Tai Chi and Chi Gong
Posted by Vincent Cheung on May 24, 2005(The following is an edited email correspondence.)
I am often asked by Christians whether it is wrong to practice Tai Chi. I usually explain that it has its roots in Taoism and the martial arts, and that it has to do with the "chi" force in the body. And if they are filled with the Holy Spirit, why do they need to learn to control this "energy"?
The Tai Chi people have taken over our most beautiful park in the city called Queen Elizabeth park, and they are there by the hundreds, all practicing Tai Chi.
Do you have any thoughts on this matter? I value your perspective. Thanks.
When I was in the third grade, seemingly "out of the blue," I asked my mother to buy me two English Bibles (I wanted two different translations), so although no one taught me to do it, I started reading the Bible early in life. Nevertheless, I was not converted until several years later.
Meanwhile, before my conversion, I read much on a variety of subjects (many of which a Christian should avoid), including the martial arts. Thus I have done a moderate amount of reading about the technical, philosophical, and esoteric aspects of the subject, but most of this was done when I was very young, while I was still in elementary school and junior high, so I cannot claim to be an expert.
At that time, my main interest in Chi Gong (also spelled "Qi Gong") had nothing to do with the promised health benefits, but rather with its alleged potential to increase one’s striking power, and especially its seemingly superhuman promises, such as the ability to strike at one’s opponent at a short distance without direct physical contact, and even through thin obstacles. (I took school fights very seriously!)
Some of these teachings are presented from an esoteric perspective; however, similar to how many occult teachings are being presented nowadays, Chi Gong teachings are now often presented from a scientific perspective.
My general position on the martial arts is that, given the right context and motive, it is acceptable to learn certain combat techniques. Sometimes, this is not only acceptable but necessary even for Christians. For example, it is necessary for members of the military, the police force, and security guards. I also consider it acceptable for Christians to learn fighting techniques for personal self-defense.
Of course, we can make numerous qualifications about this, but this would distract us from addressing the main point of your question. For now, let us just say that it is at least sometimes acceptable to learn and practice certain kinds of fighting techniques.
However, when a system is more than a physical and practical form of self-defense, then problems begin to arise. For example, although Tai Chi Chuan can be a very fast, flexible, and powerful fighting method, it is not just a practical system of self-defense, but today it is usually practiced for health reasons. Also, it consists of more than just physical movements, but it is often taught with an aim to harness the internal and almost mystical "chi" force that is based on non-Christian theories of metaphysics and anthropology.
It was deliberately developed by its founder Cheung San Fung as a system that would be consistent with Taoism. Thus it is almost certain that one could not practice Tai Chi without adopting beliefs and/or movements that are inseparably linked to or derived from Taoist philosophy.
As I mentioned above, some advocates are increasingly trying to present Tai Chi and Chi Gong from a scientific perspective, so as to demystify them and make them appealing to those who otherwise would consider them too mystical or esoteric. Teachers of the occult have been doing the same for a long while now, but they have not abandoned the mystical perspectives, so the same philosophies and practices are being taught from both the mystical and scientific angles, ensuring both kinds of followers.
(Of course, many scientifically inclined individuals would call these kinds of "scientific" teachings "pseudo-science." However, until they debunk them, this is just an assumption, and they are just revealing their own prejudices. Also, I have argued elsewhere that all empirical sciences are in fact pseudo-rational — that is, irrational — and one type of nonsense is not essentially better, even if relatively better, than another type of nonsense. They are all nonsense and unreliable.)
What makes them unacceptable for Christians is not only that their origins are tied to anti-Christian philosophies, but that they are still so tied, explicitly and implicitly, to anti-Christian ideas.
Also, not only is Tai Chi inseparably linked to some anti-Christian ideas, but the very fact that it seeks to achieve relaxation (peace?) and health without relationship to any explicitly Christian belief or practice (such as faith, repentance, prayer, Bible study, etc.) is unacceptable. It is in practical and often explicit competition with the gospel.
This is the general basis from which I would oppose Tai Chi and other related practices.
If it does not often come up in conversation where you need to refute it, you may not need to study it too much at this time, for there are too many false philosophies in this world to study all of them. Instead, when you find yourself speaking to an advocate or practitioner, you can just listen to what he believes about it, and then question and refute it.
Of course, if the subject frequently comes up, or if you are often asked by Christians about it, then it will probably help if you understand a little more about Tai Chi and Chi Gong. But there is no way I can get into this here.
In any case, remember that the biblical/presuppositional method can refute any non-Christian belief. Although you may use weaker, inconclusive, superficial, and even fallacious (such as scientific) arguments against Chi Gong, ultimately these cannot defeat the stubborn person. For example, if I like practicing Chi Gong, and somehow you can prove that practicing Chi Gong will shorten my life for 50 years, I could still say, "So what?" And that might be the end of it.
Also, the use of scientific arguments demands that you know something about the most recent scientific research done on the subject, and that you should probably understand it better than the average advocate or practitioner. This is not easy to do and to maintain.
So the easiest, quickest, and the most rational way to approach the "scientific" Tai Chi or Chi Gong practitioner is just to refute science itself as fallacious (which at one stroke destroys the credibility of all the scientific research that supposedly supports your opponent), and then move on to examine the actual ideas and presuppositions in your opponent’s beliefs, leading to a rational demontration of the superiority and the necessity of the biblical worldview, including repentance toward God and faith in the gospel of Christ.
Recommended:
Vincent Cheung, Ultimate Questions
Vincent Cheung, Presuppositional Confrontations
Vincent Cheung, Apologetics in Conversation
Vincent Cheung, Commentary on Ephesians
Vincent Cheung, Prayer and Revelation
Edmund Clowney, Christian Meditation