Christian Martial Artist ??

[Synaesthesia]

The Bible does warn us about pychics like John Edward on Crossing Over on Sci Fi due to the fact that they use 'familiar spirits'.

 

Poeple like him have been around quite a while - even back in the Bible days - so steer clear from them.

 

Oh pu-lease, you don't actually think that John Edwards has access to any supernatural reality. He is a cold reader. Why does he get so much credit?

 

http://www.skepdic.com/coldread.html

 

http://www.randi.org/library/coldreading/index.htmls

 

People who take John seriously are more dangerous than the man himself. He's just a guy who makes a living off of scamming gullible people who want to be decieved. This isn't spiritually dangerous because of evil spirits, but because of the man's dishonesty and exploitation of grieving individuals.

 

(Of course, I value the biblical virtues of honesty, humility and such over the warnings against evil spirits primarily because I don't believe in the supernatural anymore. Yes virginia, some atheists profit from the wisdom of their religious bretheren.)

 

To answer the question, I'm not a Christian but my dad, who teaches martial arts is. I think the traditionally religious aspect of MA does affect one's beliefs. It makes people tolerate and respect other belief systems for their value, even if one ultimately disagrees with them.

 

Doesn't make you punch harder, but the teachings of Christianity might make you less likely to punch someone unwisely. (That is, if you obey the parts of the bible that tell you to turn the other cheeck rather than the parts of the bible that tell you to smite people and dash the heads of infants on rocks.)

[LOILOI44]

Here, read these websites... claiming that martial arts are evil, and chi and meditation are forms of worshipping the devil...

 

http://www.bible-truths.org/tracts/martia~1.htm

 

http://www.pastornet.net.au/response/articles/a00044.htm

 

http://www.soundanalarm.com/Newsletters/Martial_Arts/MartialArts_Page.htm

 

Those websites are scary. How can somebody be so closed minded, and do it all in the name of God. I was raised Catholic, and I attend a martial art school in the basement of a Budhist temple. Not once has the topic of religion come up. To call martial arts a cult is delusional. It seems more like the people who wrote those websites are the ones with the cult mentality.

[eyeball-san]

According to the patch on my gi, the one that says "Christian Karate Association," I guess I am.

[omnifinite]

Here, read these websites... claiming that martial arts are evil, and chi and meditation are forms of worshipping the devil...

 

http://www.bible-truths.org/tracts/martia~1.htm

 

http://www.pastornet.net.au/response/articles/a00044.htm

 

http://www.soundanalarm.com/Newsletters/Martial_Arts/MartialArts_Page.htm

Wow... nothing more dangerous than a fool with a cause.

[KWN]

I agree, Christians should not preach about love then go and hate someone because they are doing something wrong. BUT I do believe Christians shouldn't do MA. True, it is a good self defense, but my best friend does karate, and already she is becoming obsessed with it and is "forgetting" about God. Also, though it does have good objectives (character building, patience, disapline) my goal is to convince Christians that doing martial arts can be a stumbling block, not only for them but for others as well. What people need to realize is MA teaches more than self defence. It teaches students that the New Age movement is okay and even includes it in classes. Also it tends to cause students to react violently in a number of situations. (my best friend and her younger sister both have) I have absolutely nothing against people who do MA and they can keep on doing it, it's their choice. I just want to show my point of veiw.

[Sasori_Te]

Whatever happened to the concept of "judge not lest ye also be judged" in Christianity? These sights sound like my Uncel could have written them. The only people worthy of love and respect are those that think exactly like him. It's a shame really. I feel bad for those folks.

[daeinwolf]

I practice MA and I am not a Christian...as is evident from my choice in avatars. To put it bluntly, I am an occultist. I have some spiritual beliefs, but they do not involve a man in the sky.

 

SiK---Joshua

[WolverineGuy]

Here is a letter my Master Instructor wrote in response to the bible-truths.org website:

 

Hello,

 

I just finished reading an article on your website

 

about the "truth" behind Martial Arts. I had to send

 

this e-mail to express my feelings about it. Let me

 

first say that I am a born again, bible believing

 

Christian. Let me next say that I am also a Martial

 

Artist, and have been for a long time now.

 

I was very disappointed to find myself reading yet

 

another poorly written, poorly researched commentary

 

on the Martial Arts as a whole. It is a fact that

 

many of the Martial Arts being practiced today have

 

incorporated everything the author of this article

 

said; however, to say that ALL Martial Arts are evil

 

because of that is plain silly. There are many people

 

who train in the Martial Arts who do not do any of

 

these evil things the author mentions. The Martial

 

Arts are even practiced in many places with a

 

Christian, bible-based philosophy behind the

 

teachings. You do not have to study Eastern religion,

 

worship foreign deities, or work towards any kind of

 

spiritual realm while practicing the Martial Arts.

 

Some people choose to do this, others find those

 

practices abhorrent.

 

I would challenge anyone to extend the research of the

 

Martial Arts beyond the stereotypical view expressed

 

in this article, to a more realistic view of the

 

Martial Arts as a whole. I am certain that, like

 

almost everything else, there are both good and bad

 

things to be found. I would also challenge anyone to

 

consider what this kind of article, labeling the whole

 

for the sins of the part, make Christians look like.

 

It is my belief that opinions like the one expressed

 

in this article are a part of the problem Christians

 

face today. Our message is largely ignored because we

 

are seen as extremists who are out of touch with

 

reality. We are labeled radicals who will call

 

something evil without even looking to see if it

 

really is. Articles like this one end up being a bad

 

witness because they do not look at the whole picture,

 

just a part.

 

The author of this article could easily have pointed

 

out all of the things that he did and warn people to

 

be on the lookout for them, instead of simply calling

 

an entire art evil. In writing the article as an

 

informational piece and including all of the facts

 

that he did, he would have been doing a great service

 

to those who practice the Martial Arts with a

 

non-Christian view. Sadly the only thing I am afraid

 

most practitioners of the Martial Arts will have

 

gotten from the article as written is a negative view

 

of Christianity, and not of the evils inherent in SOME

 

Martial Arts.

 

Respectfully yours in Christ,

 

NAME WITHELD BY POSTER

 

4th degree black belt, master instructor

[Bart the Lover]

Doesn't anyone think those sites are funny? I think they're hilarious.

 

They're too silly to get worked up about.

 

Personally, I'm an atheist.

[aefibird]

What people need to realize is MA teaches more than self defence. It teaches students that the New Age movement is okay and even includes it in classes.

 

I must tell my instructor that... All these years he's been teaching karate and he's never said anything at all about the New Age movement. Maybe that's the reason my club is so small - lack of new age stuff! lol

 

I'm not meaning to ridicule your post at all but I just want to point out that not all MA clubs promote something else as well as self defence. My instructor never discusses religion or anything like that during class, only karate.