Review of Soul Surfer: “Best Faith-Based Movie Ever Made”

From the Orlando Sentinel

“Soul Surfer” is the best faith-based film ever made, an uplifting, entertaining and wonderfully-acted account of surfer Bethany Hamilton’s life before and after a shark bit her arm off in the waters off her favorite Hawaiian beach.

It’s corny in all the right ways, from the voice over narration in which Bethany (AnnaSophia Robb of “Race to Witch Mountain”) explains how she was “born” to do this and the surfer’s credo that kept her going after that fateful day — “Life is an adventure, and sometimes you wipe out and land in the impact zone.”


Co-writer/director Sean McNamara, a veteran of many a TV show, TV movie and “Bring It On” sequel, recreates Hamilton’s seaside Hawaiian life, complete with surfing siblings and surfing parents. A coup; landing Oscar winner Helen Hunt to play the mom and the always athletic Dennis Quaid as the dad.

Bethany and her best friend Alana (Lorraine Nicholson) are rising starlets on the local surfing scene, friendly competitors with endorsements lined up. They’re like sisters, going to the same open air church, both members of the same youth group led by Sarah, winningly played by singer Carrie Underwood. Sarah sings in the pop-gospel group at church and tries to get the girls to think about their priorities, “Get a new perspective,” especially when it comes to volunteering on youth missions.

But the girls are all about time on the water, and that (with digital trickery polishing their surfing skills) is accompanied by foreshadowing. Arresting, faintly menacing underwater shots show how vulnerable one is while paddling out to sea on a surfboard.

And sure enough, 22 minutes into “Soul Surfer,” there’s a shark attack. In a moving, alarming and electric six minute long sequence, we see the bite, the quick reaction of those with Bethany (Kevin Sorbo is wonderfully credible as Alana’s save-the-day surfing dad), the nerve-wracking race to the hospital and the panic in her parents. Hunt, as a mom weeping and praying “Please don’t take her” as she races to the hospital, will make you cry.

Craig T. Nelson offers solid support as the doctor who treats Bethany and reassures the always-calm kid when she wakes up, “Those things you’re not going to be able to do? So small.”

In many ways, the movie turns “Lifetime Original Movie” as Bethany recovers. She’s a tough kid and is determined to get back in the water “as soon as my stitches come out,” and just as determined to compete again. Robb plays her as plucky, but no Pollyanna. Nicholson, as her friend, and Sonya Balmores Chung, as Bethany’s cutthroat surfing rival, are given wonderful shades of grey to play in their differing reactions to her injury.

To read the rest of this review, click here.

Christian Dead Sea Scrolls… or Known Forgeries?

The Middle East in turmoil, newly discovered ancient texts carried across borders and offered for sale to the highest bidder: It reads like the Dead Sea Scrolls story. Only this is now and some people say these texts could be a Christian type of Dead Sea Scrolls if they are authentic. That’s a big if.

British media first reported on the discovery of 70 lead codices, metal plates barely bigger than a credit card, bound together with lead straps. Their text is in ancient Hebrew and Greek. They also contain Christian and Jewish symbols.


The codices are currently in the possession of an Israeli Bedouin who says they’ve been in his family for 100 years. However the reports also say that they were discovered a few years ago in a cave in a remote area of northwest Jordan. This is near the area where first century Christians fled when Jerusalem was attacked by the Romans.

The Jordanian government is trying to get them back. “They will really match, and perhaps be more significant than, the Dead Sea Scrolls,” the director of Jordan’s Department of Antiquities, Ziad al-Saad, told the BBC.

To which Larry Hurtado says, “Chill, take a breath.” Hurtado is Professor of New Testament Language, Literature & Theology and Director of the Centre for the Study of Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh.

Hurtado says dangling such discoveries in front of the media, before making them available to scholars, is becoming a tired game. “I’m impatient with people who go to the press and claim that they have something of enormous scholarly value and do not provide the materials for independent scholarly analysis. Controlling access to information is not how we do business in scholarship.”

Other Bible scholars and archaeologists contacted by Christianity Today were equally skeptical. “Don’t get too excited until we know what we have,” said Darrell Bock, Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. Archaeologists pointed out that any ancient item discovered out of context faces huge hurdles before it can be authenticated and properly dated.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Yogic Mudras in Christian Imagery

By Yogaphile

For Greeks and many Christians, Lent is a time for restraint, reverence, and reflection. In the 40 days leading up to Easter, Greeks practice fasting as a means of physical cleansing that also aids in our mental preparation for the holiest day of the year, that of the resurrection of Christ. Many of our restraints are similar to the yamas (ethical restraints) of yoga, and during Lent—ahimsa (non-harming) and bramacharya (chastity), are especially important.

As a Greek Orthodox Christian, this is a time to be pure of heart, mind, and action. During Lent, I always find myself more attuned to my innermost thoughts—the regular fasting brings thoughts about my religion, my own beliefs, my actions, other religions, the afterlife, and related topics to the forefront. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about hand mudras, and while searching for images of mudras, discovered quite a bit about my own religion in the process. Since we are in the midst of Lent, I thought it a perfect time to point out, especially for those Christians who feel conflicted about the yoga/Hinduism connection, that Hinduism, mudras, and yoga aren’t as far from Christianity as one might think. Read more

Zen Meditation for Non-Buddhists

Zen meditation is a Japanese technique of focusing on a specific thing or thought. The tradition has been passing on from one generation to the other for almost many centuries now. Buddhists used to practice this unique type of meditation. In fact, Zen Buddhists are often referred to as ‘Meditation Buddhists?

The amount of time devoted by Zen mediators varies widely. Experts recommend a minimum period of about five minutes on a daily basis. This is sufficient for householders to benefit from the immense benefits of Zen meditation.

The main thing one needs to focus on is daily practice. Daily practice of Zen meditation for a small period of time is more than enough to benefit from its effects than spending about half an hour once in a week.

Zen meditation has evolved as a boon to people across the globe who are really stressed out due to the irregularity, chaos and tensions existing in their daily life.


Zen meditation involves sitting in a prescribed position, closing your mind to the thoughts and images for a certain period of time. Here, your heart rate will gradually decrease and breathing becomes shallow. Slowly, you will get in to a state of deep reflective meditation.

With the help of Zen meditation, you can easily create a synergy that would further assist you in connecting to all aspects of your existence such as the body, the soul and the mind. The energy that’s required to strengthen the synergy that you have collected comes from practicing Zen meditation.

When practicing Zen meditation, your mind will only be involved. You will not be engrossing your thoughts in to what happened in the past or what will happen in the future.

You will reach a moment where you will only be reacting to what is happening to you at the present.

Zen meditation is a technique that helps you to awaken your true nature. Here, you don’t need to subscribe any of the religious teaching. You just need to realize that there is a ‘Buddha?inside you. Awaken the Buddha inside you and you will be able get a deep insight of yourself.

Zen meditation was actually meant to awaken the real person inside you.

A) Here are some of the benefits followed in Zen meditation:

1. Zen meditation lets the practitioner to relax

2. It helps you to keep one stress free.

3. It helps you to find the real you.

B) Nine steps to achieve Zen meditation:

a) Name your breaths: for instance; in and out.

b) Pay close attention to when your breath gets deep and you feel more at peace.

c) Think of your body when you breathe in and when you breathe out try to relax each part of your body. You need to focus on one part at a time. Initiate with the shoulders.

d) Calm your body parts when you breathe in feel the compassion when you breathe out.

e) Relax your facial muscles one by one and send a half smile to all parts of the body.

f) Relax all the muscles that are still tense.

g) Think of joy when you breathe in.

h) Get back to your breathe in and breathe out position.

i) Sit in the position relax.

Article Source:http://www.wearticles.com

Great Web Resources for Christian Yoga

1. Oustretched in Worship
Offers a Christian approach to yoga throughout the state of Alabama.

2. Welcome to Scripture Yoga
How could the class be Christian yoga if it wasn’t focused on God’s Word? … During the Emmaus Walk, the Christian yoga ministry was founded on the scripture: …

3. Christian Yoga?
But this is not the case with so called “Christian Yoga. … CHRISTIAN YOGA (Understand the Times Radio Commentary) 1998. Christian yoga sweeps the US (video, …

4. Christian Yoga
Non-profit organization that provides a Christian approach to Yoga. … This Christian approach to yoga simply allows us to combine these two essential …
5. YOGA – Just Exercise or a Hindu Religion?
Christian Yoga,’ I thought. … Yoga is not a Judeo/Christian word! … From this I could conclude that ‘Christian Yoga’ could only indicate one of two …

6. Christian Yoga
Christian Yoga comes from traditional Yoga. Are Christian Yoga and traditional Yoga compatible? … Can a Christian Practice Yoga? (YouTube site of Swami J) …

7. FAQ
This type of Christian yoga is very gentle with 25 minutes of full body … Conversely, practicing Christian yoga outwardly doesn’t make one right with God; …

8. Why a Christian ALTERNATIVE to Yoga?
Christian fitness, meditation, weight loss, stress relief, flexibility, DVDs, stretching, Christian alternative to yoga, praise and worship, not Christian yoga

9. Yahweh Yoga | Christ-centered yoga & teacher training
Yahweh Yoga offers Christ-centered yoga & teacher training classes in Chandler, Arizona. Check out our Christian yoga DVD and trendy, flattering workout clothes.

10. Marsha West — Christian Yoga? C’mon!
Churches are now offering “Christian yoga.” ( An oxymoron, if there ever was one. … If your church is integrating “Christian yoga” or any other New Age practice …

11. What is the Christian view of yoga?
What is the Christian view of yoga? Is yoga just a stretching routine, or are there … Yoga originated with a blatantly anti-Christian philosophy, and that …

12. Christian Yoga
Christian yoga opens the door to some who are wary of the ancient Hindu practice. … A Beliefnet message board discusses Christian yoga. …

13. “Christian Yoga”
“Christian Yoga” Hindu yoga has been known in the West for many decades, … But the author of Christian Yoga, being a Benedictine monk, adds some particular ” …

14. Yoga and Christianity
Yoga and Christianity: take a closer look at hatha yoga, the one most often believed to be purely … I once talked to a yoga teacher who became a Christian. …

15. A new wave of Christian yoga
Long controversial in some Christian circles, yoga is fast gaining adherents … As yoga has become more mainstream, Christian alternatives have emerged. …

16. One Truth Ministries – Brian Flynn – Christian Yoga – Oxymoron
Brian Flynn conducts seminars for churches and small groups nationwide sharing his testimony and warning them of the … FACTS ABOUT YOGA Please be aware …

17. PraiseMoves – The Christian Alternative to Yoga
Christian fitness, meditation, weight loss, stress relief, flexibility, DVDs, stretching, Christian alternative to yoga, praise and worship, not Christian yoga

18. Yoga
Beware: New Video on “Christian Yoga” – Christoga – From the Lighthouse … Is it okay for a ‘strong Christian’ to practice Yoga? …

19. Christian Yoga?
The Phenomenon of Christian Yoga … There is no Christian Yoga. … Article by Chris Lawson, ” Christian Yoga: Rooted in Hindu Occultism” This …

20. Article – Christian Yoga and Hindu Gods
Christian Yoga and Hindu Gods “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:22 … Yoga is an ancient Hindu religious system of meditation and discipline. …

21. Christian Yoga – The new appropriation Strategy of delinking yoga from …
Christian Strategists are worried that christians who benefited from Yoga may … And now that it is “sanctified”, let’s have a brand of “Christian yoga. …

22. Yoga – Relaxation or Occult?
Yoga is from the Sankrit word Yug, meaning “union” (with the Divine, your higher ” … Cultic & Occultic Movements, Jack Sin, “Should a Christian Practise Yoga? …

23. Christian Yoga: Oxymoron
Christian Yoga-Oxymoron. Why is there such a thing as Christian Yoga? … If your reason for practicing “Christian” Yoga is to feel closer to God why …

24. Christian Yoga Magazine
And there is nothing particularly Christian about practicing yoga, either. … Yoga (or Buddhist) meditation is not the same thing as Christian or Jewish …

25. Yoga from a Christian Perspective Resources – Christians Practicing Yoga
Yoga and Healing. Meditative Prayer in the Christian Tradition – Lectio Divina … I Teach Yoga from a Christian Perspective – Yoga Deepened My Relationship …

26. Christian Yoga | Yoga
Christian Yoga, The Principle behind Christian Yoga … Christian yoga is a spiritual practice of Christians most common in Eastern and …

27. ABC News: Yoga With a Christian Bent
Yoga With a Christian Bent. Exercise Enthusiasts Reinvent the Practice to Suit Their Beliefs … faith,” said Christian yoga instructor Susan Bordenkircher. …

28. Doug Pagitt, Solomon’s Porch and Christian Yoga
John MacArthur, Doug Pagitt, Christians, and Yoga … “Christian yoga has been gaining a devout following, and Twin Cities pastor Doug …

29. Christian Yoga? – Yoga
Christian Yoga? plus articles and information on Yoga … So if a Christian group wants to practice “Son Salutations”, or “PraiseMoves, …

30. Christian Yoga
Christian Yoga at Manresa … Christian Yoga is a way of uniting with Christ. … Our Christian yoga program weaves together body postures with breath, sacred and …

31. Yoga and Christianity: Loving with All your Parts
Yoga and Christianity are being bridged by many people who … Actually, principles of Yoga are already contained within Christianity and Christian meditation. …

32. Discover Christian Zen |
Christian Zen means different things to different people. … Anti-Christian Yoga. Ayurveda. Bede Griffiths. Centering Prayer. Chaturanga dandasana …

33. Holy Yoga – the premier style of Christian Yoga – Testimonies
… program this is from the perspective of an experienced Christian Yoga teacher. I did receive a Christian Yoga certification from another program and spent just …

34. wcco.com – Controversy About Christian Yoga
A new fitness craze, called Christian yoga, has a very devout following, but some are criticizing the “New Testament” twist to an ancient tradition.

35. Soul Stretch | Christian yoga for all ages & fitness levels
Christian Yoga Schedule for Royal … Booking Private Christian Yoga Retreats For … here to enhance your Christian yoga practice with these recommended …

36. Yoga from a Christian Perspective Resources – Christians Practicing Yoga
Yoga and Healing. Meditative Prayer in the Christian Tradition – Lectio Divina … The “Christian Yoga Teacher Training” courses and curricula I’ve seen thus …

Yoga Video of the Day

Jesuit Teaches Class on Patanjali’s Sutras

By Francis X. Clooney, S.J.

Several months ago I mentioned that I was teaching a seminar on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This fundamental yoga text, from nearly 2000 years ago, is brief — 195 very succinct verses — but it is the reference point for all the later yoga systems. I promised to report on the results of the seminar (with ten fine students) at its conclusion (this week), and so here (and hereafter) I offer some reflections.

Given the great popularity and accessibility of yoga — I was told recently that 20 million Americans practice some version of it — it may seem a bit too academic to go back and study the Sutras, but I was convinced by my seminar that this is very much worth the effort, even necessary if we are to know what yoga is all about.
Read more

Hindu leaders split over yoga for Christians

Hindu religious leaders have strongly criticised a Catholic spiritual teacher for encouraging her pupils to find God through yoga.

Winnie Young, 96, shown above with her teacher and one of the world’s leading yoga practioners, Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, claims to have spent most of her life teaching yoga.

The founder of a national yoga institute in 1975, Young said her institute practices Hatha yoga, which advocates controlled breathing to calm the body and cleanse the mind in an effort to achieve nirvana, an elevated mental state.

She questioned why people misunderstand yoga to be a religion. Read more

Christian Perspective on Yoga

By Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun

With its elegant, aging cathedrals spread out across the countryside, Roman Catholicism is Canada‘s largest official religion.

But with hundreds of stylish new studios opening up across Canadian cities, sometimes it seems as if Catholicism’s strongest new “competitor” is yoga.

Tension simmers between these traditions of the East and West, with polls suggesting each draws the support or interest of roughly 40 per cent of the Canadian population.

Yoga practitioners often dismiss Catholicism as a doctrinaire, uptight, hierarchical religion. Catholics often write off yoga as self-indulgent exercise — and, at worst, a heretical form of Hindu spirituality that could open practitioners to satanic forces. Read more

Hindu critics of Christian Yoga misguided

By Professor Harry Sewlall, Department of English, University of Fort Hare

I find both Kamal Maharaj’s and Ashwin Trikamjee’s contention that yoga cannot be taught from any perspective except Hinduism quite absurd (Sunday Times Extra, March 30, 2008).

Yoga is a cultural practice and, like any other such practice, it can be appropriated by non-Hindus, as it has been for many years.

The first time I heard the name of BKS Iyenger, the famous yogi, was from a former colleague at Unisa. A PhD in English studies, she was a staunch follower of Iyenger’s teaching, yet she was also a devout Christian.

Read more

The Origins of Christian Yoga

 

By Ganga Kali Das Jaya

When I was about 25 years old and I was a novice in a Franciscan monastery, we had a monk who worked very hard, slept very little and was always so busy and one day I asked him “what is the secret of your health?”

“Yoga” he said “I practice Yoga”. I asked him to teach me and he lent me a book called “La Voie Du Silence” by Jean Dechanet ( a Benedictine monk) First Edition of this book, published in French, was in 1956.

I cannot speak to you about Yoga and Christianity without mentioning my gratitude to this French Catholic priest who, some 40 years ago gave not only me but many Christians a memorable introduction to Yoga. Up to today, his name is still known, his books are still in their libraries, in many a Catholic monastery and convent because of his rendering accessible the exercises and philosophy of Yoga to Christian contemplative minds. Read more

Christian yogi Bede Griffiths

By Arthur Jones, National Catholic Reporter

This man, Bede Griffiths, is dangerous. That the Benedictine monk died at his Shantivanam (Forest of Peace) ashram in India in 1993 at the fine age of 86 does not alter the fact — except to the extent his death intensifies our understanding of our own situation.

Griffiths, this Hindu sannyasi (ascetic), a Catholic priest, elegant in his writing, in person charming, in death could too easily be diminished into icon-only status. His is a pleasing lithograph of shoulder-length flowing hair, neatly trimmed swami beard, handsome face, kindly if penetrating eyes bordered by haloes and swirling smoke of incense.

His writings belie the image. They are danger-daring prods, cautions, lures, inducements, challenges, barbs, warnings and reassurances from a man who found nature first, and through nature God, and through God Catholicism, and through Catholicism Benedictinism, and through the monastic life, Eastern mysticism. Read more

Christian Author Says Yoga Okay for Christians

By T.D. Jakes

Webster’s defines yoga as “a Hindu theistic philosophy teaching the suppression of all activity of body, mind, and will in order that the self may realize its distinction from them and attain liberation.”

Many simply define it as a system of exercises for attaining bodily or mental control and well-being.

The Lighthouse Trails and Research Project, a religious watchdog organization founded in 2000 by David and Deborah Dombrowski, call eastern spiritual practices “New Age Spirituality” and list it as “a sweeping phenomenon.”

The Lighthouse Trials and Research Project goes on to further say, “Christian leaders are embracing practices and a new spirituality that borrows from Eastern mysticism and New Age philosophy… and involve many of the most popular evangelical leaders including Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, Richard Foster, Tony Campolo, and Eugene Peterson.” Read more