Drinking, Smoking, Cussing-- They're not sins.

[dirtdevilgrunt13]

Simple as it comes...
If you are abuseing it,it is a sin...  

[ShakouMari-na]

I do believe you've hit all the major points there.

Drinking is fine. In fact, that was just about all that biblical people drank, since water could be tainted and the alcohol killed all the bad stuff. Getting drunk isn't quite so fine though. That is one part you missed.

Smoking... I don't think it's mentioned in the Bible. I've been looking for a while now, and I haven't found it.

And with the swearing - I don't do it, because I can't think of a reason that God would want me to do it. Can you imagine God sitting in heaven drunk as a cow, swearing His head off?
Ahaha, that was actually kinda funny.....
But if God wouldn't swear, I won't either.  

[Miami Dolphins Fan]

i don't think drinking is a sin but cussing is and smoking is just plain bad 4 u. the reason they drank alot of wine in the bible times is becasue their water was full of harmful germs and the wine was much less infested wiht germs. wahmbulance  

[Trisa Slyne]

It's ok to drink, but not get drunk. The bible even says to drink a little wine everyday. Tho you have to consider what wine was like back then. I don't know if this is a fact, but I believe in church a youth teacher talked about how back then wine was not as strong as it is now.

Cussing... I stumble with it too. The book of James hits that subject. Check out James 1:19-21, 26 3:6, 9-12. I don't remember what verse or book, but I remember reading about how what comes out of the mouth is a reflection of the heart. This is likely especially true when it's done unconsciensly.

A follow up on what rockmanx said about not doing somthing that will make your brother stumble. For example, if you're trying to reach a person for Christ who you know is critical about Christianity and is watching & judging your every action, then don't do things that will make them close their minds to you. The thing is, whether we realize it or not, people are always watching us. And people are always judging us. It's not fair. Absolutely. But it's reality. And we aren't perfect, but... we can be aware that by cussing/drinking, we might undermine our ministry attemps with certain people.

I'm not saying you should hide drinking a little wine every now and then, but be aware of who you drink with. Most people believe Christianity is all rules and usually the rules they hear are skewered. People believe the Bible contradicts itself because they either don't read the verse themselves, or don't read it in context, or don't even finish the verse once they read a part they don't like. Then they spazz out about the Bible contradicting itself. So I guess if you know someone will totally spazz out if you drink around them, then don't. Wait until they are a little more understanding and open before doing so & make sure to have your Bible with you so you can show them the verses that tell you to drink a little, but not get drunk.  

[ioioouiouiouio]

Tesah

A follow up on what rockmanx said about not doing somthing that will make your brother stumble. For example, if you're trying to reach a person for Christ who you know is critical about Christianity and is watching & judging your every action, then don't do things that will make them close their minds to you. The thing is, whether we realize it or not, people are always watching us. And people are always judging us. It's not fair. Absolutely. But it's reality. And we aren't perfect, but... we can be aware that by cussing/drinking, we might undermine our ministry attemps with certain people.

I'm not saying you should hide drinking a little wine every now and then, but be aware of who you drink with. Most people believe Christianity is all rules and usually the rules they hear are skewered. People believe the Bible contradicts itself because they either don't read the verse themselves, or don't read it in context, or don't even finish the verse once they read a part they don't like. Then they spazz out about the Bible contradicting itself. So I guess if you know someone will totally spazz out if you drink around them, then don't. Wait until they are a little more understanding and open before doing so & make sure to have your Bible with you so you can show them the verses that tell you to drink a little, but not get drunk.

That's a little flawed, though. Why should we not do something that is perfectly acceptable in the eyes of God just because someone doesn't know all the rules of Christianity.

I'd say that one should, in all one's actions, be prepared to justify themselves biblically, not hide behind a false mask of what the world believes Christianity is.  

[Rho Contour]

I don't think that smoking and drinking are sins. [Only if you actually get drunk, and smoking isn't very healthy, but that's your decision] But I think that cussing is a different matter. Think about it. If Jesus got mad, do you really think that he'd go off and swear? Would you swear if Jesus was right there in front of you?  

[The Noble Protoman.exe]

Excuse me, are you telling us that the actions themselves aren't sins... or the motivation behind them.

I mean to be quite honest, if your body is a temple... then shouldn't you treat your temple with respect?

Or what about us to be a living testimony... A city on a hill cannot be hidden, such.

But I must digress, swearing... It doesn't say to much, I mean they use the words that have the same meaning in our language... They used prostitute in their language...  

[Babbalui]

Cometh The Inquisitor

If we can't do it in public, what changes when we're at home?

Now, I have not taken the time to read all of the posts in here yet, but this one caught my eye along with another, but this one mainly.
I am not sure if any one answered this, but if they have, then just bare with a repeat.

It doesn't change a thing. This was the point that was being made and I completely agree. Whenever I do something wrong that I know I shouldn't be doing, I remember that I am being watched. It doesn't matter if it is before, during, or after I do something, I will always regret doing it. sweatdrop  

[Akiramay]

Can fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? So praising and cursing cannot come from the same lips. We should be the light of the world. We must separate ourselves from people who DO drink to get drunk or smoke to harm their bodies or curse. If you wouldn't do it or say it in front of God, don't do/say it at all (which whenever you do swear or something, you are saying it in front of God since God sees all that you do). I don't think we're going to get into Heaven and God will say, "This is 'f'ing great! You finally made it! Here, have a smoke!" Do you think Jesus would do what you do? Always remember WWJD. heart  

[Stxitxchxes]

So I was wandering through religious guild forums and saw this, just thought I'd throw a little thing out there.

Drinking is not a sin, unless your New Testament completely changed thousands of years of divine precedence, hence, wine has always been considered a blessing from G-d.

"Baruch atah Adonoy, eloheynu melech ha'olam, boray p'ri hagafen."

Blessed are you Adonai, L-rd our G-d, ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

I can't speak with authority on the New Testament, but the precedent on drunkenness since Moses is that drunkenness isn't bad (in fact, depending on whose interpretation you favor, drunkenness is, by many Jews, considered a holy experience), however we are heavily warned to excercise restraint when drunk.

However, alcoholism is a bad thing, as it is called to'evah(an abomination) in Leviticus.



Incense, cannabis, and a number of other things were burned regularly in the great Temple. Again, this may be a New Testament thing, but smoking isn't forbidden at all based on OT laws.



As for cursing, well, Isaiah has the whole spiel about unclean lips. But that's up to interpretation. Depends on what you call unclean. Most people I know who are into this, define unclean as being slanderous and dishonest (which is actually the closest translation I can deduce when I read the Hebrew).

And saying 'G-d' is not taking his name in vain. The commandment reads "ha Shem" which is a very specific indicator. Literally it means THE Name. That is, Hashem's (notice we call him Hashem very often) actual, personally identifiable name. Most people know this name as YHWH, or YHVH. We call it the Tetragrammaton, the letters in Hebrew are Yod-hay-vav-hay. To note these days, is you aren't even capable of using this name in vain anymore, because no one knows how to pronounce it. Vowel keys did not exist in Hebrew until the 1930s or so, so we have no idea what the vowel sounds on this name are, because, the only person who regularly spoke this name (because of its sanctity), was the Kohain Gadol (high priest of the Temple), and he only said it once a year.

So, saying G-d, or Hashem, or El, or Elohim, or so on and so forth, are not taking his name in vain, because it is not THE Name, they're jsut nicknames, really.  

[Curium]

Dizzy Rydell

Honor thy mother and father.

Do thy mother and father want you to drink, smoke, and cuss?

To honor your parents is to hold them in reverence. It does not say "obey your parents when they tell you to go against what the LORD tells you."  

[ioioouiouiouio]

Babbalui

Now, I have not taken the time to read all of the posts in here yet, but this one caught my eye along with another, but this one mainly.
I am not sure if any one answered this, but if they have, then just bare with a repeat.

It doesn't change a thing. This was the point that was being made and I completely agree. Whenever I do something wrong that I know I shouldn't be doing, I remember that I am being watched. It doesn't matter if it is before, during, or after I do something, I will always regret doing it. sweatdrop

When I made this post, it was in response to someone saying that certain things are not sins, as long as no one is watching (i.e. at home).

This, to me was incredibly, foolish, since we aren't trying to be pure for the benefit of others but because God commanded us to. If we set a double standard, then we are just hypocrites.  

[ioioouiouiouio]

Akiramay

If you wouldn't do it or say it in front of God, don't do/say it at all

and...

Quote:

I don't think we're going to get into Heaven and God will say, "This is 'f'ing great! You finally made it! Here, have a smoke!"

Okay, I just wanted to comment on this, because I've seen it alot. People say 'would you cuss in front of God?' and I'd just like to respond that yes, I would. Personally, I know that because I have sworn in the midst of a prayer (on several occasions). I do not believe that God was angry at me for saying something along the lines of 'God, thank you so very f**king much for...'. I was in the midst of a very emotional time and I simply used an adjective that was familiar to me. Sin? I think not.  

[ioioouiouiouio]

Stxitxchxes

And saying 'G-d' is not taking his name in vain. The commandment reads "ha Shem" which is a very specific indicator. Literally it means THE Name. That is, Hashem's (notice we call him Hashem very often) actual, personally identifiable name. Most people know this name as YHWH, or YHVH. We call it the Tetragrammaton, the letters in Hebrew are Yod-hay-vav-hay. To note these days, is you aren't even capable of using this name in vain anymore, because no one knows how to pronounce it. Vowel keys did not exist in Hebrew until the 1930s or so, so we have no idea what the vowel sounds on this name are, because, the only person who regularly spoke this name (because of its sanctity), was the Kohain Gadol (high priest of the Temple), and he only said it once a year.

So, saying G-d, or Hashem, or El, or Elohim, or so on and so forth, are not taking his name in vain, because it is not THE Name, they're jsut nicknames, really.

Just a question, but, why do you still not type out 'God' and, instead, use 'G-d'. Also, how do you (if you, in fact do) do that verbally?

Just wondering.  

[Stxitxchxes]

Cometh The Inquisitor

Stxitxchxes

And saying 'G-d' is not taking his name in vain. The commandment reads "ha Shem" which is a very specific indicator. Literally it means THE Name. That is, Hashem's (notice we call him Hashem very often) actual, personally identifiable name. Most people know this name as YHWH, or YHVH. We call it the Tetragrammaton, the letters in Hebrew are Yod-hay-vav-hay. To note these days, is you aren't even capable of using this name in vain anymore, because no one knows how to pronounce it. Vowel keys did not exist in Hebrew until the 1930s or so, so we have no idea what the vowel sounds on this name are, because, the only person who regularly spoke this name (because of its sanctity), was the Kohain Gadol (high priest of the Temple), and he only said it once a year.

So, saying G-d, or Hashem, or El, or Elohim, or so on and so forth, are not taking his name in vain, because it is not THE Name, they're jsut nicknames, really.

Just a question, but, why do you still not type out 'God' and, instead, use 'G-d'. Also, how do you (if you, in fact do) do that verbally?

Just wondering.

It's mostly out of custom. The reasoning behind it is that writing G-d places his name into the material,and thus makes it very susceptible to defamation and desecration, even if G-d isn't his actual name. And no, we don't go "G'd" when we speak it.