star Wars. It's just an energy that floats around in the Universe and those few Jedi can tap into it and manipulate it. Some people think it's a force that links the universe together and something we share with everyone, just few people are aware of it. In fact, I think a lot of people even believe that Ki is the force of life(your spirit, you could say). As it is viewed in Eastern culture, it has no connection to a supreme being, it is something that channels through you from the universe, or it is harnessed from within.

 

Sure, you can say God gave us souls that hold that energy and he intended for us to tap into that. That's peachy. Maybe that's what Christ used to turn water into wine