{"id":5188,"date":"2016-08-16T03:17:54","date_gmt":"2016-08-16T08:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/occultism-meditation-cults\/"},"modified":"2016-08-16T03:17:54","modified_gmt":"2016-08-16T08:17:54","slug":"occultism-meditation-cults","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/occultism-meditation-cults\/","title":{"rendered":"OCCULTISM-MEDITATION CULTS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><i>Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. <\/i><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right;line-height:normal'><i>\u2014II Tim. 3:7<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>3961<\/b><b> Some Statistics<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>The Buddhist sect called \u201cNichiren Shoshu\u201d had 25,000 followers in the U.S. in 1965. In 1971 they became 200,000. A typical meeting is for all to be seated lotus-fashion, chanting the same words over and over again. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>And Transcendental Meditation has 50,000 followers in the U.S. colleges alone. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>3962<\/b><b> Yoga Is Anti-Christianity<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>The foundations of yoga are based on the denial of God. It is atheistic in character. Man must aim at attaining to his eternal \u201cself\u201d through the practice of many exercises in purification. This eternal self (real self) is allegedly a part of the universal or ultimate reality. Yoga calls this process self-realization. Actually, the word yoga has a meaning corresponding to \u201cthe mystical union with the universal spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Therefore, it will be impossible under any circumstances to harmonize yoga and Christianity. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>3963<\/b><b> Condensing Yoga Textbook<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>In the comprehensive work on yoga by Mishra called <i>The Textbook of Yoga Psychology<\/i>, a few concise statements:<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Every bodily organ is related to the soul. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Every person has a physical and spiritual nature which strive with one another for preeminence. A harmony and union of these two natures is to be achieved through psychological exercises. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Man\u2019s eternal self is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Man\u2019s eternal self is both transcendent and immanent; it is without beginning and without end, having neither birth nor death. Material things are on a lower level than the mind, the intelligence and the spirit. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Yoga includes all branches of physics and metaphysics. Yoga includes a synthesis of the physical and the metaphysical universes. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Heaven and hell are the products of man\u2019s mind. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Thus the system of yoga stands behind magic, mysticism and occultism. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>3964<\/b><b> Death Of Yoga Instructor<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Yoga experts and pathologists are still talking about the strange death of Robert Antosczcyk, 29, an Ann Arbor, Michigan, yoga instructor. One day, Antosczcyk said he was going into his room to attempt a state of astral-projection and did not want to be disturbed. Two days later he died. His body was found on the floor of his room in a yoga position used for deep meditation: he was flat on his back, his thumbs between his index and middle fingers. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Friends and relatives say he had been in excellent health. He did not smoke, drink or use drugs, they said. Pathologists were baffled. One theorized that Antosczcyk had gone into such a deep, trance-like meditation that his heart slowed to the point where his brain no longer received enough blood. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>3965<\/b><b> Giggling Guru<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>\u201cThe benefits of transcendental meditation may simply be due to the extra sleep a practitioner gets,\u201d University of Washington researchers say. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Two professors at the University of Ottawa buck the current tide and describe transcendental meditation as a cop-out. In their view, some people may become as addicted to meditation as to drugs. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Merv Anderson observes that \u201cthe normal gear for the mind of Western man is overdrive. I suggest that\u2019s why a giggling guru from India has been able to turn something called transcendental meditation into a multi-million-dollar success story. Mahariah Mahesh Yogi shows people how to let their minds slip into neutral gear, or what his adherents pretentiously label \u201ccosmic consciousness.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right;line-height:normal'><i>\u2014Prairie Overcomer<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>3966<\/b><b> Buddhist Concentration<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Here are some Buddhist teachings on how to concentrate:<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:18.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:normal'>(1) When your mind wanders, clap your hands tightly; or concentrate on the tip of your nose. Usually awareness of the lower part of your abdomen prevents mind wandering. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:18.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:normal'>(2) If you feel dizzy during meditation, concentrate your mind upon your forehead. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:18.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:normal'>(3) If you feel sick, concentrate your mind upon your toes. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>3967<\/b><b> Psychometry<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>My wife once received a letter from a young girl, to whom she had sent some small gift. It was a simple \u201cThank You\u201d letter. I did not know the girl or any events on her. Taking the letter and concentrating, I received a clairvoyant picture of a girl<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:18.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:normal'>\u2014about 9-years-old, blond with hair to shoulders, <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:18.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:normal'>\u2014standing in a garden, <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:18.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:normal'>\u2014seemed to wear long, white socks. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>My wife had never met the girl either. But when she spoke to a friend who does, she found out she was:<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:18.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:normal'>\u2014actually 10 yrs. old, <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:18.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:normal'>\u2014indeed fair-haired, shoulder-length, <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:18.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:normal'>\u2014loved the garden behind her house, spent much time there, <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:18.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:normal'>\u2014badly burned her legs and had bandages on legs (I saw them as white socks). <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:right;line-height:normal'>\u2014Selected<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>3968<\/b><b> Close Alliance With Black Magic<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>A person once showed he could indentify another unknown person by just a few specimens of that person\u2019s handwriting. By con centrating on them, he could give the person\u2019s exact address, family background, health, etc. He was discovered to be relying on a magic book, <i>The 6th and 8th Book of Moses<\/i>. Thus, his psychic powers had come from the close alliance of psychometry and Black Magic. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>3969<\/b><b> Not A Delusion After All<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>In London, England, a woman took her husband to a Harley Street psychiatrist, claiming that he was suffering from delusion of grandeur. \u201cHe keeps saying he is expecting one letter that will make him the owner of 1,000 acres in Surrey and another telling him he had inherited a diamond mine in South Africa,\u201d she explained. The man had three weeks of intensive treatment\u2014then the letters arrived. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>3970<\/b><b> Almost Loses His Faith<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Kurt Koch relates the following three accounts on psycho- analysis and hypnotism:<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>A Christian psychiatrist I know allowed himself to be used as a guinea pig during his period of training. He was in the process psycho-analyzed by the professor of a seminary. He told me about the experience and left me no doubt concerning his feelings about it. The analysis had been such a source of trouble to him that he had been in danger of losing his own faith. He had had to spend hours in meditation on the Word of God and in prayer in order to prevent his faith from being completely wrecked. Today this psychiatrist is opposed to use of the psycho-analysis by non-Christians. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>3971<\/b><b> Complexes Explain Everything? <\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Then, a student who was psychoanalyzed in the course of her medical and psychological training ended up in a terrible psychical state. She had no peace for months. She could not sleep and found herself to be in a state of inner turmoil. The analyst had told her that she suffered from a mother-complex, and this caused her to break off all relationships with her mother. She left home. In the same way her teacher said that her religious faith was merely a church-complex; and so she threw this overboard too. When the psycho-analysis was complete, the young student was convinced that the majority of people are merely governed by the series of complexes. In the process though, she herself had become inwardly torn and distressed. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>3972<\/b><b> Mother\u2019s Character Changed<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>And a Christian told me of an experience she had had with her mother. The mother had suffered from severe colic due to gallstones. Once when she was in pain the family doctor was called. Instead of giving her a pain-relieving injection he hypnotized her and the pain left within a few minutes. However, after this hypnotic treatment the mother\u2019s character altered completely. She developed such an evil temper that at times it bordered on madness. She would sometimes throw plates at the wall in these fits of temper. Once she tore the electric light fittings down from the wall. Her children who have all grown up now are strongly opposed to hypnosis as a form of treatment. <\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal'><b>See also:<\/b> Mind Control ; Thinking. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. \u2014II Tim. 3:7 3961 Some Statistics The Buddhist sect called \u201cNichiren Shoshu\u201d had 25,000 followers in the U.S. in 1965. In 1971 they became 200,000. A typical meeting is for all to be seated lotus-fashion, chanting the same words over and over &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/occultism-meditation-cults\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;OCCULTISM-MEDITATION CULTS&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5188\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}