by kid-A 36 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I stated "some sort of psychotropic drugs",
Psychotropics would cover psychedelics. Cocaine and other amphetimines have been available for millenia. However, they were not useful in the religio-spiritual practice, just as today they are not. One drug, nicotine, is not clear to me in which category it would be, or if it was used in shamanic work.
S
The search for the "God Gene" has been a focal point of science/medicine for many years now. I think one day soon we will find that certain people are predispositioned for the belief in God. The need for something greater out there....and perhaps this has been increased via evolution. Those that felt there was something larger / more powerful out there ended up fighting harder to live & thrive, therefore passed on those genes to their offspring.
I wonder if Bush would be willing to sponsor some faith-based research on this? Maybe start dumping something in the water supply to make us all more god-prone?
It won't affect you, Tetra, since you Canadians don't drink our water. If you ever see me posting something on the lines of "I got saved!", I beg you to come down here and dry me out!
"Ok, buddy, drink the Evian. It won't hurt you.. c'mon, just a sip..."
Dave
Cocaine has been around for thousands of years. Amphetamine is a synthetic compound that was first developed in 1887.
First synthesized in 1887, the stimulant amphetamine became popular in 1920s in the medical community, where it was used for raising blood pressure, enlarging the nasal passages, and stimulating the central nervous system. Abuse of the drug began during the 1930s, when it was marketed under the name Benzedrine and sold in an over-the-counter inhaler. During World War II, amphetamines were widely distributed to soldiers to combat fatigue and improve both mood and endurance, and after the war physicians began to prescribe amphetamines to fight depression. As legal usage of amphetamines increased, a black market emerged. Common users of illicit amphetamines included truck drivers on long commutes and athletes looking for better performance. Students referred to the drug as "pep pills" and used them to aid in studying.
LOL dave!
evian: isn't that french? secular water, here we come!
TS
But opium and hashish would have been the "drug of choice" of ancient civilization. Both date back thousands of years.
Maybe start dumping something in the water supply to make us all more god-prone?
LOL. Just watch out for any "Watchtower Brand" Spring water (TM) being given out free at the next convention......
But opium and hashish would have been the "drug of choice" of ancient civilization. Both date back thousands of years. Yes, drugs that would have been used thousands of years ago would have included opium, coca leaves, hashish, mushrooms, alcohol, possibly nicotine (but I have not heard of this), beetle nut, certain tree barks have hallucinogenic properties, and other "naturally" occurring drugs in the environment, depending on the continent. ALL of these drugs act on the same pathways as synthetic drugs like amphetamine: Dopamine.
kid-a
This is why most early religious rituals involved the use of some sort of psychotropic drug to "enhance" the religious experience of the "believers".
So if these drugs "enhance" the religious experience, why do you think the Bible (the early church) discourages drug use?
Rev 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers,
and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
pharmakeus
far-mak-yoos'From fa´?µa??? pharmakon (a drug, that is, spell giving potion); a druggist ("pharmacist") or poisoner, that is, (by extension) a magician: - sorcerer.
DD,
if this is the case, then please follow the inspired biblical advice against sorcery and avoid all medicine and other scientific machinations, even if you are sick and ill.
TS
