Is smoking a mortal sin?
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My Uncle Roy used to say; "If we only eate and drank what's good for us. We'd starve to death and be the healthiest stiffs in the grave yard." 
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Just want to point out that second hand smoke is harmful to others. People that smoke not only contribute to destroying their own bodies, but pollute other peoples air space too.
Its like, to put it bluntly, can you take your vomit somewhere else. Its not what goes into the body that defiles you, but what comes out
Its like, to put it bluntly, can you take your vomit somewhere else. Its not what goes into the body that defiles you, but what comes out
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When I was reading my Bible in the Rockies deep inthe forest, when a smoker came down the old mining road smoking I culd smell it fromover a mile away owhen the conditions wre just so. As it is now in my bungalow, when people smoke int their bungalows or on the baconies of a nearby highrise apartment building, I smell it, even when I am in bed at night. It is annoying, and it is bad for all concerned.
Are you suggesting that this particular scripture has no bearing on our lives? I don't think you are I'm just curious.
As to smoking. There was a time I would have used the weaker brother argument but in general it damages your witness.
That's what people used to tell me...it damages your testimony. There were a few people that abstained from many things for that reason at my local church when I was younger. The logic goes a long way and even after smoking it still holds water.
I'm going to relate an experience that I had when I was incarcerated for a few months (which is an annoyingly long story)
In any case, you can't smoke, you can't drink, you can't use the internet, you can't use any substances, you can watch a very tiny TV high in the sky. You can drink coffee and junk food. Try to imagine that.
Your only "freedom" is dreaming in regards to vices.
2 months in I stopped dreaming about smoking. I had no desire to smoke, I didn't intend to quit when I went there and yet it was forced on me so it is rather different.
When I got out I didn't really feel like I "had" to but I felt a weird pull of curiosity of what a smoke would be like so fresh. No craving...just that the whole time I hadn't made a commitment to quit even though it was forced. Good opportunity, sure. But no.
I was in a rocky place with my relationship with the Lord at the time.
So, I bought a pack. If anyone else had picked me up or if I were walking things would have been different. Alas.
I get back to the house. I'm still debating. There is a new female living at my house (which was rather random) and they come out to meet me and light up a cigarette. My spirit rebels. "that shouldn't happen" "what are they doing?" just the way the smoke looked coming out of their lungs just felt profoundly backward. Like a spell.
I go on a walk with these new people (her boyfriend and her). They were from the church so I started kind of talking about things. I sit down to have mine. The Lord is clearly not for it. It didn't even feel great but just seeing me do it...it was like I changed and started to share the darker side of my flesh...and it warped everything I said. She saw something coming out of my that she didn't like "at all".
In any case, this continued. My brother when he vaped it looked the same. Yet I still wanted to do it and I'd just close my eyes so I couldn't see it. I switched to vaping. Even people that are in what I would call sin somehow always think it's inappropriate for me. People inside and outside the church.
I could keep talking about it for probably the posting limit and I may write out more if it would be useful to you but you definitely cannot overlook the witchcraft element to smoking. You are basically hacking your bodies system.
Let us assume that there is no bodily damage and it's all mental/spiritual. You are still giving your body a choline hit, changing your sleeping and eating patterns. You are still releasing hits of dopamine at the times of YOUR choosing. If the Lord is your portion...you can see how this is an issue.
Deciding whether or not smoking is a sin depends on your own personal walk and the condition of your heart. It is not a habit that produces life.
Also as a side note, although entirely relevant. 72 hours into smoking cessation your body has purged nicotine and you no longer have physical cravings. I'll try and find a website that actually had the information I was looking for (Not some anti smoking campaign) but basically everything I was pretty sure that it did mentally (not physically) from a relatively neutral perspective. The problem is I was looking up a particular question about dopamine receptor burnout (which is a thing) and whether this is permanent or not. So it will take some time.
As to smoking. There was a time I would have used the weaker brother argument but in general it damages your witness.
That's what people used to tell me...it damages your testimony. There were a few people that abstained from many things for that reason at my local church when I was younger. The logic goes a long way and even after smoking it still holds water.
I'm going to relate an experience that I had when I was incarcerated for a few months (which is an annoyingly long story)
In any case, you can't smoke, you can't drink, you can't use the internet, you can't use any substances, you can watch a very tiny TV high in the sky. You can drink coffee and junk food. Try to imagine that.
Your only "freedom" is dreaming in regards to vices.
2 months in I stopped dreaming about smoking. I had no desire to smoke, I didn't intend to quit when I went there and yet it was forced on me so it is rather different.
When I got out I didn't really feel like I "had" to but I felt a weird pull of curiosity of what a smoke would be like so fresh. No craving...just that the whole time I hadn't made a commitment to quit even though it was forced. Good opportunity, sure. But no.
I was in a rocky place with my relationship with the Lord at the time.
So, I bought a pack. If anyone else had picked me up or if I were walking things would have been different. Alas.
I get back to the house. I'm still debating. There is a new female living at my house (which was rather random) and they come out to meet me and light up a cigarette. My spirit rebels. "that shouldn't happen" "what are they doing?" just the way the smoke looked coming out of their lungs just felt profoundly backward. Like a spell.
I go on a walk with these new people (her boyfriend and her). They were from the church so I started kind of talking about things. I sit down to have mine. The Lord is clearly not for it. It didn't even feel great but just seeing me do it...it was like I changed and started to share the darker side of my flesh...and it warped everything I said. She saw something coming out of my that she didn't like "at all".
In any case, this continued. My brother when he vaped it looked the same. Yet I still wanted to do it and I'd just close my eyes so I couldn't see it. I switched to vaping. Even people that are in what I would call sin somehow always think it's inappropriate for me. People inside and outside the church.
I could keep talking about it for probably the posting limit and I may write out more if it would be useful to you but you definitely cannot overlook the witchcraft element to smoking. You are basically hacking your bodies system.
Let us assume that there is no bodily damage and it's all mental/spiritual. You are still giving your body a choline hit, changing your sleeping and eating patterns. You are still releasing hits of dopamine at the times of YOUR choosing. If the Lord is your portion...you can see how this is an issue.
Deciding whether or not smoking is a sin depends on your own personal walk and the condition of your heart. It is not a habit that produces life.
Also as a side note, although entirely relevant. 72 hours into smoking cessation your body has purged nicotine and you no longer have physical cravings. I'll try and find a website that actually had the information I was looking for (Not some anti smoking campaign) but basically everything I was pretty sure that it did mentally (not physically) from a relatively neutral perspective. The problem is I was looking up a particular question about dopamine receptor burnout (which is a thing) and whether this is permanent or not. So it will take some time.
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No what I am saying is this particular context is eating meat sacrificed unto idols......and obviously Paul said ALL things are lawful, but not expedient.......like drinking.....wine and strong drink are both o.k., but not to drunkenness and or if it causes a weaker brother to stumble....we cannot disregard context nor can we embellish the bible with the doctrines of men as the word of God!!
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K
Thank you for speaking up, very interesting. Deep down smokers know it is harmful to them, but our mind keeps trying to justify what our flesh is craving. Not explicitly stated in scripture, but how is it not "defiling the temple"? The problem with loopholes we hold on to such as this, the longer one keeps on in spite of the guilty feelings about it, the quieter that conscience becomes. I am a former smoker that's the way I see it.
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Exactly. When Christians look for EXPLICIT statements such as "God said do not smoke" they are trying to weasel their way out of Bible truth.
This is happening more and more today, with people telling Christians "Well I do see that in the Bible" or "Where is that written in Scripture?" etc.
This is happening more and more today, with people telling Christians "Well I do see that in the Bible" or "Where is that written in Scripture?" etc.
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I'm totally guilty of the latter but it's like a gut reaction and I'm always open to the fact that possibly the Lord has revealed more to them on a particular subject than myself even if I REALLY don't want to hear it . If someone is amicable to actually knowing the Lord's will for our lives they should at least be partially open to something that is implicit and the discussion and prayerful consideration of it.
. If someone is amicable to actually knowing the Lord's will for our lives they should at least be partially open to something that is implicit and the discussion and prayerful consideration of it.-
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I want to clarify that I am not advocating that anyone take up smoking, no more than I would advocate that anyone take up drinking, habitual speeding, excessive eating, and/or eating fatty foods, or such.......
Just saying that people seem to gravitate to smoking as the evil to end all evils, and that simply isn't true (in my opinion). Now, if someone believes smoking to be a sin, then for that person it IS a sin. Just as is drinking is to me, but I do not push my thoughts/feelings about the consumption of alcohol on others.
just saying .........
Just saying that people seem to gravitate to smoking as the evil to end all evils, and that simply isn't true (in my opinion). Now, if someone believes smoking to be a sin, then for that person it IS a sin. Just as is drinking is to me, but I do not push my thoughts/feelings about the consumption of alcohol on others.
just saying .........
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K
@p_rehbein is this what you're saying, relativism? I've heard that before, but where is that in the Bible?
rel·a·tiv·ism
[ˈrelədəˌvizəm]
NOUN
rel·a·tiv·ism
[ˈrelədəˌvizəm]
NOUN
- the doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and are not absolute.