Virginia GOP Candidate E.W. Jackson Says Yoga Will Make Satan Possess You

The candidate for Virginia lieutenant governor has a lot of opinions — especially on gays, like that they are "ikky" — that have made him more famous than you might expect. On Wednesday, we learned that Jackson's book warns that yoga can put you at risk for satanic possession.

E.W. Jackson is the Republican candidate for Virginia lieutenant governor, and he's a pretty interesting guy with a lot of opinions. Some of these opinions — especially on gays, like that they are "ikky" — have made him more famous than most candidates for lieutenant governor. On Wednesday, we learned that Jackson has some interesting ideas on a new topic: yoga. As The National Review's Betsy Woodruff reports, Jackson warns that yoga can put you at risk for satanic possession in his 2008 book, Ten Commandments to an Extraordinary Life: Making Your Dreams Come True. 

When one hears the word meditation, it conjures an image of Maharishi Yoga talking about finding a mantra and striving for nirvana... The purpose of such meditation is to empty oneself... [Satan] is happy to invade the empty vacuum of your soul and possess it. That is why people serve Satan without ever knowing it or deciding to, but no one can be a child of God without making a decision to surrender to him. Beware of systems of spirituality which tell you to empty yourself. You will end up filled with something you probably do not want.

Behind the ice-cold eyes of Lululemon princesses burn the demonic flames of eternal hell! Having been to a Lululemon store (temple?) recently, I can't say I disagree.

Jackson is a pastor who has never held elected office. If Virginia Republicans are looking to reach out to moderate suburban voters after their southern state voted for Obama for a second time, Jackson isn't helping. He has compared Planned Parenthood to the KKK, he's said gays are "frankly very sick people," and that homosexuality "poisons culture." His running mate, state attorney general Ken Cuccinelli, doesn't want to be associated with Jackson's comments. "He's got to defend all his own statements and he’s going to go about doing that, but we run our own race," Cuccinelli told The Washington Post. But The National Review ticks through a few issues that show Jackson's surprising moderation: "he wouldn't support any sort of ban on gay sex," and "would oppose a constitutional amendment naming Christianity as America's official religion."

In her longer profile of Jackson, Woodruff notes his interesting take on charitable giving. In his book, Jackson says, "While giving to the poor is important, the most powerful giving for wealth building is upward giving." What's upward giving? Giving money to E.W. Jackson.

For example, as you read this book, you may feel a deep spiritual affinity for the things I am teaching and therefore a profound spiritual kinship with me. We may never meet in person, but you can draw on the anointing which God has placed on my life by sowing into my ministry. That opens a spiritual door for you to partake at a deeper level and for me to impart to you as one in Covenant with me. That is how I have come to support other ministries. Wherever you are moved to give, do it consistently and generously. This will start a flow of prosperity in your life which will enhance all the other principles you have learned.

Give me money, and God will make you rich. No wonder he's interested in elected office.