christians, is it a sin to smoke (cigarettes or dope)?

Question

i ask this because you are supposed to treat your body as your temple. cigarettes of course cause many diseases, and dope altars your state of mind like alcohol. is it a sin to do either of these. also, i know many christians who smoke cigarettes, how can they justify this, assuming that it's a sin

thanks deke, you're hot too!

and ya baby, i'm a sinner!

Answer 1

it is a sin according to the bible, but not according to modern day acceptance. Its called cherry picking. As things become more aceptable in society, religon changes whats acceptable to them, they want to smoke, so suddenly its a sin that is either no longer valid, or is insignificant. They pick and chose what they want to use against people. Smoking and Drinking in excess are just as much as sin as cheating on your spouce, or being gay, but one is acceptable, the others arent. Ta Da! Love your logic!

Answer 2

They can't justify it. The problem is that smoking as a practice began long before we knew the health risks. It was really less than half a century ago that some doctors were part of cigarette advertisements. So we (human beings in general) created a culture where smoking was glamorous. Now we know better but the allure is still there. Add to this that most people begin smoking when they are young teenagers, before they know what they believe. Now they're addicted. I know from experience that breaking that addiction is terribly difficult.

So, yes, it is a sin. And christian smokers need to rely on God to help them break the habit.

Answer 3

I'm a smoker and a Christian. I smoke anywhere from 5 to 10 cigarettes a day. I think it is a venial sin, but not a mortal sin. In other words I don't run to confession every time I have a smoke, I am more concerned about avoiding serious sins. In our culture a lot of people are more worried about dying or having a physical health problem than they are about the state of their immortal soul. I mean my body is going to die and rot, there is nothing I can do to avoid that. Yes, smoking is a sin, but it is pretty minor compared to lust, pride, envy, covetousness, and avarice. These are the real killers. "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." - John 6:63

Answer 4

To look at this and many other things from the perspective of whether it is a sin or not is not proper.

A Christian should come to realize that smoking does him or her no good, and is harmful to them and others. Yet it is addictive and difficult to break the habit.

For some, quitting shows them that they cannot do it without God's help.

Does God condemn the smoker? Not if they are truly Christian.

With dope and alcohol, other people are put at risk by these habits moreso than smoking, and one would hope that a true Christian would come to realize this and quit. Some learn, and some do not. Some grow, and some stagnate. It may well not affect one's salvation, but it will affect their rewards and punishments.

Answer 5

Is it a sin to eat trans-fats? Use preservatives? Eat a Big Mac or Big Buford otherwise known as heart-attacks-on-bun? How about unprotected sex that could result in disease? How about protected sex but outside of marriage? Is it a sin to waste food? Pollute the environment? Practice genocide? Let people starve? Permit slavery (yes it still goes on right now)?

I don't understand why so many people focus on cigs, alcohol, and sex and not on the countless other things that might also be construed as sin.

Perhaps if we spend more time attending to our own lives and behaviors, and less time attending to what others do, the world would be a more pleasant place.

Answer 6

Too many christians get hung up on whether something's a sin or not. In this case it's not a matter of sinning, but of stewardship. God gave us bodies to use while we're here on earth. There are many different ways to use these bodies. If we use them for God's glory, then we're being good stewards of what we've been given. If we don't then we're not, and we can't expect to be rewarded for what we're doing.

We're called to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to the Lord.

Holy means set apart. Abstaining from things like drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and anything else that might not glorify God is a good way to do that.

However, salvation is completely independent of things like this. We are saved solely through the grace of God, and need only accept that for it to be true.

Be careful not to judge other people, christian or not for the things that they struggle with (whether we call them sins, vices, bad habits or whatever). That's not our role in the kingdom of God. We're here simply to love God, and to love others, regardless of their struggles.

Answer 7

The Bible never directly mentions smoking. There are a couple of principles, however, that definitely apply to smoking. First, the Bible commands us to not allow our bodies to become "mastered" by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12 declares, "Everything is permissible for me" - but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me" - but I will not be mastered by anything." Smoking is undeniably strongly addictive. Later in the same passage we are told, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Smoking is undeniably very bad for your health. Smoking has been proven to damage the lungs, and often the heart.

Answer 8

It's true that you are to treat your body as your temple. Doing anything that would harm your body is naturally wrong. But, drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes etc. is not a sin. The sin is glutton, doing it in excess.

Answer 9

Yes it is a sin to smoke cigarettes and pot both because they harm your body. Also it is a sin to smoke pot because it is against the law. The Bible says to obey the law. I also personally believe it is a sin to do both because you lust after them. As for justifying it I really dont have answers I suppose they just dont care and worry about the other sinful things they are doing.

Answer 10

People drank alcohol in biblical times. Smoking is a sin against your body! not so much against God. The bible says that anyone that defiles the temple of God him shall God destroy! it doesnt say that he will send you to Hell! It also says it is not what goes into the body that defiles it, but what comes out of it! so if smoking is a sin then getting tattoos is too. Not sure what to tell you here. I wouldnt smoke marijuana as it alters the way you think. I would only drink in moderation.

Answer 11

While I'm not a Christian, I do believe smoking is wrong on many levels.

Unfortunately, tobacco companies target kids (and still do) to get them hooked on smoking while they're young.

Nicotine is the most addictive substance known to man. It's more chemically addictive than heroin.

Smoking hurts the smoker, and it hurts everyone else around. Those who still don't accept the connection with lung cancer are wilfully stupid, and those who think that secondhand smoke is not a problem are probably so far gone that they don't even realize how much the rest of us hate having to breathe noxious fumes just because you can't take your cancer sticks outside.

Seriously, some people can hardly breathe around smokers. An old girlfriend of mine often couldn't even stay in her university's computer lab because a guy who worked there would smoke him pipe and then wander around inside. He smelled so bad he affected her asthma.