Is Religion Evil?

Before you get your panties in a wad, I don't mean this as an insult or an attack on any particular religion. I am not saying that if you are religious that you are evil. I am talking about the big picture. These are just my thoughts, and if you would like to share your thoughts, please do so.

Let me start by saying that I am spiritual, I am not an atheist, but I question churches, temples, mosques...I dislike organized religion. I am not going to get into my particular beliefs this time, though.

In my experience, both personal and educational, I have seen religions of all sorts do a lot of judging and causing a lot of hate. I know, I sound like I am judging here, but I am not trying to. I am just telling you what I have experienced. I don't care what you believe in, as long as you are a moral and nice person.

Back to religion causing hate, I am reminded that many religions have killed or condemned because others had different beliefs. There is the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) and the Christian Crusades. There are the Nazis and the Muslims that have committed hate crimes and started wars against the Jews. Now I know a lot of the Israeli wars has more to do with land than religion, but there is still hate based on what each of them believe.

Christians are great about hating other Christians. It is the reason that I am not fond of organized religion. Historically, Catholics and non-catholics have fought each other. Even today I hear Baptists and other Protestants say that Catholics are not really Christians. This really really bugs me. HELLO! The whole Catholic religion is based on Jesus! DUH!

But it's not all Catholic versus non-Catholic. Many of the colonist who came to America were trying to escape the condemnation of the churches in Europe. Whether they were escaping Catholic churches, tyrannical theocratic kings, or just wanting to start their own churches, they were trying to escape other Christians telling them they were doing it wrong.

I have personally experienced religious prosecution while I was growing up. I went to Methodist churches growing up. While I believed that I worshiped the same God and the same Jesus as the Baptists in my small town, I was often told I was going to hell by the Baptists. I remember being pulled out of my private Baptist school when I came home and told my parents that I learned they were going to hell because they did not go to the Baptist church. Later I lost friends when their parents found out I did not attend a Baptist church. Those friends were no longer allowed to play with me.

But Christian's are not the only religion that fights among itself. The Muslims are always fighting (often in a more deadlier way) about who is worshiping right. Sunni and Shia Muslims originally fought over political rights (who should be able to rule based on the descendants of Muhammed), but the differences eventually turned religious as well.

In a smaller perspective, I look at the United States. It was founded on religious freedom and separation of church and state. Our forefathers saw what churches and theocracies could do to a nation, and they didn't want to repeat it. Yet it seems that some Christians really want to have religion be a part of government...as long as it is their religion. There are Christians who believe gays are wrong to be gay, and so gay marriage should be banned. Okay, fine, believe what you want, but it should NOT be a part of our government. Same goes for abortion, it's a personal thing, not a government thing. Keep church and state separated like it should be. Another favorite is when certain Christians want religion in public schools, yet when other religions want to express their beliefs at school, it is wrong. This is why we need to keep anything government controlled separated from religion.

I personally think that you should have spiritual beliefs, and if that leads you to an organized religion GREAT. I am not saying ALL people who go to church or other places of worship are evil. I am just saying that it seems to me organized religion causes a lot of bad.

Open Your Eyes, Dummy

As I am reading about barren women in the Bible and why God did this to them, I start to think about why God is not giving me what I want. I know there are a lot of ways to explain why God left these women like Sarah and Ruth barren, but as I relate it to my life I see He did it to open their eyes. God had other plans for these women and their husbands.

It's hard and it hurts when you want something so bad that you pray everyday all day. It kills you inside when you see others with what you want but you can't have it. It doesn't seem fair. Infertility is obviously not my problem, but there are other things I beg God for but my prayers remain unanswered. As I step back and relate my requests to the requests of the barren women in the Bible, I can see a resemblance.

I think God sometimes doesn't answer prayers because He wants us to open our eyes to other things going on in our lives. Sometimes when we are happy with what we have, we can miss the big picture or we can miss the little things that need to be noticed. If the childless people in the Bible were busy with kids, would they have had the time and attention to do God's work?

I know that God has taken things from me and not give other things to me that I really really want. Things that I think define me and things that I have always wanted. I admit that sometimes I get pretty pissed off at God. But as I think about why God does this, I realize that I am not being punished. God wants me to pay attention to other things in my life. He wants me to appreciate what I have, or find new ways to define myself.

I am still struggling with the journey, but I have to take time to reflect on what it is God wants me to do right now. Maybe my prayers will never be answered, and maybe thats a good thing. I think of Garth Brook's song "Unanswered Prayers" and know that there are things I am glad God didn't make happen. However, it the midst of pain and want, it's hard to see that God has a better plan.

I'll continue to pray and keep my eyes open.

Christian martial-artist can meditate

Many of the practices of martial-artists seem contrary to Christian beliefs to outsiders or to those who have been taught by non-Christians. One of the most confusing practices for Christian martial-artists is meditation.


Martial-artist usually spend time on meditation and concentration. Some people confuse this meditation with the Buddhist philosophy of meditating in order to sharpen and awaken the mind to find the "True Self." As a Christian martial-artist I know that meditation should not have this root or purpose. 


Instead of emptying the mind, as in eastern religions, a Christian martial-artist should fill the mind. Luke 11:24-25 warns that if we empty our minds we are in danger of evil spirits entering. Instead, a Christian martial-artist can focus on martial-arts performance. I can use "meditation" to strategize and focus on a fight or form. In this sense, I "meditate" by picturing what I will be doing or how I will be doing it. Before a fight, for example, I try to picture some of the ways I will counter my opponent's attacks. Or sometimes it helps me to relax before a fight if I imagine myself winning or scoring points. Before doing forms I try to "meditate" on the moves and how the should be executed.


Another way to "meditate" is to focus on God, and by this I mean prayer or studying the Word. Philippians 4:8 tells us to meditate on things that are "true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious-the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. If I am at a school where we are given meditation time, I will use that time to thank God for allowing me to practice or ask Him to keep me safe. I may pray that He helps me to win or perform at my best. A lot of times I pray for healing. Outside of the DoJang, I will pray and study the Bible during my quiet times.


Eastern meditation is a dangerous ground for Christians because it means you are practicing another religion. In Deuteronomy 12:29-32, we are warned that we should not take up any practices of pagan religions. "...God hates it all with a passion..." Deuteronomy 12:31. Instead of meditating like Buddhists or Taoists, martial-artist should learn how to meditate like Christians.


Meditation is not a requirement in the type of the Taekwondo I practice. I know of schools that have meditation time. If a Christian is careful to fill his or her mind with Godly things instead of emptying the mind or meditating as part of an eastern religion, a Christian martial-artist is safe to meditate.

Christian Martial-artist

I am both a Christian and a martial-artist, but I keep getting told by uniformed Christians that this is not possible. Judgemental or Christians that do not know enough about martial-arts tell me that studying martial-arts is a sin because of the origins and practices of martial-arts. Let me start off by saying that there are martial-arts that are deeply rooted in eastern religions, but I personally have never ever bowed to a bhudda or practiced emptying my mind during meditation in the 19 years that I have done martial-arts.

I have heard some people say that the bowing in martial-arts is a sin. Exodus 20:5 says not to bow down to idols or other gods. Bowing in the Taekwondo that I practice has nothing to do with revering somebody as a god. I do not bow as a form of submission. Bowing is a salute and a respectful greeting. I even think that it is more hygenic than a hand-shake. By bowing, I am saying that I recognize that person as a fellow or senior martial-artist. I would never consider a soldier saluting to a superior a form of ungodly submission, it is the same thing.

Christian's also get confused by the term master. They hear martial-artists use the term master and they confuse it with the title we give to God. I hate being called a master, but it is just a title of a teacher. A master in martial-arts for me is not somebody that I submit to. I am not worshipping them. They are not master over me, they are master over the martial-art that they study and teach. They have mastered certain skill sets, and when I refer to them as a master I am saying that I recognize that mastery. The master is not lord over me, there is only one true Lord!

I will admit that there is a risk of idol worship in martial-arts as with any thing (money, athletes, movie stars, etc). Spending too much time and energy on anything besides God is dangerous. God is jealous, and He only wants us to worship Him. By defining myself as a martial-artist I risk doing martial-arts for my own self-worth, and that is a sin. But giving thanks to God for allowing me to do something fun is a way for me to enjoy gifts from God. Taekwondo is fun and relaxing for me just like others enjoy jogging or golf. And just like any sport, it requires practice and hard work to excel. But working hard at sports does not make all athletes sinners, does it?

Certain Christians argue that Psalm 44:6 states that we should not rely on fighting, but we should instead rely on God to protect us. First, Taekwondo is a defensive art. We are taught (or should be taught) that we do not go out and attack people. What we learn is for self-defense. That is why our forms start with blocks instead of strikes or kicks. Second, even though I have been taught to defend myself, I still will rely on God for ultimate protection. I rely on God for everything, but that does not mean that I am going to sit at the dinner table and wait for my food to miraculously appear on my plate. Instead, I am going to prepare by going to the grocery store and cooking. Learning self-defense in preparation. It is a smart way to  keep myself safe from all the crazy humans out there.

Some Christians attack martial-arts just because of its eastern origins. They argue that God does not want us doing things that have pagan origins and that we should not practice anything that comes from the east (Isaiah 2:6). This is true. You will not find a bhudda in my home, and I will not practice martial-arts in any school that has a bhudda or any form of eastern religion. But martial-arts is not an eastern religion. Sure, some bhuddists, hinduists, and other eastern religious people may practice martial-arts, but not all martial-artists practice these religions.

Some people think that the forms, patterns, poomse, or kata we practice are a method of worship. This may be true in some martial-arts, but none that I have practiced. The forms I do in Taekwondo are a way to practice movements and a method of exercise. They may have historical significance as a way to remember those who created the form or helped with the evolution of the martial-art, but practicing the form is not a way to worship those people. It is a way to remember them, just as history books and museums help us to remember ancestors or certain historically important people.

Because martial-arts comes from the east does not make it a pagan practice. Eating sushi with chopsticks is not a sin, and neither is fried rice. Though I would like to say  I can't learn math for religious reasons, I do not believe anybody forbids the study of math just because it has muslim origins. Just because pagans have practiced it, does not make it always a pagan thing. December 25 was a pagan holiday, but the Christians took it over as the celebration of the birth of our savior, and Christmas is not a pagan holiday now.

I am not saying that all martial-artists are Christian. I can guarantee there are many that are not. But I guarantee that there are plenty of martial-artists who are Christians. I am one of them. I will use my martial-arts to glorify God anyway I can!

Priorities

I'm on my third and final week of fasting. I was hoping that rest would really help to heal my body, but that is not the case. I am still hurting all over. Now I am back on antibiotics, again, and I am on my fourth straight day of a migraine. BUMMER!

Even though I am not healed, yet (I still have faith), I have gained a great deal from this 21 day fast. Along with growing closer to God and learning more about myself, I have learned that my priorities are all messed up. God does not want for me to define myself as a martial-artist, He wants me to define myself as a Christian. My purpose is not to be a karate champion, it is to be a Godly woman, wife, and mother. I am supposed to be reaching out to people, working for God, not working for another medal that I can't take to heaven with me.

What does this mean for Taekwondo? I really do not know at this point. I am searching for ways that I can use my abilities to minister. I am not a great teacher, been there and failed at that. But I'd like to minister by doing demos or something. Any ideas?

I do not think God wants me to give up martial arts, but I think I need to devote less time and energy to it. Maybe my body hurting is a way for God to stop me, wake me up, get my attention. I need to take a step back and redefine myself.

Still Hurting but Energized

I have been on a restricted diet for 11 days now and because of that I have done very little exercising. I was hoping that this would help to heal my body, but the aches and pains are almost worse. However, because of my connection with God, I feel great despite the pain.

Proverbs 17:22 a cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.  This is so true for me. If I'm not excited about my day, or if I am dreading part of my day I feel so tired and gloomy all day. However, I am energized when I am excited or happy about my day. Finding what makes me cheerful and focusing on that has helped me re-energize myself.

Proverbs 15:15 A miserable heart means a miserable life, a cheerful heart fills the day with song. Same thing. Why be miserable?

I'll keep praying and reading to try to get my body to feel better. For now, I'll take the extra energy I am getting on my Jesus-high

Training and Fasting

by Paula

For religious regions I have started a 21 day fast. This means that I am only eating one meal a day plus fruit and water throughout the day.  Needless to say, I'm hungry, tired, and cranky.

This means that I am going to have to change my workout for the next 21 days. This is a good thing...kinda. My body is beat up and needs to heal. I think that changing, not stoping, will help me in the long run. I'm adjusting the workouts based on my energy levels. I don't want to get sick or get hurt, so I don't want to over work in any way.

Monday's Workout:
Run
Forms
Shoulders

Tuesday's Workout:
Forms
Legs 4-6 sets of 8-10 reps

Antibiotics and Water

This week I was put on antibiotics for yet another infection. I'm hoping to make this the last round of antibiotics for this infection.

In the meantime, I have started a 21 day fast for religious reasons. During this fast I am drinking a ton of water. I am hoping that it helps to flush out my system, kind of reset it. I am also trying to increase my water intake even after the 21 day fast ends. Previously I was drinking 2-3 bottles of water a day. I am now aiming to take in 4-5 bottles of water. I'm hoping that being hydrated will help with my energy problems and immune system issues.