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Deres Majestæt!

Kære Statsminister Lars Løkke Rasmussen

Kære Kultur- og kirkeminister Bertel Haarder

Kære ​Finansminister Claus Hjort Frederiksen

Kære Justitsminister Søren Pind

Kære biskopper, Tilsynsførende ved Oase-valgmenigheder og folkekirker

Kære Dansk Oase Generalsekretær Karsten Bach

Kære Dansk Folkeparti

Kære Kristendemokrater, William Bak, Jørgen Høier (Kirke i Byen)

Kære Redaktør Henri Nissen, Udfordringen

Kære Frikirkenet

Kære Dansk Oase

Kære Iben Thranholm

Iben Thranholm advarede allerede 28 maj 2015 om at kristne ikke skal bruge yoga, fordi det er en hinduistisk praksis. Det er hinduismen ind ad en bagdør i kirken, men den dør er for længst blevet åbnet på vid gab gennem buddhismen med mindfulness.

Vil vi gerne minde Statsminister Lars Løkke Rasmussen om et valgløfte, som Lars hørte og Daniela så på tv under valgkampen, om en grundig eller tilbundsgående (et af de to udtryk blev brugt) granskning af statens økonomi. Hvad er det for en statskirke, som er på finansloven for MILLIARDER af kroner er det? Hvad bliver der af biskoppernes tilsynspligt, i det teologiske i forholdet statskirke – valgmenighedspræster hvordan forholder staten sig til en kristendom, der har med en dåbspraksis at gøre som har rod i Odin-kulten og i forhold til Oase, som bringer buddhisme og hinduisme ind i kirken? Oasebevægelsen tæller mange folkekirkepræster.

Vi var netop i den bekymring i forhold til Jonas Serner-Pedersen om den påvirkning han havde på børn og unge i Dansk Oase som rollemodel i lederskabet. Han som tilsyneladende prædiker om forsoning, men lever med os som sine værste fjender, når vi ville snakke med ham om nogle vigtige papirer. Han går jo under kategorien "Troende præst”, men vi har nu brugt tre år på at efterlyse, at han lever den tro han kalder forsoning når han prædiker eller skriver i kirkebladet i Hjerm, i stedet for at snakke med os. Fuldstændig totalt overdrevet. Han kunne have brugt et kvarter på at tale med os i Hjerm præstegård den 19. sept. 2012 , og sparet staten for en masse udgifter til politi, retsvæsen i Holstebro, statsadvokat, sygehus m.m. Henrik Stubkjær er hans tilsynsførende biskop, og du har ikke stoppet Jonas' forbrug af statens midler, selvom du trods alt må vide, at han skriver om forsoning i Hjerm kirkeblad.

Jeg, Lars, kom i new age sammenhænge før jeg blev kristen. Jeg har lagt fuldstændig afstand til det, og at skulle beskæftige mig med det nu igen er ubehageligt, modbydeligt. Det nyreligiøse kommer frem som et af Dansk Oases bidrag til fornyelse i deres selvforståelse og legitimering som fornyelsen i folkekirken i Danmark.

Vi har tidligere skrevet om Yogafaith, et forsøg på sammenkobling af yoga med kristen spiritualitet. Foreningen Yogafaith er anerkendt af Yoga Alliance, som er den største internationale sammenslutning, der repræsenterer yoga communitiet.

Jeg fandt artiklen her i dag under en af ”de mest læste artikler” på ugeavisen Udfordringens hjemmeside.

Iben Tranholms artikel i ugeavisen ”Udfordringen” 28. maj:

Hold dig langt væk fra yoga

28. maj, 22, 2015 Iben Thranholm 110 kommentarer

Iben Thranholm, Cand. teol., journalist og samfundsdebattør

Tidens store spirituelle dille er mindfullness og yoga. Det nærmer sig en landeplage. Efterhånden er det umuligt at konsultere en psykolog, coach eller massør, som ikke forsøger at få patienterne til at hoppe på de østlige religioners teknikker.

På mange arbejdspladser og sågar i børnehaver er yoga en del af det daglige program, hvor det bruges til at geare ned i en stresset hverdag.

Yoga er en hinduistisk praksis, er udviklet til at man gennem en række kropslige øvelser kan åbne sindet for de mange guder, som findes i hinduismen. Moderne vestlige yoga-entusiaster hævder, at man sagtens kan bruge de populære østlige religiøse kropsteknikker uden at dyrke selve spiritualiteten i det. Men det er nu langt fra sikkert. Det vidner om en generation, der har meget lidt indsigt i, at man ikke sådan uden videre kan adskille krop og ånd, som moderne kultur mener.

Krop, sjæl og ånd er en uløselig enhed. Hvad man gør med kroppen, påvirker sjælen og omvendt. Når kroppen laver øvelser, som tager sigte på at åbne sig for hinduistisk flerguderi, ja så retter sjælen sig også imod det. Den åndelige virkelighed følger med.

Nu har yoga også fundet vej ind i kirken. Flere kirker tilbyder en kombination af yoga og kristen tro som en genvej til nærvær og inderlighed, da mange mener, at kristendommen har kappet kroppen af.

Det er først og fremmest noget vås, at kristendommen er uden krop. Kristendommen er tværtimod den mest kropslige af alle trosretninger på grund af inkarnationen: Ordet bliver kød, menneskekroppen betragtes som Helligåndens tempel, og kødet genopstår.

Desuden advarer chef-eksorcist i Rom Gabriele Amorth og tidligere generalvikar Lars Messerschmidt kraftigt mod yoga. Begge har i deres praksis været vidne til, hvordan yoga kan føre til problemer med dæmonbesættelse.

Man bør derfor holde sig langt væk fra yoga som kristen. Hvis man som kristen eller søgende gerne vil kombinere krop og ånd, kan man med stor fordel benytte Jesus-bønnen ”Herre Jesus Kristus, Guds søn, forbarm dig over mig, en synder”. Den indvirker automatisk på åndedrættet og alle organer i kroppen. Intet er nemlig bedre for vores organisme end at påkalde Jesu navn.

Dette resonnerer godt med vores forståelse af yoga. Vi kan ikke se at noget godt skulle komme ud af sådan en uhellig alliance mellem yoga og kristendom.

Et andet område er mindfulness, som kommer fra buddhisme. Dette prøver flere også at koble sammen med kristen spiritualitet. Her er hvad udøvere af mindfulness selv skriver om det:

From http://www.wildmind.org/applied/daily-life/what-is-mindfulness

Wildmind Buddhist meditation.

By Bodhipaksa

My own definition of mindfulness is very simple: Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be continuously present with experience. But I like Jon Kabat-Zinn’s definition of mindfulness: “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” Kabat-Zinn, if you haven’t heard of him, is a famous teacher of mindfulness meditation and the founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

Paying attention “on purpose”

First of all, mindfulness involves paying attention “on purpose”. Mindfulness involves a conscious direction of our awareness. We sometimes (me included) talk about “mindfulness” and “awareness” as if they were interchangeable terms, but that’s not a good habit to get into. I may be aware I’m irritable, but that wouldn’t mean I was being mindful of my irritability. In order to be mindful I have to be purposefully aware of myself, not just vaguely and habitually aware. Knowing that you are eating is not the same as eating mindfully. Let’s take that example of eating and look at it a bit further. When we are purposefully aware of eating, we are consciously being aware of the process of eating. We’re deliberately noticing the sensations and our responses to those sensations. We’re noticing the mind wandering, and when it does wander we purposefully bring our attention back. When we’re eating unmindfully we may in theory be aware of what we’re doing, but we’re probably thinking about a hundred and one other things at the same time, and we may also be watching TV, talking, or reading — or even all three! So a very small part of our awareness is absorbed with eating, and we may be only barely aware of the physical sensations and even less aware of our thoughts and emotions. Because we’re only dimly aware of our thoughts, they wander in an unrestricted way. There’s no conscious attempt to bring our attention back to our eating. There’s no purposefulness. This purposefulness is a very important part of mindfulness. Having the purpose of staying with our experience, whether that’s the breath, or a particular emotion, or something as simple as eating, means that we are actively shaping the mind. Paying attention “in the present moment” Guided Mindfulness Meditation: A Complete Guided Mindfulness Meditation Program from Jon Kabat-Zinn Left to itself the mind wanders through all kinds of thoughts — including thoughts expressing anger, craving, depression, revenge, self-pity, etc. As we indulge in these kinds of thoughts we reinforce those emotions in our hearts and cause ourselves to suffer. Mostly these thoughts are about the past or future. The past no longer exists. The future is just a fantasy until it happens. The one moment we actually can experience — the present moment — is the one we seem most to avoid. So in mindfulness we’re concerned with noticing what’s going on right now. That doesn’t mean we can no longer think about the past or future, but when we do so we do so mindfully, so that we’re aware that right now we’re thinking about the past or future. However in meditation, we are concerned with what’s arising in the present moment. When thoughts about the past or future take us away from our present moment experience and we “space out” we try to notice this and just come back to now. By purposefully directing our awareness away from such thoughts and towards the “anchor” or our present moment experience, we decrease their effect on our lives and we create instead a space of freedom where calmness and contentment can grow. Paying attention “non-judgmentally” Mindfulness Meditations for Teens, by Bodhipaksa Mindfulness Meditations for Teens, by Bodhipaksa Mindfulness is an emotionally non-reactive state. We don’t judge that this experience is good and that one is bad. Or if we do make those judgements we simply notice them and let go of them. We don’t get upset because we’re experiencing something we don’t want to be experiencing or because we’re not experiencing what we would rather be experiencing. We simply accept whatever arises. We observe it mindfully. We notice it arising, passing through us, and ceasing to exist. Whether it’s a pleasant experience or a painful experience we treat it the same way. Cognitively, mindfulness is aware that certain experiences are pleasant and some are unpleasant, but on an emotional level we simply don’t react. We call this “equanimity” — stillness and balance of mind.

Lene Skovmark introduktion på LinkedIn:

Sygeplejerske, præst og konsulent i kristen spiritualitet.

Jeg brænder for og arbejder på at udvikle og udbrede kendskabet til kristen spiritualitet i kirke og i samfund. I den kristne tradition findes metoder til meditation og redskaber til personlig udvikling, så ingen behøver at få over åen. Kristen spiritualitet er hver mands eje. Jeg giver åndelig vejledning / coaching. Jeg er ved at udvikle tilbud til erhvervslivet og aftenskoler: "Mindfulness på kristen grund" og "Personlig udvikling i kristendommen".

Peder Poulsen, Aarhus Valgmenigheds første præst bruger mindfulness under

forståelsen kristen mindfulness. Hans terapiklinik hedder "Farmen". Buddhisme og hinduisme bliver integreret tilsyneladende meget ukritisk i Dansk Oase, som i sin selvforståelse er en fornyelse af folkekirken. Peder Poulsen var Aarhus Valgmenigheds første præst i 90'erne og har på den måde folks fulde tillid. Gad vide, hvor mange der overhovedet stiller spørgsmålstegn ved "kristen mindfulness", der har sin rod i buddhistisk verdensanskuelse først?

Vi har mange gange efterspurgt kritisk sans i barnedåbspraksis, som har sin rod i Odin-kulten. Det er der ingen biskopper der har skrevet om, at det tager de alvorligt.

Her er det, vi skrev da, Sommeroase skulle begynde:

Kære præster og ledere i Dansk Oase. Det er meget foruroligende, at I nu indfører en ny vej til Gud (lære Jesus bedre at kende og hvile i hans kærlighed) gennem yoga. Hinduismen har mange guder, så selvfølgelig kan hinduismen tåle og bære at Jesus er en af guderne og dermed kan Yoga Alliance, som i måske ikke har sat jer ind i hvad er, anerkende Yogafaith, http://www.yogafaith.dk. Hvad der for jer måske er en spændende aktivitet på Sommerstævnet, bliver på grund af jeres indflydelse som ledere, ikke mindst i de unges liv, en blåstempling af at gå videre ind i Yoga på sigt. Det er en glidebane, som så åbenbart starter på Dansk Oases Sommerstævne. I sendte Rhonda Hughey hjem, da hun forkyndte Guds ord. Det faldt mennesker for brystet, at hun talte om Guds herlighed. Det har vi også skrevet på hjemmesiden Ytringsfriheden i starten. Herlighed - Guds herlighed er så rigeligt beskrevet i Skriften (Bibelen). Rhonda Hughey fejlbedømte I. Inden hun kom burde I jo have været på det rene med, om I ville have hende ind på stævnet. Vi beder om tilsyn hos biskopperne af jer Oase præster, da I jo også læremæssigt må være forpligtet på Bibelen og anerkendte bekendelsesskrifter. Hvilket skriftgrundlag har I for at tage imod Yoga Alliance's lære? Og er målet at bringe det ind som fornyelsesgrundlag i folkekirken. Hinduisme er ikke fornyelse ind i folkekirken ej heller i form af Yoga. At Yoga alliancen anerkender Yogafaith siger tydeligt og klart, at Yogafaith lære er anerkendt blandt hinduister.

Med venlig hilsen Daniela Skov og Lars Skov Krøgholt.

English translation

Iben Thranholm warned already May 28 on that Christians should not use yoga, because it is a Hindu practice. It is Hinduism in through a back door of the Church, but the door has long since been opened become wide open through Buddhism with mindfulness. I found the article today under one of "the most read articles" in the weekly Christian magazine “Udfordringen”.

We would like to remind prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen of a campaign promise as Lars heard and Daniela saw on tv during the election campaign, for a thorough or in-depth (one of the two expressions were used) scrutiny of the State's economy. What kind of a State Church, which is on the finance bill for billions of kroner is it? What becomes of the bishop’s duty to supervise, in theology in the relationship the State Church – pastors of free churches, what is the opinion of the State to a Christianity that has to do with a baptismal practice rooted in Odin-cult and compared to Oase, which brings Buddhism and Hinduism into the Church? Oase movement counts many of the established clergy.

We were concerned in relation to the influence pastor Jonas Serner-Pedersen had on children and young people in Danish Oase as a role model in leadership – as he preaches about reconciliation, but apparently lives with us as his worst enemies, when we would only talk to him about some important papers. He goes under the category of a devout pastor, but we have now spent three years calling for, that he lives the faith he calls reconciliation when he preaches or write to the church magazine, instead of talking with us. Totally totally exaggerated. He could have used a quarter of an hour to speak with us in Hjerm rectory on 19. Sept. 2012, and saved the State a lot of spending for police, judiciary, Attorney-General, hospital etc.

I, Lars, came in new age contexts, before I became a Christian. I have put the full distance to it, and having to deal with it now again is unpleasant, disgusting. The new spirituality has come forward as one of Danish Oase's contributions to renewal in their self-understanding and legitimacy as the renewal in the people's Church in Denmark.

We have previously written about Yogafaith, an attempt at linking yoga with Christian spirituality. Association Yogafaith is recognized by the Yoga Alliance, which is the largest international association representing yoga community.

Stay far away from yoga

28 may, 22, 2015 Iben Thranholm 110 comments

Iben Thranholm, journalist and Social commentator

Major spiritual craze is mindfullness and yoga. It is approaching a scourge. Gradually, it is impossible to consult a psychologist, coach or masseuse, who does not try to get patients to jump on the Eastern religions’ techniques.

In many workplaces and even in kindergartens is yoga a part of the daily program, where it is used to wind down in a stressful everyday life.

Yoga is a Hindu practice, is developed for that through a series of physical exercises can open the mind to the many gods that exist in Hinduism. Modern Western yoga enthusiasts claim that it is possible to use the popular Eastern religious body techniques without cultivating spirituality in itself but it is now far from certain. It testifies about a generation that has little insight into that you not easily can separate the body and spirit, as modern culture means.

Body, soul and spirit are an indissoluble entity. What you do with the body, affects the soul, and vice versa. When the body does exercises, which aim to open up for Hindu polytheism, yes so the soul itself also turns towards it. The spiritual reality follows along.

Now, yoga also has found its way into the Church. Several churches offer a combination of yoga as a shortcut to Christian faith and fervor, since many believe that Christianity has cut off the body.

It is first and foremost nonsense, that Christianity is without a body. On the contrary, Christianity is the most physical of all faiths because of the incarnation: the word becomes flesh, the human body is regarded as the Holy Spirit's temple, and the flesh is resurrected.

In addition, Chief Exorcist in Rome, Gabriele Amorth and former general vicar Lars Messerschmidt warn strongly against yoga. Both have in their practice witnessed how yoga can lead to problems with demon posession.

One should therefore keep well away from yoga as a Christian. If you as a Christian or seeker would like to combine body and spirit, one can with great advantage utilize the Jesus-prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner". It impacts automatically on the breath and all organs in the body. Nothing is better for the body than to invoke the name of Jesus.

This resonates well with our understanding of yoga. We do not see that anything good would come out of such an unholy alliance between yoga and Christianity. Another area is mindfulness, which comes from Buddhism. Many people also try to hook mindfulness together with Christian spirituality. Here is what practitioners of mindfulness even write about it:

From http://www.wildmind.org/applied/daily-life/what-is-mindfulness

Wildmind Buddhist meditation.

By Bodhipaksa

My own definition of mindfulness is very simple: Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be continuously present with experience. But I like Jon Kabat-Zinn’s definition of mindfulness: “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” Kabat-Zinn, if you haven’t heard of him, is a famous teacher of mindfulness meditation and the founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

Paying attention “on purpose”

First of all, mindfulness involves paying attention “on purpose”. Mindfulness involves a conscious direction of our awareness. We sometimes (me included) talk about “mindfulness” and “awareness” as if they were interchangeable terms, but that’s not a good habit to get into. I may be aware I’m irritable, but that wouldn’t mean I was being mindful of my irritability. In order to be mindful I have to be purposefully aware of myself, not just vaguely and habitually aware. Knowing that you are eating is not the same as eating mindfully. Let’s take that example of eating and look at it a bit further. When we are purposefully aware of eating, we are consciously being aware of the process of eating. We’re deliberately noticing the sensations and our responses to those sensations. We’re noticing the mind wandering, and when it does wander we purposefully bring our attention back. When we’re eating unmindfully we may in theory be aware of what we’re doing, but we’re probably thinking about a hundred and one other things at the same time, and we may also be watching TV, talking, or reading — or even all three! So a very small part of our awareness is absorbed with eating, and we may be only barely aware of the physical sensations and even less aware of our thoughts and emotions. Because we’re only dimly aware of our thoughts, they wander in an unrestricted way. There’s no conscious attempt to bring our attention back to our eating. There’s no purposefulness. This purposefulness is a very important part of mindfulness. Having the purpose of staying with our experience, whether that’s the breath, or a particular emotion, or something as simple as eating, means that we are actively shaping the mind. Paying attention “in the present moment” Guided Mindfulness Meditation: A Complete Guided Mindfulness Meditation Program from Jon Kabat-Zinn Left to itself the mind wanders through all kinds of thoughts — including thoughts expressing anger, craving, depression, revenge, self-pity, etc. As we indulge in these kinds of thoughts we reinforce those emotions in our hearts and cause ourselves to suffer. Mostly these thoughts are about the past or future. The past no longer exists. The future is just a fantasy until it happens. The one moment we actually can experience — the present moment — is the one we seem most to avoid. So in mindfulness we’re concerned with noticing what’s going on right now. That doesn’t mean we can no longer think about the past or future, but when we do so we do so mindfully, so that we’re aware that right now we’re thinking about the past or future. However in meditation, we are concerned with what’s arising in the present moment. When thoughts about the past or future take us away from our present moment experience and we “space out” we try to notice this and just come back to now. By purposefully directing our awareness away from such thoughts and towards the “anchor” or our present moment experience, we decrease their effect on our lives and we create instead a space of freedom where calmness and contentment can grow. Paying attention “non-judgmentally” Mindfulness Meditations for Teens, by Bodhipaksa Mindfulness Meditations for Teens, by Bodhipaksa Mindfulness is an emotionally non-reactive state. We don’t judge that this experience is good and that one is bad. Or if we do make those judgements we simply notice them and let go of them. We don’t get upset because we’re experiencing something we don’t want to be experiencing or because we’re not experiencing what we would rather be experiencing. We simply accept whatever arises. We observe it mindfully. We notice it arising, passing through us, and ceasing to exist. Whether it’s a pleasant experience or a painful experience we treat it the same way. Cognitively, mindfulness is aware that certain experiences are pleasant and some are unpleasant, but on an emotional level we simply don’t react. We call this “equanimity” — stillness and balance of mind.

Lene Skovmark introduction on LinkedIn:

Nurse, pastor and consultant in Christian spirituality. I'm passionate about and working to develop and disseminate knowledge of Christian spirituality in the Church and in society. In the Christian tradition are methods of meditation and tools for personal development, so no need to get over the Creek. Christian spirituality is in ownership of every man. I give spiritual guidance/coaching. I am about to develop offerings for business and evening schools: "Mindfulness on Christian grounds" and "personal development in Christianity".

Peder Poulsen, the church Aarhus Valgmenighed’s first pastor uses mindfulness in the understanding of Christian mindfulness. His therapy clinic is called "The Farm". Buddhism and Hinduism is integrated apparently very uncritical in Danish OASIS, which in its self-understanding is a renewal of the Church. Peder Poulsen was the church Aarhus Valgmenighed’s first pastor in the ' 90s and has in that way people's full trust. I wonder how many who question at all “Christian Mindfulness”, which has its roots in Buddhist woldview first?

We have many times requested critical sense in the practice of child christening, which has its roots in the Odin cult. No bishops have written about it, that they takes it seriously.

Here is what we wrote then, when Oase Summer camp should start:

Dear pastors and leaders in “Dansk Oase”. It is very disturbing that you now introduce a new way to God (learn to know Jesus better and rest in his love). Hinduism has many deities, so of course can Hinduism tolerate and bear that Jesus is one of the gods and thus recognize Yogafaith. What for you perhaps is an exciting activity at summer Conference, it will be because of your influence as leaders, not least in young people's lives, a seal of approval to proceed into Yoga, in the long term. It is a slippery slope, which so obviously starts at Dansk Oase's Summer Conference. Hinduism is not renewal into the people's church nor in the form of Yoga. That Yoga Alliance recognizes Yogafaith says clear and evident that Yogafaith learning is recognized among Hindus.

​Kind regards Daniela Skov and Lars Skov Krøgholt.