the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/20 ... china.html

There are some laugh out loud moments in this:

“I have not practiced Qi Gong, but when I was an atheist teenager in China, a “Qi Gong fever” swept the country. I became curious and got hold of a book that teaches people to practice it. One of its initial instructions was to empty the mind. In a short while, I experienced some unusual diarrhea, which interrupted my reading of the book. Now, looking back, I realize that God sovereignly protected me from evil spirits.”

Dude. Some Christian groups here have always held that the prana in yoga and all breathing exercises were entryways for evil spirits -through the re-spiration. I was warned against practicing tcc because of the focus on breathing.

Of course, they didn't argue that perspiration got rid of demons, or even that being inspired by God was bad. They just argued that anything Asian was a threat because we couldn't really know what was happening.s

as we very well know theres lots of Qi-gong fakery,fraudulent and wrong teachings, such as having to consiously breath in specific patterns, focusing on specific points within the body such as dantians, and circulating Qi in imagined merridians.....and above that having an empty mind....its all a pot of confusions...just as the fallen one want..

yoga as we usually see today has its root in europe from well balanced.gymnastics, and just that, but when it arrived in india it took on a all the wrong qigongification, and when it made its journey back to the west it got even worse - taoist yoga....whathe ....!

Put on the armour of God :）

Many years ago in northern Germany I fell into a conversation with a fundamentalist Christian when I was distributing flyers for my tai chi classes. Among other serious objections he had, he was very unhappy about the concept of meditation and related things like sensing or focusing on your own centre, your own breathing, your own grounding etc. We agreed that this might help a person to become more 'centred' and more self-reliant. The thing was, he didn't think people should become self-reliant. They should rely on God.

On the other hand, around that time I also knew a pretty devout Christian (and generally cool person) who was really into tai chi and qigong and saw no contradiction whatsoever.

GrahamB wrote:One of its initial instructions was to empty the mind. In a short while, I experienced some unusual diarrhea, which interrupted my reading of the book. Now, looking back, I realize that God sovereignly protected me from evil spirits.”

Ah yes. "The Unusual Diarrhea", AKA "The Hand of God."

The Christian who had skepticism toward focusing on one’s own breathing and on points within one’s body was concerned about bad taijiquan and qigong methods that flourish….naval gazing leads to no Go(o)d .

To be honest if you see the sideshow circus act tai chi has become thanks to the Mizners and martial man’s of the world, I think maybe Jesus had a point…

Christianity often has nothing to do with Jesus. If it did, they wouldn't have a history of slaughtering each other in the name of Jesus. Lately, in the US, I've heard preachers calling for violence and assassinations. Then again, Christians are just people, like Buddhists . Actions speak louder than professions.

I think the book of Matthew is required reading, especially if someone wants to decide who's devilish.

The Falun Gong movement, which the Chinese government banned in 1999, grew out of its founder Li Hongzhi’s experience in Qi Gong. The movement is also regarded as a cult by many Chinese Christians, with claims that Li brands himself as a deity superior to Jesus and Buddha. (Editor’s note: The Falun Dafa Information Center says there is no evidence of the claim in the faith’s formal teachings.)

He and the group officially claim that he can levitate, has X-ray vision and a bunch of other supernatural abilities. Yet I have heard no stories about any superheroes in his neighborhood and they have no official statement about any attempt from his part to stop violence or a war. What a waste...

not enough aliens in this plot for me. needs moar Scientology or something.

Any kind of serious athletic physical training must be tempered and directed by equally serious mental training. However, even the most effective qigong or taoyin methods require far more than wishfully imagining a realistic connection between such practices and the potential development of magical superpowers.

Bao wrote:

The Falun Gong movement, which the Chinese government banned in 1999, grew out of its founder Li Hongzhi’s experience in Qi Gong. The movement is also regarded as a cult by many Chinese Christians, with claims that Li brands himself as a deity superior to Jesus and Buddha. (Editor’s note: The Falun Dafa Information Center says there is no evidence of the claim in the faith’s formal teachings.)

He and the group officially claim that he can levitate, has X-ray vision and a bunch of other supernatural abilities. Yet I have heard no stories about any superheroes in his neighborhood and they have no official statement about any attempt from his part to stop violence or a war. What a waste...

There's some previous here. The Taiping Rebellion:

"While the Qing ultimately defeated the rebellion, the victory came at a great cost to the state's economic and political viability. The uprising was led by Hong Xiuquan, an ethnic Hakka (a Han subgroup) who had proclaimed himself to be the brother of Jesus Christ."

The loss of life in that war was staggering - it made Napoleon look like he was just messing about.

That is one of the best GIFs ever
@Graham- The Johnathan Spence book on the Taiping Rebellion was a good read IIRC