Matthew 16:23; 2 Corinthians 12:8-9

“But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men’” (Matthew 16:23 RSV). 

“Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9 RSV).

Question:

I keep hearing conservatives, evangelicals, and other groups talking about yoga and martial arts being evil and dangerous. They use Matthew 16:23 and 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 to supposedly justify this.

Comment:

Geez, I think you’d have to twist each of these passages like a pretzel to find in them anything about yoga or martial arts! More to the point, you’d have to come at them with a negative opinion of yoga and martial arts already firmly established in your mind in order to impose that reading on these words. This is the most dangerous sort of Bible interpretation—twisting it and using it to support what you’ve already decided is true.

Jesus’ comment to Peter echoes his earlier comment to his own tempter in the wilderness (see Matthew 4, for example). And he means the same thing both times: Don’t tempt me! The devil in chapter 4 and the disciple in chapter 16 are both suggesting that Jesus could exercise his spiritual power for selfish ends. In both cases, Jesus acknowledges that the temptation is present, but he chooses to remain committed to his spiritual path and purpose. I don’t believe yoga or the martial arts are in any way about misusing our spiritual power. Indeed, they are, in different ways, about using our spiritual power properly, to attain a degree of mastery over our physical form.

And I guess the implication inherent in this reading of 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 is that God wants us to be weak, and so any attempt to grow stronger is to be avoided. Really?? Paul himself, in Ephesians 6 (RSV), stirringly challenges us to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” That doesn’t sound to me like an endorsement of weakness. 

I understand yoga and martial arts, properly used, to offer us ways of channeling, focusing, and expressing our innate spiritual energy in ways that help us remain centered and peaceful as we move through this human experience. And that is precisely what Jesus calls us to do in his every teaching, story, and demonstration.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed