ChurchWatch: Chuches Ban Child Yoga

[major_clanger]

[My new byline for posts highlighting particularly hypocritical, antisocial or just plain daft behaviour emerging from the Church.]

A yoga group for toddlers has been banned from two church halls by ministers who branded it a "sham" and "un-Christian"

Rev Tim Jones, the vicar of St James's, said: "Any alternative philosophies or beliefs are offering a sham - and at St James's church we want people to have the real thing.

"Yoga has its roots in Hinduism, and attempts to use exercises and relaxation techniques to put a person into a calm frame of mind - in touch with some kind of impersonal spiritual reality.

"The philosophy of yoga cannot be separated from the practice of it, and any teacher of yoga (even to toddlers) must subscribe to the philosophy.

"As Christians we believe that this philosophy is false and not something we wish to encourage. Yoga is encouraging people to think that there is a way to wholeness of body and mind through human techniques - whereas the only true way to wholeness is by faith in God through Jesus Christ."

Comments

[annafdd.livejournal.com]

Jesus Christ! Please tell me this doesn't happen in England?

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

We thought we got rid of the Puritans several hundred years ago, but new ones keep on springing up.

[aardvark179.livejournal.com]

The Church of England is going through a bit of an interesting time at the moment, one half is very much on the liberal end of things, and the other seems to be busily trying to push the boundaries of crazy. There's a push to get all the churches in the Anglican congress to sign up to a covenant that they won't appoint gay bishops and various other things which is likely to cause the very split its proponents say want they stop happening, and any liberals who become bishops moderate their position to avoid winding up the crazies, while the crazies who become bishops announce that the recent floods are divine judgement on homosexuals.

It's all very worrying to watch coming from an extremely liberal high-church background.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Astonishing.

[annafdd.livejournal.com]

I should not have followed that link. I have read the comments. Good Gracious.

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Re: the comments. You have to remember that this is the Daily Torygraph... and the sort of people who read it will be the sort of people who post on the website.

[annafdd.livejournal.com]

I know, but you usually forget they are out there, just as you forget there are actually people who vote for Bush. And even knowing intellectually that they esist, meeting them makes you feel all covered in Teh Stupid.

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

This is by no means the first time that a Yoga class has been banned from church premises, but I think it is the first time that it is a mother-and-toddler group.

[brixtonbrood.livejournal.com]

I've certainly heard variations on this story before, but not re toddlers.

[purplecthulhu.livejournal.com]

I guess this means they won't be inviting Dawkins round any time soon...

Or the rest of us for that matter!

[maviscruet.livejournal.com]

May I present a disenting view?

This is a tricky subject. I've done Tai Chi in a church hall and it has occured to me that the philosphical and religous underpinnings of that simply did not match with the teachings of hte christian church. So why was I there?

Lets be honest - nobody would expect a jewish temple to host an Alpha class? Nor would we expect a church hall to host an Islamic prayer meeting.

And yoga does stem from hindoisum. So what's the problem with there decision?

Personally I think part of the problem is that the 'church hall' is actually more 'the community hall' but it's linked to the church at least in part because the chruch and state in this country are mixed.

[brixtonbrood.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of with you on this actually, Real Yoga is surely deeply linked with a non-Christian religion, so if you're taking the tenets of your religion seriously then the minister's decision has some logic.
The reason why it has made the news is that mother and baby yoga is normally very very far removed from the religious and philosophical roots of yoga.

[ci5rod.livejournal.com]

I wish I knew more about the philosophy of yoga (like, almost anything). The little that I do know doesn't contradict Christian theology (which I know a lot more about), which makes me suspicious about whether this particular vicar has done his homework or just made assumptions.

[mr-tom.livejournal.com]

Well, we all know what priests think of when one mentions "child yoga"...

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

*snerk*

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

Its their building, and they can do as they want. BUT this publicity does not show them in a good light, and rejecting community outreach does not do much for ideas of religious tolerance.