Marijuana use... a sin?

... and that's where we differ.

I really don't think all the Moslems, Hindus, Sikhs, and Budhists are doomed to hell.

Heaven is not an exclusive club for Christians.

Is that what you are trying to say, or did I mis-understand?

-TT

TheCrownedOne said:
I don't see that as Biblically accurate.

John 14
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

John 15
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

Matthew 22
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.

Mark 12
28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

There is no way to do anything good enough for God to hold you in high esteem. God sees us all as sinners going to hell until we trust in His Son's finished work alone for salvation (Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;). The way I see it, Jesus more or less said, "I AM. I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man cometh unto the Father but by Me. I lived a sinless life, willfully gave Myself as your payment for sins, suffered, gave up My life willingly, took the sins of every person - past, present, and future - to hell for three days and three nights (as it is reckoned on earth), raised Myself from the dead under My own power, and ascended to heaven and sit even now at the right Hand of GOD. Trust in Me to save you. If you hold Me accountable by faith in My Words, I cannot fail you."
That's where your reward comes from in the end. There is no such thing as "God, I treated your creation well, and I acted good, but I never trusted in Your Son. Can I still get in?"

Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Ephesians 2
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
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TINYTOAD said:
... and that's where we differ.

I really don't think all the Moslems, Hindus, Sikhs, and Budhists are doomed to hell.

Heaven is not an exclusive club for Christians.

Is that what you are trying to say, or did I mis-understand?

-TT
Click to expand...
But let me understand you. Are you confirming my assertion that people blend whatever doctrines they can find to come up with what works for them without knowing or completely abiding by the detail of either or any. I mean are you and your doctrine Moslem or Hindu or Sikh or Budhist or a bastardized version of all of them?
 
B,

I feel like you're trying to put words in my mouth.

I don't believe that I've either supported nor denied your assertion that people tend to blend whatever doctorines that they can come up with, etc.

Is this a personal attack on my faith?

-TT

B5150 said:
But let me understand you. Are you confirming my assertion that people blend whatever doctrines they can find to come up with what works for them without knowing or completely abiding by the detail of either or any. I mean are you and your doctrine Moslem or Hindu or Sikh or Budhist or a bastardized version of all of them?
Click to expand...
 
spatch said:
1000 years ago, you could go to a pastor and tell him the earth rotates around the sun and you would probably get killed.
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If by this you mean that you think your pastor is an idiot, then you need to find a new one. Pastors are the under-shepherds of the Great Shepherd, Jesus. You to submit to the authority of your pastor or leadership because they are under
the authority of Christ. (of course that is as long as your pastor is aligned with the Word of God) If you do not sbmit, then you are in rebellion which the Bible says "is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry".
(1 Samuel 15:23) Do you have children? Would you tell your 13 yeaar old it's ok to get stoned as long as you're a "functioning" pothead? God the Father is no different. You've read sound Biblical counsel from Christians as to why it is not God's best for you to use drugs let alone that it's illegal.
Remember the above scripture? Putting down the pipe is using wisdom, continuing to smoke is...well, a spirit of stupid.
 
Ribo and B, this is kind of off topic but I would like your input...

The bible says to not work on the Sabbath. However, I work at a hospital. This gives me and everyone who works there the choice of violating the scripture, or having people die who would have otherwise lived. What should we do?
 
TINYTOAD said:
B,

I feel like you're trying to put words in my mouth.

I don't believe that I've either supported nor denied your assertion that people tend to blend whatever doctorines that they can come up with, etc.

Is this a personal attack on my faith?

-TT
Click to expand...
No I am not attcking you at all.

What I was trying to get an understanding of was how this works in parctical application to someone who says something like that.

We hear this sort of statement from non-christians all the time; "what about the Muslims, what about the Budhists, etc, who said Christianity is the right religion" to justify their discredit of Christianity, yet have no real understanding of true doctrines of either Christain faith or Muslim faith or any faith. They find reasonable doubt to not be Christian so they can denounce it. Yet they make up their own faith from bits and pieces of what they like from each. They make no commitment to any doctrine so they have no accounatbility to adhere to things within that doctrine that they rather not. The world is full of this.

So when someone who I know makes a statement like that, out of honest curiosity, I ask them how that applies in their faith life.

I mean no disrespect to you at all.
 
1. Rationale in the West: Class Legislation

Geometric increases in Mexican immigration after the turn of the century naturally resulted in the formation of sizeable Mexican-American minorities in each western state. It was thought then and is generally assumed now that use of marijuana west of the Mississippi was limited primarily to the Mexican segment of the population. We do not find it surprising, therefore, that sixteen of these states prohibited sale or possession of marijuana before 1930. Whether motivated by outright prejudice or simple discriminatory disinterest, the result was the same in each legislature-little if any public attention, no debate, pointed references to the drug's Mexican origins, and sometimes vociferous allusion to the criminal conduct inevitably generated when Mexicans ate "the killer weed."

-Richard J. Bonnie
 
The early laws against the cannabis drugs were passed with little public attention. Concern about marijuana was related primarily to the fear that marijuana use would spread, even among whites, as a substitute for the opiates and alcohol made more difficult to obtain by federal legislation. Especially in the western states, this concern was identifiable with the growth of the Mexican-American minority. It is clear that no state undertook any empirical or scientific study of the effects of the drug. Instead they relied on lurid and often unfounded accounts of marijuana's dangers as presented in what little newspaper coverage the drug received. It was simply assumed that cannabis was addictive and would have engendered the same evil effects as opium and cocaine. Apparently, legislators in these states found it easy and uncontroversial to prohibit use of a drug they had never seen or used and which was associated with ethnic minorities and the lower class.

-Richard J Bonnie

The Genesis of Marijuana Phohibition
 
I looking to see where the relevance of you copy and paste is to the topic at hand. Prohibition and legislation are not the issue.
 
Why is Marijuana Illegal?


Shortcut Address:
Invalid Link Removed
A brief history of the criminalization of cannabis
7000-8000 B.C.
First woven fabric believed to be from hemp.
1619

Jamestown Colony, Virginia passes law requiring farmers to grow hemp.
1700s

Hemp was the primary crop grown by George Washington at Mount Vernon, and a secondary crop grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.
1884

Maine is the first state to outlaw alcohol.
1906

Pure Food and Drug Act is passed, forming the Food and Drug Administration. First time that drugs have any government oversight.
1914

Harrison Act passed, outlawing opiates and cocaine (taxing scheme)
1915

Utah passes first state anti-marijuana law.
1919

18th Amendment to the Constitution (alcohol prohibition) is ratified.
1930

Harry J. Anslinger given control of the new Federal Bureau of Narcotics (he remains in the position until 1962)
1933

21st Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, repealing alcohol prohibition.
1937

Marijuana Tax Act
1938

Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act
1951

Boggs Amendment to the Harrison Narcotic Act (mandatory sentences)
1956

Narcotics Control Act adds more severe penalties
1970

Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. Replaces and updates all previous laws concerning narcotics and other dangerous drugs. Empasis on law enforcement. Includes the Controlled Substances Act, where marijuana is classified a Schedule 1 drug (reserved for the most dangerous drugs that have no recognized medical use).
1972

Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act. Establishes federally funded programs for prevention and treatment
1973

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Changes Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs into the DEA
1974 and 1978

Drug Abuse Treatment and Control Amendments. Extends 1972 act
1988

Anti-Drug Abuse Act. Establishes oversight office: National Office of Drug Control Policy and the Drug Czar
1992

ADAMHA Reorganization. Transfers NIDA, NIMH, and NIAAA to NIH and incorporates ADAMHA's programs into the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)






Many people assume that marijuana was made illegal through some kind of process involving scientific, medical, and government hearings; that it was to protect the citizens from what was determined to be a dangerous drug.

The actual story shows a much different picture. Those who voted on the legal fate of this plant never had the facts, but were dependent on information supplied by those who had a specific agenda to deceive lawmakers. You'll see below that the very first federal vote to prohibit marijuana was based entirely on a documented lie on the floor of the Senate.

You'll also see that the history of marijuana's criminalization is filled with:

Racism
Fear
Protection of Corporate Profits
Yellow Journalism
Ignorant, Incompetent, and/or Corrupt Legislators
Personal Career Advancement and Greed
These are the actual reasons marijuana is illegal.
Background

For most of human history, marijuana has been completely legal. It's not a recently discovered plant, nor is it a long-standing law. Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it's been in use. Its known uses go back further than 7,000 B.C. and it was legal as recently as when Ronald Reagan was a boy.

The marijuana (hemp) plant, of course, has an incredible number of uses. The earliest known woven fabric was apparently of hemp, and over the centuries the plant was used for food, incense, cloth, rope, and much more. This adds to some of the confusion over its introduction in the United States, as the plant was well known from the early 1600's, but did not reach public awareness as a recreational drug until the early 1900's.

America's first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619. It was a law "ordering" all farmers to grow Indian hempseed. There were several other "must grow" laws over the next 200 years (you could be jailed for not growing hemp during times of shortage in Virginia between 1763 and 1767), and during most of that time, hemp was legal tender (you could even pay your taxes with hemp -- try that today!) Hemp was such a critical crop for a number of purposes (including essential war requirements - rope, etc.) that the government went out of its way to encourage growth.

The United States Census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp "plantations" (minimum 2,000-acre farm) growing cannabis hemp for cloth, canvas and even the cordage used for baling cotton.

The Mexican Connection

In the early 1900s, the western states developed significant tensions regarding the influx of Mexican-Americans. The revolution in Mexico in 1910 spilled over the border, with General Pershing's army clashing with bandit Pancho Villa. Later in that decade, bad feelings developed between the small farmer and the large farms that used cheaper Mexican labor. Then, the depression came and increased tensions, as jobs and welfare resources became scarce.

One of the "differences" seized upon during this time was the fact that many Mexicans smoked marijuana and had brought the plant with them.

However, the first state law outlawing marijuana did so not because of Mexicans using the drug. Oddly enough, it was because of Mormons using it. Mormons who traveled to Mexico in 1910 came back to Salt Lake City with marijuana. The church was not pleased and ruled against use of the drug. Since the state of Utah automatically enshrined church doctrine into law, the first state marijuana prohibition was established in 1915. (Today, Senator Orrin Hatch serves as the prohibition arm of this heavily church-influenced state.)

Other states quickly followed suit with marijuana prohibition laws, including Wyoming (1915), Texas (1919), Iowa (1923), Nevada (1923), Oregon (1923), Washington (1923), Arkansas (1923), and Nebraska (1927). These laws tended to be specifically targeted against the Mexican-American population.

When Montana outlawed marijuana in 1927, the Butte Montana Standard reported a legislator's comment: "When some beet field peon takes a few traces of this stuff... he thinks he has just been elected president of Mexico, so he starts out to execute all his political enemies." In Texas, a senator said on the floor of the Senate: "All Mexicans are crazy, and this stuff [marijuana] is what makes them crazy."

Jazz and Assassins

In the eastern states, the "problem" was attributed to a combination of Latin Americans and black jazz musicians. Marijuana and jazz traveled from New Orleans to Chicago, and then to Harlem, where marijuana became an indispensable part of the music scene, even entering the language of the black hits of the time (Louis Armstrong's "Muggles", Cab Calloway's "That Funny Reefer Man", Fats Waller's "Viper's Drag").

Again, racism was part of the charge against marijuana, as newspapers in 1934 editorialized: "Marihuana influences Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men's shadows and look at a white woman twice."

Two other fear-tactic rumors started to spread: one, that Mexicans, Blacks and other foreigners were snaring white children with marijuana; and two, the story of the "assassins." Early stories of Marco Polo had told of "hasheesh-eaters" or hashashin, from which derived the term "assassin." In the original stories, these professional killers were given large doses of hashish and brought to the ruler's garden (to give them a glimpse of the paradise that awaited them upon successful completion of their mission). Then, after the effects of the drug disappeared, the assassin would fulfill his ruler's wishes with cool, calculating loyalty.

By the 1930s, the story had changed. Dr. A. E. Fossier wrote in the 1931 New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal: "Under the influence of hashish those fanatics would madly rush at their enemies, and ruthlessly massacre every one within their grasp." Within a very short time, marijuana started being linked to violent behavior.

Alcohol Prohibition and Federal Approaches to Drug Prohibition

During this time, the United States was also dealing with alcohol prohibition, which lasted from 1919 to 1933. Alcohol prohibition was extremely visible and debated at all levels, while drug laws were passed without the general public's knowledge. National alcohol prohibition happened through the mechanism of an amendment to the constitution.

Earlier (1914), the Harrison Act was passed, which provided federal tax penalties for opiates and cocaine.

The federal approach is important. It was considered at the time that the federal government did not have the constitutional power to outlaw alcohol or drugs. It is because of this that alcohol prohibition required a constitutional amendment.

At that time in our country's history, the judiciary regularly placed the tenth amendment in the path of congressional regulation of "local" affairs, and direct regulation of medical practice was considered beyond congressional power under the commerce clause (since then, both provisions have been weakened so far as to have almost no meaning).

Since drugs could not be outlawed at the federal level, the decision was made to use federal taxes as a way around the restriction. In the Harrison Act, legal uses of opiates and cocaine were taxed (supposedly as a revenue need by the federal government, which is the only way it would hold up in the courts), and those who didn't follow the law found themselves in trouble with the treasury department.

In 1930, a new division in the Treasury Department was established -- the Federal Bureau of Narcotics -- and Harry J. Anslinger was named director. This, if anything, marked the beginning of the all-out war against marijuana.

Harry J. Anslinger

Anslinger was an extremely ambitious man, and he recognized the Bureau of Narcotics as an amazing career opportunity -- a new government agency with the opportunity to define both the problem and the solution. He immediately realized that opiates and cocaine wouldn't be enough to help build his agency, so he latched on to marijuana and started to work on making it illegal at the federal level.

Anslinger immediately drew upon the themes of racism and violence to draw national attention to the problem he wanted to create. Some of his quotes regarding marijuana...


"There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others."

"...the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races."

"Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death."

"Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men."

"Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing"

"You smoke a joint and you're likely to kill your brother."

"Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind."
And he loved to pull out his own version of the "assassin" definition:


"In the year 1090, there was founded in Persia the religious and military order of the Assassins, whose history is one of cruelty, barbarity, and murder, and for good reason: the members were confirmed users of hashish, or marihuana, and it is from the Arabs' 'hashashin' that we have the English word 'assassin.'"




-Peter Guither
 
It's just funny how so much of the bible is left to interpretation. Different people interpret different things. Everybody thinks their interpretation is the "right" one, and they are living God's word. If somebody elses intrepretation is different than they are wrong and not true Christians or all out sinners. Lots of closed minds and very little acceptance, even within the same religions. Too much "I'm right" and "you're wrong".
 
That's just in, in relations to this thread. Some feel that pot is a sin according to their intepretations of the bible, while others don't feel it's a sin, again, according to their beliefs. So it really not right for one person to tell another that they are not living God's word (or sinning) because of some choice they made according to how they interpret things. It's akin to telling one person your beliefs are wrong and my are right, so you're a sinner.
 
That's why they are telling them in their opinion of what they consider to be right and also why religion is so hard to discuss with those who do not share the same beliefs because in essence you tell each other that what they hold close to their heart is wrong. Also why I tend to not participate in these too much or too deeply.
 
CRUNCH said:
If somebody elses intrepretation is different than they are wrong and not true Christians or all out sinners. Lots of closed minds and very little acceptance, even within the same religions. Too much "I'm right" and "you're wrong".
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I don't think anyone said anyone was right or wrong regarding spatch's choice to get high. They did state what they chose for themselves to be right for them or wrong for them. The seems to be a consensus from the Christian view here about getting high. I accept that people want to do something other than what I would. I don't believe anyone called spatch as sinner.
 
CRUNCH said:
It's just funny how so much of the bible is left to interpretation. Different people interpret different things. Everybody thinks their interpretation is the "right" one, and they are living God's word.
Click to expand...
I think the major difference in the interpretation seen here is that some want to interpret it so they can serve God better where others interpret it to serve themselves better. For some God is just danddy as long as they don't have to change your behaviors. That's when the inetreptation gets selective in bias to their desire.
 
People want a God that accepts that they are stoned or drunk. They want a God that accepts marital infidelity and fornication. They don't want a God that wants them to live His way they want a God that lets them be co-chairs of the throne rather than submitting to it.
 
The question I believe is that it seems the definition of what God wants seems to vary greatly...Especially considering the Bible hasn't changed but you can go back as little as a 100 years and see how the Churches interpretations of what God's word was. it wasn't that long ago that our loving God was a God of fury and wrath.

okay, i've already said more than I should have.
 
Jayhawkk said:
The question I believe is that it seems the definition of what God wants seems to vary greatly...Especially considering the Bible hasn't changed but you can go back as little as a 100 years and see how the Churches interpretations of what God's word was. it wasn't that long ago that our loving God was a God of fury and wrath.

okay, i've already said more than I should have.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Society changes the bible's interpretations to suit it's current needs.
 
Jayhawkk said:
The question I believe is that it seems the definition of what God wants seems to vary greatly...Especially considering the Bible hasn't changed but you can go back as little as a 100 years and see how the Churches interpretations of what God's word was.
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Has God changed or has the church (the people) changed.
It wasn't that long ago that our loving God was a God of fury and wrath.
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That has not changed :)
 
People have changed based on their surroundings and just loike everything else they have adjusted what they think God wants from us. That's why I think it's more of an individual journey to find a connection with God and that He has left just enough pieces to the puzzle to make it possible but not enough to make it a 'no brainer' so that it still requires us to make all the decisions of our lives based on what we know and believe to be true.
 
Now B, if you could please answer my question about working on the Sabbath.

spatch said:
Ribo and B, this is kind of off topic but I would like your input...

The bible says to not work on the Sabbath. However, I work at a hospital. This gives me and everyone who works there the choice of violating the scripture, or having people die who would have otherwise lived. What should we do?
Click to expand...
 
spatch said:
Now B, if you could please answer my question about working on the Sabbath.
Click to expand...
Keep a day that you set aside to worship. I have had the situation to work weekends including Sunday. It was more money and less days (3-12's - FSS) so I took it. It has caused me to miss worship services and the ability to lead my wife and family by bringing them to worship service. There is a church in my community that I found that had Saturday night services and we started going then. But unfortunately they did not have enough turnout to merit the service so they stopped. I am presently no longer working but the first 5 hours on Sunday so I can get back home in time to go.

I experienced first hand the decline in spiritual growth and spiritual joy that my family and I used to have when we were actively going. I am in support of those who have to work on Sunday but encourage those who do to try to find an other form or time to fellowship and worship.

It is not an obligation it is something that you want to do when you have experienced a relationship with God.

Do we need go on Sunday? Need? I do not believe it to be a necessity. But I did experience the loss form not going at all. So I believe that if you can't go on Sunday you should find an alternate day if possible. Remember the church is in your heart. The service is for praise and worship and fellowship. It has been my experience that it is my loss when I am unable to go.

This is my opinion. Others may have their own. And as is the case, yes it is interpretive, but the spirit of the law is to worship and praise Him for a time and I do. I do now do so again on Sunday.
 
spatch said:
Now B, if you could please answer my question about working on the Sabbath.
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Best example I know of:

10On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." 13Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
14Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."

15The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"

17When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
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B5150 said:
This is my opinion. Others may have their own. And as is the case, yes it is interprative, but the spririt of the law is to worship and praise Him for a time and I do. I do now do so again on Sunday.
Click to expand...

With respect, how is your interpretation of that law allowed, one which contradicts the law, but my interpretation isnt?

My interpretation of the law "dont be drunk, stay sober" applys to those who sin while using illicit compounds.
 
Marijuana use is not a sin. Stealing someone's weed is.

Cilantro on the other hand, is disgusting and I am sure hell is overgrown with that nasty stuff
 
spatch said:
With respect, how is your interpretation of that law allowed, one which contradicts the law, but my interpretation isnt?

My interpretation of the law "dont be drunk, stay sober" applys to those who sin while using illicit compounds.
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Here were the consequences I experiened from missing service. I chose not to and no longer will.
I experienced first hand the decline in spiritual growth and spritual joy that my family and I used to have when we were actively going.
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Please remember that the OT was an old covenant. Jesus came and presented a new covenant. That new covenant was because we failed to keep the old one.

Jesus came and presented the spirit of the law. The spirit of the law is to set aside a time to praise and whorship Him. I make a time to do so.

There is a reason why I suggest that you go to Bible studies and to fellowship with other Christians. You learn how things have evolved without corrupting the spirit of the law. Many people who are not Christian and have no idea one way or the other make up stuff to find hypocrisy in these things. If you take time to fellowship and study the Bible and what Jesus said and how He presented us Himself as a sacrifice you would see that these things are not that critical in the letter but the spirit. People who don't get it don't get it.

spatch, if you want to get high, get high. If you spend time in study and fellowship with other Christians and grow closer in a relationship with Jesus you will learn for yourself that you will have less of a desire to be high. I hope you understand this concept. Yet I am convinced that I may as usual be speaking to a wall. It is my hope that is not the case.

As I have told you before I am not without sin, just as yourself. The difference is that I examine myself and compare it to the relationship that I desire to have with Jesus. Therefore I remove any obstacle that I can to interfere with that relationship.

spatch I wish you well. But quite honestly there is nothing more to be said that has not been said.
 
B5150 said:
Therefore I remove any obstacle that I can to interfere with that relationship.
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I am personally done with this thread. I think we all have a different definition of what an obsticle that can interfere with our relationship with jesus is, hense all the different denominations.

God bless.
 
B5150 said:
People want a God that accepts that they are stoned or drunk. They want a God that accepts marital infidelity and fornication. They don't want a God that wants them to live His way they want a God that lets them be co-chairs of the throne rather than submitting to it.
Click to expand...

You are correct sir! We hear people on tv or in the news say
that Jesus preached "love and acceptance" which is always a code for them meaning "acceptance" of some sin they may be involved in. By no means is that what Jesus preached. He came preaching the kingdom of God of which love is the foundation. God loves us enough to want to change us for the better. Yes, come as you are, but by all means don't stay that way! And in response to a previous post (can't remember who?), according to the Word of God (Holy Bible), heaven is for Christians but is also available to ALL who choose Christ as saviour AND Lord. Lots of people like the idea of "fire insurance" but refuse to hand over lordship of their lives. Jesus said, "I (let me emphasize "I") am the way, the truth and the life, NO ONE comes to the Father but by ME". (emph. mine) Muslims, wiccans, and Buddhists have chosen another way, or another truth. Do they have freewill to change their course? Absolutely! Will they? Sadly, probably not. Like many of the non-Christians who will read these posts, their thoughts will be that we are narrow-minded, intolerant, zealots that look down our noses at them not realizing that out of a genuine love and concern for their eternity, we attempt to point them to Christ. Jesus said narrow is the path that tends to life and there be few who find it. But wide is the path that leads to destruction and there be many who enter through it. Thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that I accepted His invitation.
 
spatch said:
Now B, if you could please answer my question about working on the Sabbath.
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First of all the Sabbath is Saturday :lol: But the day of the week is irrelevent. God had to instruct the Israelites about everything, even their toilet habits! If He hadn't told them to set apart a day for only worship to honor Him, they would have worked or played or whatever and not give Him a second thought. As you can read for yourself it still didn't help many of them. You can praise and worship God all day long every day of the week as I regularly do. God told Joshua that he should meditate in the Word day AND night. THEN, after doing this, that Joshua would be prosperous and have good success. God is a rewarder of those who DILIGENTLY seek Him. I and my family are living testimonies. God bless ya!
 
spatch said:
Now B, if you could please answer my question about working on the Sabbath.
Click to expand...

Matthew 12
1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.

2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.

3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:

10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

Mark 2
23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.

24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?

26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

My pastor just preached on this this morning :p
 
B may have mentioned it, but if you have to make this thread in the first place, I think that your heart has already answered the question which you are asking. Just a thought.
 
Smoking weed, being intoxicated or any other act that causes us as Christians to be in a altered mind state is a sin. Period. This is not my interpretation either it is clearly outlined in scripture, maybe it doesn't say "don't smoke weed so sayeth the Lord" but it is very clear from many scriptures that is the case. I'm stunned that anyone who is a Bible believing Christian could come to a different opinion(before anyone gets sensitive, no I am not suggesting anyone in this thread isn't a Christian) The English word 'pharmacy' is derived from the Greek word(pharmokeia) used to describe those pagans who used potions to encourage hallucinations in those who wanted to contact the spirit world because they understood that being high was a spiritual gateway to demonic forces.

Rev 9:21 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.
The word witchcrafts in this passage is the Greek word Pharmokeia.
From Vine's dictionary: "Pharmakeia" (Eng., pharmacy etc.) primarily signified the use of medicine, DRUGS, SPELLS; then, POISONING; then, SORCERY, Galatians 5:20, R.V., "sorcery" (A.V., "witchcraft"), mentioned as one of "the works of the flesh." See also Rev. 9:21; 18:23

There are other cases where the word witchcraft or sorcery could/should be translated as drug use/abuse. I pray that you will have some spiritual discernment on the issue brother as I said I believe it is very clear in the scriptures, but God is your judge not me so ultimately it is between Him and you. Have a Goodnight gentleman.
 
the Bible says to honor whoever is in authority above you, unless it goes against the word (like if obama said to worship him).....

also, your body is the temple of God. you are screwing up your lungs with weed, or any smoke.

now if smoking weed does not affect your relationship with Christ and it does not distance you from Him, then thats for you to determine. i am not here to judge. but if you are asking how do I feel about it? yes, for ME, it is a sin because it would separate my relationship between myself and Christ.
 
During the hippie era, the so called counter culture movement began to abuse drugs on a level unlike any before in this country's history. It is not a coincidence that what followed was sexual deviance and promiscuity( and all the deadly diseases that has brought), rebellion against authority and parents and of course a surge in the occult and eastern mysticism. Drugs open doors to influence that is not of God and therefore need to be avoided by Christian people.


2 Corinthians 6: 11-16 (New King James Version)
11 O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. 13 Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?

Galatians 5:19-21
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery(pharmakeia in the original language), enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
 
honestly, as long as u dont smoke it and hit with a vaporizer or eat it, i wouldnt consider it a sin. pills such as vics and all those pain relievers do the same thing if anything get u even higher and people dont look at them as a sin.. budd just gets me giggly a bit, hungry to help with gains and knock out a little later. nothin bad
 
Anything that can cause a altered state of mind might put you in a position to sin. For that reason alone one would avoid it. Take a look at the example Jesus made at Mark 15:23. When he was about to be impaled on the torture stake he was offered wine with myrrh to help numb some of his pain but he refused to drink it. He wanted to remain mentally in tact so he could complete the fulfillment of the Father’s will. Drinking that wine would of been what he wanted to do, not what his father wanted of him. We would likely want to follow his example and ask ourselves would using this substance honor god?
 
this^ very well said, forget what i said above. i hear so many morons at my church(pentecostal surprisingly) sayin that crap about it being the tree of life and God put it on this earth for us to use, ya ur a pothead bro, especially since they smoke everyday. i aint a saint but im not gonna lie, it does help me out on my PCT to help me eat but i still think im sinning every time i smoke
 
spatch said:
-This topic is for CHRISTIANS ONLY (and others who can civilly express their opinions about the topic). If you want to bash religion, send me PM's. -

To answer the question... I don’t think it is.

Matthew 15: 11-20. And yes I know this pertains to eating with dirty hands, not drug use

"Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean... Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man unclean."

IMO this means that, like all love, all evil comes from a mans heart.

I know there is a passage that basically says you can drink as long as you do not become enraged, because as stated above, violence and evil come from the heart. The peaceful feeling from marijuana is not evil (in and of itself). Again, the main point I'm trying to get at is that a mans heart is the only measure of evil, or lack of for that matter.


Also, try to keep your points to the word of God alone. If a preacher is baselessly against marijuana, that is his word, not God's.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. My dad is a traditional christian, so I was raised to believe a lot of things were evil. Turns out, alcohol is like the most dangerous drug out there and even Christ said drink and be merry. Weed makes you relaxed and happy and hungry. How are any of those things bad?

Not to mention, YOU CANT OVERDOSE. Its impossible. This drug is the safest one out there. It is safer than aspirin! Preachers (or anyone for that matter) who speak out against it obviously know nothing about it. They should educate themselves before they try to demonize something.
 
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