Does fundie smoke ?

[Marianne]

Even though I am in Texas, and have spent most of my life here, my experience is that not very many cowboy/rednecks attend SBC. Can't think of any, or more fundie, that chew either although I know plennnnnty of men who chew, which is viler than smoking. Disgusting.

I'm a big smoker (around 40 cigarets by day) and even me, I find the taste horrible. If you're not born with it, I don't see how you can become a chewer (is that a word ?)

Artdecades : What is this ?!

[browncoatslytherin]

Even though I am in Texas, and have spent most of my life here, my experience is that not very many cowboy/rednecks attend SBC. Can't think of any, or more fundie, that chew either although I know plennnnnty of men who chew, which is viler than smoking. Disgusting.

i never saw many chewers in the ifb churches i attended. if there were one or two, they were generally viewed as having a weakness. it wasn't something that anyone addressed specifically, though, at least in public.

[RosyDaisy]

I have seen fundies smoke...some of the ones in my family do.

[Black Aliss]

In the fundie circles of my childhood it was understood that it was a sin, but that some men still had to struggle against Satan's grip from time to time. They usually served as ushers on Sunday so they could slip outside for a smoke.

[DGayle]

I second this. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit so we should not defile it with tobacco. This is also the same reasoning that would be used against drugs were they to be made legal. Whereas there are verses in the Bible directly related to alcohol, this rule was a little more interpretive.

There are a lot of bad things people can "defile" their bodies with. There are also people who think sodas should be banned, and a lot of people who always think chemo defiles the body somehow.

Our bodies are our own temples.

[DGayle]

the music was very, very specific. no "beats", a lot of hymns and other very conservative-style christian songs. i remember a ridiculous circumstances where one year, there was a cool song that camp counselors liked, but they weren't allowed to sing or perform it because the original song had a beat. then the resident music group, unaware of the ban, created their own version without a beat and suddenly it was okay. i remember hearing that and thinking..."really? you couldn't have just done that in the first place instead of banning it?"

No beats? Would "How Great Thou Art" be allowed? The Carrie Underwood version is pretty (I'm not a fan of hers, but that song's still nice), but the hymn version made it really hard not to yawn during a wedding.

[browncoatslytherin]

No beats? Would "How Great Thou Art" be allowed? The Carrie Underwood version is pretty (I'm not a fan of hers, but that song's still nice), but the hymn version made it really hard not to yawn during a wedding.

i think because originally it was a hymn with no rhythmic beat (like a drum beat) set to it, it's okay. or at least, that's likely their reasoning.

[Rainytown]

In the fundie world, there's the "written" rules (anything in the Bible) and the "unwritten" rules, which are myriad. As another poster mentioned, no drinking, dancing, or smoking. No premarital sex, unless you are the child of a board member/heavy donor to the building fund. (Oops, did I say that?) No R-rated movies. (PG is suspect as well.) No popular music unless it's "Christian contemporary". No revealing clothing. You are at church every time the doors are open, which means Sunday morning and evening, Wednesday nights, and whenever there's something happening, which could be several nights a week. If you are not at church, you'll be confronted about that. No swearing.

One of my pastors deemed roller skating "sinful" because he enjoyed it too much. Sin is a moving target, determined by what the pastor is feeling especially "convicted" about on that particular day.

[BrownieMomma]

One of my pastors deemed roller skating "sinful" because he enjoyed it too much. Sin is a moving target, determined by what the pastor is feeling especially "convicted" about on that particular day.

It is probably dancing on wheels and we all know dancing is just sex standing up.

[tigerchild]

I too can remember nothing about smoking being mentioned in church (unlike music, sex, and alcohol), but yet I also can't think of a single fundie person I knew or have ever known who smoked. I think it may have just been one of those no brainer of course no one does that things?

[Bretta]

I was thinking about this. Does fundie smoke ? Is smoking forbidden ?

(i'm speaking about cigarette, not marijuana)

This, and the issue of alcohol, are one of my pet peeves. Since I am not in a habit of smoking, I don't do it. But I know people who do, and what's the point of criticizing their personal decisions? Fundies see it from a cultural viewpoint... those who smoke are generally considered immoral, rebellious, worldly, etc. For example, coming from a fundie family who doesn't smoke, a "rebellious teen" could start smoking to make a statement. Smoking becomes perceived as part of worldliness, idolatry, rebellion, etc.

Theologically, there is nothing against smoking, no more than eating fried-chicken or tater-tot-casserole.

Medically speaking, there are a lot of problems that come from smoking and its addictive effects on the brain (+ secondhand smoke's effects) which is why its not so much a religious issue to me.

If you take the issue of addiction, then there is a theological issue. Morally speaking, fundies (I take it you mean evangelicals), they would say that addiction is unhealthy and that it can be cured through faith and deliverance. But smoking in moderation, who knows? Its a bit difficult to imagine moderation where addictive narcotics are concerned.

Mormons, for example, don't smoke, drink coffee, or do anything they feel wouldn't be good for their bodies.

And of course, in the unlikely case of an Evangelical fundamentalist who likes a puff here and there and isn't addicted, there's the whole issue of "stumbling blocks". The example used in the Bible's writings is concerning some Christians who don't eat meat and some who do. What is said is that Christians should work together to smooth out any differences in their beliefs, and each is allowed to hold to their belief of what they want to take into their bodies and what they do not. It's not a question of "permissible or not" but a question of brotherhood and harmony, about being considerate to others and not forcing our choices on them.

I find the only way to "argue" with fundies or dispute their practices is to use to use what they espouse to belief, that is, The Bible. No point bringing in scientific studies or facts because they don't consider those authoritative.

If you talk about judging, the fundie mentality is rife with it. They size people up by what they practice to decide if a family/person is acceptable to them or not. Smoking would fall outside of the "acceptability circle". They would see if a girl wears a certain kind/length of skirt, does her hair in a certain way (curls? covering?long/short?), if a mother stays at home and homeschools, if they eat wholemeal bread, if they practice home birth, if they have a growing number of children, etc. etc. etc. It's usually not a conscious thing but there is some distancing going on, or at the least some ambivalence towards you if you don't line up with their standards. Either that, if some are of the outreaching strain, they may switch from "fellowship-style" behaviour to condescending "evangelism" behaviour depending on where you fall, inside or outside of their circle in the sand. Or, you know, you could just be ignored/dropped. Chances are, if you are a very "unacceptable" person, some fundies may be really really nice to you because they want to be a good witness.

[2xx1xy1JD]

The lack of smoking would actually be one of the best things that I've heard about fundie Christian culture.

Unfortunately, it took Orthodox Judaism a while to move away from smoking. At one point, it was extremely common - many of the bigwigs smoked, thought it made them feel good because of the temporary nicotine rush, and didn't realize the terrible long-term damage it was causing to their bodies. When the first Surgeon General's warning came out, the leading Orthodox American rabbi said that smoking was still permitted, because it was so common and so many great rabbis had smoked.

The habit stuck around yeshivas longer than it did in the general workplace.

Eventually, as it became less common and more of the horrible health dangers were known, they went back for a second look at the issue. In North America today, there is such a clear anti-smoking message and anti-smoking laws in public spaces that it can't be considered a common practice. Some recent rulings that said that you can't start to smoke, since there is a general rule against harming your health.

Marianne - how to you manage to smoke 40 cigarettes a day while teaching? Is smoking permitted inside the school?

[Marianne]

Marianne - how to you manage to smoke 40 cigarettes a day while teaching? Is smoking permitted inside the school?

No ! We can smoke outside the school, in the public space, but not inside. Smoking inside public building is forbidden by the law (and basic respect). I smoke a lot in the morning when I wake up, untill I go to school or university, and I smoke a lot in the evening (I do not stop smoking between my arrival at home and the time to sleep). Add to this that I have free time during the day, and you have 2 pack of cigarettes by day. But I don't smoke where it's forbidden (and singing or playing trumpet while smoking is a bit difficult !)

[FoxyMoxie]

When I was at school, the legal age to buy cigarettes was 16, and you left compulsory education at 16 - so my secondary school at one point had a smoking area for 6th form (age 16-18) students!

[E Street Fan]

Perry from LiaS is the only one I know of. He posted something about cigars of Facebook and people went apeshitcrazy on him. He posts a lot about marijuana too so I imagine he paratakes of that as well...

Are the Coghlans the family with kids stacked like cordwood in a small room with plywood flooring? (I don't follow many fundies.) If I had that many kids, especially in a small house, I'd need some wacky weed too.

Maybe that explains Michelle's vacant expression!

[2xx1xy1JD]

No ! We can smoke outside the school, in the public space, but not inside. Smoking inside public building is forbidden by the law (and basic respect). I smoke a lot in the morning when I wake up, untill I go to school or university, and I smoke a lot in the evening (I do not stop smoking between my arrival at home and the time to sleep). Add to this that I have free time during the day, and you have 2 pack of cigarettes by day. But I don't smoke where it's forbidden (and singing or playing trumpet while smoking is a bit difficult !)

Has it affected your voice at all? Or made you short of breath for playing the trumpet?

I remember thinking that it was just normal for me to hear my father coughing every morning when I was little. He quit was I was 15, and after a few weeks, I realize that the familiar coughing sound was gone.

[SpikedPeaches]

J. Titus Phillips posted a photo on his public Instagram back in October, featuring Justice and "his faithful Sumerner"... :shock:

http://instagram.com/p/ulIAyIoHN9/

[Marianne]

Has it affected your voice at all? Or made you short of breath for playing the trumpet?

I remember thinking that it was just normal for me to hear my father coughing every morning when I was little. He quit was I was 15, and after a few weeks, I realize that the familiar coughing sound was gone.

You don't need to have big lungs to play trumpet. The most important is how you use your lips. About my voice, not for the moment, but who know, I'm still young (every people that I meet in the music world - including opera singer - are smoker). I would like to reduce what I smoke, my doctor think beginning with an electronic cigarette where you can gradually reduce the nicotine levels will be good, so this is our plan for the future.

I'm sorry about your father.

[ILoveJellybeans]

J. Titus Phillips posted a photo on his public Instagram back in October, featuring Justice and "his faithful Sumerner"... :shock:

http://instagram.com/p/ulIAyIoHN9/

I am more disturbed that it is tagged as #whatastud and #studmuffin. Ew, JT hes your brother!