Christians Persecuting Christians - Christian Casualties Found in War on Drugs by Jennifer L.G. Wallace, Ed

While the date may elude that the title is an April Fool's Day joke, it is no joke. The silence from various ministries, former pastors, media outlets and even internet message boards, concerning the repeal of the current prohibitive marijuana laws has left little room for doubt. They choose to ignore the fact that Christians are at risk of arrest, incarceration and forfeiture of property, including their family, friends neighbors and even fellow church members. The fixed and inaccurate perception of dangerous criminals peddling drugs to their children has overcome their sense of duty as followers of Christ. To add insult to injury, they declare those that are under the foot of their oppression as backsliders or nonbelievers, as if that makes their act of condemnation excusable. Although they believe they are doing right in the sight of God, there is no scriptural validation for their position. On the contrary, the Bible warns the reader repeatedly to not condemn or judge, to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Plagued with self-righteousness, they have no desire to to be put on the other side of their own condemnation, so the idea of a Christian marijuana smoker is branded as an oxymoron, not even to be considered.

Gone are the days of "God said it, I believe it that settles it." The consumption of marijuana is viewed as a sinful and evil by the modern day church, even though God takes credit for its creation and declares it not only good, but very good. In reference to its dangers, they stubbornly believe secular studies over God's word, thus ignoring the command to let God be true and all men liars. This view insinuates that the Bible is false, and accuses the Creator of being and doing evil. Either God is good and capable of only doing and creating good or God is bad and is capable of only doing and creating bad. He is either honest and always to be trusted or a liar and never to be trusted. Or worse still, he knows little, if any more than we do and had no clue as to what he was doing when he created marijuana or anything else.

Jesus gave clear instructions as to how to deal with the issue of consumption when he taught that it was not what went into the mouth that made a man unclean but what came out of it. Jesus made the wine for the celebration of the wedding and was frequently in the company of drunkards, so he knew what intoxicating substances were and what they were used for. He did not declare prohibition. His example has not been followed.

The teaching that we are not to eat anything that would cause our brother to take offense is used selfishly. Is it not a greater offense to invade a man's life with the intent of destroying it greater than what that same unknown cannabis consumer is doing in the privacy of his own home? Is it not judging to presume that the cannabis consumer is going to commit some greater offense to justify such harsh preventive measures? With the same hypocritical tendency, they also point out that smoking marijuana destroys the body, God's temple, refusing to see that the laws not only prohibit the consumption of cannabis in any form, but prohibit the cultivating and possessing as well.

Obedience to governing authorities is one of the few scriptural references that they attempt to toss into the debate. It may appear to be a sound argument but not in the case of prohibition. Again, it is not the example set for us by Christ. Secondly, God, being the creator of free will has documented Man's failure to comply with prohibition throughout Bible history. But where God is God and his desire is to save, man is man, and it is every man for himself, unfortunately even in the contemporary Christian culture. Given Jesus' example and knowing man's inability to comply the laws prohibiting marijuana possession, cultivation and consumption prohibition should be viewed as unjust. God's demand for justice and the call to his people to loose the chains of injustice are numerous in the Old Testament.

The fruit bears witness of the seed it was sown from, good seed bears good fruit, bad seed bears bad fruit. The war on drugs is lost and has left a large path of devastation in its wake. The largest front of the war on drugs has been the prohibition of marijuana. God created marijuana, a seed bearing plant on the third day declaring it good and then gave it to man for food on the sixth day declaring it as very good. Jesus who created wine from water, called drunkards friends and laid down his life for them. The time has come to legalize the responsible use of cannabis. Christians are called to be peacemakers, it is time to lead the way to peace.

Scriptural References