I have always wondered what exactly it is in the Bible that Christians use to denounce marijuana. I have never used it and have never wanted to, but I know that the word marijuana is not found in the Bible. Some say it was around at the time, although I am not sure about its prevalence or name. When asked about it, I am unsure of what to say other than the fact that it alters one’s mind. There are plenty of verses in the Bible mentioning alcohol. Is marijuana unmentioned because no one smoked that Biblical figures came
in contact with? Sure, it is illegal, but does that then mean that we can smoke if we were visiting Amsterdam?
Consider Galatians 5:19-21:
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, 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.”
Sorcery is translated from the Greek jarmakeia. Pharmakeia is a word that means “the use or administering of drugs.” The definition seems to have a negative connotation as in poisoning and idolatry.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.”
The Bible says we should not destroy our bodies. Although some may argue they are not destroying their bodies, marijuana does harm the body. Then again, so does smoking tobacco and getting drunk. If this verse is used to denounce marijuana, then should not tobacco also be included because it too is known to harm the body? Alcohol is said to have some benefits in some cases (red wine), but getting drunk does have an effect on the behavior of people. The Bible is clear in saying we should not get drunk with wine:
Ephesians 5:18
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,”
I often hear the argument that moderate drinking is acceptable. After all, Jesus did change the water into wine at the Wedding in Cana (John 2), did he not? But, is it reasonable to assume that Jesus knew some of the people would be getting drunk at this wedding? Was He condoning sinful behavior? Does God permit sinful behavior on certain circumstances? Jesus said divorce is adultery, but Moses did permit people to divorce their wives because of their hardness of heart (Matthew 19, Mark 10). This could have been Moses decision apart from God. The witnesses in Cana did say that the wine was of good quality; maybe Jesus did not see having some quality alcohol as sin.
Are these issues of behavior or honoring your body? Is marijuana smoking being detrimental to your behavior its conflict with the Bible? Does having one drink not change your behavior enough to be condemned? If the issue with marijuana is harming one’s “temple,” how does this affect our stance on other things?
How do you deal with 1 Tim 4:4 – “…For everything God created is good…” or Genesis 9:3 – “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.”?
The “marijuana does harm the body” arguement as presented here is a little weak. A lot of propaganda is out there stating the opposite, but a look at the research shows it does numb your body’s senses and distort perception. But, then again, people who smoke pot know about the numbing and dumbing down, and in most cases this is the reason they smoke it. You’re not going to scare any pot-heads off with this one.
The “body as a temple” arguement is an interesting one because where do you draw the line? Most people line up for fast food and research has also shown these types of frequent meals also have devastating health effects.
The issue comes down to our spiritual state – are we sober and in the spirit, or messed up and unable to process reality? Are we trying to escape reality or serve God? As Christians, the answer should be clear. 1 Cor. 6:12 is an excellent guide – “Everything is permissible for me but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me but I will not be mastered by anything.”, as is Romans 6 – “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
Interesting questions and you got me thinking. I agree with Joe on this one.
As for saying that 1Cor 3:16-17 says that we should not destroy our bodies – that is a misunderstanding of that verse and others like it.
1Cor 6:17
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
Paul is saying that a person can defile the temple, the place where God dwell which is the body, by doing the things that he rebukes the Corinthians for. Thing like:
1) by sexual immorality – chptr 5
2) bytaking a brother to court – chptr 6
3) by divorce – chptr 7
4) by causing a weaker brother to sin through the insensitive use of your rights as a Christian – chapters 8-10
5) by misconduct at the Lord’s Supper and the meeting of the church – chapters 11-14
6) by false teaching – chapter 15
Some stretch the application of this passage to denounce poor eating habits, not exercising, drinking (at all), and other things (piercing/tatooing) that do not appear to be intended by Paul. To add other things, I believe, does not accurately teach what the passage is saying. When you read something into a passage you slip into the liberality of isogesis.
Joe, I think at the very least, marijuana does harm your lungs in the same way that cigarettes does. It is difficult to see where the line should be drawn in respect to caring for your body. This same type of issue is appearing in the secular world with things like “Smoke-Free Ohio” and insurance issues. The verses you mentioned like the ones in Genesis are often mentioned by proponents of marijuana usage. However, I do not think they would eat poisonous mushrooms. I came across this website that seems crazy and scatterbrained. I am unsure of what it is even trying to say. http://www.equalrights4all.org/religious/bible.htm Check out this excerpt:
“What does the Bible say about marijuana? The Bible says that God created hemp for people to use “as meat,” (ie, to consume), that its seed oil is to be used as an ointment, and that cannabis is “to be received with thanks-giving of them which believe and know the truth.” Paul also warned that some people would “speak lies in hypocrisy” and prohibit us from using it.
It also says that we “shall not bear false witness” about people who use cannabis, nor judge them because that judgement is reserved to the Lord. The Lord hates those who speak lies and sow discord among brethern. For those people harrassed and imprisoned for using cannabis rightfuly, Jesus offers these words of comfort, “Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness’s sake: For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Wow. Good thing the site pretty much makes no sense! But I do agree with your stance. We are probably not sober in spirit when we are high. There are probably a lot of other things that cause us to not be sober, but marijuana usage is something that sticks out and is easy to discern, diagnose, and be aware of as a problem. According to crosswalk.com, sober is from the Greek nepho which means “to be sober, to be calm and collected in spirit” and “to be temperate, dispassionate, circumspect.”
Lisa, interesting point about 1 Corinthians 6:17. It does seem like stretching it to include other things could very well be incorrect. Thank you for your outline of the context of the chapter.
Hey, I realized that I was vague on the whole “body” thing – Paul was addressing the body of Christ – the church and Pual was getting down on the Corinthians for those prevailing sins that disrupted the UNITY of the BOC.
BTW – your blogs are interesting (fun too) and your questions are thoughtful – keep writing.
Thank you for the kind words, Lisa! I’d like to come up with more as they are few and far between. Keith told me I should blog when I was talking to him on Saturday so I came up with something.