Christianity and Pharmaceuticals, Part 2

Download podcast file. Note: This is the same podcast as Part 1, as there is only one podcast, presented here in an Open Forum on August 1st, 2011.

Christianity and Pharmaceuticals, Part 2

A few days ago I put out an article of this title, and many people have made further inquiry, or were even upset, because they have already been captivated by the pharmaceutical industry by one means or another.  Yet I shall stand by my article, even if it does not address the immediate needs of people in general, as being wholly Scriptural.  However here I will attempt to put some things into perspective:  for those who are currently victims of the medical/pharmaceutical complex need not do anything rash.

Paul told the Corinthians: “ A bondman, you have been called? It must not be a concern to you, but then if you have the ability to become free, rather you use it. 22 For he who is called a bondman in the Prince is a freedman of the Prince; likewise he who is called free is a bondman of Christ.” (I Corinthians 7:21-22, CNT )

In a paper I wrote several years ago, Sin and the First Epistle of John, I said this, commenting upon 1 John 3:4-12:  “All men sin, as we have seen John himself state above at 1:10, as Paul also did at Rom. 3:23, and so John can’t possibly be stating that all men are of the False Accuser. The children of Israel, who are the children of Yahweh, have an Advocate in Yahshua Christ even if they do sin, as John has already told us in his epistle at 2:1-2 and 12. Yet here John uses a phrase which he did not use in chapter 2 in respect to sin. Where earlier only the verb hamartanō is used to describe the act of sinning, here the verb poieō is used in conjunction with the noun hamartia to describe the practice, or even the creation of sin, at 3:4, 8 and 9, and so John’s intent here must be distinguished from, and understood within the context of, his earlier remarks concerning Israel and sin. It should be obvious here that John makes reference not to the occasional sinner, but to the authors of sin. John must mean not the fool who lusts and buys a pornographic video or magazine, but the pornographer himself; not the weak or sickly man who turns to drugs, but the drug manufacturer; not the desperate man who takes out a usurious loan, but the usurer himself. All men have weaknesses which they are entrapped by at one time or another (note Paul’s warning at Gal. 6:1), yet one who is tempted by such weakness is certainly not “of the False Accuser”, and no Israelite is “of the False Accuser”! The authors or creators of sin are of the False Accuser, and history reveals who they are. The panderers are the evil ones, not those who are weak!”  (Emphasis added.)

Understanding all of this in the context of Scripture, I would not advise anyone to act rashly. I would not want you to run and flush your insulin down the toilet.  Of course, neither can I give medical advice.  I can only present the Scriptures as they were given, in the context of the culture and history of the times.  Paul is cited above as having said “A bondman, you have been called? It must not be a concern to you…”, and so you should not be distressed if you are currently held captive.  Yet Paul’s admonition to those who are held captive is that “if you have the ability to become free, rather you use it.”  For many ailments there are natural remedies, and one should seek those if one can, and in conjunction with a pure heart and honest prayer, seek also the mercy of our Father, that you may be freed from your captivity.  And if one is not in a position to do those things, then it would be best simply to realize and admit that one is a captive, but do not trouble yourself over it, and likewise with a pure heart and honest prayer, also seek the mercy of our Father.

William Finck
Christogenea.org