Dr Paul Allen

Cannabis sativa plant (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) How are we to think about recreational cannabis use in the church? A growing number of Christians today believe that it is biblically permissible to use cannabis recreationally. Are they right? Cannabis Versus Alcohol Quick, pat answers to the question of recreational cannabis use are often unhelpful. Responses without nuance will not best serve the church in the long run. To say that alcohol is permissible, and cannabis is not, because “Christians drink beer and wine for the taste, but people only smoke pot to get stoned,” just won’t do. Such a simplification distorts the truth. For one, Christians don’t drink beer and wine  only  for the taste. Even moderate drinking, which is biblically permissible, has lubricating psychoactive effects. From a biblical perspective, this lubricating effect can be acceptable. While drunkenness is clearly prohibited ( Ephesians   5:18 ; Romans  13:13 ; Galatians  5...

English: The Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (www.wamm.org) presents Victoria, the nation's first legal medical marijuana plant. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) How should we think theologically about the movement to decriminalize marijuana ?   Author: think Christian. To do so, it’s helpful to ponder the phrase “ substance abuse .” This phrase, commonly used to describe drug abuse, can also be read as a theological explanation of both the goodness of creation and the nature of sin. A proper doctrine of creation reminds us that material substances are not evil in and of themselves. In philosophical circles, “substance” simply describes any particular thing, including material things. In contrast, sin is not a physical substance , like a germ or bacteria that infects us. This may seem counterintuitive because we often associate evil with material things. As G. K. Chesterton points out , however, “The work of heaven alone was material; the making of a material world...