Monday Godbytes

Apparently folks over at Christianity Today think God has “a wonderful plan for your body.” And by “plan” they mean “yoga.” And by “yoga” they mean “that thing that some Christians disapprove of”: “Whatever we make of yoga’s relationship to Christianity, it functions as a cultural bellwether within evangelicalism and its offspring. Pagitt and those […]

Apparently folks over at Christianity Today think God has “a wonderful plan for your body.” And by “plan” they mean “yoga.” And by “yoga” they mean “that thing that some Christians disapprove of”:

“Whatever we make of yoga’s relationship to Christianity, it functions as a cultural bellwether within evangelicalism and its offspring. Pagitt and those who affirm yoga do so out of a genuine attempt to cultivate a holistic faith, one that resists a dualistic division of body and spirit. This movement might be understood as an extension of Eric Liddell’s famous suggestion in Chariots of Fire: ‘I believe that God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure.’ If running, why not yoga? While nearly all evangelicals want to affirm Liddell’s sentiment, there is obvious disagreement over precisely which activities are commensurate with it and which are not.”

Get Religion is a bit perturbed that The New York Times didn’t give Baptists their due in a recent story on an Alabama immigration law:

“You may recall a story earlier this year in which The Associated Press suggested that ‘you can spot a Baptist church from almost any hilltop in Alabama.’ Hmmmm, that almost makes me think there might be a few Baptists in Alabama.

But for a Times story over the weekend headlined “Bishops Criticize Tough Alabama Immigration Law,” the reporter apparently did not stand on any hilltops or come across any Baptist churches.”

The Boston Globe notes that while GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are both Mormon, they tend to understand their faith a bit differently (who knew?):


“Some of the questions gripping Dehlin’s audience are unremarkable in older faiths but still provocative in Mormon circles. In a strict church that asks much of its members, is it possible to be selectively observant, yet still a part of the community? Is there such a thing as a ‘cafeteria Mormon’ – as some engaged in the debate have described a person who embraces some church teachings, but rejects others? Do some Mormons, like secular Jews, share cultural and genealogical bonds that remain intact even when religious beliefs fray?”

Washington Post guest columnist Jay W. Richards takes issue with recent attempts to frame Jesus Christ as a capitalist and entertains the idea that Christians should be socialists:

“Let’s pass over his caricature of capitalism, since no one would defend the idea as he describes it, and get to the two big holes in his argument. The first is his claim that ‘many of these Christian capitalists are ardent followers of Ayn Rand,’ a known atheist and anti-Christian. The second claim is that Jesus and the Bible are pro-socialist rather than pro-capitalist.

Mr. Paul’s attempt to paint Christian defenders of the free market as ‘ardent followers of Ayn Rand’ might be more successful if he had bothered to give examples. Instead, he mentions Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan, the skeptic-comedians Penn and Teller, and atheist Michael Shermer. All of these gentlemen are libertarians, but none is a Christian.”

CNN’s Belief blog reports on how Muslims are taking up scouting. No, really. I swear. On my honor…:

“‘Patience is one of the biggest things I’ve learned’ said Ullah. ‘It reminds me how great God is, and you really have to be grateful to him for everything he gave you.’

Such patience and reverence should help Ullah meet the requirements for his Eagle Scout badge, which he’s set to earn in the coming months. The high school senior and Boy Scout participated in the annual Iftar dinner – or ‘breaking of the fast’ meal – hosted by the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Scout program on Saturday night.”

Finally, the Tweet of the Day comes from the AP Stylebook and is less funny and more informative (that’s right, Godbytes is going to learn you something this afternoon):

@APStylebook – Capitalize Sabbath, Bible, Quran and Torah. #APStyleChat

Alright, fine. Since today’s tweet wasn’t all that funny, here’s a little take on angel-wrestling that the blog BoingBoing found. You’re welcome.

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