No, Kaz. Altered states are the domain of spiritist religions, and have big use within Satanism as well. They blur the consciousness so that when demons are manifesting the adherent thinks they may be simply part of the "trip," and they also lower their resistance to sin and suggestion as well.
Christianity - true Christianity anyway - requires one be "of sound mind," and thus aware of his surroundings at all times, so as not to be deluded or deceived by the enemy.
God bless,
- H
I think that you're spot on with this post, but I know from my personal experience as a longtime "abuser" of cannabis that besides just enjoying euphoria, I was self medicating because of long term anxiety issues and emotional trauma caused by parental abuse, disciplinary abuses of catholic nuns, abuse from peers who loved intimidating a big kid with a timid personality, abuse from University educators for not accepting theory as fact, abuse from officers in the military threatened by intellect and skill, abuse from supervisors intimidated by my skills and fearful of my intentions, and over 20 years of abuse on line from both professing Christians and nonbelievers for disagreeing with them.
I've had one physician give prescriptions for anxiety meds which had serious side effects, and on the occasion that led to my separation and ultimately to my divorce, I was put on powerful "stabilizers" in a hospital ward to restore my brain chemistry to normal after 12 days of partial fasting and sleep deprivation during the feast of tabernacles which coincided with my birthday back in 2017. Those meds were so powerful that my physician had to ween me off them slowly after I was evaluated as "not crazy" (in the words of the resident psychiatrist on the ward) and released. I fainted in my brother's bathroom under the effect of one of those meds and a step in one direction could've opened my skull.
While I know that we should avoid breaking the laws and should "be of a sound mind", I've always thought it odd that the Lord often provided cannabis providentially for my times of great distress and anxiety (I received unexpected "gifts", I found lost bags and joints where I walked or sat on campus, I was befriended by students who "dealt" on campus and smoked with me regularly glad for my company.) God's grace is inexplicable and He clearly created natural plant remedies for many disorders. As far as I know He called them all good (weed is a misnomer for cannabis which can be found growing wild where it was once cultivated but doesn't have thorns, nor grows as thistles or brambles, and has been cultivated for religious uses for millennia.)
The scripture prohibits the use of sorcery under the law, and sorcery in the original language involves the use of drugs for the reasons you've already given, but also because these ancient mystical pharmacists gathered poisons for performing abortions and other murders. Strictly speaking, prescription pharmaceuticals are no different from naturally occurring drug substances. Like most natural things potentially harmful in our experience, God made them good, but we pervert His intentions through our abuse.
