Scripture-twisting Pot-Heads seek divine blessing…
If it were not such a serious affront to God, I would find the latest attempts on the part of Marijuana Users to justify their habit uproariously laughable.
Some might say, “You just don’t get out enough” but I had never before seen a sticker advocating pot-smoking which actually tried to cite a scripture to justify it!
The scripture was Gen. 1:29, which says “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth…to you it shall be for meat.”
Okay, first you will note that not only do they cite from the King James version Bible which uses the word “meat” instead of “food”, but they severely truncate the verse in question leaving out the full context of what God is prescribing here, so let me quote it from the English Standard Version – “And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.’” (Gen. 1:29)
The differences are subtle, yet important. Instead of just “herbs”, the word “plants” is used since the Hebrew word “ehseb” applies to all plants and herbs which are edible as food.
They also seem to prefer the word “meat” which they have strained to render “consumables”, allowing consumption via smoking to be considered alongside ingestion. This they do, since cannabis sativa has hardly ever been classified as part of the four basic “food” groups, having little or no nutrient value, much less palate-appeal. No, it is a drug, and consumption in food form is more about the intoxicating effect than it is about the taste. I speak from experience here; “Pot Brownies” are “icky”, as my kids used to say, but endurable if the desired end was to get “high”, and as for “Cannabis Tea”… I think the connoisseurs term for it is – “blech!”, and in no threat to replace Earl Gray in most cupboards.
No, it is a Mummer’s farce to watch as they try to wrest scriptural justification for what is clearly sinful behavior.
What Genesis does teach us…
Following God's inaugural commands for man to "be fruitful, multiple, and replenish the earth; subduing it and having dominion over all things", God then prescribes their initial diet.
It is their "initial diet" since that is what they (we) were to eat at first, but later, after Adam & Eve's fall into sin, their (now OUR diet) diet was expanded to include eating animals; i.e. - fish, birds, and land animals. See: Gen_9:3
*It is important to note that animals shared the same basic diet, and did not yet prey upon each other. (Vs.- 30)
Some, who desire to legitimize the use of mind altering drugs such as Marijuana a.k.a. "Cannabis Sativa", attempt to force-interpret this verse to mean that ALL "herbs"... including Marijuana are given "divine sanction". Nothing could be further from the truth, and this is truly a case where "the wish is father to the thought" as "interpretations" go.
First - While in the Beginning, all herbs may have been suitable for human consumption, it cannot be reasonably argued that this remained the case after The Fall when the destructive consequences of sin entered the picture. (Rom. 8:19-22)
Also, it is pure conjecture to assert that "cannabis sativa" was amongst them, since no herbs were listed by name.
Second - In their desperation to find proof-text Scriptures legitimizing their desires, the Cannabis advocate conveniently "over-looks" the fact that all of Creation was negatively effected after the Fall of Adam & Eve, which resulted in the introduction of all manner of previously unmentioned plant and animal life which would now be unhealthy, if not deadly for man & beast alike to consume; and Marijuana may just as likely be one of them. (Gen. 3:18) If we allow baseless assertions that cannabis sativa existed before the corruption of the creation, then we could equally argue that it may well have been the plant God had forbidden mankind to eat from.
Truly, it seems to have the same fool-appeal today as it had then. Eve, despite being told by God that it was NOT on the menu, yet insisted that it was “good for food”, and had eye-appeal, and what’s more… “Was able to make one wise!” (See Gen. 3:3-6) I can’t recount how many times I’ve heard people say, “Yeah, but it loosens-up my creative juices man!” and/or “It elevates my spiritual understanding!”… Sound familiar?
Are they right? Am I just being “judgmental”? I mean, how do I know what it actually does for them?
Well, for one thing, I have my own subjective experiences to draw from; so “I know whereof I speak” when I say such claims are a load of “hooey”!
But I also have decades of objective scientific data to draw from which also supports my “judgment”; for example, as far back as…
March 24, 1982, the Department of Health and Human Services submitted to Congress a report reviewing the consequences of marijuana use. Marijuana and Health, 1982, ninth in a series, was primarily based on two recently conducted, comprehensive, scientific reviews by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the Canadian Addiction Research Foundation, and the World Health Organization (WHO). Both independent reviews corroborate the Public Health Service's findings of health hazards associated with marijuana use…
Among a few of the established effects of frequent Marijuana use were…
- Serious, acute effects on perception and reasoning resulting in illogical and/or irrational behavior, a noted DECREASE in skilled performance of routine tasks; and a marked effect on more complex skills/tasks such as driving, which require fine motor skills.
- A marked decrease in sperm count and sperm motility (they get lazy).
- Interference with ovulation and prenatal development (very bad)
So much for “elevated understanding”…”spiritual enlightenment”, blah, blah, blah... And as for the “creative juices” thing: Any fool high enough quickly becomes a “Legend” in his or her own mind, and you can forget about pro-creative “juices” too it seems; doing cannabis actually REDUCES your procreative potential!
What “spiritual enlightenment” did Adam & Eve get out consuming their forbidden fruit? Answer: They came to the rude awakening that
- They just sinned away their innocence, and were now naked before the Judge of all Creation
- They actually FELL from the true “enlightenment” they already possessed, which only God can grant…without the aid of drugs
- They brought decay, destruction, and death to all of their descendants and the world they would have to live in
- Rather than “enlightenment”, they brought spiritual darkness upon themselves and their descendants for countless generations; a thing only God, in His mercy could ever undo.
- And worst of all, mankind was cut-off from the Tree of Eternal Life which meant we not only lost fellowship with God here & now, but for all eternity! *See Genesis 3
No, the only way to true “spiritual enlightenment” is not through being joint-smokers, but rather “joint-heirs” with Christ, through whom we have access to the Father again, and with it, all the spiritual wisdom we could ever crave. (Rom. 8:13-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Cor. 1:19-30; Col. 2:3; Jas. 1:5)
We must therefore conclude that there is no evidence to justify using Genesis 1:29 as a divine license to use Marijuana, and such a twisted misapplication of divine writ is sinful. (2 Pet. 3:16)
Cannabis: A plant of “renown”, or infamy?
Yet another scripture, pot-puffers have taken to misquoting and wresting to their own use is Ezekiel 34:29, which reads…
“And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.”
This “plant” they take to mean the Marijuana plant. Again, it would be laughable were it not such a deadly serious sin on their part.
I mean, to suggest that marijuana is the plant which shall do away with “hunger”? Ha! Any fool knows it brings on the notorious “munchies”!
The whole context of Ezekiel chapter 34 is that of God restoring his now exiled people to their promised homeland, and not by larger application God’s People from out of all Nationalities, people groups, and ethnicities. It is a Messianic prophecy full of allusions to the Messiah to come, and variously depicted as that “One Shepherd” (Vs. - 23)… “My servant David” (Vs. - 24)…, and notably, there would be no more ravenous beasts in the land. (Vs.-25) The identity of this singular “plant of renown” is readily apparent, and has ever been identified as Christ the Messiah. Marijuana and cannabis were never once mentioned in the scriptures, and so can hardly be this “plant of renown” since it was literally UN-KNOWN. And besides, even it was known to them, it would be a plant of infamy and not “renown”. On the other hand, the “root of Jesse” a.k.a., Jesus Christ was well-known, and held in the highest esteem!
“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” (Isa 11:10)
“And again, Isaiah says, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.” (Rom 15:12)
“His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.” (Psa 72:17)
Of “bigots” and “Sorcerers”…
It is at about this point that people who don’t have a rational counter-argument to make begin to throw around labels such as “bigot”. I find that ironic since it is THEY who have no reasonable basis for their opinions! It matters little to me: For while that class of sinners known to the world as “bigots” is nowhere to be found among those mentioned in Scriptures; “Drug-Abusers” a.k.a. “Sorcerers” certainly are. There’s no record of any “bigot” being damned to hell, but there are plenty of “sorcerers” there.
Now, if I were a “mean-spirited bigot” about such things, I’d be quite content to keep such facts to myself knowing that my pot-puffing neighbors were on a fast track to annihilation, and would soon die-off via attrition; but I am NOT such a person, and I really DO care about others, and the dangerous things they’ve duped themselves into believing.
Webster’s defines a “bigot” as “A person who is obstinately and unreasonably wedded to a particular…opinion”
Well, I have herein given the Reader some very sound reasons for my opinions concerning marijuana use; I hope that they will allow that, however forceful my arguments, I am not a “bigot”, much less “mean-spirited” in any sense.
In conclusion, it becomes plain to the objective reader that those seeking to assert divine sanction to use cannabis from the Holy Scriptures, fail miserably in the attempt, and in fact have only proven that they fully deserve the divine CURSES and not blessings, promised to all those who would so misuse the Word of God. They have over-reached themselves in touching that which is holy in a vain attempt to justify their sinful desires; and they shall not go unpunished. Little did they realize that in daring to open God’s Word seeking a “liberty” He forbids, they have instead ensnared themselves! They have no excuses now…They have held the divine oracles in their hands which warned them against misusing it, and they ignored it! And now they must face the Bar of His justice and answer Him as He demands to know…
“But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?” Psa 50:16
The Apostle Peter warned us that it is the “ignorant and unstable” who twist the Scriptures to their own (“apoleia”) damnation. 2 Pet. 3:16
Rev 22:18-20
(18) “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
(19) and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
(20) He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
*See also – Deu. 4:2; 12:32; Pro. 30:6
As King Solomon said, “There is nothing ‘new’ under the sun” (Ecc. 1:9), and that includes drug abuse. In Biblical terms it was known as “sorcery” from the Koine Greek word “pharmakeia”, from which we derive our English word “pharmacy”; i.e. – “drugs”. And while the Bible does not condemn the genuine medicinal use of drugs, it does condemn its use in deliberately altering one’s state of mind so that they become “ensorcelled”; i.e. - easy to influence. Cultists and Occultist alike have long used such means to break-down the normal walls of inhibition and caution in their subjects, and thereby brainwash them.
Both they who abuse drugs, and those who promote is abuse are flatly condemned by God. (Gal. 5:20; Rev. 9:21; 18:23)
Friend, there’s not enough pot in the whole world to make it worth the exchange for your very soul. And if the factual health arguments aren’t enough to convince you of its dangers, then consider this… Whether it be drugs like pot, or excessive drinking, or sexual immorality; it’s a pretty sure indicator that its already having a corrupting influence on your life that you’d stoop so low as to attempt twisting God’s holy word to justify it. Think on it – Is it really a “plant of renown” to you, or one of infamy? Are you really that dumb to risk having your hope of eternal life to go…“up in smoke”?
In loving truth,
The Desert Paladin
