Saturday, January 06, 2007

Meditation or Meditation?

The two oldest organized religions are generally considered Judaism and Hinduism. Both are generally dated as officially beginning around 1400 B.C. These two religious foundations have set the stage for much of the fundamental differences between Eastern and Western civilizations as we know them today..

One of the fundamental differences between them comes into play when simply using the word meditation. Language is fluid meaning even the same word can mean something very different depending on how it is used. The key is the context.

The Bible uses the term meditation to refer to focusing on God, the scriptures, His creation, and so forth which is a tool used by the believer to deeper understanding and appreciation of Him so we can glorify Him more through our lives and worship Him with our hearts more fully.

The term is used in an Eastern context to refer to a clearing the mind of all thought through various means including but not limited to repeating certain phrases or words until they are completely meaningless. This leads you to becoming "one with an impersonal force." I am butchering this in an attempt to keep it short and succinct, and in order to try to keep with the main thrust of my point.

Here is the purpose of this post: it is not a history lesson or a linguistics lesson but a warning to all Christians to be alert about which type of meditation you are practicing. Hinduism and Buddhism and transcendental meditation are weaving their way into our culture, and this includes our churches and teachers. Please be discerning.

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