I just posted this as a Facebook note, primarily for my religious friends and family, and thought I'd share it here in case it benefits anyone (a big assumption on my part) or sparks some discussion.
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was starting to "vape". I thought I'd share some of the research that I did into this, the logic behind why I started, and address some objections to it.
I have always liked the smell of pipe tobacco. But with family and friends who have lung problems or have died from lung problems (often after being heavy smokers), actually smoking something is something I have never personally had a desire to do. I consider it a nasty habit. But there *is* a social aspect to it that I do find appealing. Everyone taking a break to go outside for a smoke break was something I always felt excluded from. And the Middle Eastern practice of folks sitting around a hooka and sharing something while they visited and talked is something that brings folks together. In our day and age of everyone running a million miles an hour in different directions, that "coming together" aspect appealed to me.
On top of those ideas, I watched a news story a couple weeks ago about obesity and weight gain after smoking. The joke came to mind, "Doctor, I gain weight when I do that." "Well STOP doing that!" Of course with the health risks no doctor would tell someone to NOT stop smoking. But it had me curious. If smoking, the placing something in your mouth instead of candy or snacks, kept you from gaining weight, could an alternative to smoking, something without those health risks, also keep you from snacking and gaining weight? So I went and did some research.
What I found was a NBC article at 7 tricks to suppress your appetite - Health - Diet and nutrition | NBC News "One study found that people who inhaled a peppermint scent every two hours ate 2,700 fewer calories per week than they normally did — that's nearly a one-pound loss! Banana, green apple, and vanilla had similar effects in other studies. And the more often you sniff these aromas, the more weight you'll lose, says Alan Hirsch, M.D., neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago." I thought, "Ok. THAT is interesting!" I also found a study at Aroma Patch - The Science of Smell and Weight Loss where "researchers asked 3,193 overweight people (mostly women) aged 18-64 to inhale a variety of “neutral” sweet smells, including banana, green apple, vanilla, and peppermint, three times in each nostril whenever they were hungry. After six months, the participants in his study lost an average of five pounds a month, or 30 pounds in total." That got me VERYinterested. Then I came across this article at Vaportrim Inhalers Make Desserts Breathable | Oddity Central - Collecting Oddities about "desert inhalers" called VaporTrim. And this led me to explore these things called personal vaporizers (PV's).
The idea is that if you have an oral craving but are not actually hungry (your stomach isn't empty and "growling"), this act of putting something to.in your mouth, tasting this "treat", and smelling it as you exhale can actually satisfy that craving. If you are truly hungry, this isn't going to make you full. But it basically tricks the brain into *thinking* that you've eaten something decadant and calorie rich when you haven't really. It satisfies that appitite just like scratching and itch. Because of my mobility/balance issues and diagnosed exercise intolerance, burning off excess calories are not an easy exercise for me. So I need to do something to limit my intake of calories. This seemed to fit the bill.
So after some more research and calculations, I realized that there was nothing unhealthy about vaping. If you consciously reach for a vape instead of a snack, it can't be WORSE for you. And, after a few days, I found myself UNconsciously reaching for a vape when I felt a craving for a snack. That is a GOOD thing. Even if I am not losing weight, I am also not putting more sugar and calories and such into my system. There is nothing being digested. And without the diversion of my low blood volume to my digestive track that happens after eating, I'm not having that "sluggish" feeling as much.
But this solves other "cravings" as well. There is this cool social aspect of the vaping community that is really cool. It satisfies my cravings for snacks and treats. But it also interests me from the technology and cooking point of view. When I could stand to do it, I used to LOVE to cook. Now, In just a couple of minutes at a table, I can mix my own nicotine free "juice" in wonderful flavors like banana nut bread, apple pie, caramel cheesecake, and even carrot cake with cream cheese icing! The ability to mix and tweak these recipes satisfies this urge to cook that I'm physically no longer up to. And the technology is fascinating as well. All the variety of "mechanical" untits that have all the brains of a flashlight to "smart" units that calculate ohms and set voltages and wattages and such interested me. And because of all the shapes and sizes and colors and options and flavors available, it fosters a sense of individuality and personal perferences and even fashion expression within this community of everyone enjoying doing the same thing together. It is truly a unique product that touches on so many different things.
But I am a Christian, brought up in a Christian home, and while there *are* churches around the "tobacco belt" that don't preach against smoking, most of the churches that I've been a member of in my life would either actively preach against this or anything like it or, at the very least, discourage it. So I also decided to not limit my research into the health aspects of it and the technology aspects of it, but also into the theology aspects of it. You may not LIKE what I point out here, but you are free to try to refute it with your OWN Bible verses. I love a good debate!
Some of my Christian friends have an issue with this because it *appears* to be something bad. The logic goes that since smoking is a sin, and this looks like smoke, it is a sin as well. Since some people have this issue with vaping as an "appearance of evil", I thought I'd put down some thoughts on that idea. The Bible is silent about smoking. We can agree that smoking tobacco is unhealthy. It is unwise. But the Bible doesn't say it is a sin. Even though the use of a water pipe, or hookah, including its use with ........, is recorded in the Middle East going back to 2,000BC, the Bible is TOTALLY SILENT about it. So even though folks were smoking going as far back as Jacob and Joseph, it isn't condemned in the Bible. As such, the verse that most folks point to to suggest that it's "evil" or "a sin" is 1 Corinthians 3 and 1 Corinthians 6. Both chapters refer to our body being a temple. And folks frequently abuse those passages to suggest that anything that you do that defaces your body or might be unhealthy is "evil" or a "sin. But look closely at those passages.
In 1 Corinthians 3, the verses (16-17) in question are as follows:
But what about chapter 6? This is the more often quoted verse
The only thing we are left with is those who have the concern over creating a stumbling block for others. Someone else might THINK it is wrong, so we shouldn't do it. And Romans 14 *does* say:
So what I ask of my disapproving friends is to approach this logically. If you are fine with going to a restaurant and drinking from a cup when the guy at the next table might have something in *his* cup that you disapprove of, why would you condemn someone for exhaling vapor because it might look like smoke? Is it allowable to do this outside in the winter when everyone can "see their breath", but somehow becomes a sin if you do it at the same place with a different dew point and temperature? If the logic is that illogical, just how admant should we be in our condemnation of others when the Bible says not to pass judgment on them? Do the folks that do this realize that it is the ones passing judgment on others and condemning them because of how something looks are what Paul refers to as the WEAKER brothers? They are not *better* for doing it. They are showing their spiritual immaturity.
But there is another issue as it relates to this that I'd like to bring up. We live in a post-Christian nation where secular humanism is thriving. People use their own judgment about what is right or wrong. They become their own judge over whether something is right or wrong. And this "appears to be evil" argument is nothing more than that secular humanism wrapped in a religious wrapper. What one is basically saying is that if it looks bad to me, it is a sin for you. The Bible doesn't teach that at all though. The world does. So before you start pointing out your PERCEPTION of a splinter in your brother's eye, consider the beam in your own.
/sermon
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was starting to "vape". I thought I'd share some of the research that I did into this, the logic behind why I started, and address some objections to it.
I have always liked the smell of pipe tobacco. But with family and friends who have lung problems or have died from lung problems (often after being heavy smokers), actually smoking something is something I have never personally had a desire to do. I consider it a nasty habit. But there *is* a social aspect to it that I do find appealing. Everyone taking a break to go outside for a smoke break was something I always felt excluded from. And the Middle Eastern practice of folks sitting around a hooka and sharing something while they visited and talked is something that brings folks together. In our day and age of everyone running a million miles an hour in different directions, that "coming together" aspect appealed to me.
On top of those ideas, I watched a news story a couple weeks ago about obesity and weight gain after smoking. The joke came to mind, "Doctor, I gain weight when I do that." "Well STOP doing that!" Of course with the health risks no doctor would tell someone to NOT stop smoking. But it had me curious. If smoking, the placing something in your mouth instead of candy or snacks, kept you from gaining weight, could an alternative to smoking, something without those health risks, also keep you from snacking and gaining weight? So I went and did some research.
What I found was a NBC article at 7 tricks to suppress your appetite - Health - Diet and nutrition | NBC News "One study found that people who inhaled a peppermint scent every two hours ate 2,700 fewer calories per week than they normally did — that's nearly a one-pound loss! Banana, green apple, and vanilla had similar effects in other studies. And the more often you sniff these aromas, the more weight you'll lose, says Alan Hirsch, M.D., neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago." I thought, "Ok. THAT is interesting!" I also found a study at Aroma Patch - The Science of Smell and Weight Loss where "researchers asked 3,193 overweight people (mostly women) aged 18-64 to inhale a variety of “neutral” sweet smells, including banana, green apple, vanilla, and peppermint, three times in each nostril whenever they were hungry. After six months, the participants in his study lost an average of five pounds a month, or 30 pounds in total." That got me VERYinterested. Then I came across this article at Vaportrim Inhalers Make Desserts Breathable | Oddity Central - Collecting Oddities about "desert inhalers" called VaporTrim. And this led me to explore these things called personal vaporizers (PV's).
The idea is that if you have an oral craving but are not actually hungry (your stomach isn't empty and "growling"), this act of putting something to.in your mouth, tasting this "treat", and smelling it as you exhale can actually satisfy that craving. If you are truly hungry, this isn't going to make you full. But it basically tricks the brain into *thinking* that you've eaten something decadant and calorie rich when you haven't really. It satisfies that appitite just like scratching and itch. Because of my mobility/balance issues and diagnosed exercise intolerance, burning off excess calories are not an easy exercise for me. So I need to do something to limit my intake of calories. This seemed to fit the bill.
So after some more research and calculations, I realized that there was nothing unhealthy about vaping. If you consciously reach for a vape instead of a snack, it can't be WORSE for you. And, after a few days, I found myself UNconsciously reaching for a vape when I felt a craving for a snack. That is a GOOD thing. Even if I am not losing weight, I am also not putting more sugar and calories and such into my system. There is nothing being digested. And without the diversion of my low blood volume to my digestive track that happens after eating, I'm not having that "sluggish" feeling as much.
But this solves other "cravings" as well. There is this cool social aspect of the vaping community that is really cool. It satisfies my cravings for snacks and treats. But it also interests me from the technology and cooking point of view. When I could stand to do it, I used to LOVE to cook. Now, In just a couple of minutes at a table, I can mix my own nicotine free "juice" in wonderful flavors like banana nut bread, apple pie, caramel cheesecake, and even carrot cake with cream cheese icing! The ability to mix and tweak these recipes satisfies this urge to cook that I'm physically no longer up to. And the technology is fascinating as well. All the variety of "mechanical" untits that have all the brains of a flashlight to "smart" units that calculate ohms and set voltages and wattages and such interested me. And because of all the shapes and sizes and colors and options and flavors available, it fosters a sense of individuality and personal perferences and even fashion expression within this community of everyone enjoying doing the same thing together. It is truly a unique product that touches on so many different things.
But I am a Christian, brought up in a Christian home, and while there *are* churches around the "tobacco belt" that don't preach against smoking, most of the churches that I've been a member of in my life would either actively preach against this or anything like it or, at the very least, discourage it. So I also decided to not limit my research into the health aspects of it and the technology aspects of it, but also into the theology aspects of it. You may not LIKE what I point out here, but you are free to try to refute it with your OWN Bible verses. I love a good debate!
Some of my Christian friends have an issue with this because it *appears* to be something bad. The logic goes that since smoking is a sin, and this looks like smoke, it is a sin as well. Since some people have this issue with vaping as an "appearance of evil", I thought I'd put down some thoughts on that idea. The Bible is silent about smoking. We can agree that smoking tobacco is unhealthy. It is unwise. But the Bible doesn't say it is a sin. Even though the use of a water pipe, or hookah, including its use with ........, is recorded in the Middle East going back to 2,000BC, the Bible is TOTALLY SILENT about it. So even though folks were smoking going as far back as Jacob and Joseph, it isn't condemned in the Bible. As such, the verse that most folks point to to suggest that it's "evil" or "a sin" is 1 Corinthians 3 and 1 Corinthians 6. Both chapters refer to our body being a temple. And folks frequently abuse those passages to suggest that anything that you do that defaces your body or might be unhealthy is "evil" or a "sin. But look closely at those passages.
In 1 Corinthians 3, the verses (16-17) in question are as follows:
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
Clearly implicates smokers, right? WRONG. The passage is not about MY body, it is about THE body of Christ - the Church. In fact, the entire chapter is headlined in the ESV as "Divisions in the Church". It speaks of the "body" in spiritual terms and in a corporate sense, NOT about our personal, physical body. It is about unity, not personal health.
But what about chapter 6? This is the more often quoted verse
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
But is the context here doing something UNHEALTHY? Again, NO. It is about sexual immorality. The context is clear if you just back up a couple of verses.The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
The point is that sexual immorality defiles our body and "the temple". Smoking might *follow* sexual immorality, but it certainly doesn't *equate* to sexual immorality. Something that produces a vapor aroma is even LESS like sexual immorality.
The only thing we are left with is those who have the concern over creating a stumbling block for others. Someone else might THINK it is wrong, so we shouldn't do it. And Romans 14 *does* say:
It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
The prior verse says "it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats." So this leads to a question. Does doing this in front of someone who thinks smoking is a sin tempt them to smoke? If not, then it isn't an issue. The passage says, "whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats." It is not CAUSING them to stumble or "eat" just to see someone else do something similar. It is ONLY "causing" them to JUDGE. But before they cast judgment, they need to read the REST of that chapter. The admonition to not cause another to sin comes LONG after Romans 14 spends a lot of time addressing this "weaker brother" that thinks everything is a sin. What does it say to THEM? Here is just a short piece of it.As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand..... Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.
The proper thing to do, when a weaker brother things something is a sin, is to not cause them to sin themselves by doing it, but ALSO to TEACH them that it isn't a sin and point out that by their condemnation, they are actually the one in sin. Consider that your condemnation, in error, could be a stumbling block as well. If you tell someone that something they are doing is a sin without clear Biblical verses that condemn it, are you not adding obsticles where there should be none?So what I ask of my disapproving friends is to approach this logically. If you are fine with going to a restaurant and drinking from a cup when the guy at the next table might have something in *his* cup that you disapprove of, why would you condemn someone for exhaling vapor because it might look like smoke? Is it allowable to do this outside in the winter when everyone can "see their breath", but somehow becomes a sin if you do it at the same place with a different dew point and temperature? If the logic is that illogical, just how admant should we be in our condemnation of others when the Bible says not to pass judgment on them? Do the folks that do this realize that it is the ones passing judgment on others and condemning them because of how something looks are what Paul refers to as the WEAKER brothers? They are not *better* for doing it. They are showing their spiritual immaturity.
But there is another issue as it relates to this that I'd like to bring up. We live in a post-Christian nation where secular humanism is thriving. People use their own judgment about what is right or wrong. They become their own judge over whether something is right or wrong. And this "appears to be evil" argument is nothing more than that secular humanism wrapped in a religious wrapper. What one is basically saying is that if it looks bad to me, it is a sin for you. The Bible doesn't teach that at all though. The world does. So before you start pointing out your PERCEPTION of a splinter in your brother's eye, consider the beam in your own.
/sermon
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