Joe:
You asked the question where I got the idea that you got permission from your doctor to smoke. I got it from the following sentence in one of your posts:
As far as the body issue, yes it should be a concern, but 1 (example) pipe smoke a week I doubt will harm the body any more than me having a desert every now and then, though I have HBP (my doc approved 1 per week).
You accuse me of misrepresenting the facts about the previous thread on this subject wherein I said "I seem to recall" you saying you smoked a pipe occasionally. Sorry Joe if you call that missrepresenting the facts. I don't have a perfect memory and am very aware of it, that is why I said "seem to recall". I didn't go back and search the thread to see what you said and I don't intend to frankly Joe because arguing over smoking is a total waste of time in my opinion. There is nothing healthy about it.
Yes, many people have natural tendencies to lots of things Joe and some of them are sin. I happen to like the smell of some tobacco smoke occasionally, but smelling it, at it's odor threshold which is often at the ppm level is a great deal different than intentionlly taking the the substance into the mouth or lungs to derive the "benefits" of the drugs and chemicals it contains. This is done at orders of magnitude higher concentrations than smelling it.
As to Spurgeon's over eating, yes, it is possible that he had a glandular problem. But the fact that he was obiese is not debateable. The picture is clear. People who look like Spurgeon in his later pictures are grossly over weight. I know because I have studied the issue and studied and discussed it with my Dr, and I worked in the Occupation/Environmental health field for 20 years, worked in Corporate Medical departments, have a Masters in OH/EH, and have lectured to some of the best and brightest in industry on these subjects and I know what I'm talking about.
Now, as to my making a big deal out of Spurgeons over eating perhaps I shouldn't have made that point because there is a possiblity that there were complicating issues. Even so, if he had a glandular problem, and his metablolism was slow I am not sure that the answer is to keep on eating such that one gains weight. My doctor has advised me other wise.
My point in making the post originally was not to get side tracked on Spurgeons sin or lack thereof but rather to focus on how we often get all wrapped up in doctrines while avoiding practical issues of obedience in our own lives, and I used smoking and eating as two examples, and I included my own struggle and the Lords dealings with me in the matter.
That was the point of the post Joe, and btw, believing in historical premillenialism is not a sin Joe. Disagreeing with Joe is not a sin Joe, and yes Joe, I'm glad to see that you have posted something on your struggle with control because it is indeed evident in your posts, and your responses to mine on this issue are several cases in point.
It is you, Joe, who came out swinging and accused me of all kinds of false things and it is not the first time you have done this to me and others on this site. You can be quite heavy handed and accusatory at times and I regret at times saying anything for fear of being misunderstood.
As to your position on smoking, you accuse me of being illogical but nothing is more illogical than claiming smoking is ok, and demanding specific scripture that prohibits it is absolutly rediculous, in my opinion. If you can smoke to God's glory then go ahead. If you can smoke in a holy way then go ahead, if you can smoke in your temple without harming it, go ahead, but I have no plans to do so myself, nor, what is worse, to advise others weaker in the faith to do so.
In Him,
Gerry
