http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/rfra_exempt012209.pdf


I've been thinking about filling this out. I'm an Evangelical Christian, and intend to use Theology Proper to show that the CSA violates the first amendment, and therefore believers of the Protestant Christian branch should receive exemption.


Is there anyone else, that believes Jesus is God, and believes in the Bible, that wants to help me fill this thing out? I can't do it by myself. I mean, I can, but two heads are better than one.


in short, my argument is this; Colossians 2:16 says "therefore let no man judge you in meat or drink..." What is "meat" you ask? Genesis 1:29 says that every seed bearing herb is given to us as "meat". SO you put the two together, the Bible is basically saying "do not let anyone judge you with respect to pot, or drink."

-therefore, the CSA violates the free exercise of my faith, and I need an exemption, so that I can freely exercise the command that God put on my conscience, and let no man judge me with respect to food or drink.


I can argue and sustain this point using 2000 years worth of accepted Christian Theology, from the earliest writers of Christian literature, to the ultra-conservative Bible thumpers of the 1940's and 50's. Even the prohibitionist-leaning Christians must accept it that my beliefs are logical and sincere, and many Christians are persuaded by my argument, recognizing that they believe the same thing..

I can present the evidences here, there are many already posted here, and if anyone is interested, maybe someone who has a talent for writing, help me organize it and present it in the form of this application.


so... anyone want to work on this with me?

I, together with the executive pastor of my home congregation, am responsible to give advice to the session of my own church, to see that each candidate is carefully examined as to personal faith in Christ. If two girls join on the same day and one wears cosmetics and the other does not, that is their business. They are not answerable to the pastors or to the church. They are answerable only to God. The same is the attitudes of either men or women toward the movies, dancing, the use of tobacco, or membership in lodges. Some churches impose rules on the one who is joining, but biblically we can have no such rules. We would take in anyone who confesses the great truths of sin in himself and salvation through Christ. If we feed these new members on the Word and show them the love of Christ, they will gradually be won to a higher walk in Christ, but will always be answerable to Him alone.
Now this command to show love, and the accompanying command against judging and legalism, are directives from God himself. He has accepted the individuals. He has received them from all walks and from all social backgrounds. We do wrong to try and make them into identical robots. A certain school recently showed a movie for the first time – a Walt Disney fantasy. But a sequence of some animals dancing was removed before the students saw the movie. The magazine of another school made mention of a class play. A donor wrote that he would not give money to a school that put out plays. The dean of the school wrote in reply that the presentation was not actually a play but a “skit”. Reassured, the man resumed giving regularly to the support of the school.
Why do I cite these examples about dancing, drinking, lodges, movies, cosmetics, and so on? I am not taking sides, but I am acknowledging that these arguments and differences exist, and that many true Christians hold opposite positions on all such questions. I believe the biblical attitude is to avoid legalism and live so close to the Lord that one could participate in these activities if he so desired. He may choose to abstain lest he cause young believers to stumble. Passages like this present one, however, should enable us to say to those who argue about these things, “God bless you both. Just be sure that you are living according to what you believe is the will of God for you. Love the Lord, and ask him to show you what your attitude should be.”

Here are two believers who hold opposing views on some matter – liberty to eat this or drink that, for example. One believes that he has perfect liberty to enjoy the food or drink, and thanks God for it. The other believes he must abstain from it and tells the Lord that he is giving it up because of love for his son, the Lord Jesus. I believe that the Bible is telling us here that the Lord will say to both: “My good children. You did exactly what you thought would please me. I love you both and am rewarding you equally because it pleased me so much that you wanted to please me.” BE SURE OF THE FACT that there will be no hiding behind subterfuge in that day. Perhaps some Christians claim that they abstain from eating and drinking certain foods and beverages in order to please the Lord, when actually they are seeking to enhance themselves in the eyes of men and to obtain a reputation for superior piety. On the other hand, there are people who are eating and drinking in the name of liberty but who secretly believe that they are doing wrong. All these attitudes will be brought to full light when the Lord comes for his own. In that day His eye will look straight through us. All shadow will be gone. The only thing that will matter will be that we who have been redeemed by Him will face Him and know that we are answerable to Him alone.

this application is hard to start. I spent a little time on it and this is a very rough rough draft of some kind of presentation letter. Please comment and critique.

"After many years of wrestling with my conscience and the Word of God, I am of the conclusion that God requires me to object to cannabis prohibition, and that cannabis prohibition violates the free exercise of my religion as described in our nation's constitution. It has become a terrible burden in the course of ministry and in the ability to follow God's commands from the bottom of my heart.
I am not suggesting that God commands us to use cannabis. This is a matter of liberty of conscience in submission to the Word of God. If a man think it a sin to use cannabis, and he uses it anyways, he harms his conscience and has rebelled from the Lord in his heart. Whatever is not of faith is sin. But if a man believe that all things are pure, he is free to thankfully receive it. So then, a man follows the Lords commands in the matter of diet by staying true to their convictions, and by not harming their conscience by betraying their convictions, and sinning against God. Nowhere does the Scriptures command us to consume cannabis. Nowhere does the Scriptures command us to abstain from cannabis, except where it might offend a brother. The Scriptures leave this as a matter of Christian liberty of Conscience.
While the burden does not rest upon a command from God to consume cannabis, the burden does rest on our shoulders in the command “let no man judge you in respect to food or drink...” The Scriptures question us about our submission to laws and rules such as “touch not taste not handle not”, saying that these are destined to perish with their use, founded as they are on human commands and teachings. The Scriptures also teach us that cannabis prohibition is a stumbling block that can harm the Christian conscience. In the course of ministry, particularly within the lawless culture of our nation, it is becoming to participate in meals of cannabis with nonbelievers. We have specific instructions on how to deal with this situation in the Scriptures. As our culture changes to become more accepting of cannabis use, the situations in ministry in which a Christian should participate in a meal of cannabis are becoming more and more frequent. In the course of ministry it is necessary to demonstrate our faith in the Scriptures and participate in these meals in these situations. There is also issues pertaining to Church membership that the CSA burdens to the point of separation of the fellowship of believers. The CSA has made it impossible to obey specific commands from God with a clear conscience. Therefore for the burdens stipulated, I am requesting an exemption from the CSA pertaining to the use of cannabis, the only substance on the list of controlled substances that rightly qualifies the Biblical definition of “food”. "

Others have tried similar to what you are doing. It takes great courage and I wish you best of luck. I would not have high hopes of success.

Authorities are known to totally ignore facts and stick with prohibition, even if only to preserve the status quo.

I don't expect them to approve the application. I just think it would be fun and educational to try and frame the argument.

I think most who have submitted the app have tried to argue that God requires them to use cannabis. That's not my argument. there is no "you must smoke pot to get to heaven" in the Bible.

where my argument differs from most, is that I'm not saying God requires us to use pot;I'm saying that God requires us to "let no man judge us in food or drink"

What I'm saying is that it's a sin for us to let them judge us by what we eat or drink. That's the violation of our rights, that they judge us in an area where God said do not let them judge you.

so my argument is that the controlled substances act violates the free exercise of my religion, as the constitution allows me to freely exercise my religion and let no man judge me by a dietary standard.

and remember; this right does not come from the government. This right is endowed to us by our creator. The government cannot truly take away this right.