Tobacco, Christians and moral meddling

WND ^ | 9/13/2002 | Joel Miller

[4CJ]

"The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."

Proof than an intelligent man served on the court.

[.30Carbine]

I am a Christian. I smoke. Others will just have to work this out for themselves.

Thanks, Joe.

[Eastbound]

Re-arranging my furniture to make sure the ash trays are easy to find.

[TheGrimReaper]

I am a Christian. I smoke. Others will just have to work this out for themselves.

Ditto....and bingo!
However, I remain less concerned about the church trouncing our civil liberties than I do about the usual cast of socialist/liberal/neo-facist dimocrats. Seems that most of the "tobacco-nazi" antics are traceable back to them (dims).

[Madame Dufarge]

An excellent article.

It's always puzzled me why tobacco use has been interpreted by some as a moral issue. There does seem to be a nexus of pious (rather than truly Christian) types and statists that emerges on this issue.

Well, their loss.

[dcwusmc]

BIG bump!

[sweet_diane]

Bumping for reading after the kids go to bed...looks interesting

[Great Dane]

niggle - "to spend excessive time on inconsequential details; trifle. OR To criticize constantaly in a pettty manner."

In other words, just a new prettier word for nagging. :-}

[WindMinstrel]

However, I remain less concerned about the church trouncing our civil liberties than I do about the usual cast of socialist/liberal/neo-facist dimocrats.

I think it's a combination of the two. While most lefties are pretty secular, they maintain a background of "cultural christianity" -- that is, their worldview is still basically Christian. As such they ignore the heart of the gospel, and focus on "being good" or (even worse) being "nice". That allows them to meddle in society and claim the moral highground, while still ignoring the truth of the Gospel.

Of course, real Christians seduced by this social gospel are even worse. Not only do they meddle in social engineering, but they do that at the expense of their own witness. That's not necessarily a sin, or evil, but it sure is poor stewardship.

[maxwell]

What's wrong with Calvinism?

[maxwell]

Thanks for the ping, Joe, good article.

[.30Carbine]

...the usual cast of socialist/liberal/neo-facist dimocrats. Seems that most of the "tobacco-nazi" antics are traceable back to them (dims).

Jesus quoted Isaiah when he said, "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean'....Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'...."

It seems Jesus was speaking directly to the Clinton Democrats with this one.
{/understatement}

[.30Carbine]

While most lefties are pretty secular, they maintain a background of "cultural christianity" -- that is, their worldview is still basically Christian. As such they ignore the heart of the gospel, and focus on "being good" or (even worse) being "nice". That allows them to meddle in society and claim the moral highground, while still ignoring the truth of the Gospel.

It seems to have begun with Woodrow Wilson, of whom it was said, "He thinks he is another Jesus Christ come upon the earth to reform men (French president Georges Clemenceau)."

In his efforts to persuade America to support his idea for a League of Nations and to adopt plans for the establishment of a Permanent Court of International Justice Wilson himself proclaimed, "For nothing less depends upon this decision, nothing less than liberation and salvation of the world."

[johnb838]

I think this is a niggardly thing to be talking about.

[TheGrimReaper]

It seems Jesus was speaking directly to the Clinton Democrats with this one.

There are none so deaf as he who will not hear.