Cigarette Smoking Christians

[dobro]

My mother has just come out of hospital for infected toes and ankles caused by 45 years of smoking she is a very sorry lady if conditions turn for the worse doctors have spoken about amputation.

 

[stovebolts]

Guys, I’m a smoker. And for no other reason than the fact that I’m addicted. When I feel like strangling the life out of a colleague whom so desperately needs it, I politely excuse myself and go for a cigarette.

My father always tells me that the stuff will kill me, and I will just respond that the ‘stuff’ has saved numerous idiots lives thus far.<o></o>
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But joking about it doesn’t change the fact that when I need to control my emotions, I go for my cigarettes and not for God. And ask any smoker; anything is a reason to smoke. You smoke because you social, you smoke because you are lonely, busy, bored, angry, stressed, happy, sad, jealous, hungry, full from a good meal, or good *censor*...<o></o>

You've hit it square on the head. Look at all the energy and attention you give your cigarettes.

Tell me, when you leave for the day, you know exactly how many cigarettes you have. If you're down, lets say to a quarter pack in the morning and you know they won't last you the day, you automatically start thinking how to get more to get you through the day etc.


One of the realizations I came to is how much wasted energy, and yes, even worry at times smoking caused me and one of the questions I asked myself was, "What if I put this much energy and time into my family?" What about prayer?

It really put things in perspective for me when I looked at it that way.

 

[Drew]

I don't believe there's anything inherently sinful in smoking cigarettes. It could be a stumbling block to someone who feels convicted to stop but does not let go, IMO. I've never smoked, but I'm not going to condemn someone who does.

Although I would never choose to smoke, I do believe there is some sort of "social stigma" that has created this connection with sin. No doubt, they are bad for your health and a big waste of money, but if we're going to call it sin because it pollutes the body, why don't we throw in fast-food, donuts and potato chips?

I think all these abuses of our body are deeply sinful. And I would add that we, in the 21st century west, have introduced an entirely unBiblical "split" between the world of the "physical" and the "spiritual". Thus, people think that cigarrette-smoking is not so bad since our physical bodies are not that important - its our "spiritual lives" that are more important.

The Bible sees no such split - the body is to be cared for as much as the "spirit" (even though in even saying things this way, I am making the same error I am critiquing, but I hope the point is clear).

 

[Drew]

Pure pleasure. I miss 'em - have for over 40 years.

I have never smoked, but I take your word for it - it must be an awfully hard habit to break. You are to be commended for having the discipline to keep away from them.

 

[reba]

Some one said you cant smoke your Dads is a preacher... Eleven years later i quit, cold turkey. That was 40 years ago. the temptation is still there. some times they STINK but some times hmmmm. I will not start again. The cost is over the top, which is a good thing. DH has quit again a few months ago.

I would not offer a smoke to Jesus if He was standing beside me....

Hang in there Bob! Sniff a nasty, stale ashtray one that is kinda damp.....

 

[Nacho]

I think if smoking leads you into sin then you shouldn't do it. The Holy Spirit will let you know if this is a sin you need to deal with.

I don't think someone should knowingly hurt their body though.

 

[WIP]

A thought has occurred to me. If inhaling smoke from cigarettes is a sin then what about these things?

• Building and operating our automobiles, merchant ships, cargo ships, airplanes, military machines, construction equipment, farm equipment, industrial machinery, outboard motors, portable generators, lawn mowers, garden tillers, weed trimmers, leaf blowers, chain saws, ATV’s, snowmobiles, and any other equipment utilizing internal combustion or nuclear powered engines.
  
• Heating and cooling our homes.
  
• Cooking, baking, canning, or otherwise employing the use of fire in any way.
  
• Using any electricity that is not 100% generated and distributed using air, water, wind, or solar power. Note this includes the wires, transformers, construction equipment and other things used to distribute the electricity from the generation source to the final consumer.
  
• Using consumer goods, chemical products, household or industrial cleaners, sanitizers, soaps, paint, lubricants, or other chemical products that eventually contaminate the water we drink. Don’t forget about the containers they come in and the manufacturing processes for both.
  
• Even our bodily processes contribute as our excrement decays and produces toxic gases such as methane.
  

Our very existence makes us responsible for contributing to our planet becoming more and more toxic to life all the time. In so doing are we not destroying the temple of the Holy Spirit? Seems there is only one way to totally avoid this problem…..die.

 

[stovebolts]

A thought has occurred to me. If inhaling smoke from cigarettes is a sin then what about these things?

• Building and operating our automobiles, merchant ships, cargo ships, airplanes, military machines, construction equipment, farm equipment, industrial machinery, outboard motors, portable generators, lawn mowers, garden tillers, weed trimmers, leaf blowers, chain saws, ATV’s, snowmobiles, and any other equipment utilizing internal combustion or nuclear powered engines.
• Heating and cooling our homes.
• Cooking, baking, canning, or otherwise employing the use of fire in any way.
• Using any electricity that is not 100% generated and distributed using air, water, wind, or solar power. Note this includes the wires, transformers, construction equipment and other things used to distribute the electricity from the generation source to the final consumer.
• Using consumer goods, chemical products, household or industrial cleaners, sanitizers, soaps, paint, lubricants, or other chemical products that eventually contaminate the water we drink. Don’t forget about the containers they come in and the manufacturing processes for both.
• Even our bodily processes contribute as our excrement decays and produces toxic gases such as methane.

Our very existence makes us responsible for contributing to our planet becoming more and more toxic to life all the time. In so doing are we not destroying the temple of the Holy Spirit? Seems there is only one way to totally avoid this problem…..die.

A bit over the top and to extreme don't ya think?....

 

[Bonairos]

I think if smoking leads you into sin then you shouldn't do it. The Holy Spirit will let you know if this is a sin you need to deal with.

Nacho -

Another selah moment for the Body of Christ.


WIP -

I appreciate your thought-full post. #27


Be blessed, Stay blessed!

 

[Pizzaguy]

Even our bodily processes contribute as our excrement decays and produces toxic gases such as methane.

Yea, I guess God just didn't know what He was doing when he created us - pretty poor planning, huh?

Our very existence makes us responsible for contributing to our planet becoming more and more toxic to life all the time. In so doing are we not destroying the temple of the Holy Spirit? Seems there is only one way to totally avoid this problem…..die.

Ok, again, if you didn't pick up on what I was getting at above, I totally disagree with most of your post. I am SO tired after this week's work (I really got into the boss today) so I'm just not myself tonight. BUT, if you were really serious, I've got to say that the left's indoctrination has worked on you.

Mankind is not poisonous to this world. I am almost 51 years old and I've been hearing this nonsense all my life. SURE, it's not right to concentrate and inhale cigarette smoke. And breathing from the tailpipe of any car is not healthy - but we are NOT destroying this planet just by being here.

Again, to tired to even be on here, WIP - I'll be back later this weekend when I have some energy (mental as well as physical).

(I still think you are being sarcastic.)

 

[Seeking]

I like to put cigs up with alcohol. (Bold parts apply to my view on smoking.)

Sin to drink? Nope. Sin to get drunk? Yes. It is known to be addictive, so it could lead to you abbusing it, so it would be wise not to.
All things are lawful, but not all things are Beneficial. - 1 Corinthains 10:23

Idk if it is fact that Cigs can be addictive, but I did hear that. Maybe I am wrong? Enlighten me.(=

 

[WIP]

Well, honestly my intention was a little facetious but at the same time kind of asking. Fortunately, God thought about how our existence can be detrimental and designed the plant life on this planet which we share a very mutual coexistent dependency.

I wonder though. It would seem that it is possible we have not been very good stewards by the rest of our activities. Can anyone deny that we are responsible for much of the air pollution that exists today? Can anyone deny that we are responsible for much of the reason we can't safely drink water from most lakes, streams, and rivers today without boiling it or chemically treating it first?

So with that said, I can't help but wonder if we've created a double-standard where we look down on someone that smokes and claim they are not taking care of their bodies and yet take deep breathes of air that we continue to pollute more and more.

Then I wonder if I just disclaim it as progress and part of God's plan, am I just in denial?

Just thinking.

 

[pjt]

WIP, I`d say it all goes back to motive.

In God`s original design, good food was ready at one`s fingertips with no cleaning up afterwards (no detergents needed). The weather was always perfect so no a/c and heating was needed, etc. With His design there was no pollution, but once humans were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, hardships, pollution, and ultimately death entered the world. It is unavoidable now. We have to eat, we have to keep ourselves a comfortable and liveable temperature, we have to wear clothes, etc. So doing what we have to do to survive is not a sin and that includes working in a big industrialized factory. The hard work and the reprecussions of that work are the punishments Adam reaped on mankind for his sin. Now we have to work hard just to feel comfortable. In God`s design, we never should have even had to think of being too hot or too cold, where to get water and keep it clean, etc. So we should be focusing on the day Jesus comes again and restores creation rather than getting too caught up in all the things that cause pollution. I mean some people go so far as to say too many humans breathing is harmful to the ecosystem.

So again polluting our bodies out of rebellion or with the intention to hurt ourselves is the sin. A coal miner working in a coal mine to feed his family is not a sin even though coal mining pollutes the body. Likewise smoking is not necessarily a sin unless someone does it just for the purpose of harming their own body or the body or others or to rebel against parents. Or if they put the cigarettes above the well being of their family (a child has to go without a meal so mom can buy a pack of cigarettes) or the cigarettes become more meaningful to the person than God.

 

[Mike]

I think all these abuses of our body are deeply sinful. And I would add that we, in the 21st century west, have introduced an entirely unBiblical "split" between the world of the "physical" and the "spiritual". Thus, people think that cigarrette-smoking is not so bad since our physical bodies are not that important - its our "spiritual lives" that are more important.

The Bible sees no such split - the body is to be cared for as much as the "spirit" (even though in even saying things this way, I am making the same error I am critiquing, but I hope the point is clear).

Drew, I believe this is somewhat related to the disagreement we had pertaining to the accumulation of wealth in that if anyone points to someone who they believe has too much wealth, there are people with less who can point to them and say they also have too much wealth/too many possessions. How little does someone need to have to have a clean conscience.

When you say there are many things we digest that is bad for our bodies and call them sin, how far do we take this line of thinking? Do we get so basic that all we're allowed to consume is wheat, flour and water? That's an intentional exaggeration. I don't believe so.

To take it back to smoking, I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to making them illegal simply because of the health hazard that they have inflicted upon people. But that's probably not going to happen because of the economic impact they generate both to the industry and in taxes for the government. Harmful and even deadly? Yes. Sinful? Not necessarily for many of the reasons in this thread already. It comes down to the motive of the person, IMO.

 

[Riverwolf]

Bonairos - Seems to me that you made this question more difficult to answer by not stating why you are asking?
Are you a smoker? Trying to quit? Know someone else?
I smoked for 30 years and stopped almost 6 years ago. While I wouldn't sometimes kill for one, (didn't someone here say that?) yeah the urge is still there.
Fact is that I have no doubt if a doctor for whatever reason told me I was terminal and dying soon, I'd head right to the store for a pack.
Now the hard part, do I feel it is a sin? No.
Would I want to try and explain to Jesus why I smoke? No.

 

[WIP]

WIP, I`d say it all goes back to motive.

In God`s original design, good food was ready at one`s fingertips with no cleaning up afterwards (no detergents needed). The weather was always perfect so no a/c and heating was needed, etc. With His design there was no pollution, but once humans were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, hardships, pollution, and ultimately death entered the world. It is unavoidable now. We have to eat, we have to keep ourselves a comfortable and liveable temperature, we have to wear clothes, etc. So doing what we have to do to survive is not a sin and that includes working in a big industrialized factory. The hard work and the reprecussions of that work are the punishments Adam reaped on mankind for his sin. Now we have to work hard just to feel comfortable. In God`s design, we never should have even had to think of being too hot or too cold, where to get water and keep it clean, etc. So we should be focusing on the day Jesus comes again and restores creation rather than getting too caught up in all the things that cause pollution. I mean some people go so far as to say too many humans breathing is harmful to the ecosystem.

So again polluting our bodies out of rebellion or with the intention to hurt ourselves is the sin. A coal miner working in a coal mine to feed his family is not a sin even though coal mining pollutes the body. Likewise smoking is not necessarily a sin unless someone does it just for the purpose of harming their own body or the body or others or to rebel against parents. Or if they put the cigarettes above the well being of their family (a child has to go without a meal so mom can buy a pack of cigarettes) or the cigarettes become more meaningful to the person than God.

Thank you, I was looking for a well considered response and this I understand.

 

[pjt]

Thank you, I was looking for a well considered response and this I understand.

I`m glad it was helpful.

 

[Drew]

I think if smoking leads you into sin then you shouldn't do it. The Holy Spirit will let you know if this is a sin you need to deal with.

Imagine if someone posted this:

"I think if committing adultery leads you into sin then you shouldn't do it. The Holy Spirit will let you know if this is a sin you need to deal with."

My point is that it seems fairly self-evident to me that smoking is sin. Your body is a temple, and smoking only damages that temple. So I do not see how this is even a question - smoking is indeed sin.

 

[Drew]

It comes down to the motive of the person, IMO.

I doubt it - what possible reason is there to pick up a cigarette and smoke it that is not sinful? I have great sympathy for the addictive character of cigarrettes, and I do not think smokers should be ostracized. But we need to face facts - smoking is an exceeding self-destructive behaviour that does nothing but bring ruin on individuals, families, and society.

The fact that something is hard to give up does not mean its not sin. Some people have powerful sex drives that are difficult to resist. Does that mean it is not sin when they have promiscuous sex?

 

[reba]

coffee chocolate french fries soda pop sugar pork internet tobacco alcohal
we must protect the temple from harm

Seems to me, though most of us dont like it degrees matter. some coffee is not bad. a few frenchfries are ok. some guys really like a smoke after dinner. some folks enjoy a glass of wine..

On some other points the scriptures are very clear adultery murder lieing stealing. When we dont have an absoulte i would believe moderation would be a good gadge.

Great post PJT