How does God feel about those who drink alcohol or smoke marijuana?

Originally posted by aggie03
"so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries."

-- 1 Peter 4:2,3

Corousing[sp] can be defined as social drinking.  Drinking parties are also listed.  This would be the Bible saying, explicitly rather than by example, that we should not consume alcohol.

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Proverbs defines drunkeness as a recognizable condition which is accomplished through excess:

Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, or with gluttonous eaters of meat; - Proverbs 23:20, NASB, bolding mine

Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long over wine, those who go to taste mixed wine. - Proverbs 23:29&30, NASB, bolding mine

Your eyes will see strange things and your mind will utter perverse things. - Proverbs 23:33, NASB, bolding mine

Carousing is excessive consumption of alcohol that leads to drunkeness. You say that social drinking is always equal to carousing. What if each person only has 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks, not rendering any of the participants recognizably intoxicated? Would you consider that scenario to be social drinking AND carousing?

So now there are examples and direct commands against consuming alcohol.

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And what am I to think of this statement?

Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to him whose life is bitter. Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his trouble no more. - Proverbs 31:6&7, NASB

*wonders* well you find people drinking in the NT...where can we find them smoking it up?

Genesis 14:18, 27:25, 27:28 and 27:37
Leviticus 10:8-11 and 23:13
Numbers 6:3, 20, 15:5, 7, and 10, 18:12 and 28:14
Deuteronomy 11:14, 14:23, 14:26, 15:14, 18:3-6, and 33:28
Judges 13:1-5 and 19:19
Ruth 2:14
1 Samuel 1:14-15, 1:24, 10:3, 16:20, 25:18, 25:37
2 Samuel 16:1-2
2 Chronicles 2:10 and 15, 11:11, 31:5
Ezra 6:9
Nehemiah 8:10, 10:37 and 39, 13:5, 12, and 15
Psalms 4:7, 60:3, 75:8, 78:65, 104:14-15
Proverbs 3:10, 4:17, 9:2 and 5, 20:1, 21:17, 23:20 and 29-35, 31:4-7
Ecclesiastes 2:3, 9:7, 10:19
Song Of Solomon 1:2-4, 4:10, 5:1, 7:2 and 9, 8:2
Isaiah 5:11-12 and 22, 22:13, 24:7, 9, and 11, 25:6, 28:1 and 7, 29:9, 36:17,
51:21-23, 62:8, 65:8 and 11
Jeremiah 13:12, 23:9, 25:15, 31:12, 35:2, 5, 6, 8, and 14, 40:10 and 12, 51:7
Lamentations 2:12
Ezekiel 27:18-19, 44:21
Daniel 1:5, 8, and 16, 5:1, 2, 4, and 23, 10:3
Hosea 2:8-9, 4:11, 7:5 and 14, 9:2-4, 14:7
Joel 1:5 and 10, 2:19 and 24, 3:3, 13, and 18
Amos 2:8 and 12, 5:11, 6:6, 9:13-14
Micah 2:11, 6:15
Habakkuk 2:5
Zephaniah 1:13
Haggai 1:11, 2:12
Zechariah 9:15-17, 10:7, 14:10
Matthew 9:17
Luke 1:11-17, 7:33, 10:25-37
John 2:1-11
Romans 14
Ephesians 5:18-20
1 Timothy 3:8, 5:23
Revelation 6:6, 14:8, 9-11, and 19-20, 17:2, 18:3 and 13, 19:15

no no...if they are smoking..not drinking...

Sorry Louis I know that was a little off topic concerning smoking. Just giving scripture about wine and drink. Carry on.

I know ya where, I recognized most of em That proverbs one on the top of the list is great!!! Thanks for the scripture PJ!!!

No problem. I am seeking the Lord's will right now about alcohol consumption. I do drink beer or a mixed drink on occasion, but not often. I live in a dry county in Kentucky (Boyle County) where two petitions are being circulated about putting the issue of liquor by the drink on the November ballot, one in Danville, the other in a tiny alcove called Junction City. It is a hotly debated issue. Check out some letters about it at our local paper's website, www.amnews.com

One guy quoted Psalm 75:8 as a condemnation of even the occasional glass of wine.

I really do not see evil in how I live. I am reminded to "do all things to the glory of God." Because of that, I do not drink too much.

By the way, which verse in Proverbs are you referring to and what do you take it to say. The verses I quoted may seem to be contradictory in spots, don't they?

Here is that letter:

Defending alcohol called a 'fool's errand'
Publication Date: 07/15/02
Dear Editor:

The famous lawyer Clarence Darrow said anyone who tried to defend something which has no defense is on a "fools errand."

Alcohol is a factor in 72 percent of all fatal car wrecks, in 64 percent of all divorce cases, and for 62 percent of those in prison. It is involved in 54 percent of all murders.

Nothing good can be said about alcohol. Yet every time it comes up, some foolish people try to defend it.

These facts and figures are not something preachers make up. They are put out by the federal government and are available to anyone who wants the truth.

Yet every few years we go through the same "fools errand" in Danville.

In the Bible in Psalms 75:8, it says, "Only the wicked of the earth drink wine." That covers all the bases doesn't it?

If all of the above does not make the defense of alcohol "a fools errand," please tell me what does? Any jury in the world would convict on the above evidence.

To the people who would sell out this community for profit or convenience, God's word says, "Woe be unto the man who presses the bottle to his brothers' lips" (Habakkuk 2:15).

Yes, it is still a free country but, as the American Medical Association says, impairment begins with the first drink. My rights begin where yours end and if you get behind the wheel and drive, it becomes my business. I hope they put you so far back in jail they have to pipe daylight to you. That makes it real plain, doesn't it?

Frank Durham
Danville

Originally posted by PrinceJeff
Here is that letter:

In the Bible in Psalms 75:8, it says, "Only the wicked of the earth drink wine." That covers all the bases doesn't it?

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And here's what that verse ACTUALLY says:

For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams; it is well mixed, and He pours out of this; surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs. - Psalm 75:8, NASB

"Wine" is used as a metaphor for God's wrath. Yeah, this guy REALLY knows his stuff... sounds like a Bible-thumper to me. Apparently, he has no problem with exploiting scripture for his own ends.

To the people who would sell out this community for profit or convenience, God's word says, "Woe be unto the man who presses the bottle to his brothers' lips" (Habakkuk 2:15).

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Again, here's what that verse ACTUALLY says:

Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, who mix in your venom even to make them drunk so as to look on their nakedness! - Habakkuk 2:15, NASB

*THUMP THUMP THUMP*...
Wow, that was so relevant. His exegetical wit ASTONISHES me.

Nobody is "making" him drink through a piece of liquor legislation, and I'm SURE no one wants to see him naked. This guy is so ridiculously easy to refute, hahaha.

Yes, it is still a free country but, as the American Medical Association says, impairment begins with the first drink. My rights begin where yours end and if you get behind the wheel and drive, it becomes my business.

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Apparently, this guy thinks that the first thing an alcohol consumer does after they have a few is hop into the car and hit the freeway.

I hope they put you so far back in jail they have to pipe daylight to you. That makes it real plain, doesn't it?

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Awww, he's so full of Christian compassion and forgiveness!!! I mean, really, he TOTALLY exemplies the teachings of Christ. And he has EVERY right to show us the "proper" interpretations of scripture.

It sounds like he's been getting his scripture verses off the backs of fundie milk cartons.

LOL! Of course Joe even then the fundie might find something evil about the milk or the carton.

To Jeff:

If you were to employ some very basic sleuthing skills, I imagine you would find the Bible Thumper who is so vehemently anti-alcohol for your county is actually being financed by a conglomeration of package store owners who are located just over the county line.

tsk tsk tsk!


Peace and snickering,
~VOW

LOL most likely, or the bootleggers.

See you at the pub.

Heres people smoking it up.


Revelation 14:11
And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever.

Originally posted by Peacebestill
Heres people smoking it up.


Revelation 14:11
And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever.

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Ummm... that was kinda harsh.

Not only that, but it is an example of what is called "prooftexting".

Buzzkill?

Marijuana is the most lied about drug ever. Results from studies done in the early seventies by our X-president, Dick Nixon, were suppressed when it was found that the drug increased scores on tests and that it had many positive medicinal uses - there are even studies that show it has potential to cure some cancers. The whole idea of it being bad was bought about by politics in the thirties when some kind of excuses for prejudice were needed for keeping Mexican people out of the U.S., and a political office position in government needed padding. Remember the "Evil Weed" movie done in thirties that shows people jumping out of windows and women becoming prostitutes? All lies to feed the public and secure a position for an unscrupulous crooked politician.
I had to stay in the hospital for two months with cancer, and saw a mother and father bring marijuana in for their son to help ease the terrible side effects of chemotherapy which I've been through. The doctors turned their back, as they new it was a help.
I would not recommend smoking it for one reason. It is against the law and will ruin your life if caught smoking it, yet the laws in this country are kind of goofy when they allow drugs like alcohol to kill thousands every year. I have seen many friends hooked on booze lose everything and die. If it was grown commercially, not another tree would have to be cut down. The drug and the plant have untapped medical and commercial uses if our government and people would quit telling and believing lies.
I Tim. 4:4,5 (LIV) For everything God made is good, and we may eat it gladly if we are thankful for it, and if we ask God to bless it, for it is made good by the Word of God and prayer.

Raphe, you're buying into anti-propaganda. Marijuana's sole relevance to cancer is that it appears to reduce the chance that you'll have to stop your chemotherapy before it kills you; it doesn't have any effects on its own.

BTW, the Mexicans had nothing to do with the original "demon weed" stuff; it was cotton vs. hemp, and hemp is often a superior fabric, so they found a way to attack it.

Well, you've bought into the anti-anti-proganda then because it is legal for medical use in some states. You have bought into the lie too. I watched good people hauled of to jail for just growing a couple of plants for theirselves and never seen anybody commit any misdeeds while using the drug. The only time I've ever seen the stereo-typical stoner is when someone was already completely drunk before they ever smoked a little grass. It's non addictive and although I smoked it in the seventies, I don't now. It wasn't ever considered illegal until around 1974 and the politicians needed something new to yap about.
Cotton doesn't have the fiber strength of marijuana. Mixed up with glue it makes lumber as good as any plywood. Clothes and shoes are made from it in Canada.
I don't expect to change anyones mind or avocate smolking it, as I said before, but I know the truth about the drug and am completely familiar with the effects it has just like I know what cigarettes and alcahols effects are; the latter two being much worse but legal. This doesn't change the truth.
DON't smoke it unless you want to risk having the bulls coming through the door to take you to jail.
Times have changed for me and life demands other challenges more important than fighting for truth about this when there is so much poverty and need in this world for food clothing and hope. The lifestyle associated with smoking pot would be the only thing I consider wrong with it. It doesn't come near the wasted lives and disease that the other two drugs represent, but neverthless, soberness of mind and purpose is needed for the days ahead if one is to be prepared to serve God with their whole being.

Another "con" letter to the liquor by the drink issue: http://www.amnews.com/PageDisplayer.cfm?Page=Article&Mode=FullArticle&CategoryID=29&ArticleID=7113

Click on the left side "editorial page" for more letters.

I say make your own decision after reading Romans 14 and praying about it.