Quote Originally Posted by zscorpio5281
Hello all-

(This is my first post so I apologize if this topic has been mentioned before.)

I'm just curious if anyone feels a sense of 'evil' whenever high. [...] So is there a link between marijuana and the devil? I researched this and didn't find too much information, but I guess satanists used marijuana in a ritual to summon the devil/demons way back in the 1700's. And I guess other groups used it sporadically throughout history. Nothing much has been reported on this topic though.

I'm curious because I have felt some sort of connection that I never felt before in my entire life. Thanks everyone.
I'm gonna throw in one more reply. First of all, let me say I'm glad your life is on the 'upswing' and the 'evil connection' is gone. Congratulations!

I'm a Christian who believes the Bible is the source for good theology. I don't know if your background is Christian as well, but I'm going to make a guess that it is since you're referring to the devil and demons.

Whether or not there is a link between cannabis and Satan/evil depends who you talk to. Of course an Atheist would just laugh at you and say, "What devil?" An Agnostic would say, "Don't ask me, how am I supposed to know?" A moral relativist would say, "Evil? There's no such thing as evil." And a Satanist would say, "Follow your evil heart and do whatever it desires."

If you ask me, my answer will be based on the Christian Scriptures, the Bible... not on any particular philosophy or church tradition. I follow the Scriptures, not any particular pope or pastor.

The Bible doesn't mention cannabis clearly. Anyone who says it does is either lying or they are stretching a verse and trying too hard to make it fit their preconceived ideas. But it doesn't have to list every mind-altering substance (and probably couldn't if it wanted to, since the list is huge and is constantly growing as people invent and discover new substances over time). It doesn't have to list them all because... the Bible *does* mention alcohol.

So we can use what it says about that potentially "mental changing" or "mind altering" substance and apply it to other drugs. Its not the perfect analogy since they are very different drugs and alcohol is more dangerous, but since that's the closest we can get... we would be wise to see if we can find any similarities at all in what we know about God's feelings toward alcohol.

The Bible and promotes the moderate use of the substance. However, it also warns against abusing it either by addiction, be it habitual or physical, or by overuse (using too much of it at once until you're out of control and can't walk, think, or function well). In other words, addiction and drunkenness are both sins; they're both "evil".

By that, we can understand that if you are addicted to cannabis (habitually at least... since it usually isn't physically addictive) then you are probably committing a sin. Its a hard question to determine if you're habitually addicted... but try stopping for a week. If you can do that with little or no effort, then you're probably fine. If you get very irritable/angry or extremely frustrated... you should probably cut back. The Bible says we should not be controlled by anything other then God. That means we should be able to maintain our joy in life without depending on some substance to give us that joy.

We can also understand if you're getting "too high", you're probably committing a sin. Do you get high enough to have a moderate buzz, become more creative and/or relaxed, and enjoy the good times and then stop? Or do you get so high you can hardly think and/or function? If you get high to that extreme degree when you smoke, then you probably are committing a sin and need to smoke less. Again, we aren't to be controlled by anything. If you're getting so high that you can't function, they you're giving up control of your mind and body to a foreign substance... and that is a sin (except in the case of medicinal use, as the book of Proverbs mentions in reference to strong liquor).

Any sin (be it drug abuse, adultery, pornography, orgies, homosexuality, lying, cheating, etc.) can be pathways to Satan, or another way to think about it is that those are the pathways he wants you to take to become more like him. He is pure evil. Try to avoid any sin, and it then follows that you would be avoiding Satan as well. If you're a Christian, you can go a step further and try reading your Bible and praying every morning like the example Christ set for us. Pray, like Christ did in his example prayer for us titled 'the Lord's Prayer', for deliverance from evil. Hopefully your thoughts will become more like his, peaceful, wise, and joyful, instead of being inclined towards evil.

We all face temptations and have evil thoughts at times though, that is part of being human. Christians won't be rid of their sinful nature totally until they are made to be like Christ in heaven, with their new body. But the closer we draw to Christ and the more we become like him, the less we are influenced by evil.

Satan is very real. He is nothing to be afraid of, however. His influence in the Christian's life can diminish to next to nothing if we become more and more like Christ. Our own sinful nature is much more dangerous than the external influence of Satan. Try to battle sin as much as possible. With faith in Christ, it will be winning battle.