Merry Christmas!

Jesus' Birth

Among those whom the edict of Augustus thus from afar drove forth to the highways were a humble pair in the Galilean village of Nazareth--Joseph, the carpenter of the village, and Mary, his espoused wife. They had to go a journey of nearly a hundred miles in order to inscribe themselves in the proper register; for, though peasants, they had the blood of kings in their veins, and belonged to the ancient and royal town of Bethlehem, in the far south of the country. Day by day the emperor's will, like an invisible hand, forced them southward along the weary road, till at last they climbed the rocky ascent that led to the gate of the town,--he terrified with anxiety, and she well-nigh dead with fatigue. They reached the inn, but found it crowded with strangers, who, bent on the same errand as themselves, had arrived before them. No friendly house opened its door to receive them, and they were fain to clear for their lodging a corner of the inn-yard, else occupied by the beasts of the numerous travelers. There, that very night, she brought forth her first-born Son; and, because there was neither womanly hand to assist her nor couch to receive Him, she wrapped Him in swaddling-clothes and laid Him in a manger.

James Stalker, The Life of Jesus Christ

We had our final class last night in the eastern religions course, and one of the presentations was on yoga. I mentioned that the practice had actually been banned in Malaysia by the Islamic ruling council there. Abdul Shukor, the Fatwa chairman, said “We are of the view that yoga, which originates from Hinduism, combines physical exercise, religious elements, chanting and worshipping for the purpose of achieving inner peace and ultimately to be one with god.”

The ruling has since been reversed, but it goes without saying that it still raises several interesting questions. First of all, were the Muslims right in their assessment of the essence of yoga? I realize that pragmatic Americans are efficient in picking out what seems to work for them and ignoring the rest. In this case, it means defining yoga strictly as exercise and nothing more. But non-religious yoga seems to be a recent invention. Historically, yoga fits the description above. Within Hinduism, there is no religiously-neutral yogic path. That’s why the Muslim council objected.

But the other question, of course, has to do with religious freedom. Who should make these decisions? The reason why the ruling tends to rub us the wrong way is because we believe in freedom of religion. During our first class session, we spend a lot of time talking about the implications of the First Amendment. Ultimately, it’s the individual who ought to decide which path to follow. It’s not a decision that should ever be left up to the government.