Religious Drug Use Ok, Medicinal...Not So Much

I find it hard to believe that some religious people can get away with using illegal drugs while cancer patients who use marijuana for relief of nausea get charged and convicted. Medicinal marijuana use is illegal in the US while in Canada, it is not. The debates still rage among medical professionals and scientists as to whether marijuana is more harmful or beneficial to cancer patients, those with glaucoma, AIDS, MS, etc. Still, I think that people suffering from these diseases should be allowed to decide themselves whether to use marijuana or not. If it helps some people ease their suffering, why not let them? Marijuana, in my opinion, is no worse than alcohol. In fact, I believe that alcohol is far worse and far more damaging to our society than marijuana ever will be. And if you are one of those people who believe that marijuana is a gateway drug, then you'd be wrong and it would do you good to do some research.

It is more than a stretch to say that the legalization of marijuana would lead to legalization of cocaine or heroin; it's a bloody leap.

Among Christians in the US, opinion seems to be divided on the whole issue of marijuana legalization. Both sides can point to passages in the Bible to support their stands. But is this really the best way to decide whether to legalize marijuana? I think not. The Bible is notorious for contradictions and by using it to decide whether something should be legal or not in the 21st century is absurd. Killing disrespecting children is condoned in the Bible; it's actually the proper punishment. So, should we look to the Old Testament to decide what is allowable here and now? The New Testament, perhaps? How about neither?

The Bible is not the moral law of the United States, though many would like it to be, and as such it should have no bearing deciding the legality of anything. Religion just muddles things up.

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Asinine Bible Passages Part II

In my ongoing search of the stupidest passages in the Bible, I give you the second installment. Below is a passage of the utmost unfairness from a benevolent and loving God.

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.

Exodus 34:6-7

This God believes in punishing the children of the sinful just for being the children of the sinful. The second book of Kings contradicts the above passage in Exodus.

The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

2 Kings 14:6

Or maybe the passage from Exodus means punishment other than death. If so, then it's not a contradiction. It's worse. The innocent are still punished for the sins of others. This God really loves all his children, doesn't he?

Another passage from Exodus shows the intolerance of other religions that is condoned in the Bible.

Then the LORD said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you. Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah* poles. Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Exodus 34:10-14

*According to Wikipedia, Asherah is a mother-goddess.

God is a jealous God. Straight from the Bible. Isn't jealousy one of the seven deadly sins?

God is vengeful.

Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites and to carry out the LORD's vengeance on them.

Numbers 31:3

And a sexist murderer who condones rape.

Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

Numbers 31:17-18

God also created evil.

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Isaiah 45:7 (King James Version)

There is a discrepancy regarding the proper translation of the word evil. In the New International Version of the Bible, "evil" is replaced by "disaster" and in other versions by "calamity."

Either way, God created nastiness, so why blame people.

Human sacrifice is condoned and expected by God.

Then God said, Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

Genesis 22:2

God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son. For what? To prove his loyalty to God. What kind of God would expect any of "his children" to kill their own for him. He sounds like a very reasonable God.

One more thing. For those parents who are deluded enough to let their children die rather than receive medical attention such as a blood transfusion, you disgust me. Any sane parent who loved their children would do anything to save them even if it meant sacrificing their own afterlife in heaven.

And one more passage. This one is very disturbing. Killing children for the most trivial reasons. (It's trivial to me. They're just ignorant kids. Give 'em a break. I thought God was forgiving.)

From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths*.

2 Kings 2:23-24

*In the King James Version the youths are children, which is even worse. What do kids know.

Well there you have it. Straight from the cruel, evil, jealous, vengeful and intolerant mouth of God himself. God is male. You didn't know that?

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Asinine Bible Passages Part I

The following are some of the stupidest passages I found in the so-called "Good Book".

A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.

Deuteronomy 22:5

So I guess that means that God hates transvestites, cross-dressers and pretty much 90% of the female population, at least those women in the West who have the right to wear pants. Lovely.

The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion;

Isaiah 4:4

All the women of Zion are filthy. Again, how lovely. Nowhere did I find a passage that said the same about all men. And maybe there is some but I doubt it's as prevalent as the ones about women.

The following passage clearly shows that the Bible was written by a bunch of ignorant men who were terrified of the unknown, that is women's bodies in particular.

Say to the Israelites: A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding. When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offer them before the LORD to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.

Leviticus 12:2-6

For women who give birth to daughter, twice as much time has to pass than if she had given birth to a son, for her purification to be complete. How fucking retarded and sexist is that. I hate the damn Bible.

And here are some more fucked up passages.

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Titus 2:3-5

Not too much wine. Fuck that.

A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing-if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

1 Timothy 2:11-15

Here's more about menstruation. Oh yeah, these are the best. What a bunch of crapola.

When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening. Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. Whoever touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Whoever touches anything she sits on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, he will be unclean till evening. If a man lies with her and her monthly flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean. When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period. Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period. Whoever touches them will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.

Leviticus 15:19-27

After reading this nonsense I wonder how any self-respecting woman who calls herself a Christian could possibly believe that these passages came from God. And even if they did, then all women should silent and subject to their husbands and only wear dresses and skirts. I mean seriously, who does that nowadays. And yet there are so many women who call themselves religious and read the Bible. So why don't they see how sexist and degrading this word of God book really is. If it is the word of God then everything in it must be true and all Christians should then act in accordance with it.

The thing that annoys me is the way Christians would just pick and choose what to believe in the Bible and then find some retarded justification for the passages they didn't agree with.

The whole thing shows you, that is if you are not deluded, that the Bible was written by men in a time when women were secondary citizens who were treated as if they were children.

And maybe some of you really are if you can't see through this book of propaganda.

By the way, all this nonsense comes from the New International Version.

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