Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 09:22:12 GMT From: (Keith Mason) Newsgroups: uk.religion.christian References: <

(Annabel Smyth) wrote:

‘Incidentally, smoking only became a sin in about 1978 or so….. :-)’

This all depends on who was doing the preaching.

Speaking as a pipe smoker, cough cough, I would like to make you aware, (if you are not already), that in 1836 – 1837, Charles Finney, a theologian who was greatly followed in his day, and is still held in great and high esteem by many Pentecostals, Methodists, Baptists, etc preached the following –

“You find persons that greatly love things that do them no good, and others even form an artificial appetite for the thing positively loathsome, and after it they will go, and no arguments will prevail upon them to abandon it for the sake of doing good. Are such persons absorbed in the service of God? Certainly not. Will they sacrifice their lives for the kingdom of God? Why you cannot make them even give up a quid of tobacco! a weed that is injurious to health and loathsome to society; they cannot give it up, were it to save a soul from death!”

And then a few paragraphs later –

“(B.) Tobacco. Can any man pretend that he has no doubt that it is agreeable to the will of God for him to use tobacco? No man can pretend that he doubts the lawfulness of his OMISSION of these things. Does any man living think that he is bound in duty to make use of wine, or strong beer, or tobacco, as a luxury? No. The doubt is all on one side. What shall we say then, of that man who doubts the lawfulness of it, and still fills his face with the poisonous weed? He is condemned.”

And by “condemned”, Finney did mean that it was a sin. He goes on to mention a lot of other things besides smoking, including drinking tea and coffee, reading certain books, going to dances, etc, and here is one for the ladies –

9. Compliance with the extravagant fashions of the day.

Christian lady! have you never doubted, do you not now doubt, whether it be lawful for you to copy these fashions, brought from foreign countries, and from places which it were a shame even to name in this assembly? Have you no doubt about it? And if you doubt and do it, you are condemned, and must repent of your sin, or you will be lost forever!

Thank goodnes that God sent Christ to die for our sins, eh?

Take care,

Keith