Reiki Versus Christianity
Areas of Conflict


The International Center for Reiki Training (India) has a number of points in philosophy to which many of the Reiki branches also adhere. Christians might readily agree with a few of these principles; for example, having honesty and clarity in one’s thinking and respecting the right of others to form their own values and beliefs. The following four principles, however, should be problematic for Christians: “trusting completely in the Higher Power regardless of the name one chooses to call it”; “basing the value of a theory or technique on the verifiable results it helps one achieve”; “placing greater value on learning from experience and inner guidance than on the teachings of an authority”; and making “the complete expression of Love…the highest goal.”

Christian Response

The Higher Power in whom Christians believe has a name and He has made it quite clear that he does not receive or tolerate the worship of a Higher Power by any other name (Exod. 20:1–6) . The New Testament reminds us that if we are trusting in any other so-called higher power, we really are trusting in Satan, who is the ruler of a whole host of spiritual forces (fallen angels) that work to keep the world under his deluding influence (see, e.g., Eph. 6:11–12; 1 Cor. 10:19–20; 1 John 5:19). In the Old Testament, false prophets apparently were successful at performing signs and wonders (which arguably could have included healing signs and wonders), but they also urged God’s people to go after and serve other gods (Deut. 13:1–4). God’s instructions were clear: His people were to put the false prophets to death, thus purging the evil from Israel’s midst (Deut. 13:5–11).


A theory or practice should be judged not only on results but also on the veracity of the claims on which it rests. To base the truthfulness of a theory or value of a technique solely on the verifiable results it might help one achieve, such as relaxation or pain relief, is not consistent with a biblical worldview; it is not even consistent with sound medicine. A practice may achieve results, but one must examine its effect on the whole person, not just on the presenting problem. The rash of recent lawsuits against drug companies is one reminder that any alternative healing practice, like any drug, can have dangerous and even fatal side effects that can cancel out any of its claims to efficacy. From a biblical standpoint, those side effects can be spiritual as well as physical.


The focus in the practice of alternative therapies such as Reiki is experiential in nature. Reiki literature abounds with advice that encourages trainees to follow their hearts and to be guided by their intuition so that the only valid authority is their inner authority and the only true guide is subjective and self-validating. For the Christian, however, all experience must be subject to the higher authority of the Scriptures (see, e.g., Isa. 8:20)