Posted by Dave on 8/7/2009, 1:51 am, in reply to "Re: Religion and Smoking"
68.11.149.9
Interesting--thanks for the answer. During the 80's my family would occasionally travel to a nearby city for shopping and entertainment. If we were there on a weekend, we often went to a Roman Catholic church there for mass. The priest at this church would always stand outside and greet parishoners while smoking--sometimes two or three cigarettes in a row. I remember that this was odd to see even then, and that my family commented on it. But I doubt that anyone would have been willing to openly criticize the priest for smoking, at least back then. In any case, it sounds as though your dad isn't as..."in your face" as you say.
Personally, I'm glad I'm not traditionally religious in the sense of worrying about whether smoking is "sinful" or not. If I was, it would be quite a burden to bear, since I seriously doubt that feeling that way would make me any more able to quit than I am now. The net result would be probably be torment, and trying my best to avoid the debate altogether. For me at least, at the moments when I most need a cigarette, satisfying that need trumps just about any other desire I can think of--which I suppose is the basis for the belief that smoking is sinful. Ah well. Not to be callous, but maybe God should have considered making piousness as satisfying and pleasurable as smoking. :-)
--Previous Message--
: Yes, Dave, my father is also a smoker. What I
: can tell you is that he's
: "reasonable" about his habit. No
: means in the closet, but he's not in your
: face with his habit. He's a pack a day
: smoker, so he needs his cigarette breaks
: like any of us, but he can go longer without
: when needed. I've never asked him this, but
: I'm sure it's come up. Then again, I don't
: know how many would confront him about it.
:
: What I can tell you is that when I'm
: visiting home and I smoke before/after
: church...at church outside...I don't get any
: grief. Most of the people that went to churc
: there when I grew up are gone since it's
: been many years. The ones there now don't
: know me as anything but a smoker...and I'm
: 41 now, so it's no big deal.
:
: Tim B
:
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