I'd like to quickly revisit a subject that draws much controversy from just about every corner of the political spectrum that one can think of, and that is the Biblical notion of "marriage" and human sexual activity.
In Leviticus 18 (the ESV is actually more precise than the KJV), it states that relationships are geared for male/female coupling, and are intended just for those purposes.
(For disambiguation, "man" is in reference to an individual with an XY pairing of chromosomes. An XX pair constitutes a "woman.")
Piggybacking off of Genesis 2, we see this pairing of a man and a woman.
What significance is this at all?
One masculine and one feminine combination within any permutation of XX and XY is all that matters.
This includes transgender individuals as well.
God is no respecter of persons, nor does he discriminate in any way, shape, form, or fashion.
The same rules and guidelines apply to us all, without exception.
Greetings, and thank you for taking the time to read this letter.
Now that that's out of the way, I figured I'd wade back into choppy waters with a strong undertow.
I'm referring to medicinal practices that may have been utilized and relied upon just a few millennia ago; in the times of Christ and his apostles. The apostle Paul and his early church letters are one of the most convenient points of reference when discussing these topics.
In the letter, Paul lays out the ground rules (to his protege, Timothy) on how a healthy church body should function, and how believers should conduct themselves. Paul recommends using a measure of wine to help soothe gastrointestinal problems that may arise (from fasting), it seems.
In this letter to believers residing in Rome (approx. 55-57 A.D.), Paul instructs the early church (including many converts from Judaism) not to squabble or argue with one another over what one considers appropriate or edible in their own personal lives. He realized that some people had certain hang-ups, or were just plain uncomfortable following the same dietary guidelines (shellfish and pork are just fine, if it floats your boat) that others adhered to.
I would like to take a brief moment to analyze this passage for further clarification.
Namely the word "herbs" mentioned in verse two.
According to Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance, the word "herbs" translated from Greek (λάχaνОυ) , "denotes a garden herb, a vegetable, in contrast to wild plants."
Marijuana is known as a plant, or herb (vegetable).
By definition, Paul is certainly not referring to a plant that you would find in abundance out in the wild someplace.
It requires effort and elbow grease to do it right.
Would I rule marijuana out as a recommended treatment for stomach ailments as Paul recommended with wine?
No.
Conversely, I cannot say with any degree of certainty that marijuana is indeed one of the herbs (vegetables or plants) that Paul is referring to in scripture.
It's time we had a genuine discussion concerning marijuana, including its legality, its potential benefits, as well as its drawbacks.
Emotionally potent oversimplifications and propaganda are not going to lead us to the truth of the matter.
I wanted to wrap all of this up with a few prominent areas of concern that needed to be addressed urgently.
The first are the diametrically opposed hierarchical columns that exist inside the belief systems of Christianity and Islam.
Piggybacking off of an earlier entry (The Devil's In The Details), obfuscated behind the confusion and commotion, Satan lies atop the Muslim power structure, in direct opposition to Christ himself. The Anti-Christ is his right-hand man. The False Prophet, or "Jesus" is second in command. The prophet Muhammad is the tertiary human representative in the trio.
From the Christian faith, the corresponding representatives would be myself, John the Baptist, and the prophet Elijah.
