I’m on karate.
At the beginning and at the end of the lesson we have to kneel and bow twice in greeting. Once towards the wall (karate hall) and once towards the karate teacher who also bows to us (as a sign of respect and as a greeting).
There is no idol and no human being to which we must bow.
They say it’s just a greeting.
But I wonder what God thinks about that and what the Bible says about this?
Is this allowed or is it idolatry or should you as a Christian not kneel, only before God?
As a Christian, would you be allowed to practice karate or does God disapprove of this and is it a minor/major sin?
I really have no idea and I’m kinda stuck with this question!
Answer
For this we go back to the second commandment from the Ten Commandments.
- “Do not worship other gods besides me.
- Make no idols, no image of anything that is in the heavens above or of anything below on the earth or in the waters below the earth. Do not kneel before such images, do not worship them, for I, the Lord your God, suffer no other gods besides Me.”
So you just shouldn’t kneel before “another god”. Kneeling in front of your karate teacher is perfectly okay unless you consider him god.
“Kneeling in front of” is equivalent to “showing respect or submission to,” and it is in many cultures and traditions.
Answered by
Engineer Bart Dierickx
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