Something that confounds me all the time is the aversion the three religions of the Bible have to altered consciousness. It seems to be almost unconscious, cloaked in Drug War propaganda.
But, when the discussion of legalization turns to legalizing non- psychoactive marijuana products, resistance melts away (for the most part).
I guess my question is, is there something in the bible or monotheism which forbids altered consciousness?
It doesn't seem that the Bible contains specific instructions on drugs per se, probably because there wasn't many to choose from in the Bronze Age. It seems that there are references to MJ. But, different sects currently look upon all drugs in different ways. IOW, they are as split on this issue as they are on almost any other issue...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_and_drugs#Christianity
Christianity
Many
Christian denominations disapprove of the use of most illicit drugs. There are some suggestions that the Bible may refer to it.
The primary advocate of a religious use of cannabis plant in early Judaism was
Sula Benet also called
Sara Benetowa a Polish anthropologist, (1903–1982), who claimed (1967) that the plant
kaneh bosm קְנֵה-בֹשֶׂם mentioned five times in the Hebrew Bible, and used in the
holy anointing oil of the Book of Exodus, was in fact cannabis.
[26] The Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church confirmed it as a possible valid interpretation.
[27] The lexicons of Hebrew and dictionaries of plants of the Bible such as by
Michael Zohary (1985),
Hans Arne Jensen (2004) and
James A. Duke (2010) and others identify the plant in question as either
Acorus calamus or
Cymbopogon citratus.
[28] Kaneh-bosm is listed as an incense in the
Old Testament. It is generally held by academics specializing in the archaeology and paleobotany of
Ancient Israel, and those specializing in the lexicography of the
Hebrew Bible that cannabis is not documented or mentioned in early Judaism. Against this some popular writers
[29] have argued that there is evidence for religious use of cannabis in the Hebrew Bible, although this hypothesis and some of the specific case studies (e.g.,
John Allegro in relation to
Qumran, 1970) have been "widely dismissed as erroneous" (Merlin, 2003).
[30] Many
Christian denominations permit the moderate use of socially and legally acceptable drugs like
alcohol,
caffeine and
tobacco. Some
Christian denominations permit smoking
tobacco, while others disapprove of it. Many denominations do not have any official stance on drug use, some more-recent Christian denominations (e.g.
Mormons,
Seventh-day Adventists and
Jehovah’s Witnesses) discourage or prohibit the use of any of these substances.
Because
Jesus and many Biblical figures drank
wine, most
Christian denominations do not require
teetotalism. In fact,
Catholicism in particular encourages the consumption of wine during the
sacrament of the
Eucharist. In the Eucharist, wine represents (or among
Christians who believe in some form of
Real Presence, like the Catholic, Lutheran and Orthodox churches, actually
is) the blood of Christ. Lutherans believe in the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist,
[31][32] that the body and blood of Christ are "truly and substantially present in, with and under the forms"
[33][34] of the consecrated bread and wine (the elements), so that communicants orally eat and drink the holy body and blood of Christ Himself as well as the bread and wine (cf.
Augsburg Confession, Article 10) in this
Sacrament.
[35][36] The Lutheran doctrine of the Real Presence is more accurately and formally known as "the
Sacramental Union."
[37] It has been inaccurately called "
consubstantiation", a term which is specifically rejected by most Lutheran churches and theologians.
[38]
On the other hand, some
Protestant Christian denominations, such as
Baptists and
Methodists associated with the
temperance movement, encourage or require teetotalism. In some Protestant denomination, grape juice or non-alcoholic wine is used in place of wine to represent the blood of Christ.
The best known Western prohibition against alcohol happened in the United States in the 1920s, where concerned prohibitionists were worried about its dangerous side effects. However, the demand for alcohol remained and criminals stepped in and created the supply. The consequences of organized crime and the popular demand for alcohol, led to alcohol being legalized again.
