In my recent post Marijuana Prohibition Is A Crime Against Humanity the subject of Holy Anointing Oil came up in the comments and I did an addition to the post to reflect that.
Commenter Randy left a comment which got me to thinking about something I saw at Reason Magazine in the Arkansas section of the post (a discussion of legalization prospects state by state). Reason says:
Last fall, the Arkansas Baptist State Convention passed a resolution urging pastors to oppose medical marijuana from the pulpit, calling legalization “poor policy” that is “based on bad science.”
Well that is pretty ridiculous on its face. As if a cure for cancer was bad science. Evidently they are unaware of the body’s endocannabinoid system, ceramide, and apoptosis among other things. Well ignorance is no crime.
But get this from the Associated Baptist Press:
Arkansas Baptists, meanwhile, termed efforts to legalize medical marijuana as “an important moral issue” and urged churches in bulletin inserts and sermons to oppose it.
I’m going to have to repeat something I said in a previous post. The context is different but it still fits, “That would make all these Christians working against cannabis… Well I was going to say “spawn of the devil” but I can’t decide if that is too unkind or not unkind enough.”
Now compare that with The Jews Behind Ending Marijuana Prohibition. And what do the Jews say, chronicled repeatedly in that post? Healing the sick is the highest priority. Even if it means breaking the laws.
And it is not just Arkansas Baptists. Here is something I did in my post Another Move (slightly edited):
I recently read in ABP (Associated Baptist Press) News that the SBC leader opposes medical marijuana.
The Southern Baptist Convention’s top public-policy expert says any therapeutic benefits of medical marijuana are outweighed by costs to society that disproportionately burden the poor.
Russell Moore, head of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said in a Jan. 23 podcast that he sees nothing immoral about the medical use of mind-altering drugs like morphine by people who are seriously ill, but he believes the real motive behind the push for legalization of pot is money.
“I think as Christians we need to recognize what’s happening here,” Moore said. “There is an industry — just as big tobacco was an industry that had a cheap product that was able to hook people in — we have the same sort of industry involved here with marijuana.”
I do agree with him on one point. Jailing people for marijuana offenses IS done disproportionately to the poor. And of those poor, Blacks are even more disproportionately targeted. And the answer to that is to deny medicine to the sick?
It seems as if a number of our Christian brethren have seriously lost their way.
Comments
17 responses to “Christians Oppose Healing The Sick On Moral Grounds”
And people wonder why Christianity is dying in America.
I see little evidence that Christianity is dying any faster than Judaism in America.
I do wonder about the holy oil thing, though.
What was John the Baptist really up to, when he started having purification ceremonies in the river and without oil? Perhaps it was a thumb in they eye of a Pharisaical oil monopoly?
So a religion that is against intoxicants is against legalizing an intoxicant?
Wow!!!! Whodathunkit?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?
Veeshir,
I get that. But there are quite a few intoxicating medicines. Why just this one?
And from what I can tell from the biochemistry it seems particularly good at curing cancer. Cancer cells self destruct in the presence of cannabis. Normal body cells do not. That is in fact one of the functions of the body’s endocannabinoid system. Killing cancerous cells. However if the immune system is temporarily or permanently compromised it could use help. A video by a biochemist explains it: How Cannabinoids Cause Cancer Cells to Die.
So let me see? Cure my cancer or remain a Southern Baptist in good standing? Tough choice.
Simon –
(Some) should have preceded the rest of your article’s title.
The whole Una Sancta (One Holy Church) is not nearly so shallow as to subscribe to that which you described in your post.
That some do, such as the groups you mentioned, in no way casts the first aspersion upon the Church-at-large.
The Arkansas Baptist State Convention can hardly be said to be guided by Holy Writ but rather, by “social policy” and a false morality based upon “social policy.” Using their argument to brush a broad swath against Christianity is hardly accurate.
Your comment in the comments:
“But there are quite a few intoxicating medicines. Why just this one? “ –
Was my very first thought upon reading this posting this morning before Divine Worship!
The silly little, 1/10th effective allergy OTC’s I take for the sniffles tell me no beer, and certainly no driving, as they may affect my normal senses.
Last I read Scripture, in a number of places, an “intoxicant” was God’s prescription (i.e. – wine), never mind the very first miracle Jesus performed at the Wedding at Cana, where He put forth the “really good stuff!”
Jesus was a “Psalm 104:15” sort of guy(!):
“And wine which makes man’s heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man’s heart”
Acts 5:29 handles the “legal issues” in toto. Those certain groups calling themselves “Christian” are aligning their teachings with those of the “state,” rather than the ???????. That is theological nonsense.
The Lord God is a bit more “nuanced” in what He says and does than are those whose roots are in DC being the New Jerusalem.
The issue regarding cannabinoids and the cancer cures are – well . . . I am not about to delve into what the uninformed call “conspiracies” so they can feel all is well in their legalistic little world.
The whole “anti-cannabis” issue is a product of wrong-headed gummint kow-towing to corporate interests, and only someone who has willingly chosen to be ignorant of history, is unaware of that fact.
The Una Sancta is not an extension of the gummint. It is to act independent according to Holy Scripture, not anything or anyone else.
Gummint prohibition – most especially in this particular matter, is beyond the pale. That “some” calling themselves “the church” defend gummint rather than those suffering, is but ignorant BS.
One hundred years ago today I could have fired up a joint or packed my meershaum, and been well within the blessings of the Church. The Puritans who call themselves “Church” – those who cannot stand it that someone, somewhere, might be enjoying themselves, do not speak for the Church. They ONLY speak for, and to, their own illogic.
Please, do not associate them with “Church.” That is to admit you are as confused as are they. I know you are not.
Pax tecum,
Rev. J. Baxter, Emeritus (jb)
jb,
I was looking up how the Catholics deal with the question and came upon this link:
http://medicalmarijuanamorality.weebly.com/index.html
Who knows if it is authoritative?
That said look at this nonsense from this sublink:
http://medicalmarijuanamorality.weebly.com/what-is-medical-marijuana.html
The Negative Side of The Legalization of Marijuana
Although medical marijuana can be a positive thing to relieve the pain of many people who suffer from chronic pain, it also brings up many concerns. First, the distribution of medical marijuana can not be properly monitored after the patient receives it. Second, medical marijuana has not been proven to help people medically besides to relieve pain and to subside stomach pain. Third, the doctor can prescribe medical marijuana to anyone with the right symptoms, even if it is not necessary for them to have it. Last, the legalization of marijuana in all states could lead to the legalization of other drugs that are more harmful than marijuana. Marijuana is the most abused illegal drug of the US and legalizing it for medical marijuana is like opening the floodgates for legalizing marijuana in general.
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http://medicalmarijuanamorality.weebly.com/churchs-beliefs.html
(not: emph was in the original)
The Catholic church indicates in its teachings that drug use that alters your sense of reality is against the will of God. But, in certain medical cases, if the marijuana or drug can help the person medically and is “strictly therapeutic“, then the Church does not recognize that as abusing drugs and bringing harm to your body. The Catholic Church recognizes that Medical Marijuana that is used solely to relieve the patient from chronic pain and is permitted for the patient to use from a doctor, than it is not against Catholic teachings and does not fall under the same teachings as drug abuse.
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What does that mean? If you enjoy your medicine it is not allowed? I once got an injection of morphine in the Navy. I liked it. If was was a Catholic was I committing a sin?
OK. The official Catholic Church:
From July 2013
http://catholicreview.org/article/life/ethicists-weigh-medical-marijuanas-merits-burdens-as-laws-spread
“And it would be not recommended for patients who suffer from particular illnesses such as schizophrenia, and in younger persons who may evidence early symptoms of mental illness,” she added.
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Actually that is not true. Some schizophrenics may be helped by high CBD low THC cannabis.
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All in all though the opinions there are much more sensible than at the link in my previous comment.
This was interesting about Catholics:
http://www.theweedblog.com/the-catholic-church-and-medical-marijuana/
While millions of Catholic faithful around the world mourn the passing of Pope John Paul II, pot people would do well to remember that the Catholic Church has long been a leader in the global effort to exterminate marijuana and the cannabis culture.
The late Pope John Paul II had frequently campaigned against marijuana decriminalization, saying there are no distinctions between “hard” and “soft” drugs and that using marijuana is equivalent to using heroin.
In January 1997, a Pope-approved statement issued by the Pontifical Council for the Family claimed that legalizing drugs would be akin to legalizing murder, and also called for the banning of tobacco.
These statements are consistent with the Catholic Church’s longstanding policy of official hatred for marijuana and other medicinal and psychoactive herbs. Catholic Popes have been viciously persecuting users of medicinal plants virtually since the formation of the Church.
For much of Europe’s history, the Roman Catholic Church was fighting wars of destruction against many “heretical” sects. In many cases, these so-called heretics had rediscovered the herbal sacraments like mushrooms and cannabis, and were ruthlessly exterminated for their use of these powerful plants.
Some of these traditions of using psychoactive plants as sacraments survived for many centuries before finally being violently extinguished. For example, the magic mushroom eating Manicheans survived until the 12th century before finally being slaughtered by Catholic armies.
Most observers agree that the reason the Catholic Church hates psychoactive herbs is that these substances can create a sense of direct spiritual communion with the divine, while Catholic authority is based on the idea that the only way to reach God is with the Pope and priest as mediator.
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That same attitude is seen in many churches. And the Churches (don’t matter which religion) seem to attract a LOT of “this is the one true way” types.
I have never subscribed to that view.
There are many ways.
Simon –
I am not “Catholic” as in “Roman Catholic.”
Simon – please, my friend, do not generalize in such a fashion. Roman Catholics hardly agree with one another over this issue, as they hardly agree about many other issues.
Being a Confessional Lutheran, I am by no means defending their positions.
Those of us of the (small c)catholic Church – The Lutheran Confessions – do not idly accept what is so often and erroneously put forth as “common wisdom.”
K???????? does not not mean, according to Scripture, that the RCC = the Una Sancta.
They are not.
Likewise, puritanical (in the word’s full meaning) Baptists beholden to the “state” for their understanding of proper gummint are not = to the Una Sancta.
Those who attempt to “wed” the Church to the state are heretics. I do not know any other way to put it. I am not accusing you in any way – but I also believe that were you to have a better understanding of “Church” – you might be less strident in your charges against the real Church, and a little more direct in your criticism against those who “fake” being the Church.
Just saying . . . jb
Your site does not accept true Greek text – hence the question marks all running together.
jb
jb,
I did not say you were RC. I was just looking at “Churches”.
What is interesting in the “they don’t all agree” context is the Jews. You know – 3 Jews , 4 opinions. They ALL agree on med pot (well I couldn’t find any who didn’t and I looked).
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I think if you want to do Greek html works. Lets try Delta: “& #916;” – no space: Δ
Well Here is an irony:
http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/drugs/support-for-medical-marijuana
Among the religious groups that support medical marijuana are the United Methodist Church, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the Episcopal Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the United Church of Christ.
“According to our tradition, a physician is obligated to heal the sick,” said a resolution adopted by the Union for Reform Judaism this past November.
The religious groups are also calling on the federal government to reassess the penalties for people who use marijuana for medical purposes. “We believe that seriously ill people should not be subject to arrest and imprisonment for using medical marijuana with their doctors’ approval,” said a Coalition for Compassionate Access statement, endorsed in 2002 by the United Church of Christ.
The “Drug Free” link was from 2004. Here is the original article which “Drug Free” quoted:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6995-2004Jun25.html
One thing notable about religious support of medical marijuana has been the lack of intense debate, especially in denominations riven over the issues of same-sex unions and the ordination of gay clergy, according to religious activists.
The Rev. Cynthia Abrams, director of alcohol, tobacco and drug programming for the United Methodists’ General Board of Church and Society, said delegates to last month’s convention voted 877 to 19 in favor of an amendment to drug-use guidelines that supports the drug’s medical use in states that allow it.
“The surprising thing, it was almost unanimous,” she said of the vote.
Increased evidence of the drug’s usefulness and personal anecdotes of lay members and clergy helped the amendment’s passage, she said. During the 18 months her panel worked on the proposal, “we heard many stories, from conservatives and liberals, of family members, or people they knew or ministered to, who had used marijuana in the course of chronic illness.”
The movement to legalize the medical use of marijuana faces significant opposition, however — especially from the Justice Department, which enforces federal laws prohibiting the cultivation and distribution of marijuana, and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
“Marijuana is a dangerous drug, a surprisingly dangerous drug,” said Tom Riley, a spokesman for the drug policy office. More teenagers are treated for marijuana abuse than for abuse of any other substance, including alcohol, and any law making marijuana more accessible will exacerbate the problem, he said.
Proponents are trying to circumvent “a well-developed system for introducing new medicines,” Riley said, adding that a pill form of marijuana’s primary active ingredient has been available for years and that other cannabis-based medicines are in the works.
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The circumvention is well underway. And the science is much better understood. In only 8 years.
Some more links:
From 2014:
http://gazette.com/faith-at-heart-of-work-by-brothers-who-developed-medical-marijuana-oil/article/1514270
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From 2006:
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.additional-resource.php?resourceID=173
Several Christian denominations have passed resolutions supporting access to medicinal marijuana. These include: the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Others are currently considering the issues.
What this post and the comments indicate to me is that a belief in God doesn’t necessarily give anyone insight into matters of morality. Often it is just the opposite.
One reason for this, as I see it, is that the religious aren’t merely concerned with morality and its effects in the here and now. Many religions believe we are playing for indescribably high stakes in this life. They believe the destination of eternal souls are at stake and that it’s our beliefs and actions taken in this life which will determine the soul’s destination upon our deaths. Choose incorrectly in this life and your soul is doomed to an eternity of torment. Choose correctly in this life and your soul spends eternity in paradise. Naturally, their God and religion is the right choice in this meta-physical belief system.
I think this belief leads to the moral authoritarianism that exists in so many religions and religious people, and it is why they fail to see how their positions can either inflict or further human suffering. When your over-riding concern in this life is to get as many of your fellow humans to make the choices you believe are necessary to avoid torment in the afterlife, it’s easy to be blind to the damage your actions may be causing in the here and now. After all, any suffering your positions and actions may cause in the finite here and now pale in comparison to an eternal afterlife of torment you are trying to help people avoid.
IOW, for the moral authoritarian, the ends often do justify the means. Cannabis prohibition is a good illustration of this. If one believes that using cannabis is a sin and can lead people away from God and to an eternity in Hell, then cannabis prohibition laws are justified in keeping people away from cannabis. Any damage caused by the cannabis prohibition laws pale in comparison to spending eternity in Hell.
Our beliefs influence our actions. Bad beliefs often lead to bad actions.
Full disclosure, I was a Southern Baptist but after re-evaluating the evidence for God over the last several years I could no longer believe in God’s existence and I am now an atheist.
The Jewish view is that there is no afterlife. What you do here is the most important thing.
There are other details but that is the main thing relative to how you should behave in this life.