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updated copyright dates
backport (gage): Stop a recurring error on hosted2 -- unfortunately I'm not sure what was triggering this error. I couldn't generate it but an undefined set_id warning occured in many log entries from one course.
This commit was manufactured by cvs2svn to create branch 'rel-2-4-dev'.
Bug fixes. $urlPath->arg("setID") isn't always defined in our calls to Authz::invalidIPAddress, and FormatRecords needs to know about versioned sets. The latter fixes the bug in Hardcopy that just (didn't) get fixed with the previous (not well enough tested) fix.
bug fix: correct "sid" => "set_id"
Second preliminary commit of changes to move set-level valid checks to Authz. This makes ProblemSet.pm and Problem.pm use the $self->{invalidSet} value set by ContentGenerator.pm, and means that regular homework assignments may now be restricted to specific IP addresses. This commit also corrects $userName/$effectiveUserName errors I had in Authz->checkSet() and moves the actual IP address checking to a separate subroutine in Authz. Hardcopy.pm uses that routine to filter sets to be sure it doesn't generate hardcopies for a IP address restricted set.
Add comment requested for heaven's sake.
Bug fixes in implementation of hide_score and hide_work.
Update to make hardcopy generation respect a set's hide_work setting, allow those with permission to generate hardcopies for multiple sets to print versioned sets.
better error reporting for external programs
Update to use new newSQL versioning API. Also fixes display of correct answers so that correct answers to a versioned set are visible if the available attempts on the set are exhausted and the version's answer date has been reached, but not before.
tons of "DBFIXME" notes -- how to make database access more efficient
Gateway update to Hardcopy: correct generation of hardcopies including student solutions to allow the correct answers to be shown before the due date if the student has used up all attempts on the set.
GatewayQuiz Hardcopy update: add note about correctness of student answers when printing answers for GatewayQuizzes.
GatewayQuiz Hardcopy update: change random ordering of problems in Gateway tests to use PGrandom (avoids calling srand() repeatedly), add student answers to completed gateway tests when correct answers are shown. Also cleans up presentation of gateway tests.
GatewayQuiz Hardcopy update: preliminary commit to add checks for versioned sets to allow generation of hardcopies of versioned sets. Still needs checking to avoid generation of hardcopies for the template set.
Added {} to a couple of CGI::Tr to force concatenation.
Converting from use CGI to use WeBWorK::CGI The only substantial change is in Hardcopy where set_id was changed to "sid" I believe that change is correct.
Apache2 compatibility for HTTP constants. (This may very well be broken, but I wanted to get it comitted before bed.)
Try using the -nosticky pragma to see if this fixes the problem.
Make edit links use the WW_Editor window.
forward-port from rel-2-2-dev: (Use File::Path::mkpath to create the hardcopy directory. mkpath() functions like ``mkdir -p'' in that it will create multiple directory elements if needed. Closes bug #950. Use the standard File::Temp::tempdir function instead of makeTempDirectory() to create the actual working directory. Add spaces after the "[edit]" links when PG errors are reported.)
forward-port from rel-2-2-dev: (update copyright date range -- 2000-2006. this is probably overkill, since there are some files that were created after 2000 and some files that were last modified before 2006.)
Changed the permission setting for whether or not hardcopy can show correct answers before the answer date. The old value was really for the "Show Past Answers" button, not for being able to see correct answers early.
Create the [HTML_TMP]/hardcopy directory if it doesn't exist. This is something of a hack done in Hardcopy.pm at the moment. I think this should be moved over to makeTempDirectory in Utils, but that would require more checking than I can do right at the moment. -- Mike
this commit fixes quite possible the stupidest thing i've ever done. wondering where messages like this $GlobalSets[1] (ID Sec9.2ParametricEq) not defined -- skipping at /ww/webwork/webwork2/lib/WeBWorK/ContentGenerator/Hardcopy.pm line 286. were coming from? the answer is: $GlobalSets[1] = undef; which is a line i put in there for testing and never removed. i am very sorry. :-(
fix error message for undefined global sets to print array index instead of "$i".
fixed code to filter out undefined sets, improved error reporting when that happens.
Corrected misspelling
show first pdflatex error (bug #850), HTML escaping. - generate_hardcopy_pdf() now reports the first error encountered in hardcopy.log in the list of errors. - variables substituted into errors strings are now displayed inside <code>..</code> tags, and their values are escpaed with CGI/pm's escapeHTML() function.
make sure there are answer blanks before printing \begin{itemize}. fixes bug #859.
Improve the label on submit button in single user mode.
Simplified the interface for users (who can only download one set at a time and can only download one user). It could be made slightly more general -- it currently implicitly assumes that either one can edit both multiple sets and multiple users or one can edit only a single user and a single set. Removed an error in the [edit] link when there is an error. The anchor HTML tags were wrapped two layers deep around the reference. Can probably still use some more tweaks in the interface. -- Mike
fixed problem with `!' in set IDs, improved error reporting. the `!' poblem was caused by passing UserSets to ScrollingRecordList instead of passing GlobalSets. UserSets have a two-part key (user ID and set ID), and ScrollingRecordList concatenates them with a `!' to create the value names. This is a desireable behavior, but not one that I remembered. Whoops.
set a default value for hardcopy_format if it's not given.
Extensive refactor/rewrite. There are probably going to be bugs here that we squished in the old version of Hardcopy, but it seems to be pretty robust after an evening of testing. Alert me if you see problems. Features: * standard ScrollingRecordLists are used for user and set selection. * TeX source is written incrementally instead of being accumulated in memory. * arguments to shell commands are now quoted using String::ShellQuote * modular design allows adding additional formats easily (i.e. dvi, ps) * error reporting code is simplified. * if errors/warnings occur, user will see them on screen instead of getting the hardcopy file. * on the error screen, user can click to get (possibly broken) hardcopy if it exists. * on the error screen, user can click to get interesting temporary files. (for PDF format these are hardcopy.{tex,log,aux} and pdflatex.std{out,err}.) * on the error screen, if an error concerns a particular problem, an "edit problem" link is included. * probably more stuff i'm forgetting
In hardcopy, a TeX file download has to have the extension .tex, not .pdf
Fixed a bug in which, if the Hardcopy call was the first one to need to create the directory at (e.g.) /ww/htdocs/tmp/myCourse then the creation of myCourse would fail. If /ww/htdocs/tmp/myCourse/gif already existed things would go fine. I think that more has to be done here. We need to look at how myCourse is created when storing a gif or html is the first action and handle these all the same. One of the difficulties is that the tmp directory might be located anywhere -- it is not guaranteed to be under /ww/webwork/webwork2/htdocs -- at least as we have defined it at the moment.
Removed unused variable. Fixed an incorrect error message.
added HiRes timing data to WeBWorK::Debug, removed WeBWorK::Timing. all existing calls to the WeBWorK::Timing methods now pass the same messages to debug(). added an option to WeBWorK::Debug to allow only certain subroutines to log debug messages, in addition to the existing option to bar certain subroutines from doing so.
I've changed errorOutput($error,$details) to accept a reference to a string or to an array for $details. These are automatically converted to the proper form. References should be used when the $details points to a large number of bytes, such as the contents of a file. This version is not faster than the original method where $details was always a string, sometimes a very long string. It does seem to save memory however. Further savings in memory could be obtained by print directly, but there are a few instances which call errorOutput and then do further formatting before printing. At the moment it doesn't seem to be worth it to make the change from return to print.
Preliminary commit of changes to add Gateway module. This adds to WeBWorK - the ability to create versioned, timed problem sets ("gateway tests") for which all problems are displayed on a single page ("versioned" means that students can get multiple versions of the problem set), - the ability to create sets that draw problems from groups of problems, and - the ability to create sets that require a proctor login to start and grade. Sets can be defined as gateway tests or proctored gateway tests from the ProblemSetDetail page. Not quite bug-free yet. Known bugs include handling of problem values on the Student Progress page (I think this may be a problem with changing from sql database format where all entries were 'text' to sql_single in ver 2.1, where they are integer), and a division by zero error on the grades page (which may be the same problem). Tests with a number of attempts per version greater than one haven't been carefully tested, nor has scoring of gateway tests.
renamed "problem set" to "homework set" in page content. closes bug #797.
Fixed a problem with showing answers when printing hardcopy (no idea why this wasn't reported earlier). The CGI::checkboxes use "on" and nothing to denote whether a checkbox is checked. We expect 1 or 0 (or undef).
add check for undefiend user param (closes bug #714). use $userID for variable containing the ID of a user (not $User, which is typically used for a user RECORD).
Made changes to the way $r->param("user") is handled, so that it is always called in a scalar context. This avoids errors caused if user is defined more than once.
lean up test seen by students. Arnie
added WeBWorK::Contents switch for preserving hardcopy temp files. closes bug #633.
new using $authz for permissions checks in hardcopy
Bringing Hardcopy.pm up to date on this branch. This fix corrects bug #636. Students can no longer print hardcopy of hidden sets.
Applied Bill Wheeler's patch to send raw TeX to client as file download. Fixes bug #589.
Changed the misnamed problem_header to hardcopy_header which is a more accurate description of the variables use. Hardcopy.pm now consults hardcopy_header as opposed to set_header This addresses some of the concerns in bug #556
Moved problem-separation snippet to ABOVE the problem (to get the line above the first problem and simultaneously avoid having to check for being the last problem). Also put the correct answers in verbatim mode to avoid having to make and-hoc adjustments to the answer string (the result will be exactly what the instructor typed, no matter what). This also avoids a problem when the correct answer begins with "[", where LaTeX would think this was part of an optional parameter to \item and either eat the answer (up to the "]") or fail to run entirely (if the answer were "[1,infinity)" for example). If you don't like the verbatim, you can take it out, but then add {} or \relax after the \item to avoid this problem.
upgraded request usage. i'm delaying changing how paths are generated until i do something about what a mess this module is in other ways.
Temporary fix for problem with hardcopy. #my $singleSet = $r->urlpath->args("setID"); my $singleSet; #FIXME trace down how sets are being passed to hardcopy. $singleSet was receiving the notion 1/8 @sets was getting the correct value of the number of the set. Looks like $singleSet is receivinv a hash?? The calling code needs to be checked over and reconciled with the responding code.
changed template escape handler functions to grab data from $r->urlpath instead of @_ for compatability with dispatch_new.
(possible) fix for bug #286
Normalized headers. All files now contain the text below as a header. This is important since all files now (a) use the full name of the package, (b) assign copyright to "The WeBWorK Project", (c) give the full path of the file (relative to CVSROOT) instead of simply the file name, and (d) include license and warranty information. Here is the new header: ################################################################################ # WeBWorK Online Homework Delivery System # Copyright © 2000-2003 The WeBWorK Projcct, http://openwebwork.sf.net/ # $CVSHeader$ # # This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under # the terms of either: (a) the GNU General Public License as published by the # Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) any later # version, or (b) the "Artistic License" which comes with this package. # # This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT # ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS # FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See either the GNU General Public License or the # Artistic License for more details. ################################################################################
added code to check for undef return values from DB "get" calls.
Modified the way timers were controlled. Timers must now be defined before they will be called in this script. This fixes a bug that appeared only on webwork.math.rochester.edu where the timers were turned off. --Mike
Replaced table and check box display of sets and users with scrolling list display of sets and users. Used the new getObjects commands whenever possible. --Mike
Refactored the code to take advantage to recent changes in ContentGenerator with respect to REDIRECTs.
Fixed error in finding the default set Header.pg file when the set header was not defined. This squashes bug #125. --Mike
More modifications in format for Hardcopy errors. --Mike
Cleaning up the format of error reporting in hardcopy. --Mike
Small error recovery corrections added to Hardcopy --Mike
These files have timing code in them. You have to change the variable $timer* from 0 to 1 in order to have the times reported. --Mike
Hardcopy now moves the pdf file to the tempDir/hardcopy and sends the browser a redirect to pick it up. Cleaned up the logic of latex2pdf and generateHardcopy to some extent. More remains to be done. In particular tempDir can be generated within latex2pdf. Possibly it could be passed a file name as well, rather than a tex string. this process is a good candidate for testing the timing mechanisms once they are done. How much faster is redirect? How much faster is passing a long tex string rather than a pointer? etc. --Mike
permission level must be greater than 0 in order to choose to download TeX. --Mike
Added ability to get TeX output . Still to do. (1) Make tex output only available to instructors and TA's (2) Streamline some code (3) Store pdf code and redirect instead of outputting the pdf code directly -- hopefully this will speed up the output? --Mike
Hardcopy now appends a copy of the tex output to error message. Clean up of temp files is pretty good. The output needs some cosmetic work. It still seems a little slow to me. This answers the bulk of bug #82. Resubmit cosmetic details, feature requests, etc. as new bug. --Mike
This is a fairly stable version of Hardcopy. It reports part of the TeX log errors along with whater pdf was produced. This partially satisfies the requests in bug #82 --Mike
Hardcopy now does a reasonable job of reading the TeX log file, cutting off the initial errors. If there are tex errors then these are reported and one can optionally download a pdf file if this was created. Have not yet added the TeX file output -- Need to see how this is handled in 1.8 first. Good stopping point. Good night. --Mike
made some small improvements in error handling. changed calls to tempdir to calls to makeTempDirectory -sam
(1) Moved order in which snippets are assembled. Only one preamble and one postamble are used for a single download (also a single run of TeX). The postamble ends the document and nothing else in the file will be read by TeX. (2) Modified the getSetTeX and getProblemTeX subroutines to include a username (for sets) and a user object (for problems) so that problems and sets can be made for different students. The new identifier is the first arguement. $self->getSetTeX($effectiveUserName, $setName); and $self->getProblemTeX($effectiveUser,$setName, 0, $setHeader); It seems to work pretty well, but perhaps a bit slow still. --Mike
removed annoying debug output. -sam
Added a helpful comment to Authz Fixed bug #15 in hardcopy Gave ProblemSetList the proper db calls, now that SQL databases are working. -Dennis
changed ->id to ->whatever_id -sam
modev more content generators over to the new WWDBv2 API. fixed some bugs. -sam
changed the name of the "courseEnvironment" field in the ContentGenerator object to "ce", to match the style and conciesness of the existing "r" and new "db" fields. -sam
1. fixed some formatting in Problem 2. hardcopy allows correct answers, hints, solutions to be shown 3. privileged users are allowed to view/download "not yet open" sets -sam
ProblemSet and Problem no longer allow problem sets that are "not yet open" to be viewed. oopsies. -sam
merged changes from rel-2-0-pr1-hardcopy-changes -sam
effectiveUser audit complete on Hardcopy.pm. That means all the ContentGenerators are all checked and clear. -Dennis
hardcopy new respects effectiveUser -sam
added feedback links to a bunch of modules. -sam
fixed hardcopy generation for sets named "0" (a false, but defined value) added error and warning reporting. -sam
finished some stuff up. hardcopy deletes its temp files. -sam
small changes to support hardcopy work. -sam
re-formatted &alias (in dangerousMacros) so that it's more readable. mostly just made sure indentations where correct and tabs and spaces were used where apprropriate. -sam
- created macros/IO.pl, which is loaded with no opmask by PG.pm. It is a copy of WeBWorK::PG::IO.pm, with some changes to make it work as a macro package. The translator no longer shares IO.pm's functions with the safe compartment. This is a BAD THING, and should be reconsidered when the Translator is revised. - Changed many (but not all) checks for HTML or HTML_tth modes to match /^HTML/ in the macros. - changed &header to &head in Problem.pm - Added problem environment variables for gif2eps and png2eps and modified &dangerousMacros::alias to use them - fixed MOST of the harmless warnings in the system. there's still the "Use of uninitialized value in null operation" warning in template(), tho. Still to come: - make images in PDFs work - fix TTH mode character encodings on mac (maybe) - have logout button invalidate key - Pretty die messages (from outside of the translator) - Feedback - need nice modular way of sending email - Options - email address and password
fixed hardcopy generation (errors in EV3_math_general and the hardcopySetHeader. -sam
continuing work on hardcopy generation. changed interface to PG.pm to take user, problem, and set objects instead of names. -sam
updated copyright header. -sam
made progress towards working hardcopy generation. next, i have to fix the call to pdflatex. screw pip. it's not working right, and it doesn't give me any speed gain, since latex has to goofily write the WHOLE DAMN FILE in whatever order it pleases before letting me have it. -sam
added Hardcopy. TODO: &getMultiSetTeX figure out what to do about making several sets into 1 TeX \doc make PDF generation code (minimize temp file use!) (to this end, module-ize pip? haha.) -sam
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Organizational Leadership and Decision Making
This course provides an opportunity for students to focus on leadership and the applicable skills needed to function as a leader in an organizational setting. The course looks at leadership as a process by which one person influences the attitudes and behaviors of others. It looks at leadership of organizations and groups, including teams. Concepts covered include various leadership theories and models, leadership across cultures, leadership ethics and attributes, organizational change/development, and, the role of the leader in establishing organizational culture and facilitating change. The course encourages self-assessment through group projects and leadership simulations.
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Examine multiple viewpoints for differing frames of reference, perspectives, and orientations to the same situation.
Employ leadership, team-building and decision-making concepts; examine how teams make high-stakes decisions in stressful situation, why individuals and teams make flawed choices and how leaders shape the context and the process through which teams make decisions.
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Understand the role of leaders in setting strategic focus and direction.
> Direct link to course prerequisites.
> Buy your textbooks and other required course materials online from the Brandeis Bookstore ,or visit the bookstore in the Shapiro Campus Center.

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Message from the Chair
Hello future GIS professional!
I am pleased that you are considering the GIS Certificate Program at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee to get started in the GIS profession. We have a very strong program here with about 50 students currently enrolled (the university has about 30,000 students). And Milwaukee is a beautiful city, situated on Lake Michigan which is so big one cannot see the opposite shore. I'm sure you will enjoy your studies here.
I am Professor William Huxhold, the program advisor - so ask me the questions you have at email@example.com.
The GIS Program at UWM has been in place since 1991 and now has over a hundred graduates working in various GIS positions in the private sector as well as the public sector. A list of them is available at: http://www4.uwm.edu/giscertificate/alumni.cfm
For information on how to apply to our program, go to: http://www4.uwm.edu/giscertificate/program.cfm. There is no deadline for applying, but you need to submit two forms before you can register for classes. You should submit them a few months before the start of classes which begin early in September and late in January. With the graduate non-degree candidate application, you need to have your transcripts sent to our Graduate School as well as a small fee.
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Professor Huxhold


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The Medical Benefits of Prayer
June 15, 2013
By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird
Many of us put prayer in one category, and medicine in a totally separate category. What if they could work together to help people become healthier? There are a few misguided people who have suggested that we should only rely on prayer, and not go to medical doctors. They forget that two of the books of the Bible were written by a medical doctor, St. Luke the Physician. Luke included many specific medical terms in the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. Other people think that with advances in medical science that prayer is no longer relevant. Both attitudes are short-sighted. When we are battling serious and potentially life-threatening diseases, we need all the resources working together for our healing.
Many churches regularly pray for those who are sick. At St. Simon's NV, we often give thanks for answered prayer, particularly in the area of healing in body, mind or spirit. Healing prayer is mysterious in its effect. In recent years, there have been a number of studies on the effects of healing prayer. Dr. Candy Brown wrote a ground-breaking book entitled "Testing Prayer" which gave preliminary indications that there is a measurable impact in healing prayer. Her research involved the ethnographic approaches of participant-observation, written surveys and oral interviews, clinical measurements and statistical tests, and narrative analysis and archival research. Dr. Brown's team of researchers used audiometers and vision charts to test hearing and vision before and after times of healing prayer. Many but not all participants in healing prayer showed significant improved function in the post-prayer diagnostic tests. Dr. Brown suggested that the empirically observable effect deserves more research and followup, involving larger-scale more-refined clinical trials of the effects of healing prayer.
Science cannot prove why healing prayer works, but it can measure its effects in helpful ways. The founder of Christianity, Jesus, was consistently involved in teaching, preaching and healing the sick. His early followers regularly participated in healing prayer. For over two thousand years, healing prayers have been offered up for those in need. It is encouraging that careful research is being done, indicating that healing prayer makes an empirical difference. My expectation over the next number of years is that many more scientific tests will be done, that will teach us a lot more about the empirical nature of healing prayer.
Through decades of healing prayer, I have seen many people transformed in body, mind or spirit. My prayer for those reading this article is that many of us will see similar breakthroughs in our areas of need.
The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, Rector
BSW, MDiv, DMin
St. Simon's Church, North Vancouver
Anglican Mission in the Americas (Canada)
-an article for the July 2013 Deep Cove Crier
-award-winning author of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada'
p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD. This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99 CDN/USD.
-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide : Seeking God's Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada
You can also download the complimentary Leader's Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide
You are invited to join us for the BC Christian Ashram retreat with Tom Nisbett, an amazing Christian speaker. Just click on the following link:
BC Christian Ashram Retreat
William Carey: Educational Pioneer
May 20, 2013
By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird
Who was William Carey, and why has he had such a major impact on our global culture? On May 26th , I graduated with my Doctorate from Carey Theological College on the UBC Campus. While at Carey College, I often walked past a painting of Carey, showing his humble beginning as a village shoemaker in Paulersbury, England. Carey was fascinated with reading books about science, history and travel journals of explorers like Captain Cook. His village playmates nicknamed him Christopher Columbus. Carey said that he was addicted as a young person to swearing, lying, and alcohol. A major turning point happened when he was caught by his employer embezzling a shilling. Fortunately his employer did not press charges. For such petty larceny, Carey could have easily paid the price of imprisonment, forfeiture of goods and chattel, whipping or transportation for seven years to the plantations of the West Indies or America. Facing his own selfishness, Carey had a spiritual breakthrough by personally meeting Christ that had a lasting impact on his values and lifestyle.
Carey had a quick mind and a natural love of learning. He would have normally become a farm labourer, but suffered from a skin disease that made it painful for him to go out in the full sun. If Carey's face and hands were exposed to the sun for any lengthy period, he would suffer agony throughout the night. So instead he became a cobbler, making shoes. While making shoes, he was able to read and pray. Through this, Carey developed a conviction that he was to go to India. His unimaginative friends and colleagues tried to talk him out of this fantasy. His five-month pregnant wife Dorothy was also dead-set against it. His own father Edmund wondered if his son had lost his mind. Carey said to his dad: "I am not my own nor would I choose for myself. Let God employ me where he thinks fit."
With unshakable determination, Carey went to India in 1793 which was under the control of the East India Company. He later ended up becoming a Professor of Bengali and Sanskrit in Calcutta, India. Through teaching at Fort Williams College in Calcutta, he was investing in young civil servants from England, helping them to have a good start in India. Carey believed that the future was as bright as the promises of God. He had an exceptional natural gift for languages. Carey called himself a plodder; whatever he started, he always finished. Unlike a number of his family members and closest friends, Carey survived malaria and numerous other tropical diseases. His first wife Dorothy however had a nervous breakdown before later dying. Carey was heartbroken.
Some bureaucrats from the East India Company did their best to expel Carey and his team from India. Anything that might affect financial profit was seen as a threat. William Wilberforce however, having finally abolished the slave trade, presented 837 petitions to the British Parliament representing over half a million signatures, requesting that 'these good and great men' be allowed to stay in India. Carey's enemies attacked him in Parliament for being a lowly shoemaker. Wilberforce won the day in the Charter Renewal Bill of 1813.
Carey's motto was "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God."
Entirely self-taught, Carey impacted the emerging generation of Indian leaders that birthed the burgeoning modern democracy of India. Serampore College was founded by Carey and his colleagues in 1818. He produced six grammars of Bengali, Sanskrit, Marathi, Panjabi, Telugi, and Kanarese, and with John Clark Marshman, one of Bhutia. He also translated the whole Bible into Bengali, Oriya, Marathi, Hindi, Assamese, and Sanskrit, and parts of it into twenty-nine other languages or dialects. Scholars say that Carey significantly contributed to the renaissance of Indian Literature in the nineteenth century.
While an ordained preacher and a church planter, Carey was fascinated with all aspects of daily living. In 1818 Carey founded two magazines and a newspaper, the Samachar Darpan, the first newspaper printed in any Asian language. He was the father of Indian printing technology, building what was then their largest printing press. Carey was the first to make indigenous paper for the Indian publishing industry. He brought the steam engine to India, and pioneered the idea of lending libraries in India. Carey introduced the concept of a 'Savings Bank' to India, in order to fight the all-pervasive social evil of usury at interest rates of 36% to 72%.
Carey introduced the study of astronomy as a science, teaching that the stars and planets are God's creation set by him in an observable order, rather than astrological deities fatalistically controlling one's life. He was the founder of the Agri-Horticultural Society in the 1820s, thirty years before the Royal Agricultural Society was established in England. Carey was the first person in India to write about forest conservation. In 1823, he was elected as a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, one of the world's most distinguished botanical societies even today. As Carey's favorite flowers were lilies, he had the honour of having one (Careyanum) named after him.
Having a strong social conscience, Carey was the first man to oppose the Sati widow-burning and female infanticide. Sati was finally banned by the Government of India in 1829. He also campaigned for humane treatment of lepers who were being burned or buried alive because of their bad karma. The view at the point was that leprosy was a deserved punishment in the fifth cycle of reincarnation.
Carey loved India and never returned home to England, dying in 1834 at the age of 73. Near the end, he said: ""You have been speaking about William Carey. When I am gone, say nothing about William Carey-speak only about William Carey's Saviour." My prayer for those reading this article is that we too would have the passion for learning and making a difference that William Carey once had.
Video: William Carey – A Candle in the Dark (click to view)
The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird,
BSW, MDiv, DMin
Rector, St. Simon's Church North Vancouver
Anglican Mission in the Americas (Canada)
-an article for the June 2013 Deep Cove Crier
-award-winning author of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada'
p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD. This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail email@example.com . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99 CDN/USD.
-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide : Seeking God's Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada
You can also download the complimentary Leader's Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide
A Response to Anton Drake from Reverend Ed Hird
May 17, 2013
A Response to Anton Drake from Reverend Ed Hird
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 23:50
(Before It's News)
Hollywood, CA — Last week I wrote a press release to promote the new book Atheist Yoga by Anton Drake. As part of that press release, which can be foundhere, I conducted an interview with Mr. Drake, and one of the topics of discussion was a recent article by Reverend Ed Hird that centered on the idea that the practice of yoga is something unsuitable for Christians. Anton had read that particular article, and had several comments about it; Reverend Hird subsequently contacted me and requested a chance to offer a rebuttal, feeling that some of what he had said had been misconstrued.
Here is Reverend Hird's response to the Atheist Yoga press release:
[ Having read Anton Drake's new book 'Atheist Yoga', I am fascinated by the extent to which so many atheists are focused on a God that they ostensibly don't even believe in; many of them seem to think more about God than most Christians do, and I can't help thinking that it's almost as if they are obsessed with this allegedly non-existent God. When I think of God, I see the face of Jesus. Anton is correct when he said "if someone is an atheist, they lack a belief in God." This is undebatable. Many people don't realize that Buddha, as a reformed Hindu, was an atheist who continued to do Hindu yoga; one of the most famous pictures of the Buddha shows him in the yogic lotus position. Buddhist usually call their yoga 'meditation', but a rose by any other name is still a rose. Buddhism was founded as an atheistic religion. In this sense Anton Drake is clearly right—there is no incompatibility between Anton being an atheist and doing yoga. Anton, like his fellow atheist Buddha, is clearly involved in a spiritual/religious practice.
In an interview released May 9th 2013, Mr. Drake made some comments about my article "Culture Wars: Yoga, More than Meets the Eye" that clearly demonstrate the extent to which he has completely misunderstood the meaning and intent of the article. In the interview, Anton stated that "although I am what you might call a dogmatic atheist, I find the reverend Hird's ideas on this matter to be quite prejudicial, and even somewhat racial and xenophobic" While I enjoyed reading the interview, I find it unfortunate that Anton will dismiss someone as racist and xenophobic simply because they have reservations about syncretistically mixing two different religions. My hero E. Stanley Jones, who lived for 50 years as a Methodist missionary in India and wrote a book about Gandhi called 'Portrait of a Friend,' actually started the United Christian Ashram movement, of which I have served on the international board. My main point here is that I have always had great respect for the East Indian people, just as my friend Stanley Jones did.
In the same interview, which was titled "Ed Hird, Encinitas, and the Fear of Yoga, An Interview with Anton Drake Part 2," Anton mentioned that "Many of the Hindu friends I've had through the years have actually kept a picture or a statue of Jesus on their altar or puja, right next to the other pictures of gurus and deities they revered. That always impressed me." It is a good thing to show respect to other religious traditions; however, because Hinduism allegedly has 330 million gods, adding Jesus to the Hindu pantheon does not really respect the integrity of the Judeo-Christian heritage. To serve two masters, as Jesus cautioned against, is not showing true respect for other religious traditions. I do not question the prerogative of new-agers, atheists, or Hindus to practise yoga. I am asking for some transparency about what yoga really is about, particularly when they package it for Christians. Yoga is the very heart of Hinduism. Nine out of ten Hindus agree that yoga is Hinduism. Without yoga, there is no Hinduism. Without Hinduism, there is no yoga. Many Hindu gurus claim with no evidence that Jesus went to India and became a yoga teacher. They also hold that Jesus as a yogi was teaching reincarnation because he wanted us to be born again. Once again, this does not show respect or understanding for other important religious faiths.
Mr. Drake also seemed particularly offended by my comment that yoga 'kills the mind'. This is merely quoting key yogis who see that as one of the key benefits of yoga. Christian meditation is about focusing on God's Word thoughtfully rather than the elimination of thought. Sensory deprivation and sensory overload, both key aspects of advanced yoga, are proven techniques for the 'killing of the mind'. Yoga does not require belief to alter the mind. It just requires intensive yogic practice. It is the technique that produces the effect. Yoga asanas appear to the uninitiated as if they are just stretching exercises. The more fully initiated realize that asanas are worship postures to Hindu deities. The Warrior asana, for example, is identified with the worship of Lord Virabhadra who has a thousand arms, three burning eyes, and a garland of skulls. The Cobra asana is about identification with and worship of the Kundalini snake, yogically awakened in the chakras. The yoga insiders all know the real scoop. They also know that North Americans are not quite ready yet for the full truth about the religious identity of yoga.
Further into the interview, Anton stated that "Although his [Rev. Hird's ] article is fairly well written and seems to make some good points on the surface, if one looks a bit closer it reveals itself as absurdly, almost comically xenophobic; simply consider how easy it would be to apply the same arguments he uses to sushi, origami, or Asian forms of dance." Among other things, I am particularly curious about Anton's teaser comment "Good points on the surface." I am hoping that in the future, Anton could perhaps elaborate on this. As for the xenophobic comment, this was clearly not one of Anton's strongest arguments. To suggest that people who have reservations about yoga must also be against sushi, chai tea, and curry is comical. Anton, who has never met me, keeps saying that I am xenophobic simply because I dare to question yoga. I find Mr. Drake's comments along this line to be unfortunate and even intolerant. I ask, is there still room within our Western democratic cultures to raise questions without being stereotyped or villified?
Anton Drake then goes on to say that schoolchildren should obviously be taught yoga: "Schoolchildren should obviously be allowed to learn yoga; restricting western children from learning yoga on the basis of religion is barbaric, and not just from an atheistic point of view." The terms 'should' and 'allowed' go in two different directions. Public schools do not 'allow' religious practices, whether Hindu, Christian, Muslim, or New Age, to be mandated for the children. If yoga is in fact inherently religious, this would be violating the Encinita School Board's own legal parameters. Is it really respectful to mandate yogic Hinduism for children attending the Public School system? What if this violates the faith perspective of the children's parents? Should they be dismissed as barbaric, to use Mr. Drake's words? At the core of democracy is the freedom of religion, and the freedom to question. No one will win if yoga ever becomes so culturally entrenched that our schools begin imposing it as part of their everyday curriculum, and thereby elevate it to the status of an unquestioned academic truth or authority.
Drake also says, and I quote, that "He [Rev. Hird] of course takes it completely for granted that any spiritual tradition outside of Christianity or western culture is intrinsically evil and antithetical to every form of goodness." However, where he is wrong is that I am in no way a defender of Western culture as somehow superior to Eastern culture. I find much wisdom and value in all cultures, and in all religions. We need to be respectful to other religious traditions, especially when we do not understand them. I simply ask that Christians be not asked to compromise their religious identity in the midst of a well-packaged yoga marketing strategy. Yoga is a ten-billion dollar industry these days in North America, and we simply cannot overlook our core cultural principles in rushing to spread the indoctrination of yoga into our schools. While Anton Drake "the atheist" spoke a lot about demons and evil, you will notice that I did not, and this was not at all the focus of my article. I simply wish to affirm the Lordship of Jesus Christ in one's life. And my contention is that if Jesus is my Lord, then yoga is not. I can live without yoga, while still respecting the right of others who wish to practice it. ]
I am scheduled to do another interview with Anton soon, and I will be sure to bring this topic up to him again and ask him some additional questions as well.
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Preparing for the Day of Pentecost May 19th
May 13, 2013
Dear friends in Christ,
You are invited to check out our latest Pentecost newsletter: "The Power to Serve". Just click on Pentecost 2013 Newsletter
In Christ,
Ed Hird+
Why some Christians think yoga is 'idolatrous'
April 9, 2013
Why some Christians think yoga is 'idolatrous'.
This is an thoughtful article published today by the Religion Editor, Doug Todd, for the Vancouver Sun, who is interacting with my recent article on Yoga.
Ed Hird+
Yoga: More than Meets the Eyes??
April 5, 2013
By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird
You may find this a stretching article in body, mind and spirit. I have intentionally avoided writing this article for years, because I knew that it might be unavoidably controversial. To be honest, I have been waiting for someone else to write this article instead of me. Like most pastors, I want people to like me. With genuine reluctance, I eventually faced my conflict avoidance, obeyed the Lord and read hundreds of yoga books in our local public libraries. In preparing this article, I have not read one book which warns against yoga. All book citations in this article are from yoga advocates and practitioners.
To many people, yoga is just the hottest new exercise fad for younger women. Twenty million North Americans are now doing yoga, including around four million men. These twenty million people are currently being trained by over 70,000 yoga practitioners in at least 20,000 North American locations.[1] Many people confuse yoga with simple stretching. Stretching and calisthenics are good things which I participate in weekly at the local gym. Yoga has not cornered the market on healthy stretching and calisthenics. Physical fitness does not begin and end on a yoga mat. I am convinced
that we do well when we take care of our bodies as part of our Christian stewardship. God wants us to be healthier in body, mind, and spirit.
I unknowingly participated in yoga, in the form of martial arts, for twenty years before renouncing it.[2] After much prayer, I reluctantly gave it up because I didn't want any gray area in my Christian life. It is not an easy or light thing for someone to renounce this, even as a Christian. For many, it is absolutely unthinkable. To even imagine giving it up may leave some feeling threatened or even angry. In hindsight, I realized that the ritual motions and postures (asanas or katas) had gotten very deep into my psyche, shaping my very identity.[3] Somehow over twenty years, they had become ingrained in me and even became part of me. Without intending it, I was to some degree serving two masters. This was a hard truth for me to accept. I have heard of one Christian who is so entrenched in yoga that they have vowed to never give up yoga even if God himself told them to stop. It makes you wonder sometimes who is in charge of our lives.
Historically yoga was only taught in secret to high-caste male Brahmins.[4] It was very much a guy thing for the wealthy and powerful. In recent years, North American yoga has largely stripped itself of its more obvious Eastern trappings: gurus, incense, Sanskrit, and loin cloths.[5] It has gone through a remarkable image makeover in a relatively short time period. Yoga classes and paraphernalia have become a ten-billion+ dollar consumer-driven industry, involving designer spandex, yoga mats, and DVDs.[6] Old-time Yoga purists have called this new development the yoga industrial complex. In some parts of North America, yoga moms are replacing the demographic of soccer moms. Yoga has become such a strongly entrenched cultural fad that in some parts of North America, it is being taught to children , using tax-payers' money, in otherwise strictly secular public school systems. Spiritually speaking, yoga has replaced the Lord's Prayer which, you will remember, was bounced from our children's classrooms for being too religious.
This North American yoga industry has registered thousands of copyrights, patents and trademarks, sometimes resulting in threatening lawsuits.[7] The Indian Government is so concerned about the yoga copyrighting that they have set up their own taskforce to protect yoga from being pirated by Westerners:
"Yoga piracy is becoming very common, and we are moving to do something about it," says Vinod Gupta, the head of a recently established Indian government task force on traditional knowledge and intellectual-property theft.
'We know of at least 150 asanas [yoga positions] that have been pirated in the U.S., the UK, Germany and Japan,' he says. 'These were developed in India long ago and no one can claim them as their own.' In an effort to protect India's heritage, the task force has begun documenting 1,500 yoga postures drawn from classical yoga texts — including the writings of the Indian sage, Patanjali, the first man to codify the art of yoga."[8]
There are seven main kinds of yoga: Hatha Yoga, Bhakti Yoga (devotion), Karma Yoga (action), Jnana Yoga (wisdom), Mantra Yoga, Tantra Yoga, and Raja Yoga (royal).[9] The most popular yoga offered in one's local Recreation Center is Hatha Yoga, so-called physical yoga involving numerous yoga techniques called asanas. These yogic asanas appear to the uninitiated as if they are just stretching exercises. The more fully initiated realize that yogic asanas are worship postures to Hindu deities. The yoga insiders all know the real scoop. They also know that North Americans are not quite ready yet for the full truth about the religious identity of yoga. My question is this: Is it really honest and respectful to pretend yoga is just a physical activity without any spiritual implications?[10] More importantly, should people get themselves bent out of shape over Christians doing yoga?
For many Westerners, all that matters is that something seems to be working. We rarely look under the hood of our cars. Our practical bent is both a great strength and a greater weakness. We naively think that we can arrogantly detach anything from its heritage, and snatch its alleged benefits without any downside. Yoga has been carefully repackaged to appeal for North Americans to our strongly pragmatic side. The yogic philosophy is initially minimized. Some yoga advocates claim that asanas are just poses, and mantras are just words. Context becomes everything. To argue that asanas and mantras have no inherent meaning is itself a unquestionably reductionistic statement. It is meaningless to suggest that yoga is meaningless. Is it really as easy to secularize yogic Hinduism as we individualistic North Americans may think?
I.K. Taimini, Indian scholar and chemist, wrote that there is no subject like yoga which is so wrapped up in mystery and on which one can write whatever one likes without any risk of being proved wrong.[11] The religion of Hinduism is more than just cows, karma and curry. Yoga is the very heart of Hinduism. Nine out of ten Hindus agree that yoga is Hinduism.[12] Without yoga, there is no Hinduism. Without Hinduism, there is no yoga.
In yoga asanas, one re-enacts the story of a particular Hindu deity, identifying as that specific deity. According to Sanskritist Dr. N. Sjoman, verses from the 19th century yoga text Maisuru Maisiri clearly indicate that "the asanas are assumed to have an inner nature that is associated with their specific name." The hand postures (mudras) in Hatha Yoga are a replication of the same hand postures in the statues of Hindu gods. Yoga is spiritual embodiment. The mudras are used to channel psychic energy through the body to alter consciousness. They facilitate the process of yogic Self-Realization, and are designed to awaken and activate the root yogic chakra.
Unlike Judaism, Christianity and Islam, one does not have to believe in something to be impacted by Hinduism. Belief for yogic Hinduism is nice but not initially necessary. The belief or meaning structure is often introduced much later at a deeper level of initiation. Because Hinduism is technique-based, the performance of the yogic asana is sufficient to open up the chakra energies which produce the psychic interaction.[13] Similar to the way that psychoactive drugs have mental, emotional and even spiritual impact regardless of what one knows about them, yoga also has a chemical impact regardless of one's yoga knowledge or belief. The irrelevance of belief is one of the reasons why yoga practitioners often promote yoga to North Americans as either non-religious or religiously neutral.[14] Transcendental Meditation, a form of Mantra yoga, initiated countless westerners with Sanskrit puja rituals that were never explained to them, but still had a significant impact on their core identity.[15] Yoga is inescapably religious in a way that most North Americans will not notice.[16] This is why many well-meaning North American Christians have uncritically or unwittingly opened their spirit to yogic Hindu philosophies that clash with Christ's teaching.
The term 'yoga' comes from the Sanskrit word 'yug', which means union. Yogic practice is designed to bring psychic union with Brahman, the highest of the Hindu deities. What looks to us like simple stretches are in fact powerful psychic techniques that have been shown to change the very core of our consciousness. The purpose of yoga is to produce a mind-altering state that fuses male and female, light and darkness, good and evil, god and humanity.[17] As the best-selling author Deepak Chopra said in The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga:
"Krishna teaches Arjuna (in the Bhagavad Gita) the essence of yoga, telling him that good and evil, pleasure and pain, and loss and gain are two sides of the same coin of life. The solution that yoga offers is to go beyond the realm of duality and become established in the state of being that is beyond time, space and causality….Krishna tells Arjuna, 'Go beyond the realm of good and evil where life is dominated by beginnings and endings. Enter into the domain of yoga where all duality finds its unity…"[18]
The term 'Hatha Yoga' refers to the union of the sun (ha or male) and moon (tha or female) into one monistic whole. Some scholars translate Hatha Yoga as 'violent union'.[19] The definitive symbol of yoga is the Nataraj asana, known as the dancing Shiva who 'dances' destruction upon any distinctions (avidya) between the Creator and creation, good and evil, male and female.[20] Yoga philosophy believes that all matter and differences are illusion, and that all illusions can be overcome by the performance of yoga rituals. Yoga works systemically to alter biochemical functions, including our hormones and endocrine system. The so-called physical activity in Hatha Yoga is meant to achieve a changed state of consciousness, eliminating the distinction between subject [self] and object.
Yoga is the primary technique used by the yogis in attempting to become gods themselves. Through mantric yoga chanting and asanas, the mind experiences both sensory deprivation and sensory overloading, causing a shutting down of the mind. Unlike Christian prayer and meditation on God's Word, the purpose of Eastern yogic meditational practices is to 'kill the mind'. Mantra or breath yoga causes one to enter into a meditational trance state in which the mind is emptied. The 'killing of the mind' produces the experience of differences disappearing and all becoming one. Yoga was crafted and developed to enable an escape from rational thinking and a direct access by nonverbal means to a specific psychic state. Many would hold that yogic Hinduism produces a trance state through self-induced hypnosis. Is it fair to wonder if intensive yoga has effects similar to psychological brain-washing techniques?
While yogic philosophy is polytheistic, it is also monistic, in the sense that it holds that through yoga, we become the universe and/or god.[21] While these tenets are rarely taught at community center yoga classes, they are often held by the community center yoga instructor who has gone to a deeper level of yogic initiation. The further one enters into yoga, the greater the hold that this 'other master' has in one's life.
Yoga promoters realize that most North Americans are not yet ready to hear about the deeper secrets of yoga. Community Center yoga is largely drip-feeding lower-level yoga practices during this time of cultural shift. Hatha Yoga is itself derived from the very secretive tantric yoga. According to William Broad, author of The Science of Yoga, Tantric Yoga developed in India around 600 A.D:
"(Tantric yoga) worships female deities, roots its ceremonies in human sexuality, seeks supernatural powers for material gain, and cloaks its rites in secrecy."
In around 1200 A.D., Gorakhnath, a Hindu ascetic of western India, merged the traditions of Tantra and body discipline, forming Hatha Yoga.[22] Broad teaches that the path of enlightenment towards the ecstatic yoga union was known as Tantra.[23] Hatha Yoga is designed to bring a tantric awakening of Kundalini, the Hindu goddess having a serpent power.[24] The Sanskrit word kundalini means "she who is coiled".[25] The cobra asana is not mere stretching, but is a mind control technique that has been developed over many centuries with proven psychic results. Few community centre yoga buffs realize that the cobra asana was developed to awaken the kundalini cobra chakra. The Kundalini snake is said to reside in the lowest chakra at the base of one's spine:
"When (Kundalini) is aroused by Yoga practice, she uncoils and travels up the spine toward her lover, Shiva. Traveling the spine through psychic centers called chakras, Kundalini reaches the top chakra to merge with Shiva and there receive divine enlightenment through the union with Brahman…."[26]
According to the Bhagavad-Gita Hindu Scripture, Shiva the Hindu god of destruction is the Lord of Yoga (Yogeshwara) and the first Hatha Yoga teacher. The Bhagavad Gita used the word "Yoga" in chapter six where the deity Krishna declares, "Thus joy supreme comes to the yogi … who is one with Brahman, with God."[27] For many generations, the Hindu texts like Hatha Yoga Pradipikia has described yogis as "able to fly, levitate, stop their hearts, suspend their breathing, vanish, walk through walls, project themselves into other bodies, touch the moon, survive live burial, make themselves invisible, and die at will."[28] The magical and sexual aspects of Tantric Yoga have both embarrassed middle-class Indian Hindus while intriguing many Western New Agers.[29] The Tantric aspect of Hatha Yoga has been linked to a number of high-profile New Age yoga scandals.[30] Dr. Carl Jung, the father of the New Age movement, concluded after two decades of study that advanced yoga can loose a flood of suffering of which no sane person ever dream." [31]
Yoga came to North America in 1893 when Swami Vivekananda, a disciple of the famous Guru Ramakrishna, taught about yoga at the Chicago World Fair. Laurette Willis, an ex-yoga teacher, calls yoga the missionary arm of Hinduism and the New Age movement. In "An Open Letter to Evangelicals", Swami Sivasiva Palani wrote:
"A small army of yoga missionaries – hatha, raja, siddha and kundalini – beautifully trained in the last 10 years, is about to set upon the western world. They may not call themselves Hindu, but Hindus know where yoga came from and where it goes."[32]
As Yoga Guru B.K.S Iyengar notes in his book Light on Yoga, "Some asanas are also called after Gods of the Hindu pantheon and some recall the Avataras, or incarnations of Divine Power."[33] Because the Hindu deities rode on animals, many yoga asanas are devoted to these deified animals.[34] In the Sun Salutation asana, one is yogically paying direct homage to Surya, the Hindu Sun Deity. The Cobra asana is about identification with and worship of the Kundalini snake, yogically awakened in the chakras. The fish asana (Matsyasana) is the yogic worship and reenactment of the Hindu deity Vishnu who turned himself into a fish to rescue people from a flood.[35] The Half Moon asana involves the yogic identification with and worship of Ganesh, the elephant-headed God who threw part of his tusk at the moon.[36] The Tortoise asana is dedicated to the yogic worship of Kurma the Tortoise incarnation of the God Vishnu.[37] The Downward Dog asana reenacts the Hindu worship of the dog as happens for five days each November.[38] The Hanuman asana is dedicated to the yogic worship of the Monkey god, Hanuman.[39]
The Warrior asana is identified with the yogic worship of Lord Virabhadra who has a thousand arms, three burning eyes, and a garland of skulls.[40] The Corpse asana is the death or extinction of the person when yogic unification with the Hindu deity Brahman wipes out one's own identity and existence.[41] The Lotus asana is identified with the yogic worship of the Hindu deity Lakshmi who sat on a lotus.[42] The Marichi asana is dedicated to the yogic identification with and worship of Marichi, one of the seven Lords of Creation and the Grandfather of the Sun God Surya.
Sadly a number of well-meaning Christians have been recently promoting Christianized yoga in North America. In their classes, they usually do the same hatha yoga asanas as the new-agers, but add scripture quotes and Gospel music. Subhas R. Tiwari, a Hindu University of America professor who has a master's degree in yoga philosophy, comments: "Such efforts [to Christianize yoga] point to a concerted, long-term plan to deny yoga its origin. This effort . . . is far from innocent. It is reminiscent of the pattern evident throughout the long history and dynamics of colonizing powers."[43] Tiwari holds that efforts to Christianize yoga are unjust "encroachment" and thinly veiled Christian proselytism of Hindus.
Some Christians claim that 1 Corinthians 8 and Romans 14 gives them the right to christianize yoga, saying that because Paul ate meat sacrificed to idols, then we can do yoga that has been dedicated to idols. They claim that because they are strong, Spirit-filled Christians, they can do yoga with no downside. Paul however never encouraged Christians to participate in idolatrous Greek or Roman temple rituals as a way of proving how protected they are by the Holy Spirit. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 10: 1-13, Paul stated that Christians needed to flee idolatry and syncretism. Sometimes the wisest thing to do is to simply say no, and remove ourselves from a compromising situation. Never did the Bible encourage us to christianize idolatry or to hang around the idolatrous temple to prove how strong we are. It goes with saying that sacrificing animals to the local temple statue would have been unthinkable for New Testament Christians.
What Paul was encouraging in 1 Corinthians 8 was the practice of saying grace before eating meat at dinner. He knew that most meat would have been sacrificed to idols at the local temple before making it to the butcher. Rather than becoming vegetarian, Paul advocated saying grace as a cleansing prayer. The parallel passage in 1 Timothy 4:3-4 says that saying grace is not just a nice religious thing we do before Sunday dinner, but rather is a significant act of thanksgiving (in the Greek, eucharist), which actually consecrates or sanctifies the meat through prayer and God's Word.
Saying grace at dinner is radically different than adopting ancient yogic mind-altering techniques. Because yoga physically embodies the spiritual philosophy of Hinduism, it inhibits the Lord's command to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. It also disregards Paul's encouragement in Colossians 2:8 to not be "taken captive by philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." This is not at the same level of whether or not one chooses to have a Christmas tree in one's living room, or what kind of worship music one prefers. Yes, there is great freedom on non-essentials for Christians. But on more essential issues like idolatry or immorality, the bible is clear that we are to have clear boundaries. Syncretistically dabbling in things that the bible cautions against leads to great confusion.
Ultimately from a biblical perspective, the deities of yoga are no deities at all, and their devotees have no power to prescribe or limit what Christian believers may do with their bodies. Jesus is Lord of our bodies, which are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). That is why many Christians make use of their bodies in worship, kneeling , arms elevated, or even prostrate. How we use our bodies is an expression of our identity in Christ. We need not be afraid that through involvement in stretching and calisthenics, we may accidentally be stretching in a way that might look like yoga. Even with its 1,500 asana poses, yoga does not own the world of calisthenics and stretching.
With yoga and Hinduism, nothing is what it seems. This is why it has been described as the embrace that smothers. Yoga has always been shrouded in illusion and secrecy, and can intentionally look like whatever you want it to in the short term. Hindus are well aware that yoga is an ancient form of divination. The bible does not encourage us to see how close to the line we can get before we fall in, but rather to flee idolatry. In the end, the yogic road leads to idolatry and monism, to serving two masters. The Lordship of Jesus is what is at stake.
Just as there is no Christian Ouija board and no Christian astrology, so there is no Christian Yoga that is either truly Yoga or truly Christian. I invite you to do the stretching, perhaps unthinkable thing of turning from Yoga towards healthy stretching and calisthenics. This will not be easy for you, but it will be life-giving. Pray about it, like I did. You will not regret choosing to serve one master. Jesus is Lord. Yoga is not.
p.s. For those who would like to do healthy stretching, I recommend your checking out these two websites:
The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, Rector, BSW, MDiv, DMin
St. Simon's Church North Vancouver
Anglican Mission in the Americas (Canada)
-award-winning author of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada'
p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', please send a $18.50 cheque to 'Ed Hird', #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD. This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99 CDN/USD.
-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide : Seeking God's Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada
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[1] Colleen Titlman, Teach Yourself Visually Yoga (MaranGraphics, Wiley Publishing Inc, New York, NY, 2003), p. 33.; William J. Broad, The Science of Yoga (Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 2012), p. 2 "twenty million in the USA…more than two hundred and fifty million (yoga practitioners)…"; "Yoga in America Study 2012″, Yoga Journal. http://www.yogajournal.com/press/yoga_in_america "82.2 percent are women; 17.8 percent are men." (Accessed April 28th 2013)
[2] Nathan Johnson, Zen Shaolin Karate, "Ch'an (zen) monks of the Shaolin Temple" (Ch'an comes from an Indian word dhyana meaning meditation.)
[3] Taekwondo and other martial arts can be traced to a 6th century Buddhist monk Bodhidharma who travelled from India to China and established Zen Buddhism at the Shaolin temple of Ko San So Rim. There he taught them both sitting meditation and the martial arts (moving meditation) to enable his disciples to free themselves from all conscious control in order to attain enlightenment. The karate equivalent to the poomse is the kata patterns. As the Taekwondo author and instructor Eddie Ferrie puts it, "Many of the patterns of taekwondo are rooted in semi-mystical Taoist philosophy and their deeper meaning is said to be far more important than the mere performance of a gymnastics series of exercises. This is not immediately obvious, either when performing or watching the poomse being performed…"
[4] Timothy McCall, Yoga as Medicine: a Yoga Journal Book (Bantam Dell, New York NY, 2007), P. 112 "At one point yoga was only taught to the elite of Indian society, male Brahmins, and then only to those who dedicated their life to it. The teachings and practice of yoga were kept secret from the rest of the world."
[5] John Capouya, Real Men Do Yoga (Health Communications Inc., Deerfield, Florida, 2003), p. xiii "No chanting, no incense, no gurus…"
[6] Cain Carroll and Lori Kimata, Partner Yoga (Rodale Books, Emmaus, Pennsylvania, 2000), p. 21 "Unlike their predecessors, modern yogis now wear spandex and nail polish and practice postures on thin purple mats."; "Yoga in America Study 2012″, Yoga Journal. http://www.yogajournal.com/press/yoga_in_america "The previous estimate from the 2008 study was 5.8 billion dollars." (Accessed April 28th 2013)
[7] Broad, The Science of Yoga, p. 3.
[8] "India makes moves to reclaim heritage from 'yoga piracy'", David Orr, Washington Times, September 22nd 2005, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/sep/22/20050922-114821-4035r/
[9] Titlman, Teach Yourself Visually Yoga, p. 7.
[10] Titlman, Teach Yourself Visually Yoga, p. 11 "…Yoga is not simply a system of physical exercise or a means of releasing psychic stress, as so many in the West have come to believe…"
[11] Broad, The Science of Yoga, p. ix.
[12] Laurette Willis, "Why A Christian Alternative to Yoga?" http://praisemoves.com/about-us/why-a-christian-alternative-to-yoga (Accessed Dec 14th 2012).
[13] www.yogabasics.com : "More than just stretching, asanas [yoga postures] open the energy channels, chakras and psychic centers of the body. Asanas purify and strengthen the body and control and focus the mind." (Accessed Dec 12th 2012)
[14] Capouya, Real Men Do Yoga, p. xiii "Yoga's not some weird Eastern religion. In fact it's not a religion at all."; Capouya, p.xvii "He's not looking for a religious experience, and hasn't found it. You don't have to sit around and say 'Om' to do yoga…It doesn't have to be all Eastern and mystical."; Pat Shapiro, Yoga for Women at Midlife & Beyond (Sunstone Press, Santa Fe, 2006), p. 15 (Yoga) "is not connected with any particular religion and does not require a specific belief system."; Dr. Candy Gunther Brown, Encinitas School Yoga Lawsuit, p. 5, "Many Americans fail to recognize non-Christian (e.g. Hindu) religious practices as 'religion' and fail to understand the inseparability of certain bodily practices from spiritual purposes." http://bit.ly/11HChls
[15] "Transcendental Meditation", http://biblefacts.org/cult/tm2.html
[16] According to the Webster's New World Dictionary, yoga (coming from an east Indian Sanskrit word which means "union with god" or "to yoke") is "a mystic and ascetic Hindu discipline for achieving union with the supreme spirit through meditation, prescribed postures, controlled breathing, etc." Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines yoga as "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."
[17] Carroll and Kimata, Partner Yoga, p. 227 "In these moments of absorption, it is said that we are 'yoked' to the underlying force behind all creation. In this place, there are no questions, no opposites, and no struggle; there is only union. This is the essence of yoga."
[18] Deepak Chopra and David Simon, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga (John Wiley and Sons Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, 2004), p.197.
[19] Broad, The Science of Yoga, p. 17 "The Sanskrit root of Hatha is hath – to treat with violence, as in binding someone to a post…" P. 17 …a number of scholars translate Hatha Yoga as 'violent union.'…
[20] http://www.theyogatutor.com/natarajasana The Yoga Teacher, "The definitive symbol of yoga is the Nataraja, otherwise known as the Dancing Shiva."; http://bit.ly/TNFTRV Tirusula Yoga, "Nata= Dancer. Raja = King / Lord" (Accessed Dec 23rd 2012)
[21] David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri) "Hindu View of Nature", Hindu Voice UK, http://www.vedanet.com/2012/06/hindu-view-of-nature "Ultimately for the Hindu as the Upanishads say, 'Everything is Brahman' Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma." (Accessed April 5th 2013)
[22] Broad, The Science of Yoga, p. xxv.; Broad, p.16 "In truth, Hatha is a branch of Tantra."
[23] Broad, The Science of Yoga, p. 15.
[24] Titlman, Teach Yourself Visually Yoga, p. 16.
[25] Lee Sannella, The Kundalini Experience (Integral Publishing, Lower Lake, California 1987, 1992), P. 8.; Titlman, Teach Yourself Visually Yoga, P.7 "Two popular forms of Tantra Yoga are Kundalini and Kriya Yoga."
[26] Titlman, Teach Yourself Visually Yoga, p. 26.; Capouya, Real Men Do Yoga, p.89 "In the yoga tradition…there's a 'chakra', or an energy center, around the solar plexus…"
[27] Laurette Willis http://praisemoves.com/about-us/why-a-christian-alternative-to-yoga "…according to Hatha Yoga Pradipika."; Titlman, Teach Yourself Visually Yoga, p. 12 (Bhagavad-Gita is) "a classic Hindu text believed written between the Fifth Century B.C. and the Second Century A.D."
[28] Broad, The Science of Yoga, p. 17.
[29]Capouya, Real Men Do Yoga, P. xv (yoga) "…recharges your sex life."; p.172" …in the Kundalini tradition, the perineum is where energy supposedly enters the body. The more energy you take in there, it's believed, the hornier you get…"; Carroll and Kimata, Partner Yoga, p. 27 "…contrary to popular belief, not all Tantric yoga is sexual."; Broad, The Science of Yoga, p.24 "Middle-class Indians found (yoga's) its obsession with sex and magic to be an 'embarrassing heritage,' according to Geoffrey Samuel, a yoga scholar…"; Broad, p. 26 "Throughout his career, Gune maintained a virtual taboo on the word 'Tantra'- the parent of Hatha which Hindu nationalists had come to abhor.";
[30] Broad, The Science of Yoga, p. 164 "…modern yoga throbs with open sexuality ranging from the blatantly erotic and the bizarrely kinky to the deeply spiritual."; Broad, p. 164 "…the discipline (of yoga) itself began as a sex cult …"; p. 175 "Even Kripalu came under fire. Former devotees at the Berkshires ashram won more than $2.5 million after its long-term guru–a man who gave impassioned talks on the spiritual value of chastity- confessed to multiple affairs."; McCall, Yoga as Medicine, p. 109 "Kripalu: This system is perhaps the most New Age in feel of the Yoga styles common in the West."
[31] Broad, Science of Yoga, p. 10
[32] Sivasiva Palani, "An Open Letter to Evangelicals", Hinduism Today, January 1991, http://bit.ly/10Bzxr1.
[33] http://www.hafsite.org/media/pr/yoga-hindu-origins Hindu American Foundation, "Yoga Beyond Asana: Hindu Thought In Practice", "Yet, even when Yoga is practiced solely in the form of an exercise, it cannot be completely delinked from its Hindu roots." (Accessed Dec 23rd 2012)
[34] "The Significance of Animals in Hinduism" http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/essays/animals.asp "Hindus revere many divinities in animal form. Lord Vishnu incarnated upon earth first as a fish, then as a tortoise and then as a boar… In the Hindu pantheon, each god and goddess is associated with an animal as a vehicle." (Accessed April 5th 2013); "Why Animal Worship in Hinduism?", http://bit.ly/XZ4mbS "Almost all the deities in Hinduism have animals as their mode of transport (vehicle) or are associated with animals… Brahma travels on a humongous swan Hamsa, Lord Shiva on the Divine Bull Nandi and Lord Vishnu travels on the Golden-Eagle Garuda" (Accessed April 5th 2013)
[35]"Fish Pose", http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/2335 (Accessed Dec 26th 2012)
[36] History of Yoga Postures, http://bit.ly/12puYFs (Accessed Dec 29th 2012)
[37] "Sitting like a Tortoise", http://bit.ly/ZErk2K (Accessed Dec 29th 2012)
[38] "Animal Worship" http://bit.ly/2ogQaB (Accessed April 5th 2013)
[39] http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/889 Hanumanasana: Pose Dedicated to the Monkey God, Hanuman, By Aadil Palkhivala
[40] "Viradhadra" http://bit.ly/K1fK0R (Accessed April 5th 2013)
[41] Mike Stokes, "Shavasana the dead pose", http://www.godrealized.com/Shavasana.html (Accessed April 5th 2013) "Why is it that in nearly every yoga class, no matter what the style, we end with Savasana?… Why practice death pose? …The reason lies in the fact that death brings us face to face with total annihilation of the self… the essence of Savasana and the essence of yoga, namely total annihilation of separateness and unification with the whole. Annihilation of the self is the access to the experience of yoga."
[42]"Lakshmi: Goddess of Wealth & Beauty!" http://hinduism.about.com/od/hindugoddesses/p/lakshmi.htm "Lakshmi is the household goddess of most Hindu families."; "Name: Padmasana" http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/meaning_of_Padmasana.html (Accessed April 5th 2013)
[43] "Pose dedicated to Marichi" http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/939; "Urban Ashtanga Teacher Training" http://bit.ly/XZ2xf3 (Accessed April 5th 2013); Subhas R. Tiwari, "Yoga Renamed is Still Hindu," Hinduism Today, January-February-March 2006.
Spring Romance
March 20, 2013
By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird
April showers bring May flowers. Spring is a time when many romances begin, including my romance with my wife Janice. I am so grateful to have been married to Janice for almost thirty-six years. She is the love of my life and the joy of my heart.
When I was a teenager, I held the unoriginal view that marriage was just a piece of paper, a merely human sociological invention. Since coming to faith in 1972, I have been fascinated by the meaning of marriage. Reading Matthew 19: 6 (What God has joined together…), I was shocked to discover that God invented marriage. I remember sharing with my future wife on our first date in 1975 about my fascination with the theology of marriage. She found me somewhat overwhelming, and told me that she wasn't ready to commit as she had just broken up with her fiancée.
While completing my Masters, I wrote an essay on the meaning of marriage, with a strong emphasis on the 'one flesh' covenant. I concluded the essay by writing our own marriage ceremony and inviting my professor Bill Adams to our wedding. Fortunately he liked the wedding and gave me a good mark. Thirty-six years later, Janice and I are co-leading Strengthening Marriage workshops and Strengthening Relationship groups. I graduated on May 26th 2013 with a Doctor of Ministry, focusing on 'Strengthening Marriages.'
Part of my North Shore ministry involves visiting extended care facilities where often one spouse has Alzheimer's disease and the other doesn't. I have been so impressed by the love of one North Shore wife for her Alzheimer-afflicted husband who was a former university professor. Her covenantal love and honour for her husband is deeply rooted in his unshakable humanity, being made in God's image.
A wedding is a celebration of a couple coming to the point where they are truly willing to become one flesh in body, mind and spirit. Marriage is far more than just a contract or a prenuptial agreement. Marriage is a covenant of faith and trust between a man and woman, a covenant grounded for Christians in their shared commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord. At the heart of the concept of covenant is unconditional commitment. The hyper-individualism of our consumer culture is the acid rain of covenant love. The busyness and stress of our culture tends to swallow our best intentions even in marriage.
James Olthius, author of I Pledge You My Troth, teaches that marriage is troth, as in 'I pledge you my troth'. This term, troth, as in betrothal, is an Old English term for truth, faithfulness, loyalty and honesty. At the heart of marriage troth is our pledge 'to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer , for poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part…"
At the heart of spring romance for me is that assurance that my wife will stand with me through thick and thin, through good times and bad. Janice has my back and I have hers. My prayer for marriages in the Seymour/Deep Cove area is that God may give us back our first love for each other. May our covenant commitment be like precious gold.