I've had recent brushes with Christians who both perform and receive these treatments. I'm standing against them in my local area but would like more info. does anyone have good info or articles on them? (Or stories of harm done through them)
I haven't looked into these but I am aware they are both founded in Eastern Mysticism. These are just as bad as Yoga.
If you read Brother Yun's book 'The Heavenly Man' you will find out that many Chinese evangelists are actually taught acupuncture and massage... once you have a person face down with needles in their back, you have a subdued audience to tell the Gospel to.
Acupuncture is a very big part of Chinese, Japanese and Korean culture, and is associated with medicine, not religion.
It would be a big mistake to get acupuncture and yoga mixed up. There are many Christians in Asia who use, give and receive acupuncture who are not going to go to hell for it -but if it stumbles you, I won't have it done to me, personally I don't like needles =)
I agree with Ian, many Asian people are convinced of the simple medical benefits of the practice.
There are good reasons to stay away from acupuncture.
http://www.gotquestions.org/acupuncture-Christian.html
http://www.watchman.org/profile/acupro.htm
Joe
Some interesting quotes from both of those articles,
"If the process is practiced to bring the body into the harmony of yin and yang, then it is rooted in occultism. The question becomes is it being practiced as part and parcel of the same philosophic origins of Chinese acupuncture? The answer to that question should be the guiding issue."
"Because of acupuncture's origins, many Christians may be more comfortable choosing an alternative treatment. It should be noted, however, that some reputable medical doctors reject the Taoist theories of acupuncture and have developed physiological theories that may justify its practice."
If a doctor performs the acupuncture and it works, and the doctor and patient are both atheists, is the physical benefit of the devil?
I deny the Taoist reasoning, but cannot firmly deny that there may be some physiological reason behind why it seems to work.
My comment to that would be:
If something is good, no one questions the goodness of it. There has not been an argument that I know of about whether or not it is good for a mother to take proper care of her children. Good things stand on their own and need no defence. Everyone takes it as fact that a mother taking proper care of her children is a good thing. Now others will attempt some activity that is considered questionable. Why doesn’t it just stand up as good and need no defence? The answer is that it is not good, everyone knows it, but must make an excuse for it to justify their behavior. This is one of the characteristics of the deceitfulness of sin; it must be explained away at some level to someone, but especially to self. Were acupuncture actually good, there would be no reason to defend or justify it as good, but since it is not able to stand on its own without reproach, it simply is not good.
The argument of saying that it might work is like saying because the Rick Warren philosophy fills the churches, it seems to work so why not use it.
Neither the Atheist nor the Buddhist, nor Rick Warren are servants of the most High God, their methods may have the APPEARANCE of working, but their fruit over time bears witness to the lie. Their ignorance of what they are doing in no way undoes their service to the devil. The Atheist, the Buddhist and Rick Warren could all preach from Warren's pulpit or practice acupuncture, in each case no matter the level of ignorance they had of the matters they practiced, they would be guilty of service to the devil.
According to many addicts, marijuana works well for pain too, but a quick chat with them proves it also destroys the brain and numbs the spirit to the things of God in the process.
The questions we need to ask are:
What possible benefit can acupuncture give to ones relationship to Christ?
What possible harm can it do to one's relationship to Christ? If even the possibility of the yin/yang worship exists (and it does), do we visit Baal for the cure?
If a malady is not possible to be overcome with what are proven physical means, is it God's intent that He be glorified in our suffering?
Is He trying to see whether we value our personal comfort above our testimony for Him? Will we abandan all our trust in Him to do whatever we can to relieve ourselves of our present malady?
For how many does acupuncture lead into other mystic cures? Should we recommend them to go that way?
Acupuncture fails nearly all of these tests, and is best left alone.
Joe
I listened to a sermon a few months ago titled "Dabbling in Witchcraft." I don't remember who the preacher was, but I think he was preaching at Brother Denny Kenaston's church. In the sermon he refers to reflexology and similar practices.
Tinluke - I'd be interested in that sermon if you could ever find it!
Thank you brothers for taking time to post. It has given me food for thought.
The question seems to be: Where do we draw the line? If, in our culture, a practice is linked with dodgy spiritual workings do we avoid it even if the practitioner does not use that approach and merely treats it as a relaxation therapy? Should it even be called Reflexology if they do not believe in the Spiritual aspect?
I feel that we should not accept it if the origin is from Eastern mysticism even if the 'Modern version' is trying to remove itself from that to merely a foot massage, etc..
Just putting out my thoughts for your consideration.
God bless
Here's the sermon
https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/viewcat.php?op=&cid=834
It's by Raymond Burkholder
Reflexology:
Many years ago I was introduced to this practice by a relative of my husband. Being young and ignorant of the practice, I asked our physician the next time I saw him. He took a lot of time to explain to me why it is unscientific. Now if I can remember it I will try to explain it the way he did.
The reflexology theory says all organs of the body have nerve endings that go to your feet which is why the foot is mapped out as certain points correspond to certain parts of the body. So when pressure is applied to this part it will affect that organ. Our doctor says that is not true. The body's organs do not have nerves that end at the feet.
If I recall, this theory is similar to iridology. There people will look into your eyes to find your medical history and make diagnosis for current ills.
Since our doctor took the time to explain a few things to me I have stayed away from it and still enjoy excellent health and for that I praise the LORD.
I know there is other lit out there who can explain this is better detail. We have one book "The Hidden Agenda" by Dr. David Sneed & Dr. Sharon Sneed that you might find helpful - do not know whether if it is sill available - it was copyrighted in 1991.
My theory is that if something looks questionable, it is safer to stay away from it.
Hope this helps
ginnyrose
Ginnyrose - I would agree with your final sentence. I too can not find any actual medical proof about the whole nerve ending explanation.
Tinluke - Thanks for the link
God bless you all for your help. :-)
ginnyrose wrote:
Reflexology:Many years ago I was introduced to this practice by a relative of my husband. Being young and ignorant of the practice, I asked our physician the next time I saw him. He took a lot of time to explain to me why it is unscientific. Now if I can remember it I will try to explain it the way he did.
The reflexology theory says all organs of the body have nerve endings that go to your feet which is why the foot is mapped out as certain points correspond to certain parts of the body. So when pressure is applied to this part it will affect that organ. Our doctor says that is not true. The body's organs do not have nerves that end at the feet.
If I recall, this theory is similar to iridology. There people will look into your eyes to find your medical history and make diagnosis for current ills.
Since our doctor took the time to explain a few things to me I have stayed away from it and still enjoy excellent health and for that I praise the LORD.
I know there is other lit out there who can explain this is better detail. We have one book "The Hidden Agenda" by Dr. David Sneed & Dr. Sharon Sneed that you might find helpful - do not know whether if it is sill available - it was copyrighted in 1991.
My theory is that if something looks questionable, it is safer to stay away from it.
Hope this helps
ginnyrose
What kind of doctor is your doctor?
Let me guess: conventional medicine doctor!
Show me a regular doctor who really believes in alternative medicine. Maybe you find 0.1% of them.
Most of them will not recommend you an alternative option because they will all eventually loose their jobs. ;-)
The reflexology theory says all organs of the body have nerve endings that go to your feet which is why the foot is mapped out as certain points correspond to certain parts of the body. So when pressure is applied to this part it will affect that organ. Our doctor says that is not true. The body's organs do not have nerves that end at the feet.
What kind of doctor is your doctor? Let me guess: conventional medicine doctor! Show me a regular doctor who really believes in alternative medicine. Maybe you find 0.1% of them. Most of them will not recommend you an alternative option because they will all eventually loose their jobs.
All organs of the body do not have nerve endings that end in the foot. That's the final word on reflexology. This isn't some conventional doctor trying to keep business for himself, it's a medical professional correcting an incorrect statement.
Since all the organs of the body don't have nerves in the foot, then sticking needles into your feet can't cure you of anything, except maybe a build-up of fluid in your foot, but you don't need to see a reflexologist for that. It's a largely unregulated worthless practice completely based on a faulty practice.
Stick with your general doctor, avoid the quacks.
The critics of conventional medicine declare they are mere pawns of the pharmaceutical companies working to sell their products at the expense of one's health.
As I have checked out some alternative health remedies I also see this happening: they are held hostage to some other companies who are profiteering by the sale of literature, herbs and whatever have you.
So, for me it is right back to square one: do your own research. Anything that requires 'faith', 'belief' in order for it to work smacks of the occult, self-hypnosis or whatever. Our son-in-law found a remedy for a ganglion tumor after five surgeries failed to remedy his condition but then he gives God the credit for the healing. Did God use this ointment? Could be, but he gives God the greater glory. It may well be this is where we will be headed if the political situation in our country deteriorates and medical 'assistance' will have evolved into euthanasia for folks deemed unworthy of life.
BTW, I think God would receive the greater glory if we would first off consult Him about our health needs. If he says to use something; banish something from our diet; change our lifestyle, behaviours; that we must do. We do well to consult God in on how we treat our ailments.
ginnyrose
The question in Christianity is never, never, "does it work?" That is the core of the Emergent Church, seeker-centered church, and any other relativistic or humanistic religion.
As it is not a question of whether something is good or bad but whether it is righteous. Whether it comes from above, that is, from the Throne of God.
There are two aspects to these types of treatments. The practical and the spiritual.I've had recent brushes with Christians who both perform and receive these treatments. I'm standing against them in my local area but would like more info. does anyone have good info or articles on them? (Or stories of harm done through them)
Some practitioners opt out of the spiritual because they just don't believe in it and there is a lot of hokus pokus connected to the art that the benefits are lost in the minds of those that believe it's all bad.
I have had both treatments and I frequently have my feet done by a reflexologist. The person that performs this treatment is a true blue Christian believer who embraces the teaching of the cross, but not the teaching of Eastern mysticism. She opted out for the spiritual side and thankfully because it just doesn't make any sense to include it.
I like reflexology because I like the pain associated with it. The pain is fleeting but the benefits afterward is very satisfying.
Acupuncture is ok, but I didn't care for it. I think you have to really be in a bad way physically to want this type of treatment.
I have heard from superstitious brethren say that reflexology is wrong. But when you think about it, it's no different than a back rub, for that is all that is being performed, a vigorous massage on one's feet.
I must state, that one of my students is a reflexologist, and based on what she's told me of it, (though I'm not going to say this goes for EVERY reflexologist) the practice has so far been a tad bit misrepresented on this thread. Just throwing that out there.
Think about this for a second too. Have you ever had a headache, and then maybe your mom (or whoever) has you lie down and put your feet up while they massage them heavily for a little while, and when you get up your headache has gone away? Should we frown upon this practice, because somewhere else in the world someone claims that it comes from the power of qi, when there's obviously a rational scientific explanation behind it?
Americans have to be careful not to assume that we have "IT" when it comes to all medical knowledge in the world, and that all the other countries come crawling to us from their witch doctor huts to get proper scientific medical advice. And that anything else that isn't practiced by western medicine is some sort of Satanic hokus pokus.
You know that they have medicines, herbal treatments, and practices over here in Japan that I'd never even heard of in the states? And most Americans have probably never heard of them either. Plus the Japanese are known to be one of the, if not THE healthiest people in the world, with one of the longest life expectancies.
Who here off the top of their head can explain how taking an Advil actually works to fix their headache. I mean like REALLY in detail. I'm not saying that no one knows. Just that many who take them for pain relief have no idea. I had gotten a canker sore in my mouth this week, and doing research on where it came from the answer from the American scientific medical community was unanimous; "We really don't actually know".
Now, back to reflexology, if you go to a place like this, and they want to burn incense to a statue and shoot qi into your meridians while they quote a mantra, I'd stay very far away. However, if this is not the case....
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