As we walk with the Lord, every day we are faced with decisions about which direction to take. Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to join with my friends in a Tai Chi class for seniors. It’s proponents claim it to be beneficial for good balance and the prevention of falls. This all sounds innocuous enough. Right? But is it?
At first I wanted to join my peers and be a part of this group, but something nagged at my mind. I believe the Holy Spirit made me uncomfortable with the idea, so I decided to look into what Tai Chi really is. I needed to make a decision based on more than just what the pretty flier told me and the enthusiasm of my friends. So, I did some research which I will share with you.
What is Tai Chi?
“Tai Chi is an eastern religious practice that comes out of Taoism. Taoism is an ancient tradition of philosophy and religious belief that is deeply rooted in Chinese customs and worldview. Taoist ideas have become popular throughout the world through Tai Chi Chuan, Qigong, and various martial arts.” (source) http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/taoism/
From: GotQuestions.org
Question: “What is the Christian view of Tai Chi (TaiChi)?”
Answer: Tai Chi is more specifically called Tai Chi Chuan, which can be translated as “supreme ultimate force.” Tai Chi is a martial art, though it’s often called a “moving meditation” since the movements are done slowly and deliberately, and it is taught more as a meditative and health-enhancing practice than as a martial art. Though its origins are unclear, the foundation of Tai Chi is the Taoist belief in a universal energy called chi (also spelled qi or ki depending on the language of origin). Chi is believed to be the binding life force in the universe, existing both externally and internally, moving through invisible channels in the body called meridians.
Taoism teaches that strengthening and reinforcing one’s inner chi will bring good health and long life as well as spiritual benefits. Certain breathing techniques, meditations, and bodily movements are taught to cultivate and enhance the chi. This belief is the basis of Tai Chi. There is no supreme God or Creator in Taoism; all originated from the Tao, which is an impersonal principle or source of creation.
Yin Yang Symbol
From the Tao came yin and yang, two forces that manifested in creation. These forces appear opposite but actually are in a state of constant flux, merging with each other. The chi flows more harmoniously when yin and yang are balanced; this balance is brought about through special diets, herbs, exercises, breathing techniques, and bodily movements. Tai Chi, therefore, has a worldview at odds with the Christian worldview. Tai Chi is based on a Taoist spiritual view of the body and the chi, and how to enhance the chi, a view incompatible with how the Bible tells us we were made—in God’s image (Genesis 1:27).
Jesus Christ created and holds the world together, not the Tao or an invisible force called chi: “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). Doing Tai Chi, even for physical purposes, is paying homage to a spiritual belief system at odds with God’s Word. (source) http://www.gotquestions.org/Tai-Chi-Christian.html
Can we Divorce the Spiritual Aspect of Tai Chi and use it just as an Exercise?
That question comes up right away when considering Tai Chi. Here is a quote from Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man, in an article published on his web site:(emphasis added) http://www.equip.org/perspectives/christian-martial-arts-should-christians-practice-the-martial-arts/
CHRISTIAN MARTIAL ARTS- Inseparable from Eastern Religion
“It is clear that some martial art forms cannot be divorced from their Eastern origins. For example, Aikido, Ninjitsu, and Tai Chi depend heavily upon a force called “ki” (or “chi”) which supposedly pervades the whole universe. Since Christians worship one God who created the universe, and do not believe in this universal “chi” force, it becomes difficult — if not impossible — to reconcile these martial art forms with Christianity.”
Since Tai Chi involves Taoism which is Eastern Mysticism it cannot be reconciled with Christianity. When we do Tai Chi we are to align our energy with the universal energy force or “chi.” It is like trying to mix oil and water.
What Direction Can I Find From the Bible?
First of all God, in the Bible, tells us not to believe every thing that comes along as being from God. There are many false teachers in the world today and we need to be very careful what we follow. It is easy to follow the crowd, but we are to test the spirits to see if they are from God. Well, I can see from my research that the spirit in Tai Chi is not from God. It is anti-Christian. Therefore, I should not get involved.
1 John 4:1 NASB Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
I remember as a child some of my friends would join a certain group, or take part in something, and I wanted to also. I wanted to be part of the crowd. Sometimes I would ask my mom with the argument that “all my friends are going, why can’t I?” My mom knew more than myself, (of course, I didn’t think so) and she protected me from doing things that would not be good for me. It is like that with Christians. We want to do what everyone else is doing, but God has given us certain guidelines to follow and we need to go to Him and find out if we should do them or not. I’m thankful for the Bible and the instruction He has given us. He is the perfect parent!
Ephesians 5:11 NASB Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;
The devil would like nothing more than to get us sidetracked from our Christian walk. Do you realize in practicing Tai Chi there is a supernatural aspect to it? Here is another article called, Yoga wasn’t bad enough. Now we have tai chi, as the dark supernatural continues to invade our exercise time.
1 Peter 5:8 NASB Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Isn’t it true that today there is much evil that is called good? And, there is good that is called evil! Oh, my, we have to be on alert all the time. How do we measure things? Well, we can either listen to the world or we can listen to God. Keep your Bible handy!
Isaiah 5:20 NASB Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Another good scripture comes to mind. When you put a little bit of yeast into the flour mixture in just a little while the yeast has permeated the whole lump of dough. That is how we make such good tasting bread. But, in the spiritual realm a little bit of false teaching will quickly spoil everything else that is said. We must be very careful and discern the truth.
1 Corinthians 5:6b NASB Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?
We cannot allow ourselves be destroyed because we don’t know. Today we have many resources available to us and there is really no excuse for ignorance. We need to stay in the Word, and search out answers to anything that comes up that we are not sure about.
Hosea 4:6a NASB My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
God tells us what we must do!
2 Corinthians 6:17 NASB (17) “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.
We are not to be conformed to the world, but we are to seek to live in a way that is honoring to the Lord. He calls us to holiness.
1 Peter 1:14-16 NASB As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, (15) but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; (16) because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” (emphasis added)
Here is part of Paul’s prayer for the people in Colosse. And it is my prayer for you.
Colossians 1:9-10 NASB For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, (10) so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
After doing this research I came to the conclusion that doing Tai Chi is not honoring the my wonderful Savior and Lord. It is dabbling in the occult and would not be something He would want me involved with. I’m thankful that the Holy Spirit made me feel uncomfortable and got me to really look into this. I hope what I’ve learned will be helpful to you.
hatchcreek.com Bible blog 
It is interesting and even significant to note that the first Chinese translation of the New Testament Gospel of St John goes like this: “In the beginning was the TAO…”. You see for me TAO and Logos and the Word and Christ are synonymous….Dogmatic Christianity is sickening when you get right down to it. ….just as any dogma is. Loosen up people. See the interrelationship of all things…this is the Unifying Principle that God is and and in Whom His chosen One was the exemplary …overcome separation and divisiveness. See see also the important book: “Christ the Eternal TAO”: by Hieromonk Damascene. Valaam Books available on Amazon.
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“Jesus Christ created and holds the world together, not the Tao ”
Do you know that in the Chinese Bible the Word of God is translated as Tao?
Are you saying that this translation is all wrong? Ahh I think you need to do more investigation into Taoism. First of all Taoism came forth as an offshoot of Tao Te Ching a treatise written by Lao Tze in which there is nothing about religion but about naturalistic forces. Tao is the term used by Lao Tze to describe the primal creative force that underlies the world.
Subsequently followers of Lao Tze’s teachings started a religion that is now called Taoism, which is partly based on Lao Tze’s teachings and partly on animism, mediumship, worship of idols, worship of ancestors, worship of deities. This is alternatively known as Chinese religion.
Tai Chi may look like an offshoot of such a religion but what matters is that Tai Chi like Qigong actually deals with natural forces within the human body, principally the Qi or energies inside man. It has nothing to do with religious beliefs like worship of a diety, ancestor, so forth.
Tai Chi is really a kind of physical exercise but goes deeper through gentle movements and breathing techniques. One will not become more spiritual or more religious along any direction simply by practising Tai Chi.
There are in fact two separate streams of thought in Chinese culture that use common terminology like Tao, Qi, Shen, Yin, Yang. One stream belongs to the Chinese religion with their temples, worship rituals and followers.
The other stream is simply the masses which uses these terms in a general way much like Westerners might use words like God, energy, active and passive forces, freely as colloquial terms and not necessarily in a religious sense.
I encourage the writer to make some acquaintance with the Chinese culture on this point.
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Although my above commentary is on Tai Chi, here is a caveat on certain qigong exercises: There are some qigong exercises that mimic animals like snake, tiger, so forth. These should be avoided by Christians because they might allow evil spirits to enter one. On a TV documentary there was a guy who could not stop moving his limbs after practising such a qigong exercise.
There are many other forms of qigong exercises so it is imperative to find a reputable school with proven historical track record. You see anyone can invent a new set of qigong and claim mastership. These often become cult-like organisations. Avoid them.
Note that while a certain qigong method might be helpful such as using the hand to pluck bad energy from a sore part of the body, it may be harmful if use wrongly or excessively as it can deplete one’s energies.
Certainly if a qigong school advocate religious practices then a Christian should not go into it. You see even a physical exercise can be linked with religion. It is all up to the teacher or his school. So one must use one’s commonsense or discernment to prevent becoming religiously involved.
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You are so wrong.
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You should do more homework, you clearly don’t understand Taijiquan, Daoism, or even your own religion. If anything Daoism is a different interpretation of a greater truth that most religions have a piece of. The problem with Judeo-Christian beliefs is that most believers apply anthropomorphism (applying human characteristics to that which is not human). God is not human, even in your own dogma, we are created in his image as are all things, and his words and works are beyond the scope of human understanding. God is just a name for a concept beyond us. No matter what you conjure up you cannot deny that many of the basic building blocks for both systems of belief are the same. Yin and Yang for example are, the counter-opposing forces that make up everything are evident everywhere including your God; God/the force of creation gave us day/night, male/female, empty/full, light/darkness, good/evil, etc. and that is evident in the dogma of both systems including the dualistic nature of your God who on a whim will grant salvation or doom.
Tai Chi/Taijiquan is not a religion, there is a difference between philosophical and religious Daoism. Anyone can be Philosophically Daoist and follow any religion, philosophical Daoism is simply observations of how the world functions, such as acknowledging that opposites generate each ither because they are not opposed without something to compare to. Religious Daoism is like Christianity in that People tack on what they like besides the greater universal truth that is beyond our understanding for the purpose of ‘sheparding the herd of sheep’ if you want to use familiar terms. Where the problem with Christianity and Western thought lies is the belief in being ‘ Chosen’ or that God favors some over others when in reality he blesses and curses all of us. His word is not made of words, it is pure inspiration from God/the force of creation/Dao that has driven every culture on Earth to ever exist to their greatest heights and lowest depths. Maybe if you would be open minded and acknowledge God has a hand in all things and is beyond your understanding in the first place you can enjoy the full scope of his gifts including this martial art which was created to protect people. As a martial art it does use Yin-Yang, and chi as a model but it was created spcifically as the means for a village (Chen village/Chenjiagou) to defend themselves from bandits and invaders and guess what? Apparently your God or whoever’s God has allowed that village to stand to this day because of this sophisticated martial art. And as for Chi, its real and it is a sensation anyone can feel that typically occurs when your body has maximized the amount of oxygen in your blood to allow you to greater utilize your nervous system and whole body as one. Just because ancient Jews couldn’t come up with or name acupunture or Chi does not mean someone else couldn’t and it doesn’t mean they haven’t either with all the ridiculous book burnings Westerners are prone to.
I hope you learned something, I personally was once a Christian until I realized that the total knowledge and truth of our world is bigger than what one group of people edit in and out of their beliefs, and that was before I became a Daoist. But that doesn’t mean you can’t stick to your religion and still enjoy the rest if mankind’s inventions, I still think the 10 commandments are good, I just don’t think any action in life warrants eternal punishment or that being a good person leads to chilling on a cloud playing a harp for the rest of eternity (and that it wouldn’t be extremely boring). But if you come up with a martial art that channels the holy spirit/holy ghost in a way closer than Tai chi, I would love to see it.
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Based upon reasoning by way of Scripture, why are participation in the Olympics not a matter of concern? The root of this concerns paying homage to twelve Greek mythological gods, with winners of various contests “immortalized”. Thus, Greco-Roman wrestling, which owes it’s genesis to pagan roots, is practiced in schools and professionally. Auto racing owes the evolving of engines to bootleggers whom modified their engines to out run sheriffs. Even the days of the week are named after Norse gods, yet I have never heard of any believer protesting this. Does not Scripture state that “The letter of the law kills, but the spirit of the law gives life”? Did not Jesus say, “It is not what goes into a man that makes him unclean, but what proceeds from the abundance of the heart”? I perceive that because we each see through a glass darkly, we pick what we perceive, according to how the Spirit leads. Many in my church do not drink,yet see nothing wrong with gluttony.
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Well, there are many things in the world today that Christians should not be a part of. I hadn’t thought about the Olympics before, but yes, that is a pagan event. Should Christians partake in the Olympics? I seems that in order to get to the Olympics one has to spend a great deal of time, money, and energy trying to gain fortune and fame. Could this time be spent in a better way serving the Lord? Here is a scripture I thought of:
Col 3:2 NASB Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. That’s pretty clear.
Also, you mentioned gluttony. Here is a scripture for that: Pro 23:20 Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; Pro 23:21 For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.
I totally agree with you that there are people in the church who call themselves Christians who are gluttons. They over-indulge in food and drink (soda) all the time. It is a way of life for them. This is sin. And, it is one of the “respectable sins” that we tolerate, but which we shouldn’t. I have a book by Jerry Bridges called, “Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins we Tolerate.” It is really amazing what we do tolerate. Our culture dictates and influences us more than the Bible it seems. Self control is so very important.
The only way we can know what is sin and what isn’t is to stay in the Word of God and continue to study it all our lives. God will reveal and convict us of sin that we might not know we are doing and then we can confess, repent, and change our ways.
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You christians make me laughí ½í¸
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