Is there a scriptural case against marijuana use?

[_Ely]

Chriscarani and Frank, thanks for your testimonies and wise words.

Like you guys, I used to be a big user. I was also a big fan of 'conscious' (Rastafarian) reggae music. They used to go on about the "holy herb which gives understanding" and so on. Toward the end of my weed days, I remember my friend gave me a Bible and I remember trying to read it after having smoked. I found I couldn't concentrate on it at all. This was interesting because I could read other stuff after having smoked, I could even write essays for my university studies, but I just could not comprehend the scriptures at all. That was a blessing because I would probably have come up with all kinds of crazy interpretations and possibly have got sucked into Rastafarianism.

The main thing that led to me stopping (aside from it beinga colossal waste of money and the general unfillment when smoking) was that I developed severe fungal sinusitis which required me to have four operations in four years. Deep down, I suspected that it was the weed-smoking that was to blame and having read some medical research this wa sconfirmed. I thought that the condiction would be permanent because, after every op. it would come back quicker and stronger than before. I felt hopeless and helpless because it seemed like I would be having an operation every year for the rest of my life - and I was only in my mid-twenties! God used this to draw me to Him.

I actually stopped before I got saved, but since being saved, I've never even come close to partaking. As I said before, I consider marijuana smoking to be (basically) a sin, because it's wilfully damaging the body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I also think that to be partaking of any substance (be it wine or mariuana) in order to "get closer to God" is a recipe for disaster. Personally, I find that praising the Lord, praying, studying adn reaosning over the scriptures, sharing the gospel and edifying my fellowsaints gives me far more of a real 'buzz' than any substance could ever hope to offer. It's called joy and it's unspeakable and permanent, whereas for me, the effects of alcohol (and marijuana) are (were) fleeting and unfulfilling and quickly fade(d) away.

As for marijuna in the Bible, these claims are laughable. There are people who will see marijuana under every rock. People try and say that the anointing oil contained cannabis and that Jesus and His apostles used cannabis oil to heal people. Useless wrangling of minds destitue of the truth.

Marijunana classification
Anywhoo, if anyone's interested, here's some links concerning the classificication of marijuana (cannabis sativae). Apparently, it is part of the hops family (from which beers also comes from):

"Known by the scientific name Cannabis sativa, marijuana is an annual herb closely related to the hops used in beer brewing." http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... juana.html

The genus Cannabis was formerly placed with nettles in the family Urticaceae or with mulberries in the family Moraceae, but is now considered along with hops (Humulus sp.) to belong to the family Cannabaceae. All strains of Cannabis can interbreed, which means all known Cannabis plants satisfy the criteria for a single species type called (Cannabis sativa L.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis

See also:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/Classificat ... display=31

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Cannabaceae

Hops?
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Hop_%28plant%29

ybiM,
Ely

[Guest]

Thanks you both for your comments.

Frank,

I wanted to first say to Frank, you will be in my prayers. My Grandmother just passed away and she had lung cancer.

I think you make a great point about justification. If one feels the need to justify anything in their life, it is most likely not something that God agrees with. You made a vague point though about justification and Jesus drinking; do you think consuming any beverage with alcohol is wrong?

I read a book a while back and it made my past addiction, and why I was, so much more clear to me. He basically said everyone is addicted to something, and I thought well, I don’t know, then he made the point…don’t think so….go without what it is you love most for a month (with the exception of church etc.), if you can. TV, Golf, reading the newspaper, coffee, whatever the case may be, try going without it for a month. Most likely after a couple of days if you are lucky you will begin to cave in. The clarity came for me when he said, ever since we humans lost paradise, we have been trying to make our way back. Unfortunately, we most often times choose a chemical to try and reach it. Every time my life became a little stressful, or things weren’t going my way, I turned to getting high, to get back, and sadly what I arrived at was merely a mirage.

Elly,

That is very true in regard to an empty feeling drug and alcohol abuse cause.

I studied a variety of religions before turning back to my Christian roots, and one interesting thing I noted is, nearly all of them contained some tradition of mind altering substances. Siddhartha, (the Buddha) chewed on cannabis seeds during his 7 year trek through the woods, and he Hindu Yogis are also known for smoking ganja all day and meditating while attaining ‘enlightenment’. To me, at that point, this fact spoke even higher of the Judeo-Christian prophets and that they truly worshiped the One true God and relayed His message.

[Guest]

Do you think consuming any beverage with alcohol is wrong?

No, as long as it is used for a medicine. I do not agree with social drinking. As I have stated in other post, that anything that alters the mind is not good for you and that includes prescription drugs. The devil comes at a believer through their mind. We are to live soberley and to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We are not to be double minded.

Some people do not see anything wrong with a drink every now and then. It has done more harm than good, and destroyed more families. It has been refered to as the devils brew.

Suppose your children picked up a loaded gun and there was only one bullet in the chamber, would that child be in danger. Its the same as alcohol and other drugs.

The Lord gave me an accrostic for alcohol many years ago and I still use it to reflect upon today.

A
L oss of
C ontrol
O f
H is or Her
O n
L ife.

[Guest]

To Alll

I have found all your decernments on this subject very interesting and true to my experiences also. The first time I ever got "high" was way back in 1968. It was near a church and it was a very mind/spiritual experince to me. It sent me up thinking it was spiritual enhancing and was actually something "good" in that sense. So I bought into it for a while and all the Timothy Leary garbage that went with it, including following eastern religions and others.

As you said most all of them include mind altering drugs except Christianity that I know of. And after many ups and downs and finally becoming saved I realized all the time Satan had a grasp on me and was feeding me a fake Holy Spirit.

But I must also say to be fully honest a few years ago I was in a very naive place ( I am taking FULL responsibility here though) I tried MJ again for a while with a person who confessed to be Chrsitian and had His own philosophy to back it up biblically teaching me , it was ok. I stepped out and tried to be open to another mind set of another Christian , especially a man in my life but the Holy Spirit never let up on me and convicted me.

He used it for good and revealed others around me that were involved in some of those things( right in my church too) I had no idea about or thought it was a lot less than it was. Since that time I am happy to say no one is connected with it that I know of now. All have repented and are clean of it. Including the Christian man whos beliefs were so different at one time.

God can make a bad situation good. Praise God.But if He had His way He probubly would rather have us all stay away from it in the first place. He probubly does greive as any parent when His children hurt themselves.

I am not sure about wine because at the wedding Christs mother asked him to make more and he did. I don't care about drink much, nor does it go with me so I stand kind of mute on that one biblically.

I hope what we are talking about here is not considered chatting, I am still having a hard time discriminating it on this board. Please forgive me if I am and it is outside of what is suppose to be allowed here.

I hope you are getting stronger Frank. If there is anything you would like me to pray on you for personally, please feel free to private message me. God Bless Glow

[Guest]

The Lord gave me an accrostic for alcohol many years ago and I still use it to reflect upon today.

A
L oss of
C ontrol
O f
H is or Her
O n
L ife.

So, would you say Jesus had a loss of control of His life? Apparently He admitted He was a "social drinker":

Matt 11:19
19 "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a gluttonous man and a winebibber,
NKJV

[Guest]

It seems to me that I've heard the following but I can't place the source. Can anyone confirm or deny if the following is true and if so, point to the source?

(This is my best paraphrase from what I remember the argument to be)

The wine used in the Biblical times contained a much lower percentage of alcohol than our modern equivalents. Wine was consumed because it was safer than water or other beverages, as the alcohol killed bacteria living in the liquid. The purpose of our modern drinks are mainly to intoxicate, where the purpose of the ancient wine was safety and flavor, with intoxication being a possible side effect.

[_Ely]

Schoel, the following may or may not be of use:

http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T9199

Ely

[Guest]

Christopher, Let me ask you this? Can you picture our Lord bellying up to the bar with th rest of the good old boys? Drunk with wine. I know Jesus drank wine and I know it was fermented, but I agree with Schoel on that the wine was only slitely fermented. I do not believe He would ever promote its use the way our modern day sociotey does. Of course He was never out of control! A social drinker today is totally diffferent from in those days.

What do you say about alcohol?

I have had to live with an alcoholic father and I have seen him take a gun and shoot himself in the head twice after being under the influence. You might say he was weak and couldn't hold his liquar, but we have all been weak and let our guard down. I have ministerd to the drunk on the street seen the multitude of starving children go with out food or shelter because of a social drinking mother or father. I have seen it do more harm than good and lives totally out of control because of it.

The acrostic is for those who are having problems with Alcohol. Jesus did not have any.

[Guest]

Hi Frank,

Let me just start by saying I don’t believe Jesus ever was drunk. He apparently was accused of it by His enemies who wanted to paint a unflattering portrait of Him. I do think, by His own admission, He drank wine that was capable of getting Him drunk if He overindulged. I’ve often heard the suggestion that Shoel described (mostly by those who would impose tee-totaling on Christians), but it seems to me unlikely given the fact that there are many instances and/or suggestions of drunkenness in the NT. I do believe that wine was used to purify water for common drinking, but I think it’s a stretch to say that all wine was that weak.

Like you, I have seen the devastation of alcohol abuse in many lives. I serve in prison ministry and almost to a person, the guys credit alcohol and/or drugs as a major contributing factor to their downfall.

However, I think it’s important to put it in perspective. For every one person who abuses alcohol, how many others have complete self-control? I don’t have statistics, but my own experience tells me that abuse is more the exception than the norm.

If asked, my default recommendation for someone who doesn’t drink at all is that it’s probably a good idea not to start. For those that do choose to drink, be sensitive about who you share that with so you don’t cause anyone to stumble. But I would want to be careful not to impose any restrictions (expressed or implied) on people that the bible doesn’t as it tends toward legalism and can place unnecessary guilt trips on people, and even causing some to sin against their conscious for something that isn’t a sin at all.

Anyway, that’s my take on the whole matter.

[Guest]

I've heard the teaching about wine being weaker or fermented differently or something or mixed with H2O in NT times, which may be true. I have heard John MacArthur teach this. But when Jesus turned water into wine, it was stated by the host that they surprisingly had saved the best wine for last when the usual custom was to serve the best wines first and when everyone got a little tipsy they switched to the cheap stuff when no one cared.. so obviously people could get drunk off of the wine.

the problem with drinking alcohol if you are a evangelical protestant is that there is such a strong bias against it (which may be fine) that it is difficult NOT to feel convicted about drinking it, even if God Himself does not frown on a person taking a taste of alcohol short of drunkenness. in other words, it takes a lot of willpower not to feel conviction if you want to drink a glass of wine. i know i may not be making my point clear but perhaps you can catch the drift.

TK