Political Crossfire Forums

[Wayne230]

Do you feel convicted by the Holy Spirit about smoking pot?

If something isn't clearly spelled out in the Bible...that's really the way a Christian show be able to tell. For things that are not clearly stated as sin in the Bible...such things like smoking pot could possibly be on a case by case basis. I personally feel convicted about it...so it is prolly a sin for me..for what ever reason, even though I could do it, hold a good job and have no desire what so ever to move on the stronger drugs, I still feel the Spirit telling me not to do it.

I dunno Enyon...what do you think? Quote:

I would say if smoking pot is against the law and you can go to jail over that don't do it. We are supposed to obey the authorities are we not?

[eynon]

Wayne230 wrote: Do you feel convicted by the Holy Spirit about smoking pot?

If something isn't clearly spelled out in the Bible...that's really the way a Christian show be able to tell. For things that are not clearly stated as sin in the Bible...such things like smoking pot could possibly be on a case by case basis. I personally feel convicted about it...so it is prolly a sin for me..for what ever reason, even though I could do it, hold a good job and have no desire what so ever to move on the stronger drugs, I still feel the Spirit telling me not to do it.

I dunno Enyon...what do you think? Quote:

I would say if smoking pot is against the law and you can go to jail over that don't do it. We are supposed to obey the authorities are we not?

it was against the law to be a Christian for 300 years........I think Paul was talking about open sedition and revolt.

[Wayne230]

Sure thats true but as far as I know it is not legal to use pot yet and I don't think it would be a good idea to use it if you might end up in jail. I think the difference is that pot can harm you physically. But being a Christian means that we have eternal life no matter what hardship we might go through. I don't think its against the law to be a Christian. At least it isn't yet!

[eynon]

Wayne230 wrote: Sure thats true but as far as I know it is not legal to use pot yet and I don't think it would be a good idea to use it if you might end up in jail. I think the difference is that pot can harm you physically. But being a Christian means that we have eternal life no matter what hardship we might go through. I don't think its against the law to be a Christian. At least it isn't yet!

all true.........but it's only a mistermeaner where I live......in OR too I thought....

[Wayne230]

It is if you have less than 4 ounces. If you have more than that its a felony. Having surved on Grand Jury I did drug cases. Our attourney said that more than 90 per cent of the crimes involves drugs. Whats the appeal of pot anyway? I can't stand the smell of it. I think its more harmful than cigarettes.

[eynon]

Wayne230 wrote: It is if you have less than 4 ounces. If you have more than that its a felony. Having surved on Grand Jury I did drug cases. Our attourney said that more than 90 per cent of the crimes involves drugs. Whats the appeal of pot anyway? I can't stand the smell of it. I think its more harmful than cigarettes.

the appeal? oh the same as a good bottle of wine or a pack of quality beer, sit around with those you love and relax........thing it has over ziggies is that it's not addictive.......you can smoke pot once or twice a month no big deal........

but as I told John....there are no Chillens involved........little-ones should not be exposed to any of that, booze, weed, or tobacco........well maybe the foam of a fat-tire while sittin on the old-mans' lap watchin the Broncos play, but that's it!

[Nathan]

Drinking is common in the Bible. Jesus turned water into wine, and alcohol is mentioned frequently in the Old and New Testaments. However, the Biblical writers universally condemned drunkeness. Drinking is fine, but quite a few verses in Proverbs condemn drunkeness. Some denominations believe drinking is immoral, but the Bible doesn't state that.

[eynon]

Nathan wrote: Drinking is common in the Bible. Jesus turned water into wine, and alcohol is mentioned frequently in the Old and New Testaments. However, the Biblical writers universally condemned drunkeness. Drinking is fine, but quite a few verses in Proverbs condemn drunkeness. Some denominations believe drinking is immoral, but the Bible doesn't state that.

well the state of drunkenness I believe is equivalent to being an alcoholic......I think we can all agree that the bible condemns addiction of any kind.

God should rule a believer's life, not the hooch, nor the weed, nor the ziggies........

[Nathyn]

Here's the most important piece of scripture on the issue, in my opinion.

Leviticus 10:8-11

Quote: Then the Lord said to Aaron, "You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses."
There is no direct commandment to not drink alcohol, but the immorality of drunkedness is fairly well-established. (Isaiah 5:11)

Noah was an alcoholic. At one point, he gets drunk and naked (Genesis 9:21) and so, it is said of Noah that he was righteous "for his time." (Genesis 6:9) That is, Noah was a bad person for being an alcoholic, but he was still the most righteous person on Earth. Later on, in the story of Lot, Lot's daughters get him drunk so that they can have sex with him (Genesis 19:32).

Aside from the direct commandment in Leviticus 10 for Rabbis to not drink when entering the tabernacle, God also commands us to not make sacred vows when drunk (Numbers 6:9).

On the one hand, alcohol is said to be a gift from God, because it is like God's other creations, and makes our hearts glad. (Psalm 104:14-15). On the other hand, alcohol is said to contribute to sin and those who are intoxicated by it are not wise (Proverbs 20:1).

From this, we can glean two facts about alcohol:

#1. Extreme drunkedness is forbidden, not necessarily because it is immoral but because it leads to other immoralities (as noted above).

#2. Drinking alcohol, period, is not explicitly forbidden, but sobriety may be preferred for being holy. The extent to which this should carry over into our lives is disputable. Contrary to Catholicism, I would argue that alcohol should be forbidden from churches, especially during formal ceremonies, such as baptism and marriage.

For the average person, I would say that it is a good idea to not drink alcohol, but not explicitly forbidden. It all depends upon you, as an individual. If you enjoy alcohol but are not a drunkard, it's okay. If you are a drunkard, stay away from it. And if you are someone holy like a priest and so on, it is also very good to stay away from it. In general, it's good to stay away from alcohol, but not bad. After all, the person who never drinks alcohol even once has no chance of becoming an alcoholic. The biggest regret of any alcoholic is the first drink of their entire life. Just as Jesus brings up the idea of thoughts of sin as being stepping stones to sin, so that thoughts of sin are themselves sinful (Matthew 5:28), this same line of reasoning applies to alcohol. When people drink, they tend to want to get drunk.

With regard to cigarettes: Aside from our bodies being God's temple, God's very first commandment is for us to be fruitful and multiply. Well, cigarettes make us infertile and unhealthy. You can't exactly be fruitful when you've got lung cancer or multiply when you've got a low sperm count or if you're pregnant and smoking. Not to mention I don't think you'll find any people who will want to multiply with you when you've got yellow teeth and bad breath!

In this respect, smoking is an obstacle to carrying out God's will, so it is wrong, but like drinking alcohol, not an actual violation of any divine commandment.

However, this is solely from the laws laid out in the Old Testament: For Christians that accept the New Testament, Jesus himself drank alcohol. (Mark 14:23, Luke 7:34, John 19:29-30) And so, what can be wrong with it?

I've actually argued before that Jesus was not the Messiah precisely because he drank alcohol. Based upon historical evidence, some could argue that the wine which Jesus drank had an extremely low alcohol content to the point that it was basically juice, though. (Link) But on the other hand, Acts 2 makes it very clear that the wine which Jesus' disciples drank contained alcohol. In Acts 2, someone accuses the Apostles of being drunk and Peter replies, "We're not drunk. It's only 9 o'clock in the morning."

In conclusion, while I agree that it is somewhat of a "social standard," that alcohol and smoking is bad, I would not say that this social standard is totally baseless in scripture. There's no actual commandment, but this social standard definitely does have some root in scripture.

[eynon]

Quote: For the average person, I would say that it is a good idea to not drink alcohol

why?

[Nathyn]

eynon wrote: Quote: For the average person, I would say that it is a good idea to not drink alcohol

why?
My argument is laid out above.

[eynon]

Nathyn wrote: eynon wrote: Quote: For the average person, I would say that it is a good idea to not drink alcohol

why?
My argument is laid out above.

so if I'm not a drunkard, then it's not bad right?

[sparsely]

your saviour attempts to free you, yet you continue to quest for ways to best one another.

[eynon]

sparsely wrote: your saviour attempts to free you, yet you continue to quest for ways to best one another.

true, but mostly I just want to drink a pint of Newcastle without some-one harshing my mellow :lol:

[sparsely]

exactly.

[Wayne230]

Which scripture is it in which Paul talks about not making my brother stumble?