Christianity and Weed

dude OP,

as a christian i know what you mean, and recently i have been having the same thoughts myself. i guess quite some stuff i do could be considered a 'sin' like when i'm drunk or smoking my ass off, some would say i'm polluting the 'temple of my body'. i have some weaknesses that i give in to, so i hope God will forgive me when i see Him.

as for mj, i'm not doing it for medical reasons but just for recreation, or to relax and forget about my anxieties of life. so, do i really need to get high? i don't think so, it's just a fun (sometimes lazy) option but i'd like to reach a level where i don't need or want any 'external' substance for me to escape the realities/frustrations of the day. i remember when i was younger, i'd get high on life, learning and really enjoy doing new stuff. funny, but as i grew older, the joy of 'learning' was replaced by my need to 'enjoy myself' by utilizing 'grown-up' stuff like cigs or alcohol.

i don't need to be high, and i know being so stands in the way of my other pursuits like my martial arts, biking or my work which requires a fair bit of mental clarity. After i got my vape, i tended to vape quite a bit. just lying around and vape, vape vape. and having such a lax attitude resulting in some of the 'laxness' spilling over into other areas of my life. I don't know if you'd consider it a sin, but it sure ain't good for my personal development. A bit of discipline in any areas of our life is good, i feel, same thing with the herb. If i was going to vape and get high bcos it was the easier and convenient option rather than going for my martial arts class or handling my work/home responsibilities, then i think nobody, including God, would be happy with it.

for myself, a bit of herb would be like some kinda 'earthly' pleasure. may not be exactly righteous in the eyes of the Lord, but i guess it's like a difference between stealing mangoes from your neighbour's tree and stealing some old lady's handbag. yeah, stealing mangoes is still a sin, but a 'smaller' sin (self rationalising behaviour at work here!) and within certain limits, it's fun. i'm not going to encourage you. imho, if you can cut the herb out, or any external stuff completely, even better. but as long as the herb isn't getting in the way of your work, meeting people and doing stuff with a good clarity of mind and setting proper goals, then i wouldn't fret about it so much. some people can be really productive even when high (i'm not one of them) and some people can be totally useless even when they are not.

What does religion have to do with GOD? Do you realy think that man in its infancy realy has the mental capacity to understand what GOD truly is? How arrogant can we be? Of course the Bible has some word hoops to jump through it is the INTERPRETATION of the WORD OF GOD! It was not written by GOD nor is it any sort of verbatem dictation of his words. Its written by man an imperfect creature wich interprets things differently then its fellow man. GOD is the energy that keeps the universe in flow. GOD isnt something thats debatable. Even if your a man of science and believe in the "big bang theory" key word being theory cause thats all it is you believe that out of nothing came everything.? Sounds like GODS work to me. Just my 2 cents. Why r u guys so caught up in the 10 commandments? There were origanly over 600 of them. The laws of man change almost daily.

If you really believe in God, why does religion matter at all? Holy books are entirely written by humanity with no reason to place our faith in divine inspiration. Those stories or histories might shape your belief about God or gods, but in no way should they be confused with God itself.

I find myself in a similar situation. I'm an economist, I lay it all out on the table first even if it sounds silly.

Christianity teaches that if you think your are sinning and proceed anyway then you are sinning even if the act isn't inherently wrong. The action is not so important but the heart. "Whatever is not of faith is sin."--Romans 14:23 paraphrased.

Romans also commands to obey the governing authorities since they are "ministers of justice" moreso in the sense that mankind has been charged with self-governance and therefore rebellion against that governance is rebellion against G-d. The general exception to this is prohibition against religious duty and being told to do something that is prohibited by scriptures. Clearly they are not always just.

The "every seed, plant, animal is yours" is important in that Adam and Eve had previously been prohibited from touching or eating a plant that G-d created, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Lest they think there may be more prohibitions, G-d sets them free. This is not an endorsement. It is setting the record straight and highlighting the (biological)social order. We own everything and G-d owns us. The next similar act is G-d charging man with self-governance in one respect- to executing murderers.


The consumption of innebriants is nowhere prohibited. There is the command not to be drunk and even this is as a means to an end. Drunkeness leads to sin.

Marijuana is capable of treating many disorders. It is strange to think G-d put it here, knowing it could heal but expecting people to abstain.

Yes that is a concern of mine with the stumbling. I've been open with my close friends, family, and minister. I don't offer a sales pitch or anything, I just explain my situation and as long as I'm pretty normal about it and responsible it doesn't provoke much. I don't chase rabbits, so that helps. The key there is that I can keep a pretty even voice, and when questioned with a sudden glance of disbelief I keep the same slow pace of speech and calm articulation. Presentation goes a long way, most people are inundated with expensive presentations proclaiming the perils of pot. The more you can say and mean with a straight face the better those encounters go. I live in a very conservative climate.

Our culture places little emphasis on respect for anything, and I think some respect is required when approaching anything mind-altering.

I don't want to presume you believe exactly as I do. Still I wanted to offer thoughts that have helped me. Death is the beginning and Life is the womb. G-d is the goal. everything else is secondary: to quote "evangelism exists because worship does not." If worship is the most important thing to you then don't let anything get in the way of that.

Obviously there is nothing innately wrong with marijuana. Its what you do with it that matters.

It is not my intention to insult anyone who may believe differently. Hope this helps.

People are forgetting that God did NOT create the super concerntrated high THC Indoor strains of weed....It is man made through cross breeding to get a specific results. IMHO - Indoor strains are drugs while natural outdoor strains are, well normal plants.

Sort of like the difference between LSD and Shrooms. LSD = lab made drug and Mushrooms = natural growing structure.

A bit off topic so sorry in advance.

A few days ago a friend watched Earthlings and Food INC. At the end his reply was that although he can see animals being tortured on a HUGE scale, its unexceptable but he would never stop eating meat because the Bible says God gave the animals to us to use as we please.

I see people using their religion to justify what they personally want.

"Obviously there is nothing innately wrong with marijuana. Its what you do with it that matters." +1

"I see people using their religion to justify what they personally want." i think religion is at times a convenient tool, easily misused for personal reasons. however, in the absence of religion, people would justify their actions with some other means. that's human nature, i guess.

warren79 said:

People are forgetting that God did NOT create the super concerntrated high THC Indoor strains of weed....It is man made through cross breeding to get a specific results. IMHO - Indoor strains are drugs while natural outdoor strains are, well normal plants.

Sort of like the difference between LSD and Shrooms. LSD = lab made drug and Mushrooms = natural growing structure.

Click to expand...

Selective breeding predates Christianity and has very likely been applied ten thousand times over to everything you eat on a day-to-day basis. Are cows not animals but man-made slabs of meat?

The way I understand it is that nothing is to be idolized. That being said, most churches officially support MEDICINAL use:
Licensed medical doctors s

hould not be punished for recommending the use of medical marijuana to seriously ill people, and seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if the patients physician has told the patient that such use is likely to be beneficial.
Supporters include:
United Methodist Church*
Presbyterian Church (USA)
United Methodist Board of Church and Society
Episcopal Church*
Unitarian Universalist Association
Union for Reform Judaism
United Church of Christ*
Progressive National Baptist Convention
* An asterisk indicates that the organization has not yet signed the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiatives quoted statement, although it does have an official supportive position. The specific policy position language is available upon request from IDPI and can also be seen below.

Positions of Religious Groups that Support Medical Marijuana
Several major denominations and other religious groups have official positions supporting medical marijuana. These positions are detailed below. We encourage anyone working on this issue to utilize this support. Please contact us to find out how to put this information to good use.
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church adopted the following position at their General Conference in 2004 by a vote of 877-19:
Some countries permit the use of marijuana in medicines. Recently, some states in the United States have passed legislation permitting the medical use of marijuana. The medical use of any drug should not be seen as encouraging recreational use of the drug. We urge all persons to abstain from all use of marijuana, unless it has been legally prescribed in a form appropriate for treating a particular medical condition.
Subsequently, the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society signed on to the following statement: Licensed medical doctors should not be punished for recommending the medical use of marijuana to seriously ill people, and seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if the patients physician has told the patient that such use is likely to be beneficial.
Presbyterian Church (USA)
On June 21, 2006, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) became the latest religious body to endorse legal access to medical marijuana for seriously ill patients. By consensus, the denomination passed a resolution urging Federal legislation that allows for its use and that provides for the production and distribution of the plant for those purposes.
Item: 09-03
Title: On Medical Use of Marijuana
Item URL: http://les-pcusa.org/Item.aspx?IID=134&
Assembly Action
The Assembly adopted the Committees recommendation to approve
On this Item, the Assembly acted by consensus
Committee Recommendation
On Item 09-03, the Social Justice Issues Committee voted as follows:
Motion was carried by a Counted vote.
- Affirmative:44
- Negative:16
- Abstention:1
The committee hereby recommends approval
RESOLUTION
The Presbytery of Homestead overtures the 217th General Assembly (2006) to do the following:
1. Reaffirm the PCUS statement of the 111th General Assembly (1971) that marijuana is not properly classified (Minutes, PCUS, 1971, Part I, p. 147).
2. Affirm the use of cannabis sativa or marijuana for legitimate medical purposes as recommended by a physician.
3. Instruct the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly to inform the office of the president of United States, urging Federal legislation that allows for its use and that provides for the production and distribution of the plant for those purposes.
4. Seek Federal protection for patients, caregivers, and their physicians from prosecution by local and state authorities, and physicians from negative repercussions by their licensing bodies.
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christs Ministry for Criminal Justice & Human Rights signed a Coalition for Compassionate Access statement in 2002, proclaiming, We believe that seriously ill people should not be subject to arrest and imprisonment for using medical marijuana with their doctors approval.
Progressive National Baptist Convention
In 2004, the Progressive National Baptist Convention signed onto the following statement: Licensed medical doctors should not be punished for recommending the medical use of marijuana to seriously ill people, and seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if the patients physician has told the patient that such use is likely to be beneficial.
Episcopal Church
In 1982, the Episcopal Church passed a resolution in support of prescriptive access. [67th Convention of the Episcopal Church (B-004)a] The statement says that, the Episcopal Church urges the adoption by Congress and all states of statutes providing that the use of marijuana be permitted when deemed medically appropriate by duly licensed medical practitioners.
Billy Graham Ministries
In a 1998 letter to the husband of the late medical marijuana patient Cheryl Miller who was suffering from multiple sclerosis, Alison Barker of the Christian Guidance Department of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association wrote, This should not have a negative reflection on ones Christian testimony..Since we are talking specifically about marijuana as a medicine, we would hope for a way to find a special exception in Cheryls case, since it has been proven to be of great help to her.
Unitarian Universalist Association
In 2002, the Unitarian Universalist Association passed a comprehensive Statement of Conscience on drug policy after two years of nationwide study. It says, in part, Make all drugs legally available with a prescription by a licensed physician, subject to professional oversight. End the practice of punishing an individual for obtaining, possessing, or using an otherwise illegal substance to treat a medical condition.
In 2004, the Unitarian Universalist Association signed onto the following statement: Licensed medical doctors should not be punished for recommending the medical use of marijuana to seriously ill people, and seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if the patients physician has told the patient that such use is likely to be beneficial.
Union for Reform Judaism
In 2003, the 67th General Assembly of the Union for Reform Judaism passed the following resolution in support of medical marijuana (all of which is quoted verbatim):
BACKGROUND
According to our tradition, a physician is obligated to heal the sick (Maimonides commentary on Mishnah Nedarim 4:4). The use of marijuana as medicine goes back at least 5,000 years. Under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, U.S. law currently defines marijuana as a Schedule I drug-a prohibited substance-having no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, a high potential for abuse, and a lack of evidence of safety for use under medical supervision. In contrast, Schedule II drugs have restricted access as highly controlled medications that are prescribed in writing in triplicate using the physicians assigned number. Moreover, Schedule II medications are for use in pain management for a limited period of time in limited quantity.
Anecdotally based reports on the medical use of marijuana have indicated that it provides relief from symptoms, conditions and treatment side effects of several serious illnesses. These include glaucoma, the wasting syndrome associated with HIV/AIDS, nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy, and muscle spasms that often accompany multiple sclerosis and chronic pain. Thus far, scientific studies regarding the efficacy and safety of marijuana use for therapeutic purposes have been inconclusive.
In recent years the development and implementation of pain management have changed. In the United States, more than 30 states have approved legislation in support of the medicinal use of marijuana. U.S. federal law supersedes state law, however, and prevents the implementation of these states mandates. Because marijuana is not legally available in the U.S., except for research purposes pursuant to limited Investigational New Drug applications approved by the Food and Drug Administration, many patients cannot avail themselves of this therapy and must resort to the black market to obtain relief and are thus subject to arrest or incarceration. At this time, Health Canada, the Canadian federal department of health, permits the use of marijuana for medical purposes. A court case is pending to determine the method by which patients will obtain the marijuana.
In January 1997, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy asked the Institute of Medicine to assess the potential health benefits and risks of marijuana and its cannabinoid compounds (the primary psychoactive ingredients). The Institute of Medicines report, released in March 1999, recommends continued research into physiological effects of marijuanas constituent cannabinoids and their potential therapeutic value for pain relief, including closely monitored clinical trials of smoked marijuana. The Institute of Medicines report also recommends short term use (less than 6 months) of marijuana for patients with debilitating symptoms for whom all approved medications have failed and relief of symptoms could be reasonably expected, with treatment administered under medical supervision and the guidance of an institutional review board.
THEREFORE, the Union for Reform Judaism resolves to:
1. Urge elected officials in the United States to support federal legislation and regulation to allow the medicinal use of marijuana for patients with intractable pain and other conditions, under medical supervision;
2. Urge the Food and Drug Administration to expand the scope of allowable Investigational New Drug applications in order to move research forward more quickly toward an approved product;
3. Call for further medical research on marijuana and its constituent compounds with the goal of developing reliable and safe cannabinoid drugs for management of debilitating conditions; and
4. Call upon congregations to advocate for the necessary changes in local, state and federal law to permit the medicinal use of marijuana and ensure its accessibility for that purpose.
In 2004, the Union for Reform Judaism signed onto the following statement: Licensed medical doctors should not be punished for recommending the medical use of marijuana to seriously ill people, and seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if the patients physician has told the patient that such use is likely to be beneficial.
Partial support from other religious groups
In 2002, the executive offices of several religious groups endorsed a coalition sign-on statement called Eight Steps to Effectively Controlling Drug Abuse & The Drug Market, which includes the recommendation, Respect States Rights and Allow New Approaches to Be Tried. The statement elaborates, The Federal government should work with states that have voted fourteen times for reform measures over the last three election cycles. Reforms have included treatment instead of prison, medical use of marijuana, marijuana decriminalization and stopping abuse of forfeiture laws. The federal government has opposed many of these reforms and taken steps to block them from being implemented. But, the states are laboratories for new approaches that should be tried and, if effective, duplicated in other parts of the United States.
Religious groups that endorsed this statement include: National Council of Churches; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Presbyterian Church (USA); Progressive Jewish Alliance; Rainbow/PUSH Coalition; and the Religious Society of Friends (Philadelphia Yearly Meeting).
Note that this statement does not specify whether or not the medical use of marijuana should be legally allowed, but simply that individual states should be allowed to make their own decisions on the matter.

Edit: mistake post

Might I suggest praying for guidance, rather than attempting to find scripture that says using marijuana is a sin. Maybe communing with Him will allow you to see what is best for you. Just realize that what is best for you is not always best for someone else.

Tuck said:

Might I suggest praying for guidance, rather than attempting to find scripture that says using marijuana is a sin. Maybe communing with Him will allow you to see what is best for you. Just realize that what is best for you is not always best for someone else.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't this lead you to validate your own preconceptions?

Praying seems to give people different conclusions on what their god wants. Ask a person from the Taliban what his god wants him to do and he will tell you something different than a moderate Muslim would say. Likewise, ask a Ugandan Christian what he thinks about gays and then ask a liberal Christian what prayer has lead him to think.

It doesn't seem that prayer is very objective...

people are christian when its convenient for them

its like when Bin Laden was killed... many "christians" celebrated this event. it clearly states in the bible to "love thy enemy". so if your christian and were celebrating the death of Bin Laden then your not really christian. i know soooooooo many "christians" its hilarious.

religion = control

enjoy cannabis

I'm surprised no one has brought up cannabis's connection to Christianity. According to language and religious experts, substantial evidence exists to link these two entities together. This is an excerpt from The Pot Book. This particular section was written by Chris Bennett (I apologize for the length of the excerpt, but it is a fascinating read):

"Of the historical material indicating the Hebraic use of cannabis, the strongest and most profound piece of evidence was established in 1936 by Sula Benet (a.k.a. Sara Benetowa), a Polish etymologist from the Institute of Anthropological Sciences in Warsaw. In 1975 Benet stated, In the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament there are references to hemp, both as incense, which was an integral part of religious celebration, and as an intoxicant.

Through comparative etymological study, Benet documented that in the Hebrew Scriptures and their Aramaic translation, the Targum Onculos, hemp is referred to as qneh bosm (variously translated as kaneh bosem, keneh bosem, kaniebosm) and is also rendered in traditional Hebrew as kannabos or kannabus. The root kan in this construction means reed or hemp, while bosm means aromatic. This word appears in Exodus 30:23, Song of Songs 4:14, Isaiah 43:24, Jeremiah 6:20, and Ezekiel 27:19.

Benets etymological research regarding the Hebrew terms qeneh bosem and qeneh was based on tracing the modern word cannabis back through history to show the similarities between the cognitive pronunciation of cannabis and qeneh bosem, as well as comparing the term to the names used for cannabis by contemporary kingdoms, such as the Assyrian and Babylonian term for the plant, qunubu. In fact, the term qneh bosem is the Hebrew transliteration of an earlier Indo-European term for the plant, canna. This term left traces through the vernacular an, seen in various modern terms for cannabis, such as the Indian bhang, the French chanvre, the Dutch canvas, and the German han f.

This use of an Indo-European word in the Semetic language shows that the ritual use of cannabis came to the Hebrews from foreign sources and as an item of trade; it retained the core aspects of its original name. Indeed, in both the Jeremiah and Ezekiel references referred to by Benet, cannabis is identified as coming from a foreign land. As the additional references noted by Benet indicate, when put into the context of the biblical storyline, this foreign association with the plant may in fact have been the cause of its disfavor among the ancient Hebrews. Initially it was deemed to be favorable; it was part of a list of ingredients in a holy anointing oil, which when bestowed upon a chosen individual made him the anointed one (in Hebrew this is rendered as Messiah and later, in Greek, as Christ). But this love affair was not to last. As linguist and mythologist Carl Ruck, along with his equally educated coauthors, have also noted:

'Chrismation was a mode of administering healing balms. In the Old Testament, chrismation involves pouring the anointing oil over the head, which functions to purify (obviously in a spiritual sense, not to cleanse physically) and to confer power, strength, or majesty. Its most common occurrence is the coronation of kings, which sometimes is accomplished by Yahweh, himself; but priests and prophet-shamans are also anointed, as also are objects to set them aside from profane use. In Exodus 30,23 sq., Yahweh specifies the ingredients for the chrism, making clear that such unguents contained herbal additives to the oil: Cannabis sativa (kaneh bosm, usually translated aromatic cane) is combined with perfuming spices (cinnamon, cassia, and myrrh) in oil. The psychoactivity of the spices in the anointing oil, in addition to the Cannabis, deserves attention. Cinnamon and cassia are mild to moderate stimulants. Myrrh is reputed to have medical properties. To elaborate on Old Testament references to cannabis, the root phrase that represents cannabis, kaneh bosm, is often translated as calamus." This mistranslation starts as early as the Septuagint. Kaneh bosm occurs also in Song of Songs 4.14, where it grows in an orchard of exotic fruits, herbs, and spices and in the Song of Songs as an ethnobotanical encomium of the entheogen. It occurs also in Isaiah 43.24 where Yahweh lists it amongst the slights not received in sacrifice, and Jeremiah 6.20, where Yahweh, displeased with his people, rejects such an offering; and Ezekiel 27.19, where it occurs in a catalogue of the luxurious items in the import trade of Tyre. Benet concludes that these references confirm that hemp was used by the Hebrews as incense and intoxicant. This conclusion has since been affirmed by other scholars. (Ruck 2001)'

These passages are particularly telling of how the disappearance of cannabis from the Hebrew Scriptures came about. In Isaiah 43:24Thou hast bought me no sweet cane [qneh] with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquitiesYahweh condemns the Hebrews for not bringing him cannabis or enough of the lavish animal sacrifices common in the Hebrew Scriptures.

A further reading of the texts shows that these items are being sacrificed in honor of competing deities. This situation is compounded through the words of the monotheistic reformer Jeremiah: To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane [qneh] from a far country? Your burnt offerings [are] not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me (Jer. 6:20). Here, just prior to the final fall of Hebrew kingdoms, the pagan and foreign associations with the plant finally drive it underground. But it must be understood that from the time of Moses and throughout the kingdom period, the use of cannabis in a ritual context had continued.

This theme is more fully explored and expanded upon in my own book Sex, Drugs, Violence and the Bible, coauthored with Neil McQueen (Forbidden Fruit Publishing, 2001). Following in the footsteps of Benets research, we were able to follow the history of the sacred anointing oil into the early Christian period, particularly among heretical Gnostic Christian sects, who, along with pagan cults, were brutally banned at the inception of the Dark Ages and the rise of Catholicism.

As noted, the term Christ itself is a Greek rendering of the Hebrew Messiah, and this means the anointed one, making reference back to the original anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:23. Indeed, even in the Christian Scriptures, Jesus does not baptize any of his own disciples, but rather, in the oldest of the synoptic Gospels, Jesus sends out his followers to heal with the anointing oil: They cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them (Mark 6:13). Likewise, after Jesuss passing, James says, Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:14).

It should also be understood that in the ancient world, diseases such as epilepsy were attributed to demonic possession, and to cure somebody of such an illness, even with the aid of certain herbs, was the same as exorcism, or miraculously healing them. Interestingly, cannabis has been shown to be effective in the treatment of not only epilepsy, but many of the other ailments that Jesus and the disciples healed people of, such as skin diseases (Matt. 8:14, 10:8, 11:5; Mark 1:4045; Luke 5:1214, 7:22, 17:1119), eye problems (John 9:615), and menstrual problems (Luke 8:4348).

According to ancient Christian documents, even the healing of cripples could be attributed to the use of the holy oil. Thou holy oil given unto us for sanctification . . . thou art the straightener of the crooked limbs (Acts of Thomas). One ancient Christian text, the Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles, which is older than the New Testament and estimated to have been recorded in the second century CE, has Jesus giving the disciples an unguent box and a pouch full of medicine with instructions for them to go into the city and heal the sick.

As Jesus and his followers began to spread the healing knowledge of cannabis around the ancient world, the singular Christ became the plural term Christians, that is, those who had been smeared or anointed with the holy oil. As the New Testament explains: The anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeitjust as it has taught you, remain in him (I John 2:27). The Christians, the smeared or anointed ones, received knowledge of all things by this anointing from the Holy One (I John 2:20). Thereafter, they needed no other teacher and were endowed with their own spiritual knowledge. According to Ruck (2003), Residues of cannabis, moreover, have been detected in vessels from Judea and Egypt in a context indicating its medicinal, as well as visionary, use.

In the first few centuries CE, Christian Gnostic groups such as the Archontics, Valentians, and Sethians rejected water baptism as superfluous, referring to it as an incomplete baptism (The Paraphrase of Shem). In the tractate Testimony of Truth, baptism by water is rejected with a reference to the fact that Jesus baptized none of his disciples (Rudolph 1987). Being anointed with unutterable anointing, the so-called sealings recorded in the Gnostic texts, can be seen as a very literal event: There is water in water, there is fire in chrism (Gospel of Philip); The anointing with oil was the introduction of the candidate into unfading bliss, thus becoming a Christ (Mead 1900).

Chadwick (1967) observes, The oil as a sign of the gift of the Spirit was quite natural within a semetic framework, and therefore the ceremony is probably very early. In time the biblical meaning became obscured. In the Gospel of Philip it is written that the initiates of the empty rite of Baptism go down into the water and come up without having received anything. . . . The anointing [chrisma] is superior to baptism. For from the anointing we were called anointed ones [Christians], not because of the baptism. And Christ also was [so] named because of the anointing, for the Father anointed the son, and the son anointed the apostles, and the apostles anointed us. [Therefore] he who has been anointed has the All. He has the resurrection, the light . . . the Holy Spirit. . . . [If] one receives this unction, this person is no longer a Christian but a Christ.

The apocryphal book The Acts of Thomas refers to the ointments entheogenic effects as being specifically derived from a certain plant: Holy oil, given us for sanctification, hidden mystery in which the cross was shown us, you are the unfolder of the hidden parts. You are the humiliator of stubborn deeds. You are the one who shows the hidden treasures. You are the plant of kindness. Let your power come by this [unction].

Although the idea that Jesus and his disciples used a healing cannabis ointment may seem far-fetched at first, when weighed against the popular alternative (one that is held by millions of believers) that Jesus performed his healing miracles magically, through the power invested in him by the omnipotent Lord of the Universe, the case for ancient accounts of medicinal cannabis seems a far more likely explanation. When one considers that Jesus himself may have healed and initiated disciples with such topical cannabis preparations, the modern reintroduction of cannabis-based medicines becomes, if not a miracle, at least a profound revelation.

In light of this profound history, some have come to see the use of cannabis as a freedom-of-religion issue. But after fifteen years of researching the cross-cultural history of cannabis, and following its use from the Stone Age to present, I have come to see that the right to use cannabis is even more fundamental than religious freedoms, for humanity created religion, but no matter what god you believe in, you had better believe that god created cannabis. Even from an atheistic standpoint, from the cross-cultural perspective, as possibly our oldest cultivated crop, cannabis has had a evolutionary partnership with humanity that stretches back more than ten thousand years. Indeed, humanity has a natural indigenous right to all the plants of the Earth, all people and all plants, and any law that stands in the way of that natural relationship is an abomination to both God and nature."

I think Gods the voice inside your head. The only thing thats ever been certain.

it's virtually impossible to determine the place of anything within a christian context when the religion is based upon a flawed concept. the bible has been edited, translated, mistranslated and supplemented and therefore cannot be the true word of god. the bible itself tells of it's fate through the story of the tower of babel. except exchange spoken language for the written word.

deceased nfl player/minister reggie white made it a quest in the later years of his life to learn to read the original texts the bible was based upon. before he died he came to the realization that much of what he had learned as a christian was a lie.