Soul Invictus

It's been pretty much assumed that activities such as smoking and drinking are sinful acts. Drinking often receives a semi-inconclusive debate of drinking in moderation, or not in excess.

I was wondering, that although the Bible does not specifically state smoking is sinful, what apologetic scriptures are a reference for which smoking and/or drinking would entail constitution of an unacceptable or sinful act?

breathilizer

As far as I know, they're ok with drinking, but only in small amounts.

On the matter of smoking, I think Jesus was a fuckin crackhead

MachineGod

Some Christians tend to call just about anything they think is wrong...a sin.

But is doesn't take a genius to know that doing any drugs excessively is bad for you. I think if anyone were going to call it a sin, it would have to be a sin against yourself.

A smoker knows smoking is bad for them, but does it anyway. Even marijuana reduces brain stimulation, and causes misperception, lack of energy, and makes people not want to do anything but sit on their butt.

Personally I don’t think it is a matter of sin, it’s a matter of just being stupid. Who would eat a pie, if they knew it had rat poison in it?

However, if your looking for a bit of scripture, I guess it would have to be this one…

1 Corinthians 6:19 - Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?

Drugs, even bad eating habits could be considered a pollution of this temple (your body).

Soul Invictus

It is this, along with a few other issues, that I wish to address for discussion purposes.

Karalora

That's certainly the way the Mormons look at it. But they extend the attitude even further, disapproving of things like tattoos and piercings.* I say bosh! If your body is a temple, then tattoos and piercings, should you desire such things, are the temple ornaments. Just mind the risk of infection.

For that matter, I suppose marijuana could be considered the sacred incense. Hmmm...


* Except for one small hole through each earlobe, and even then only if you're female. The reason they allow this exception, of course, is because female ear piercing is considered "respectable" by the vast majority of the population as a whole, and they can't quite bring themselves to ban it even in the name of "godly" consistency. Whether this constitutes hypocrisy on their part or just bowing to the reality of their time and place is up for grabs.

Magus55

I'm surprised you don't like Him then!

MachineGod

I would agree that people tend to take things a little too far in this regard. Like the Mormon thing, I can’t see where piercing and tattooing can be reasonably included as pollution of your body, as long as (as Karalora said) you keep infection in mind. Might be more like desecration. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. (Get a tattoo that says Jesus Loves and they would probably change their tune).

All drugs are bad if used excessively, that’s just a medical fact. Some drugs however, such as cocaine, can be fatal at the first experimental dose. Medicine, which are drugs also, can be a very good thing, but even the warning label will give a time frame that you should not exceed.

Eating habits also, is just a good common sense thing that a person should eat healthy. Biblical references to clean and unclean foods, I think, aren’t telling that it is a sin per say, but just kind of like a health food menu. For instance, pork…pigs don’t sweat, and sweating releases impurities. (That’s why pork is salty)

It’s just the old saying, “you are what you eat.�?

Marijuana I can’t really say is a bad thing all together (it’s being experimented with in medicine), but if used excessively, it’s not good at all, that’s just the truth.

While the biblical verse I gave is a bit vague, the argument of something being pollution of the body or not should be left to simple observation. If it is a pollution of the body, why not call it a sin? The bible doesn’t even have to come into the picture on this one.