Christianity and Acupuncture

kat13 · 07-03-2009, 01:01 AM

Is it wrong to be a christian and use acupunture?

fairy2323 · 07-03-2009, 04:03 AM

I don't see why it would be wrong. Accupuncture to my knowledge has nothing really to do with religion, just how the body reacts to certain pressure points etc.

TheNewMrs. · 07-03-2009, 04:35 AM

I don't understand why it would be wrong either.

ChloeDuvall · 07-06-2009, 06:42 AM

I think you have asked a great question!

It's always good to question what practices would be in harmony with God's principles, and not do things on our own initiative...just because we think it would be ok. I would like to know this myself. I will do some research also and post it here.

Corvidae · 07-06-2009, 10:00 AM

Acupunture is the simple act of putting a needle in the vicinity of a nerve to produce a biochemical reaction. I've had it done and was not asked to alter my beliefs in any way to accommodate the treatment. I didn't feel it was any more spiritually significant then getting a stitch to close a wound or taking an aspirin for a headache.

Acupuncture is known to work better on people who are more sensitive to pain. I am not one of those people so it was not as successful on me as it may have been on someone else but that had nothing to do with whether or not I believed the treatment would work.

Even though I can't see why it would be a problem for anyone, there are religions that shun medical treatment for various reasons. If you think that your religion may be one of those then I would suggest taking advice from the head of your church/temple/synagog/etc. on the matter.

Merigreen · 07-06-2009, 11:30 AM

No, I don't think it's wrong at all. I did acupuncture for 4 months and it did not affect my spirituality. The acu. practitioner will not ask you to follow any doctrines or beliefs that are counter to your Christianity.

Anonykat · 07-06-2009, 11:40 AM

Nope. I'm a Christian and had it done, and it was done by a lady who is also a Christian.

God doesn't care if we use alternative remedies to try to restore health! He cares how we love Him and love others.

ChloeDuvall · 07-06-2009, 03:51 PM

If you saw a piece of chocolate sitting in a gutter, and it looked ok...like it had been untouched, would you pick it up and eat it? No! You would consider the source that it came from. Even though it may look ok and like nothing is wrong with it, who knows what it's been tainted with.

The same goes with alternative medicine (and a slew of other things.) As a christian, you always need to consider the source of any type of "alternative" practices. Who knows what type of religious practices they may be tainted with. Religious practices that God disproves of. It's better to be informed than uninformed.

PBLayzod · 07-06-2009, 04:22 PM

My mother would say that it was not acceptable for a Christian. I believe her reasoning would be a combination of the Eastern religious origins and the possibility of drawing blood. The blood would, in my mother's mind, imply a blood covenant. She would have the same reason for objecting to tattoos.

I clearly come from a screwy background, so I wouldn't be a good one to comment personally. I've done it myself.

KatCarney · 07-06-2009, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PBLayzod

I believe her reasoning would be a combination of the Eastern religious origins and the possibility of drawing blood. The blood would, in my mother's mind, imply a blood covenant.

Acupuncture isn't rooted in any 'religious' system. It's a medical practice.

Interesting about the 'drawing of blood'. Does your mom refuse to have shots or have blood drawn by Western medical professionals who have a religion that differs from hers?

To the Op, I think it's probably a good idea to speak with someone who heads your church, if you feel it's an issue...

PBLayzod · 07-06-2009, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KatCarney

Acupuncture isn't rooted in any 'religious' system. It's a medical practice.

Interesting about the 'drawing of blood'. Does your mom refuse to have shots or have blood drawn by Western medical professionals who have a religion that differs from hers?

To the Op, I think it's probably a good idea to speak with someone who heads your church, if you feel it's an issue...

I agree with you about the lack of religious origin, but I wouldn't be able to convince my mother of that. As for the blood issue. She is a retired nurse and would have no problem with Western medical procedures. She likely would take issue with the religious beliefs of certain medical professionals, but I don't know if she would refuse treatment on those grounds. I highly doubt she's thought these things through to their logical conclusions.

Kat, you are right, of course. If the OP is really concerned about this, they should ask their pastor/priest.

Nad4321 · 07-06-2009, 08:20 PM

I dont think its wrong. Even though I am no longer religious, I would think as a Christian you should treat your body as a temple and do the best to take care of it including natural remedies.

sarahmorgan · 07-20-2009, 01:35 AM

I don't believe that it is related to religion at all. But if you don't want to do the needle thing because of the blood, maybe try accupressure. It's the same thing without using needles.