This piece alleges that the annointing oils of the sort that might have been used by Jesus and his followers would have traditionally been laced with cannibis extracts, which would then be absorbed through the skin. It concludes by concluding that, if true, being anti-marjuana would be anti-Christ.
I’m not sure I follow this reasoning. First of all, one could simply note that these oils were used in very special ritual circumstances: like peyote in American religions, not as simple devices for pleasure. But secondly, many things that might have been useful and necessary in Judiac circumstances can cause social problems today and need to be restrained in the context of how they are used in our society.
I’m all for legalization, but I’m not sure what traction this argument should have (especially as a theological case), despite the fact that it seems be gaining popularity (if you though pot-activists were indignant about General Washington growing pot: wait till they get on their high horse about Jesus supposedly using it!).
But it doesn’t make sense. Just because Jesus did something, doesn’t invalidate all other arguments. (Not that I care enough to be either pro or anti marijuana, but that’s not the point.) Sure, Jesus might have used cannibis, but that doesn’t mean we should stop using logic and reason to come up with an answer to the pot question on our own. Thousands of famous people could have done questionable things, but that doesn’t make them all right. What if Jesus had murdered someone- that doesn’t make killing people okay.
Besides, so what if Washington grew pot? He and Jefferson also owned slaves- does that make slavery all right? Obviously not. Famous people do make mistakes, too, so relying on them to legislate laws really isn’t a good idea.
There’s a whole long list of things that they did back in the day that have been left by the wayside (castrating boys so they can keep singing soprano in the choir springs to mind, along with that whole Inquisition thing). Even if it was common to rub some hemp-enhanced oil on your head on holy days, or even to go out and get stoned before Mass, doesn’t make it holy writ.
Side note: I used to work for a guy who would soak pot in DMSO, then strain the liquid out and store it in a test tube in his pencil cup at work. He’d pour a few drops into the palm of his hands, then rub them together to catch a quick high.
The Bible says that Jesus had quite a bit to do with wine, in terms of turning water into it, among other things.
This seems reasonable. He did a lot of traveling, and back then, water in strange places could be suspicious. Travellers often preferred the wine, which was safer. Furthermore, wine keeps well… and grape juice doesn’t keep well at all, particularly in the Middle Eastern climate. It tends to become wine. Either that, or vinegar, which most of us do not like to drink. Religionwise, Jesus was a Jew; there’s nothing in the Jewish faith that prohibits drinking wine that I know of.
It is, therefore, a fairly safe assumption that Jesus drank some wine from time to time. I wouldn’t assume he was a drunkard, or anything, but it’s likely he tipped a glass occasionally.
Therefore, one should assume that Christians would be allowed wine, as long as they didn’t make a point of staying drunk all the time or whatever.
…but there are several sects of Christianity that forbid alcohol in all forms… and one in particular of which I am aware that rabidly preaches that whenever the Bible says “wine,” it actually means “grape juice.”
In short, people are going to interpret Scripture any way they want to.
We may therefore assume that if Jesus ever smoked a doobie, then at least one sect of people would forbid the smoking of marijuana, stating that whenever the Bible said “Mary Jane,” it actually meant “opium” or “dried camel turds” or whatever…
Heh, this is a silly arguement. God used pot so that makes it ok?
*Jesus drank wine, why was the prohibition lead by religious temperance movements?
*Theres no evidence of Jesus having sex, why is celibacy such a hard thing to follow?
*Jesus being a jew followed Kosher rules, why is pork chops so yummy?
moderation and know what is right for the individual and society is the key. A theological justification is poor basis for cultural and societal problems, especially a hypothetical theological justification.
Ok, ok…here goes…Blessed are the…Hey Pete, give me some of those nachos, dude…[crunch, crunch]…blessed are the…man, I’ve got like cottonmouth from hell, where’s the Dew? What do you mean we’re out of Dew? Alright bring me some water…hee hee, check this shit out…Shazam! I give you Code Red. Who’s da man? Who is da fuckin MAN?..For my sake, Judas, don’t Bogart the me damn joint…ok, ok, Blessed are the…blessed are the…what the fuck was I gonna bless?..Me on a crutch, I am so trashed dude…
I rather doubt that you can get high from rubbing your skin with oil laced with cannabis. Nor is there any indication that the Jews of first century Palestine knew the intoxicating properties of marijuana. So I suspect the point is moot.
I have heard allegations that what Jonathan (the son of Saul in the OT) ate that “made his eyes bright” was marijuana as well. Based on the same sort of no-evidence except a strong desire that it be so.
But yes, if Jesus had used marijuana, that would mean that it was not a sin (absent any excessive use). Since no indication exists that He did, we will have to hash (ha ha) it out for ourselves.
Well, as I understand it, Jesus was supposed to be perfect. Never sinned, blah blah blah, so he was pure and died for our sins and what not. So if Jesus never committed any sins, then it must be true that any action he performed is moral, ie, not a sin. So from that standpoint, if Jesus was the original Doobie Brother, then smoking marijuana is not a sin.
But that in and of itself is a lousy argument for legalization. For one thing, as Apos noted, it doesn’t sound like Jesus was a habitual pot-head, he was performing a religious ceremony which happened to use something that contained cannibus. Big difference. At best, this anecdote implies that you can use pot in religious ceremonieswithout fear of Divine Punishment. Secondly, just because something is not a sin doesn’t mean it should be legal. It’s not a sin to drive on the left side of the road on a two-way street, but there are very good social-safety reasons to make that illegal. And thirdly - well, it’s just a dumb argument.
—I rather doubt that you can get high from rubbing your skin with oil laced with cannabis.—
I don’t think that is in dispute actually. You most certainly can absorb such chemicals that way, at least in some cases.
—Nor is there any indication that the Jews of first century Palestine knew the intoxicating properties of marijuana.—
They wouldn’t have known what it was, certainly, but it wouldn’t be the first time a religious practice had used items in a ritual that had intoxicating effects, which are often then associated with religious ectasy rather than a connection being made to the element itself.
Well, the argument isn’t very full formed to begin with, in my opinion, so I’m not sure that I could defend it. But I would assume that its something along the lines of cannabis being acceptable, even if only for religious purposes, simply because Jesus and his followers made use of it. I and others have already pointed out the holes in that conception.
Marijuana has been a medicine used for thousands and thousands of years. Trust me, they were quite aware of the effects. Hell, some mummies were buried with it, so they could continue to use it in the next world.
Logically, if you are using a plant, or extract, and notice a certain effect each time you use it, you’re going to start thinking of ways to utilize the effect. In a time of limited pharmacuticals, people experimented with plants to try to find out each one’s usefullness. It’s believed that cannibas was used to ease the pain of arthritis and other similar complaints, and was also used by shamans in religious ceremonies.
The only ancient peoples I am aware of who used marijuana were the Scythians. The ancient Jews did not use it. AFAIK.
I would welcome a cite, either on that, or on whether THC and related cannibinols would be absorbed into the skin when mixed with oil. And especially any indication that the practice happened as a routine part of Jewish anointing.
If the OP is referring to the anointing of Christ with nard, this was a prophecy of His death. They anointed corpses, not themselves to get high.
Hey, Jesus drank wine, talked with whores, walked around barefoot, and thought the poor were blessed. Even if the Bible made the claim that when we were to go in the closet to pray, it would be a great idea to bring a bong along, I doubt very many churches would promote the practice. Religions would continue to take out the Bible that which would best support what the church leaders want to believe, pretty much as they do now.
Does the “Weed with Roots in Hell” even grow in Palestine? Seems like it grows damn near everywhere but Antarctica. Got you Maui Wowee, your Panama Red your Durango El Ropo. Dont recall hearing about any Gallilee Gold.
You put your finger on just about any spot on the planet, and Da Weed, she grows there. Check your ethno-biology for self same spot, and the native people have a name for it, and they know what it does.
