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Should Christians smoke cigarettes?

Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, so be careful what we put in our bodies.
Smoking is an addiction and Christians are to guard against addictions.
Smoking has many harmful effects and can often lead to other addictions


http://www.gotquestions.org/smoking-Christian-sin.html

The Bible never directly mentions smoking. There are principles, however, that definitely apply to smoking. First, the Bible commands us not to allow our bodies to become "mastered" by anything. "Everything is permissible for meâ€â€but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for meâ€â€but I will not be mastered by anything" (1 Corinthians 6:12). Smoking is undeniably strongly addictive. Later in the same passage we are told, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Smoking is undoubtedly very bad for your health. Smoking has been proven to damage the lungs and the heart.

Can smoking be considered "beneficial" (1 Corinthians 6:12)? Can it be said that smoking is truly honoring God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:20)? Can a person honestly smoke "for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31)? We believe that the answer to these three questions is a resounding "no." As a result, we believe that smoking is a sin and therefore should not be practiced by followers of Jesus Christ.

Some argue against this view by pointing to the fact that many people eat unhealthy foods, which can be just as addicting and just as bad for the body. As an example, many people are so helplessly addicted to caffeine that they cannot function without their first cup of coffee in the morning. While this is true, how does that make smoking right? It is our contention that Christians should avoid gluttony and excessively unhealthy eating. Yes, Christians are often hypocritical by condemning one sin and condoning another, but, again, this does not make smoking honoring to God.

Another argument against this view of smoking is that many godly men have been smokers, such as the famous British preacher C.H. Spurgeon, who was known to smoke cigars. Again, we do not believe this argument holds any weight. We believe Spurgeon was wrong for smoking. Was he otherwise a godly man and fantastic teacher of God's Word? Absolutely! Does that make all of his actions and habits honoring to God? No.

In stating that smoking is a sin, we are not stating that all smokers are unsaved. There are many true believers in Jesus Christ who smoke. Smoking does not prevent a person from being saved. Nor does it cause a person to lose salvation. Smoking is no less forgivable than any other sin, whether for a person becoming a Christian or a Christian confessing his/her sin to God (1 John 1:9). At the same time, we firmly believe that smoking is a sin that should be forsaken and, with God’s help, overcome.
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There is no connection between the timely posting of this thread and my recently updated avatar is there? :rolling
 
John said:
There is no connection between the timely posting of this thread and my recently updated avatar is there? :rolling
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I have actually wanted to post this thread for a while now. Your avatar did remind me though! :yes

They should make healthy cigarettes.
 
There are healthy cigarettes. They're electric cigarettes. They look like a cigarette, but the cigarette part is actually the battery and the filter part is an atomizer. There's even an orange or blue (whichever you prefer) tip on the end that lights up. The filters come in many flavors from tobacco, menthol, chocolate, vanilla and assorted fruits. They contain no carbon dioxide, tar or nicotine (though you can get them with nicotine) or all the other bad stuff and do not give off a smoke odor, leaving you fresh smelling, well maybe some people. :lol It's just like smoking only it's just a steam vapor and you can use them in all the places smoking is banned. I did some research for a nurse who runs a Smoking Cessation class at the VA. From what I found out the best one is made by Greensmoke.com/safer4you. It's the only two part one, most have three-four parts and you have to mess with taking them apart and putting the liquid in it. People who can't use the patch, gum or nicotine tablets have had success using this.
 
Brian said it good. :thumb.

Our bodies are meant to be temples for the Holy Spirit. So why would we want to harm them? God created them, and we should want to preserve them.
 
I have not smoked since Feb 3 2008, and I am glad that God took them away, I can now run at a moderate pace without getting winded, and I am 54. I started smoking in 1966, and I have no life threatening lung damage or lung cancer, ain't God good :clap :yes :salute :wave :amen
 
I quit cold turkey in June of 1990, but since 1995, I started smoking an occasional good cigar once in a while. Cigarette tobacco PH is on the acid side while cigar tobacco is more alkaline. Because of that, cigar tobacco has a much lessor effect when it come to addictive properties and chemicals. But... it still can't really be good you you. :shrug
 
My grandad who is turning 70 this year gave up smoking about five or six years ago. He had smoked for almost 50 years. :crazy. And he smoked really heavily. He's now seeing a neurosurgen and has got some health problems, but considering how much and how long he did smoke, he's come off pretty lucky.
Sadly there are lots more who aren't so lucky.
 
i dont think the smoking habit is good either, but a related question(s) should be is being overweight a sin, or being a couch potato and so on and so forth

jason
 
jasoncran said:
i dont think the smoking habit is good either, but a related question(s) should be is being overweight a sin, or being a couch potato and so on and so forth

jason
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Well I guess being a couch potato is being lazy...not sure whether that's a sin, but it's not good!
 
Nick_29 said:
jasoncran said:
i dont think the smoking habit is good either, but a related question(s) should be is being overweight a sin, or being a couch potato and so on and so forth

jason
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Well I guess being a couch potato is being lazy...not sure whether that's a sin, but it's not good!
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i seem recall that sloth is a sin, proverbs consider the ant thou sluggard...
 
I totally agree with Jason. It's so easy to use the whole smoking thing as an example of "bad" Christian behavior only because it is such an obvious thing to spot. There are hundreds of other worse things that can and cannot be seen with the eye, but they unfortunately do not have the "taboo" status of cigarettes. I think asking a question such as "should Christians smoke?" is exactly the kind of thing that alienates people from religion. Why should we even have to ask that question? Is it, in all honesty, even relevant?
Perhaps we would need to discuss in depth what 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 really means before we use it as an anti-smoking argument.
I don't know. Perhaps I am wrong. That is why it's good to discuss and share opinions so that we can learn :)
 
You are not wrong, rosconeko. God looks at hearts and from that perspective Jesus said we should clean the inside of the cup first and not neglect the outside (appearances). By grace, I'm quitting a 40+ year habit of smoking even now.

Should Christians abhor the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod?
Is it proper to consider what others "should" or "should not" do in any case?
What about watching a log pulling out a splinter? "Should" we remain silent when we see it?
For the love of the "log" No! we should not; we should indeed speak up.

~Sparrow
 
rosconeko said:
I totally agree with Jason. It's so easy to use the whole smoking thing as an example of "bad" Christian behavior only because it is such an obvious thing to spot. There are hundreds of other worse things that can and cannot be seen with the eye, but they unfortunately do not have the "taboo" status of cigarettes. I think asking a question such as "should Christians smoke?" is exactly the kind of thing that alienates people from religion. Why should we even have to ask that question? Is it, in all honesty, even relevant?
Perhaps we would need to discuss in depth what 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 really means before we use it as an anti-smoking argument.
I don't know. Perhaps I am wrong. That is why it's good to discuss and share opinions so that we can learn :)
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Yes we should be concerned about those killers, smokes are killing people, and 1 Cor 6, means exactly what it says. I was in a car with a friend and his wife last week, and they lit up some cancer sticks, in the car, and it almost killed me. While I was smoking, them things did not stink like that, but man those things really smell bad, now that I don't smoke. Those things cause all kinds of health problems, and you guy's are telling us that we should not be concerned, or that there are much worse things. What could be more worse than sending yourself to a premature grave ? My dad lung disease, my dads sister lung disease, my dads, father dead of lung disease. So there is no way you guy's can tell me that we should not be concerned. People ain't stupid they know that they should not be smoking, we ain't telling them something that they don't know. The Bible tells us to warn them, or their blood will be on our hands.
 
Let's say for argument's sake i told you that my best friend was paralyzed in a motorbike accident and my uncle died in one. And i felt it was my responsibility to warn others about this 'deathtrap' otherwise their blood will be on my hands. And our bodies are a temple. So how can we allow our precious bodies on such vehicles? Would you say i am being reasonable?

I never said it was 'ok' to smoke. I just said it is an irrelevant question. Should Christians "____?" could be replaced by various harmful things other than just smoking :)
 
rosconeko said:
Let's say for argument's sake i told you that my best friend was paralyzed in a motorbike accident and my uncle died in one. And i felt it was my responsibility to warn others about this 'deathtrap' otherwise their blood will be on my hands. And our bodies are a temple. So how can we allow our precious bodies on such vehicles? Would you say i am being reasonable?

I never said it was 'ok' to smoke. I just said it is an irrelevant question. Should Christians "____?" could be replaced by various harmful things other than just smoking :)
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No, no,no,no, the motorbike thing is something different, I mean you can walk around the corner and get shot, by a bullet meant for someone else. So that won't cut it bro, cancer sticks kill more a year than motorbikes, and if they don't kill you this year, they might kill you the next. Oh I almost forgot they also killed my first wife's mom, and I watched them things kill her, and I was still smoking too. Now look at my dad's lungs and his sister's lungs. That motorbike thing don't cut it.
 
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