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Old 10-14-2004, 09:21 AM   #51
Jonathan
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

I suppose if people are going to weigh in on what the Christian perspective is on things like meditation and ki power I, as a long-time Christian, should, too.

Let's see...I've already gone over the "ki" thing, so maybe I'll say something about meditation. Hmmm, well, the Bible commands those who would know God better and live righteously to meditate on scripture (Ps. 1; Josh. 1:8). The word "meditation", as it is used in scripture, carries the meaning of rumination or pondering - like what a cow does with its cud. Christians are to chew and chew again the meat of a verse in order to eke out of it every last bit of spiritual nourishment. Meditation, for the Christian, is not an emptying of the mind, but a filling of it with that to which one wishes to be conformed. Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he (a man) thinks in his heart so is he..." This is the purpose, in part, of meditation in the Christian faith: to allow the truths of the Word of God opportunity to saturate the mind and thus shape behaviour. Every ad agency in North America understands and uses this "principle of conformity".

Emptying the mind after the manner of Zen meditation is considered dangerous by many Christians because it creates an inner spiritual and mental vacuum. The Bible clearly teaches that there are spiritual agents, good and bad, at work constantly in our lives and world. It also teaches that these agents are always looking for avenues into our lives. Evil spirits seek opportunity to enter a life and destroy it while God's Spirit seeks to enter a person's life to preserve and bless it. Christ taught of a man who was freed of demons. The demons, Christ says, roamed about looking for a new residence but, finding none, returned to their former habitation. They discover the man "empty" so they resume their occupancy, bringing more of their kind this time, and the "last state of that man was worse than the first". (Matt. 12:43-45) Mind-emptying meditation, for the Christian, is, then, a means of making oneself more susceptible to, and perhaps even inviting, the influence of evil spiritual agents. Of course, if you aren't a Bible-believing Christian this is going to sound like alot of foolishness. That's okay. I'm not trying to defend my faith here; I'm just trying to explain it.

By the way, for anyone who is interested in a well-reasoned, scholarly, defense of the Christian faith read, "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" by Josh MacDowell. At the very least, this book could help clear up alot of the ignorance I see handed around on this thread concerning the nature of the Christian faith.

As far as the compatibility of Christianity with Omoto-kyo (or any other faith for that matter) goes, it is non-existent. Jesus said quite unequivocally that he was "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" and that no man could come to (God) the Father but by him. (Jn. 14:6) In other words, no one finds God through any other means than Jesus. The "all streams empty into the ocean" philosophy is antithetical to this teaching of Jesus. Now, I know that many of you are going to get up in arms about this, but, remember, I'm not telling you what you should believe, here, only what the message of the Bible is. Attempting to meld Omoto-kyo and Christian beliefs together results in a very contemporary postmodern philosophy, but also a very contradictory and illogical one.

I practice Aikido, the martial art, not Aikido, the religion. I value the philosphy of Aikido only so far as it coincides with my Christian faith.

Take it easy!

Jon.

"Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."
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Old 10-14-2004, 11:48 AM   #52
Qatana
 
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Meditation is Not About emptying the mind. It is about Not Reacting to whatever is In the Mind. it is about not paying attention to the lies your own mind tells you.
In sixteen years of meditation practice and instruction i have Never been told to Empty the Mind.

Q
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Old 10-15-2004, 08:20 AM   #53
Jonathan
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Hey, Jo!

I don't know what to tell you other than that "emptying the mind" is an expression that I have both heard and read in regards to certain kinds of meditation, including the Zen form. Maybe its just a turn of phrase intended to express what you have said, but, then again, maybe not. In any case, I know of martial artists who do attempt to make their minds perfectly empty of thought. They do this in order to be a "mirror" or "still pond" mentally so that they can simply respond without conscious thought to any attack. Some do it in an attempt to tap into power beyond themselves. An empty mind, they believe, is necessary to combine the limitless spiritual with the limited physical within themselves. You'll find this sort of thinking in many New Age books on meditation.

Take it easy!

"Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."
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Old 10-15-2004, 08:32 AM   #54
ian
 
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

So much of this is philosophical word play. Didn't Jesus say "by their fruits let them be known?". So who cares? If someone is nice, we know it. If something works, it works. Reality is self-evident; who needs a 'belief system' other than those who wish to formulate life or be controlled.
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Old 10-15-2004, 11:40 AM   #55
Qatana
 
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

jonathan

I do not do "new age". I practice Buddhist Meditation in the theravada tradition which has been passed on in an unbroken lineage for over 2,000 years. I have been to many intensive meditation retreats in the past 16 years, taught by teachers who can trace their lineage back for hundreds of years. Nowhere in ANy meditation tradition i have been exposed to have i been instructed to Empty the mind. I have only been instructed to be aware that i Have a mind and that i cannot control what goes on in the mind but i Can control my reaction to it
How much Formal meditation training have You had?.

Q
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Old 10-15-2004, 11:41 AM   #56
Jonathan
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Ian:

Yeah, it can get tiresome wading through all the lingo attached to things religious or philosophical.

Do you know the context within which Jesus made the comment you have quoted? HIs point wasn't quite the same as yours...

Everyone has a "belief system", whether it is formally stated, as in the case of a particular religion like Islam or Hinduism, or not. As well, there are many who would object on good and reasonable grounds that reality is not always "self-evident". Oh, and we are all controlled in one way or another to one degree or another by someone or something or other.

There is something to be said, though, for the straightforward approach to life that you described, Ian. It can cut through a lot of crap, to be sure, but it is not always the best, or wisest line to follow through life.

Take it easy!

"Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."
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Old 10-15-2004, 11:42 AM   #57
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

This is a really sucking thread, because I think that aikido has no problems with christian religion. If christians have problems with aikido they can search for personal solutions. Statements about aikido from christian perspective are problematic because the danger of categorial mistakes while judging. In the following I will outline some features of unsuficient argumentation-strategy and implicit values in argumentation.

A)
Monotheistic religions don‘t have compatible concepts about what god is compared with politheistic religions. Incompatibuilities are seen as well to the nature of the goddes itself als well as to the nature of man.
Confronted with this incompatibilities Christians tend to two reactions: A1) Demonication. This is a typical reaction where uncompatible aspets are moved to the „bad" or „evil" side and so are made a taboo (of thinking, of dealing with). Historically this is typical process of changes in religion like matriachical to patriachical interpretation. Interestingly there are still relicts in stories and pictures (i.e. the picture of the devil in medivial church-painting resembles very much the picture ot the antique God Pan (very powerfull, giving panic to the people also by his unrestrained sexuality). A2) Overriding importance: The christian god is conceptualized as the highest beeing, overreaching other („minor" gods). This is accompanied by concepts like more powerfull, more loving or whatever. This kind of putting christian believe system over other systems can be seen in the way, the christian religion occupied formerly pagan places i.e. to build up their Churches, thus pushing away the former meaning of this place/pagan cult.
Both thinking mechanisms implicitly prefer christian interpretation schemes and devalue the polytheistic perspective. Normally christian argumentation has only little consciousness about this „We are the best, fuck the rest"-Ideology, as if their „loving-god-doctrine" was a permission to be intolerant or ignorant.

B)
Wonders, supernatural ability and nonshared power concepts: Believe it or not, as it fits to your personal needs.
There is a good portion of „wonder", „supernatural ability" in all religious systems. In the bible we are told about an almighty god, jesus is said to be a great healer (even awaked a dead person), to have walked on the water, inscenated a selfsacrifice said to be of importance for the whole mankind etc. etc.. These stories and abilities are not doubted seriously by christian believers, which tend to a literal understanding of the bible. The stories and reported abilities mark the extraordinary importance of the historic happenings, they are part of the core of the religion.
Christians believers normally tend to get a bit shaky, when confronted with „wonders" and „subernatural abilities" from nonchristian backgrounds (i.e. reports about the abilities of M Ueshiba, yogi tradition, shamanic ability). This is very natural, because the reported christian wonders seem less exceptional when there is actual competition, that stems from nonchristian tradition.
So again, there is argumentation to get over this dissonance: A1) daemonization: ki, meditation, bowing, praying to is declared „bad", „unhealthy", „dangerous". Normally this is done without a deeper understanding of the banned concepts.
Citation: "If, however, you can stand perfectly still with your eyes closed and throw and pin twenty guys to the floor without touching any of them, you might want to visit your nearest exorcist - that or become your own one-man, pro-footbal team." Jonathan 10-12-04, 10:28)

Next attempt B1) is to declare unpleasant incidents/concepts als „lies" (normally not based on empirical data or proof). Interestingly the „It's a lie!-argument" could be used against christian stories too.


Third attempt B2) is the strategy of devaluation by refraiming. This means to remove the critical incidents/concepts from their genuin backgrounds/roots/explanations and to give alternativwe ones. This is a strategy to demystifie critical concepts to an acceptable grade.
Citation: "To any Christians out there who may have some concern about the "ki" thing in Aikido I would suggest that it is just the deep refining of one's intuition, sensory perception and physical movement expressed in relaxed, powerful, creative and effective responses to attack." Jonathan 10-12-04, 10:28


Conclusion:
It's often puzzling to be confronted with unexpected things. One shouldn't try to escape by restricted reasoning or cheap answers.
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Old 10-15-2004, 12:31 PM   #58
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Well said Goetz! seek the truth. don't buy what others tell you.

I would like to answer something Mr. Hay said
Quote:
Jesus said quite unequivocally that he was "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" and that no man could come to (God) the Father but by him. (Jn. 14:6) In other words, no one finds God through any other means than Jesus. The "all streams empty into the ocean" philosophy is antithetical to this teaching of Jesus.
I suggest a different interpretation of the words - remember it's been tranlated, transposed, and transcribed, so, try this on: "I EMBODY the way the truth and the life, unless you partake of this approach to the infinite, you won't get there" I believe the lord Jesus was saying "I am the universe".

(If i am to be stoned, I don't live in Tampa, I moved to Mumbai, India!!!)

Billybob
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Old 10-15-2004, 05:19 PM   #59
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Quote:
Jo Adell wrote:
jonathan
I do not do "new age". I practice Buddhist Meditation in the theravada tradition which has been passed on in an unbroken lineage for over 2,000 years. I have been to many intensive meditation retreats in the past 16 years, taught by teachers who can trace their lineage back for hundreds of years. Nowhere in ANy meditation tradition i have been exposed to have i been instructed to Empty the mind. I have only been instructed to be aware that i Have a mind and that i cannot control what goes on in the mind but i Can control my reaction to it.

to add to what Jo is saying...

and of course that is a different and older tradition than Zen buddhism where at least some talk in the Japanese form of this tradition discusses "emptying the mind". What I understand about it is the translation into English has lost some meaning and it's not the image of an empty vessel.

Also O-sensei was not a fan of Zen buddhism.


and then there is very similar traditions of meditation in the desert Fathers and other eastern Christian mystics that many modern western Christians seem to be fairly ignorant of. That's not about meditating on Bible verse as a protestant might talk about, but an old tradition involving chanting or sitting in silence (focusing on the Jesus prayer or Jesus name) to reach a transcendant state of being.


--------

"There are three kinds of silence. Silence from words is good, because inordinate speaking tends to evil. Silence, or rest from desires and passions is still better, because it promotes quietness of spirit. But the best of all is silence from unnecessary and wandering thoughts, because that is essential to internal recollection, and because it lays a foundation for a proper reputation and for silence in other respects."
 
        -- Madam Guyon, [1648-1717], French Christian Mystic

--------------

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Old 10-21-2004, 11:27 AM   #60
Jonathan
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

David Knowlton:

Quote:
I suggest a different interpretation of the words - remember it's been tranlated, transposed, and transcribed, so, try this on: "I EMBODY the way the truth and the life, unless you partake of this approach to the infinite, you won't get there" I believe the lord Jesus was saying "I am the universe".
Of course, you are entitled to your opinion, but what Jesus said was exactly what he meant. The many other places in the Bible which echo, expand, and explain his statement leave no room for the interpretation you have applied to his words. Not everything in the Bible is symbolic and open for individual interpretation.

As for the idea that the Bible has suffered from the ravages of time and translation, well, it isn't true. I don't want to go into the vast amount of study that has been done on this topic by men well-schooled in such study, but I do want to say that they have determined that present-day translations are extremely accurate. Many thousands of ancient extant manuscripts make this determination possible.

Practice hard. Practice often.

"Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."
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Old 10-21-2004, 07:26 PM   #61
Kristian Miller-Karlsen
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

I have read some translations from the gospel of Saint Thomas. Very interesting stuff. Quite different from the translations that I received every Sunday at church.

I like Aikido because it is a spiritual path of great value to society and humanity at large. But like any tool it only becomes truly valuable when used properly. Much like the Christian system. No one I know has ever incited mass religious genocide and slaughter in the name of Aiki. I think many of Jesus followers have a great deal to answer for throughout history. To paraphrase, You know a tree by the fruit it bears.

As a result I practice Aikido.
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Old 10-21-2004, 08:32 PM   #62
Infamousapa
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

I really like what you have to say brother Jonathan Hay .May God bless you and keep your faith up and you just reactivated mine..
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Old 10-22-2004, 02:39 AM   #63
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Interesting discussion.

As Jonathan has said, there ARE fundamental differences between Christianity and Zen Buddhism.
1. Zen Buddhists believe that one can achieve ‘enlightenment' (or heaven on earth) by self-mastery. Christians believe that one can only gain entrance to Heaven through Christ.
2. Zen Buddhism teaches meditation as a process of purging unwanted thoughts, emotions, habits, etc. (which can be construed as an ‘emptying of the mind'), whereas Christian ‘meditation' is actually ‘contemplation'.
3. Zen Buddhists strive to purge themselves of desire to regain purity (and thus transcend ‘hell on earth'), whereas all of the Christian teachings reinforce that righteous desire through Christ is what makes life on earth worth living.

If I remember correctly (what limited knowledge I was told from various sensei) Omoto-Kyo differs fundamentally in that Omoto-Kyo followers believe that various people are/were reincarnations of actual Gods, whereas Christians believe there is only one God, and that Jesus was God's physical manifestation on earth.

Those reasons alone are pretty powerful arguments that Christianity and ANY other religion are not ‘compatible' in the sense of muddling the two belief systems together to form some ‘personal' belief systems that subscribes to the principles of ‘both'. However, one should not discount any lesson here on earth, since truth and wisdom is found in many of God's creations (not just in the Bible). I, for one, frequently enjoy studying Zen Koans.

All that being said, IMO righteous desire in your heart, AND your Aikido is what brings the two together in harmony.

Bruce Kimpel
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Old 10-22-2004, 08:33 AM   #64
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

http://www.pastornet.net.au/response/articles/41.htm

Christians point of view?
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Old 10-22-2004, 08:54 AM   #65
Magma
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Gach!

That is god-awful rubbish. Ugh. So much fear. So much disinformation.

JMO, of course (and no, I'm not a christian to give you a christian POV on that article).

Tim
It's a sad irony: In U's satori, he forgot every technique he ever knew; since then, generations of doka have spent their whole careers trying to remember.
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Old 10-22-2004, 08:59 AM   #66
Jonathan
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Kristian:

Quote:
But like any tool it only becomes truly valuable when used properly. Much like the Christian system. No one I know has ever incited mass religious genocide and slaughter in the name of Aiki. I think many of Jesus followers have a great deal to answer for throughout history. To paraphrase, You know a tree by the fruit it bears.
You're right on, Kristian! A tree is known by the fruit it bears. If I say I'm a Christian and then run off to kill "inifidels" I make myself a liar; for I cannot kill people simply because they do not believe as I do and really be a Christian. The Bible forbids such behaviour. Mass genocide in the name of Jesus is a Roman Catholic venture, not a Christian one. People may have invoked Jesus' name while killing others, but this no more makes their killing Christian than killing endangered whales in the name of Mother Nature makes me a member of GreenPeace.

Tony:

Hey, man! Glad I could encourage you as a Christian! God bless!

Bruce: I think you're right about some truth being evident outside the pages of the Bible. A number of things O-sensei said about love and peace resonate strongly with me as a Christian. Just because O-sensei is saying it and not Jesus doesn't make it less true.

Take it easy!

"Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."
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Old 10-22-2004, 09:08 AM   #67
Qatana
 
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

I bet all those people killing in Jesus' name firmly believed that they were behaving in a Christian manner.

Q
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Old 10-22-2004, 10:45 AM   #68
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Hi folks,

Just wanted to remind people that the topic in this thread is the manners in which aikido and Christianity interact, not on Christianity in general. Just thought I'd steer things back on topic.

Thanks,

-- Jun

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Old 10-22-2004, 01:06 PM   #69
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Bruce,

I do not necessarily agree with your correlations.

1. Zen Buddhists believe that one can achieve ‘enlightenment' (or heaven on earth) by self-mastery. Christians believe that one can only gain entrance to Heaven through Christ.

Most Christians I know have practices such as going to Church and other activities that I would define as "self mastery". Isn't attempting to understand God or Jesus and the meaning of the them a practice that parallels "enlightment"? I think you have to gain an understanding or an education about God or Jesus to be able to love and embrace him or them, however you view the two.


2. Zen Buddhism teaches meditation as a process of purging unwanted thoughts, emotions, habits, etc. (which can be construed as an ‘emptying of the mind'), whereas Christian ‘meditation' is actually ‘contemplation'.

I think Jo already responded to this. But I am curious as to the definition of 'contemplation'? How is the so-called Christian contemplation any different from the Zen Buddhist contemplative practice? If you could elaborate it would help me understand.

BTW: Naropa University has a degree I believe in Contemplative Studies.

3. Zen Buddhists strive to purge themselves of desire to regain purity (and thus transcend ‘hell on earth'), whereas all of the Christian teachings reinforce that righteous desire through Christ is what makes life on earth worth living

I really think you are talking semantics really. Again, most Christians practice things such as not drinking alcohol, and not cussing etc.probably not the best examples, but I think you find the same type of activities...especially in the puritanical sects such as Mennonites, and Pennsylvania Dutch. Look also into Calvinist doctrine as well...it is all there. I really hate to generalize but most Christians do practice the same things whether intentional or unintentional. The desire to purge you of all things bad is called Sin by Christians.

I think it is far more important to seek to understand how religions are all the same and unifying in nature. Continue to compare differences propagates hatred and divisiveness' which are, if you will, "tools of the devil". We cannot have peace on this planet until we realize that we are all connected together by the string of life and we must all figure out how to get along and live in Harmony.

It is quite possible IMHO to be both a practicing Zen Buddhist and a Christian as much as it is to be an Aikidoka and a Karateka. I think as Aikidoka, in the spirit of a wonderful art the attempts to unify, that we should all turn our discussions on how we can make this world a better place by unifying Christians, Muslims, and Buddhist…not prostelyzing and converting them.
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Old 10-22-2004, 05:06 PM   #70
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Thumbs down Re: Aikido and being Christian

Quote:
Kevin Leavitt wrote:
It is quite possible IMHO to be both a practicing Zen Buddhist and a Christian as much as it is to be an Aikidoka and a Karateka. I think as Aikidoka, in the spirit of a wonderful art the attempts to unify, that we should all turn our discussions on how we can make this world a better place by unifying Christians, Muslims, and Buddhist…not prostelyzing and converting them.
One of the best posts I've seen in this topic so far.

Well said Kevin.
LC

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Old 10-22-2004, 06:29 PM   #71
Charles Hill
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

I think it would be interesting to remember that Morihei Ueshiba`s martial arts teacher and spiritual teacher were different people. Ueshiba had studied martial arts intensively and then met Onisaburo Deguchi who encouraged him to apply the spiritual teachings to his MA practice. I imagine that a person of any religion could listen to the teachings and then go to Aikido practice and then ask him/herself, "How does what I learned at church, temple,etc apply here?" That, in my opinion, would be following Ueshiba`s example. My only caveat would be that it is important to have a teacher, not just study a book on one`s own. I think that following Christianity (zen, Judiasm,etc) by just reading a book would be like learning aikido from a book, a very bad idea.

Charles Hill
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Old 11-02-2004, 05:08 PM   #72
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Question Re: Aikido and being Christian

Quote:
Ted Ehara wrote:
"After all, the power of Gravity is not of God so it must be of Satan, and is not something with which a Christian should have anything to do."

eek!
.. ok firstly, the power of gravity is natural, not supernatural. nature is of God because He created it. Gravity is science ...ki is supernatural. God did not create evil; He created Satan (who was once good;Lucifer). Lucifer turned against God with his free will, therefore evil then existed. Satan did not create evil either .. evil is only the absence of God. (just as cold is the absence of heat and dark is the absence of light)

soo ...you so can't even compare the two. I mean, I did sense the sarcasm .. but still.

Anyway, so "energies" in the supernatural world have to have a source ... God or Satan.

I only joined this community because I want to learn more about Ki. My bf is pretty into it, and he wants to teach me ..but I'm pretty leary about it. That's why I want to learn all I can first. I've accepted Jesus, so it's important to me that I know the source of ki ...is it good or is it evil? Can anyone give me evidence that it's not evil? Or evidence that it is? I mean, I'm seriously open to any opinions ... because after reading what everyone's said, I'm pretty confused. All I want to know is the truth.


*Sarah*
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Old 11-02-2004, 07:08 PM   #73
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Sarah, i was funning with you in the other thread i just answered. But Ki is something that means different things to different people and the only way to have any understanding of it is to experience it yourself. No two people feel anything the same way, an Ki can only be "felt" it can't be seen or touched or measured (unless you're Ki Society, and i don't pretend to know how they do that).

Ever feel your hands tingling for no reason? That's ki. Ever feel the wind moving through your fingers when you wave your hand? Thats ki.
Ki is no more supernatural than gravity. It is just there, in the trees, in the air, in your body.

And you can choose to completely believe in it, or completely dismiss it from your reality, cuz it doesn't care what We think it is. It just is.

And i'm sure this isn't giving you the answer that you want, i'm not sure anybody but You can do that. Best...

Q
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"It is not wise to be incautious when confronting a little smiling bald man"'- Rule #1
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Old 11-03-2004, 11:55 AM   #74
Hiros_Angel
 
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Quote:
Jo Adell wrote:
Sarah, i was funning with you in the other thread i just answered. But Ki is something that means different things to different people and the only way to have any understanding of it is to experience it yourself. No two people feel anything the same way, an Ki can only be "felt" it can't be seen or touched or measured (unless you're Ki Society, and i don't pretend to know how they do that).

Ever feel your hands tingling for no reason? That's ki. Ever feel the wind moving through your fingers when you wave your hand? Thats ki.
Ki is no more supernatural than gravity. It is just there, in the trees, in the air, in your body.

And you can choose to completely believe in it, or completely dismiss it from your reality, cuz it doesn't care what We think it is. It just is.

And i'm sure this isn't giving you the answer that you want, i'm not sure anybody but You can do that. Best...

No, I mean I seriously do appreciate your reply. And I have no doubt that "ki" is there. I believe what everyone feels is so real. I guess I just wonder why you think it's ki? ..and how do you know it's in everything and flows through us all? how do you know it's just like gravity? is it possible that what you feel is ki could be something totally different? I'm sorry I'm being difficult, but I can't help but wonder


-- Sarah
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Old 11-03-2004, 11:56 AM   #75
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Re: Aikido and being Christian

Jo, My point exactly (in the other thread). Really what difference does it make what I think, or you think?

There are many different ways to experience things and different paradigms. To me, it is not important for another to understand or embrace my experience....only to embrace their own.

The important part is that each of us is exploring and seeking for answers through them.

Sara, you are correct to ask the questions, it means you are thinking about the concepts and exploring them...that is a good thing. This is how you learn.

In the end, it will be up to you to make up your own mind what KI means to you. It really is different things to different people and that is really okay. There is no right answer to what KI is.

One thing that troubles me about Western Philosophy and logic is that we as westerners really must have empircal evidence or proof...we like things that are black and white.

Just like you said in the other thread, Sara, like the bible some things you just have to have faith and there is no empirical evidence.

Gravity is a good example. It is probably as close to a universal truth as you can get on earth. Everyone is affected by it, but everyone experiences it differently depending on your background, knowledg, and situation. Your experiences sitting in your chair will be much different than your experience falling from 14,000 feet!
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