Can't speak for myself, but a friend of mine is a youth minister and I am sure he has run a few cycles over the years. We wrestled together in high school (he was in the 125 or 135lb weight class) and now is about 225 at @10-12%bf. He looks huge at 5'6 or 5'7 .Sucks that he is almost as big as me and I was the Heavyweight. He doesn't talk about it and I don't ask, but it is fairly obvious. He said he was thinking of competing again but wanted the church to give him thier blessing to do it.Coolkat said:Any body else out there a Christian and uses AAS to be the best you can?
For me at age 46, it is like, self HRT. I suspect Pat Robertson would not be opposed to HRT.
He admits to using Creatine.
Anybody else???
You're kidding right? I mean..this wasn't a serious post was it?Knowbull said:Christianity in America is rapidly taking on the face of Fascism, let us all remember who the first steroid users in the world were: NAZIS!
milwood said:Christianity (as a way of life/faith/religion) would likely be against illegal activity. That said, if you believe in your heart of hearts that the government has no moral right to dictate/legislate your personal (God-given) freedom, then even Christ himself would probably encourage you to resist such a law. Jesus certainly had his own personal conflicts with governmental law/decree. Of course, it made his situation rather tenuous, as the steroid issue could certainly make yours. Bottom line, personal decision. And as Null suggests, probably a real can o' worms. Everybody be nice!!!
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's
and therein lies the beauty of christianity; it's open to interpretation. if you feel that it is holding you back from your relationship with christ, than by all means don't use steroids. the scripture you posted brings up the whole debate of whether the bible is a literal work, or figurative. what if the government said lifting weights was illegal, would you stop? i sure as hell wouldn't. when a law unreasonably infringes on my personal freedoms, than i choose not to follow it.supersize77 said:A Christian is to be in submission to the government that is over him.
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers." This is speaking about a Christian's responsibility to government. It is not applicable to the non-Christian. Whatever government a Christian finds himself under, he is to be in submission and obedience to it. This was spoken by Paul who lived under one of the most tyrannical dictatorships of all time, Nero's rule of Rome. It was the Roman government that put Christ to death, and Nero later executed the Apostle Paul (this is good info for context).
Are they morally wrong in and of themselves? I am of the opinion that they are not.
Are they, strictly speaking, Biblically wrong? In this country, most certainly.
Tot the best of my knowledge, the only thing you can still take (and possibly even posses) and still be line with Biblical teachings is 1,4 AD (I think it's still legal right?).
This is not to condemn anyone either...this line of thinking is Biblically based. It's not based on my personal opinion (except possibly the 1,4 AD part).
So, can a Christian take AAS? Sure
Will he be living in accordance with the teachings of scripture? Not unless they are prescribed.
Christians were not in submission to the Roman government which was over them. They died as entertainment for the Romans because of it before the conversion of the Roman Empire.supersize77 said:A Christian is to be in submission to the government that is over him.
So, can a Christian take AAS? Sure
Will he be living in accordance with the teachings of scripture? Not unless they are prescribed.
It doesn't have to wash with you to be Biblical. If the Bible says Christians are to be in submission to the government and they take illegal substances, they are not living in accordance with scripture. You may not personally agree with that but that is what the Bible teaches. I am not personally familiar with all of the nuances of prescriptions but as far as I know, if you have a valid prescription for something, it's legal.FrTimothy said:As far as making substances illegal and using a legalistic loophole to not make it a sin...Hogwash! Christianity was never about the law, not Government Law and it replaced Jewish Law with Grace. So, it isn't a sin if you can bribe a doctor or find a doctor to prescribe it but the same substance use is a sin without it...I don't think so. It doesn't wash with me. Either it is regardless of a prescription or it's not.
chasec said:and therein lies the beauty of christianity; it's open to interpretation. if you feel that it is holding you back from your relationship with christ, than by all means don't use steroids. the scripture you posted brings up the whole debate of whether the bible is a literal work, or figurative. what if the government said lifting weights was illegal, would you stop? i sure as hell wouldn't. when a law unreasonably infringes on my personal freedoms, than i choose not to follow it.
this is your opinion, and i respect it; however let me raise a question. lets say the government proposed an amendment and said "worshipping of god is hereby forbidden." would you follow it? no, because your intellect would tell you that the law isn't just, and therefore doesn't have to be followed. it is stated in the constitution of the US even. so how far of a stretch is it to do the same thing from a biblical standpoint? I am submissive to the government when it's laws don't infringe on my personal freedoms unnecessarily.It doesn't have to wash with you to be Biblical. If the Bible says Christians are to be in submission to the government and they take illegal substances, they are not living in accordance with scripture. You may not personally agree with that but that is what the Bible teaches
hmn, i think that the bible makes clear that a sin is a sin, and all are equal in the eyes of god. whether you murder someone or stare for an extra second at that hottie in the mall, both make you unworthy of gods love. so the whole "7 deadly sins" idea is gone... the only sin that is unforgivable is blasphemy against god ...Therefore it falls under one of the seven deadly sins, infact it falls under the daddy of all the seven deadly sins. I think we would all have to agree that when on cycle it is feeling like superman and that in and of itself is pride. What it is: Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity. This is not to condemn anyone, I myself am not a Christian but it seems to me that regardless of legal reasons it is a sin - personal beliefs wether it is ok or not is totally irrelevant. This is of course if you are taking them for vanity reasons, ANY vanity reasons.
Wow, brutal subject. I echo Chasec's point.chasec said:good points. mainly i feel it's a personal decison. if it hinders your walk with christ, drop it. if not, use responsibly!
The feeling is mutual. :thumbsup:chasec said:good support; i like arguing with you:thumbsup: . it's refreshing to disagree civily with somebody that has a strong opposing opinion.