I am going to write from my phone for the first time. It is not the easiest thing to do but I guess that is what I get for leaving my laptop at home today.
Anyway, I recently followed a Christian organization on Twitter and today they posted the following article in response to the modern push to legalize marijuana:
http://thinkchristian.reframemedia.com/medical-marijuana-and-a-theology-of-pot
I have been neglecting the religious aspect of my research lately and wanted to take a step back into the field of theology in this discussion.
Before I do, I wanted to state clearly that I do not actually smoke marijuana. The stigma associated with the discussion of legalizing marijuana is that the majority of people that want to see it legalized are motivated by their own personal habits. That is not the case.
The article makes the important distinction between casual use and substance abuse. This is key. I want to extract this and apply it to a much more familiar topic within the church: Alcohol. It is my hope that drawing a comparison between pot and alcohol will eliminate the presumptuous negative viewpoints of many Christians regarding the legalization of marijuana.
Firstly, as I’ve suggested, biblical texts do not explicitly deal with the issue of marijuana. What they do deal with is the issue of alcohol. We can compare the two on the grounds that both alcohol and marijuana are substances that effect the perception and self-control of those which partake in them. The two truths I want to focus on are as follows:
1- The Bible does not prohibit the consumption of alcohol.
2- The Bible does prohibit substance abuse.
The first point is interesting. Many Christians are still opposed to the idea of drinking at all, but a very brief look at the Bible can extinguish the claims of Christian prohibitionists. In-fact, most non-Christians have enough theological knowledge to dispel the abstinence supporting-theology. All that it takes is a quick look at Jesus’ famous miracle of turning water into wine to understand that he did not oppose drinking (John 2:1-11). Furthermore, the context of the situation suggests that Jesus was in no way saying “I am going to do this so that you can have one glass of wine a day.” Jesus’ was at a wedding party and his miracle was made necessary by the fact that the hosts ran out of wine for their guests. Assuming that there was not a fluke accident in which all the wine stored for the wedding was spilled, we can conclude that it was gone because the guests drank it all. We can also guess that unless the party was unbelievably large in terms of numbers, people were having more than one cup of wine each.
This is important in the discussion of pot use because it shows that Jesus himself did not oppose the celebratory indulgence of substances. In fact, he aided in the behaviour of the guests. The atmosphere was positive, the reason for celebrating was justifiable, and it was a controlled environment.
The point of it being a controlled environment is key. In the same way that the Think Christian article differentiates between recreational use and substance abuse, the Bible does the same. Both the total loss of self-control, and the chronic dependence on substances are prohibited. While abstinence is not the message, biblical texts to not provide a green card for complete intoxication or chronic use. The dangers of alcoholism are to be avoided.
As stated, the logic of the biblical stance on the use of alcohol is applicable to the discussion of marijuana. While some people will likely never participate in it themselves, there is no theological grounds for the condemnation of others that do choose to smoke marijuana. I think that it is necessary to always monitor ourselves and make sure that innocent enjoyment does not become a loss of control or dependence. This is supported by biblical texts as well as the church’s current beliefs about alcohol. Moving forward, this is information for Christians to consider before making the assertion that the best approach to marijuana is abstinence.
Nathan Olmstead 