Christian and Buddhism

[Canuckster1127]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Meditation

The site above offers some information about Christian Meditation that might be helpful. I post it as information, not necessarily complete endorsement.

I would like to reiterate, that I believe there is freedom in this area to follow one's conscience rather than establish a position from a legalistic construct.

That having been said, I do believe there is room for care that with the methodology espoused, caution be exercised to not accept non-Christian thought or practice where it is in conflict with Biblical Truth.

[Gman]

Nice article Canuckster. Yes, I would have to add that the renewing of one's mind is lucrative to the person as well.

G -

[bluesman]

Hi Bluesman. I'm not sure what you mean here about rock and roll and dance, (about it being bad or you will go to H.. E... double chop sticks if you listen to it). Can you explain?

I think it was sarcasm. Maybe?

Yeah, I meant it as sarcasm. Against those who go overboard making false claims of what the Bible is against.

I quess I always think of that Footloose movie when this subject comes up.

Yeah, I think of that movie too. At the end of the movie the preacher realizes his mistake about being against dancing.


GMan, I listen to rock and roll. I love Jazz and Blues like you.
"The Blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll"
Muddy Waters

I listen to Blind Willie Johnson who recorded Gospel Blues.
However, at times I still listen to AC/DC. Thats another discussion though.

Michael Thomas

[Gman]

Hi Bluesman.. Ok, thanks. Sometimes it's hard to tell what a person is saying by typing it.

Well to be honst with you I also like AC/DC, (at least the chord progressions). I also like ZZ Top and Rush. The words in the songs are sometimes not biblical, but the sound pulls you in. I also like some Miles Davis and Jazz fussion..

Adios,
G -

[Canuckster1127]

Hi Bluesman.. Ok, thanks. Sometimes it's hard to tell what a person is saying by typing it.

Well to be honst with you I also like AC/DC, (at least the chord progressions). I also like ZZ Top and Rush. The words in the songs are sometimes not biblical, but the sound pulls you in. I also like some Miles Davis and Jazz fussion..

Adios,
G -

I'm guessing that this would not be a good place to mention that I like Stephen Foster and occasionally like to spice things up with a little Al Jolson .....

(now THAT was sarcasm ........)

[bkudrle]

This is an old thread, but someone may find this and so I wanted to share my 2 cents. It is a subject that I am passionate about and made a website to explain it at https://relaxresponse.com. The summary of it is that there is a physiological response that a Harvard cardiologist named Dr. Herbert Benson did research on beginning in the 1970s or so. He named the response the Relaxation Response. From a physiological standpoint it is the counterpart to the fight or flight response. Dr. Benson even did his research in the same lab that Dr. Cannon had done his original research on the fight or flight response decades earlier. Dr. Benson did his research at first on those who were practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM), but later expanded his research to include Buddhists and contemplative Christians and those of other belief systems. There are many health and wellness benefits to regularly eliciting the Relaxation Response that Dr. Benson has enumerated in his many books. Researchers have even found changes at the epigenetic level and psychological level as well as benefits for blood pressure and other more macroscopic benefits. The benefits can be very profound and can be experienced by people from any faith system (or no faith system). My hope and prayer is that as Christians we could benefit from this practice that our Creator built into our nervous systems. Although I have never seen a study on this, I have wondered if the quiet or silent repetition of the Scriptures (e.g., Psalms) over and over were a method that Jews of old elicited this Relaxation Response (RR) in their own lives (albeit the eliciting of the RR was not their main purpose of course). I have personally practiced this technique ever since I took TM almost 50 years ago now. In fact, involvement with TM led me back to my Christian faith, but that is a long story for another time. I did change my mantra to "Shalom" after becoming a Christian and it has worked well for me. I also accept why many people through the years have questioned my involvement with TM and so forth. There are definitely differences between the Hindu and Buddhist belief systems and those of Biblical Christian beliefs. But for me the practice strengthens my health and mind in so many ways and allows me to serve Jesus my Savior in a better way. But I believe that it is a personal choice along the lines of what Paul talked about in Romans 14:14ff. But to anyone who is curious, I would highly recommend the books of Dr. Benson, who was Jewish. Dr. Benson wrote many of his books with William Proctor, who is a Christian lawyer/writer. I get the impression from reading their books that at least part of their mission was to make it known that Jews and Christians could benefit greatly from these practices and wanted to make it as open to them as possible.