Vol.1 No.10

Q. My friend uses the yin and yang. That concept seems strange to me. She tells me that I shouldn’t be concerned about it. Should I be?

A. Yes you should. Though you did not indicate in what way your friend uses the yin and yang, I know it is certainly not for a Christian. The yin and the yang is an ancient Chinese symbol that is well known now in the Western world as two tad-pole-like shapes intertwined in a circle.

It is one of the many pagan symbols representing the balancing of the “cosmic opposites” in the universe such as: light and dark, height and depth, truth and error, etc. I understand the Chinese defined over 270 of these “polar opposites.”

Interestingly all pagan religions are built upon the balancing of their opposites and their symbols are symbols of balance. Few may be surprised that the most ancient balancing symbol is the cross—the balancing of the vertical and the horizontal. Another surprise might be the pagan origin of the star of David, a Jewish symbol. Other pagan balancing symbols include the Hindu\Buddhist swastika.

Subtly paganism even teaches balance of good and evil (the first deception of Satan) and truth and error. Christianity teaches the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, truth over error (see Galatians 5:16; Peter 2:9).

The Chinese use the yin and yang in most aspects of life. We see it in acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, etc. I would urge you to be careful! Ancient pagan religions are quickly being embraced by Westerners today. They are never without eternal danger.