Doubtful Disputations-Smoking

 

 

INTRODUCTION:  For as long as I can remember smoking tobacco has been considered sinful among “Holiness” people.  When smoking tobacco joined the list of worldly vices to be rejected by some Christians I cannot say, and can find no specific time when the habit fell from acceptance within much of the Christian community.  Since our study concerns “doubtful disputations,” and since there has never been universal agreement about God’s will concerning tobacco, smoking definitely falls under the definition of “doubtful disputations.”  It is interesting to note that both Jonathan Edwards and his wife reportedly enjoyed an evening pipe before retiring.  As late as 1874 Charles Spurgeon enjoyed a cigar without any sense of conviction.  Reportedly on invite to preach at Spurgeon’s tabernacle, the American evangelist, Dwight Pentecost preached a scathing sermon denouncing smoking as a sinful habit.  Being a smoker, Spurgeon afterward took the pulpit, advising his congregation that he did not consider smoking to be a sin, saying, that by the grace of God, he hoped to enjoy a good cigar before going to bed that night. 

Those of us influenced by the “Holiness Movement’ will naturally have a negative outlook on smoking, while equally sincere Christians will experience no conviction against smoking.  Culturally, smoking has definitely lost its acceptance; not due to the influence of Christians opposed to it, but because of the health risks that have been proven to be associated with tobacco use.  When I struggled with the tobacco habit, I must confess that I did not know if I was convicted by the Spirit, or if I was convicted by the teachings of the Holiness traditions that my family embraced.  As we have learned from Paul’s teaching in Ro. 14 there are a number of “doubtful disputations” that have come and gone in the church over the years, and that we should settle these questions individually in our own consciences. 

Since smoking is a relatively “new” practice arriving centuries after the closing of the canon of Scripture our responses to smoking must be based upon the principles of Scripture, and the potential negative impact of smoking upon our testimonies.  Bearing that is mind, let’s consider a brief history of smoking, its harmful effects, and its social impact.

 

1.  SMOKING IS A NATIVE AMERICAN INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD.  Smoking is not mentioned in the Bible; there being no inference to a prohibition against any form of tobacco use.  This many be in part to the fact that tobacco was not known in Europe, Africa or Asia until its export from the Americas.  According to HISTORY OF TOBACCO a report from Boston University Medical Center, tobacco was used as early as 1 B.C. by native Americans.  Introduced to the rest of the world in 1492 tobacco has grown to become a multi-billion dollar industry, with Marlboro brand cigarettes alternating the international product lead with Coca Cola.  Originally marketed for its medicinal properties tobacco was believed to cure a host of ailments.  It did not take the clergy long to begin opposition to smoking.  In 1632, 12 years after the Mayflower arrived on Plymouth Rock, it was illegal to smoke publicly in Massachusetts.  This had more to do with moral beliefs of the day than to health concerns.  It may be the Puritans that first resisted smoking based on religious grounds.

Among Native Americans smoking was not nearly the health hazard as among the Europeans.  Native Americans used tobacco primarily in religious rituals; smoking on average about 40 times a year.  When introduced into England, its main promoter was Sir Walter Raleigh.  Smokers’ clubs sprung up among the gentry in England, but before long its use spread to all classes. Initially referred to as “drinking smoke” because it was common for smokers to do so when drinking alcohol.  Thus, it became popular among some, but shameful to those opposed to alcohol—the church crowd.  Tobacco was met with stiff opposition from kings and popes until its popularity, and economic benefits to European nations made it a too formidable foe.  In 1604, King James I of England issued a strong denunciation against smoking saying smoking is   “loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless.”  The Church always leading the way against things believed contrary to good society picked up the lead in opposition to smoking.  Thus, smoking was labeled as a sinful indulgence; this stigma remaining over much of the church world.  If one was to refrain from smoking based upon the injunction from 1 Thessalonians 5:22, “Abstain from all appearance of evil” the potential benefit cannot be underestimated.

 

2.  SMOKING IS ADDICTIVE AND DANGEROUS TO ONE’S HEALTH.  From his writings I believe that the Apostle Paul felt free to engage in more activities than he actually allowed himself the liberty to enjoy.  He never condemned those that practiced their liberty; neither did he criticize those that lived very restrictive lives.  His counsel in Romans 14 sought to bring unity among brethren in spite of differing degrees of liberty.  Though he was confident that his relationship with the Lord was not determined by the things he denied himself, still Paul, for the sake of other believers did not exercise his liberty if he felt that to do so would cause any offense.  In 1 Corinthians 6:12 Paul explained his position concerning those things that we might categorize under the label of “doubtful disputations”:  “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient.  All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”  This could be any thing that might tend to get a hold on us in such a way as to become a habit or addiction that distracts us from serving the Lord, and steal an inordinate amount of our valuable time; i.e., watching television, shopping, video games, surfing the web, sports, smoking, etc.

Because the chemicals in tobacco can be very addictive many people have become enslaved to smoking; spending money that they can ill afford to waste on this harmful habit, endangering their health, shortening their lives, ruining clothing, upholstery, furniture, etc. with the stains, burns, and odors left behind.  As stated in paragraph 1 (above), the Church has always led the opposition against societal vices.  It is no wonder then that smoking fell into disrepute among many Christian people.  Perhaps exceeding Scriptural authority, many clerics, seeing the harm done to families by this bad habit, have gone so far as to declare smoking a sin. 

 

3.  SMOKING IS EXPENSIVE, AND SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE.  From the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (This may or may not be government propaganda.) :  “Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States.  Each year, an estimated 443,000 people die prematurely from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke, and another 8.6 million live with a serious illness caused by smoking.  Despite these risks, approximately 46.6 million U.S. adults smoke cigarettes.  Smokeless tobacco, cigars, and pipes also have deadly consequences, including lung, larynx, esophageal, and oral cancers.  The harmful effects of smoking do not end with the smoker.  An estimated 88 million nonsmoking Americans, including 54% of children aged 3-11 years, are exposed to secondhand smoke.  Even brief exposure can be dangerous because nonsmokers inhale many of the same poisons in cigarette smoke as smokers.  Secondhand smoke exposure causes serious disease and death, including heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmoking adults and sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more frequent and severe asthma attacks in children.  Each year, primarily because of exposure to secondhand smoke, an estimated 3,000 nonsmoking Americans die of lung cancer.  More than 46,000 die of heart disease, and about 150,000-300,000 children younger than 18 months have higher respiratory tract infections.  Coupled with tis enormous health toll is the significant economic burden of tobacco use—more than $96 billion a year in medical costs and another $97 billion from lost productivity. 

Whether these statistics are contrived propaganda, or are supported by the facts, smoking has become, because of anti-smoking campaigning by a host of agencies and corporations, a taint upon the respectability of smokers.  Justified or not, the impression being fostered is that only insensitive careless people would endanger themselves and innocent people around them by continuing to smoke.  Due to this negative impression that most non-smokers have of smokers, it is certain that one’s testimony will suffer if they use tobacco. 

Because smoking, at least in the minds of many believers, bears the appearance of evil, our testimonies are definitely affected by smoking.  Also because of the addictive nature of tobacco we would be wise to avoid being brought under its power.  However, if you chose to smoke, or are struggling to quit you have a place at Cross Road; to worship, to serve, and to grow.