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Should a Christian be involved with Karate or Martial Arts?
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I believe that a Christian should not be involved with martial arts. Please consider the following:
It is stated by one of the founders of martial arts, Gichin Funakoshi, “The mind and technique become one in true karate,” By polishing our karate practice, he believes, we are polishing our own spirit or our own mentality. Karate can be a system that is considered to be a “way of life,” merging the spiritual and physical sides of our human existence. A Christian involved in martial arts should have a difficult time finding comfort in the roots of the martial arts. As seen above, they focus much attention on the physical development (which is not a bad thing), but also combine the training with Buddhist or Zen philosophy.
What does the Bible say about the mind? First of all the heart is “desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). In the Scriptures, the heart and mind are often considered to be the same thing. Since our hearts and our minds are wicked, we are not able to think clearly about our spiritual situation, and therefore unable to “polish” our own spirits as karate claims it is able to do.
Titus 1:15 gives us insight into the mind of the unbeliever: “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”
The philosophies contained in Buddhism, as well as most all of the religions of the world, are developed by flawed men with defiled minds. They do not offer advice suitable for Christians to follow.
The Apostle Paul told us what to do with our minds when he said: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind..." (Rom. 12:2a)
While the physical side of martial arts is probably a good form of exercise, and many Christians do participate in martial arts, we believe it may be a dangerous activity to allow the mind to become influenced by the philosophies associated with karate and all other forms of the martial arts. The false religious overtones of Buddhism are there whether they are expressed verbally or not. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to separate the philosophies from the activity, and therefore we believe that it would be wise for the Christian to use much caution before participating in this kind of activity.
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