catapult magazine

Have we decided yet wether smoking pot is sinful? And even if it is, is it a BAD sin like murder? Or one of those okay sins – like adultery?

and then there’s eating pot brownies which is comparable to larseny.

I think there are a couple of ways to look at it. Is participating in something that’s illegal sinful? There’s the obvious exception of doing what the Bible says is right that a government may outlaw, but I don’t think this fits that. Then you can look at what pot will do to you. I’ve heard evidence from both sides about how it kills brain cells vs. how harmless it is. I guess that doesn’t make much of a difference to me. Pot changes your perspective. It alters your frame of mind. Is that sinful? Maybe. But chocolate alters my frame of mind too. The Bible says getting drunk is sinful. How about buzzed? Is that just kind of sinful? I like to drink beer because it tastes good. I drink without getting drunk. Are there people who smoke pot without getting stoned? Does that defeat the whole purpose?
I like the idea of pot as medication. I don’t like the idea of injesting a bunch of robitussin to get a buzz if I’m not sick.

The Bible doesn’t give guidance on drugs aside from alcohol does it? I wonder how the Mormons got to be so sure that caffeine is sinful.

I think that was before they bought Coka Cola. Anyhow – isn’t it like Heroin, which used to be used as a medicinal pain killer and is now illegal? I mean, if it’s helpful to some does that make it okay? Like pot…just because it’s helpful doesn’t mean it’s not harmful…j

Urban legend alert:

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/mormon.asp

perhaps this takes the topic in a different direction, but I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding at Cana. Jesus produced 120-180 [i:d45b47ab58]gallons[/i:d45b47ab58] of wine—because people were thirsty? it seems to indicate that there are times when it is appropriate to celebrate by indulging. which makes me wonder if there is a moral difference between getting drunk (as a state) and drunkenness (as a lifestyle). obviously, our bodies are created in such a way that they rebel when we’ve had too much, and our minds are created in such a way that they rebel when we come to need alcohol in an unhealthy way. is a pleasant buzz a part of the gift of alcohol? was the miracle a "stumbling block" to those who perhaps had already had too much?

Drugs, as products developed from nature can probably be grouped together with foods of all kinds in the Bible. For instance, Noah’s discovery that wine could be made out of grapes was part of God’s cultural mandate but the wine was soon turned into something harmful because of human sin. In the same way, God’s fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil perhaps was intended as a good for humanity but it turned into something harmful because of the way humans went against God’s Word for how it should be used. So maybe Christ’s turning water into wine is a way of redeeming its abuses as seen in Noah and elsewhere in the Old Testament.

Perhaps we could use the Noah story as a rule of thumb: If find yourself naked in front of your kids (and you’re not a nudist) you’ve probably had too much.

Ha! Yes. That sounds entirely sensible (and propositional truthish). It’s really too bad Jesus’ first miracle didn’t redeem nakedness. Maybe some day we’ll get there.