That term is still around? I thought it died off with the emo kids.
While the Bible is pretty clear about premarital sex, smoking and drinking are not addressed. Some of the greatest men in the history of Christianity smoked pipes or cigars. Jesus himself drank wine (not grape juice), and Paul advocated Timothy's consumption of it.
If you don't want to do either, that's great, but let's not be using titles to define ourselves simply by what we don't do. Not only is it kind of petty, but it also perpetuates the myth that Christianity is just another religion that tells you what not to do and who not to like.
"�All things are lawful,� but not all things are helpful. �All things are lawful,� but not all things build up."
I would be careful about promoting those things though. The bible is pretty clear that while it's permissible, it's dangerous, and a wise person avoids those things. The wine they drank in Jesus's time was not even close to the same thing as what we have now. They could only store it in skins and clay jars, and it would go bad long before it reached what wine is now. Not only does it kill and tear apart families and provide an outlet and amplifier for addiction, depression, anger, and other negative emotions, it also encourages less controlled behavior. Far from recommended for a new creature fleeing from sin. All I'm saying is, some may be "strong" enough to handle it, but if we recommend it without warning about it, and it causes someone to stumble, that is our responsibility. And it definitely causes stumbling. As far as smoking goes, it's hard to understand why someone would spend money to slowly kill themselves while other people are starving, but it depends on the temperance involved. Again, I don't think they're sinful in themselves, but the line between wasteful/harmful addiction and "temperance" depends on the person, and not every person is the same.
Christianity is a religion that tells us to avoid sin because of the pain it brings on us and others.
I'm not necessarily promoting smoking or excessive drinking, but rather I'm suggesting that defining ourselves simply by what we don't do can be harmful and rings of the Pharisees.
There is also danger in the church demonizing one unhealthy activity while actively condoning others. Is a man who occasionally smokes a pipe or drinks beer really treating his body any worse than an overweight man who has given himself type II diabetes?
Tobacco consumption is not exactly healthy, but with all the health problems associated with excess body fat, should the church not deal just as harshly, if not more harshly, with people who let themselves go physically? Would we not be better served to spend our time addressing caffeine addiction than a couple ordering a bottle of wine with dinner?
I agree, just wanted to clarify. We could bring it down to "not drinking 8 glasses of water is a sin", but that is completely ridiculous. Addictive substances are a little different, but I know what you're saying.
Like your other very true post, people dismiss what they don't agree with and latch onto what they do. If you didn't clarify, someone could take your influence/words and reinforce themselves in a unstable/unhealthy position. I'm not disagreeing with you, I just mean to say that we need to be careful how we talk about things like this, something as small as this can have huge effects on someone's life.
