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[Newbie]

Hey! I realize this might be an odd topic, but I'm curious. In the last year or so of decoversion, I've still kept in friendly contact with Christian friends and family; for the most part, they're perfectly reasonable. However, whenever meditation comes up as a random topic to talk about, there's instantly this sense of defensiveness and ... outright aggression against the idea? I dunno how to say it, but it's such a weird phenomenon in people who are otherwise chill with other surprising topics. (Not even trying to encourage them to do it, it's just a literal shut-down even if I use more scientific terms rather than the ~woo woo~ stuff that I could understandably see them being uneasy about.)

Is this a common thing for the general Christian or...?

[jimwalton]

Hm. That's an odd response. Meditation is actually a very Christian idea. I just did a quick keyword search on BibleGateway.com, and it says the word occurs 21 times in the Bible, mostly in the Psalms.

J.I. Packer (well-respected Christian smart guy), says, "Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God. Its purpose is to clear one’s mental and spiritual vision of God, and to let His truth make its full and proper impact on one’s mind and heart. It is a matter of talking to oneself about God and oneself; it is, indeed, often a matter of arguing with oneself, reasoning oneself out of moods of doubt and unbelief into a clear apprehension of God’s power and grace. Its effect is ever to humble us, as we contemplate God’s greatness and glory, and our own littleness and sinfulness, and to encourage and reassure us—“comfort” us, in the old, strong, Bible sense of the word—as we contemplate the unsearchable riches of divine mercy displayed in the Lord Jesus Christ."

I think some Christians get nervous about meditation because it is practiced by other religious groups, and so they think that if you meditate, you're a pagan or toying with pagan ideas. But it's a very old Christian idea, dating back to at least 2000 BC (Gen. 24.63). I mean, other religions pray and read holy books, but that doesn't stop Christians from praying and reading their holy book.

But meditation by Christians and by those of other religions are really different practices also. For Hindus, for instance, meditation is the disciplined emptying of one's mind, while for Christians it is the disciplined filling of one's mind with thoughts of God and his word. Maybe that's where their defensiveness and aggression come from.