I feel no one should be forced to listen to "witnessing" forced upon them.
You described it very well. Like you point out later, the Holy Spirit can move us and let us know when it's a good time to speak (or not), and what to say.

But there are quite a few people who haven't bridled their enthusiasm with intelligence, and they use their tongues to whip others to get on the path, even though they themselves are not on it.

To me this points to the prophecies near the end of Luke 12.

Jesus does warn against his believers being drunk, however, my impression is Jesus is more concerned about those drunk with power vs. those drunk with alcohol. Of course I am not saying Jesus advises getting drunk on liquid alcohol, but anyone familiar with the NT Gospels realizes Jesus drank alcohol, but also realizes that Jesus' fiercest rage was against those in authority, those drunk with it.

So even though they may be teetotalers who avoid alcohol, never smoked a joint, don't take aspirin, etc… if they claim to follow Jesus, but beat the servants, thump their chests over how righteous they are, wish executions for drug dealers, etc… they are cruisin' for a bruisin'.

FactCheck.org has published their investigation and analysis on this event recent uproar, which seems to have formed due to different people.

1. people who are looking to discredit Barack Obama,
2. people who are looking to discredit Christians,
3. people who are looking to discredit the U.S. Military.

Their findings? “The military destroyed Bibles printed in Afghan languages to prevent distribution to local Muslims. But it happened during the Bush administration.”

Be sure to read the rest of their findings. Of note is “Furthermore, contrary to Klingenschmitt’s claim that the Bibles could “legally” have been distributed to local Afghans, military officials say such distribution would have violated longstanding Pentagon policy against religious proselytizing by U.S. armed forces.”

The FactCheck.org includes a number of links in the analysis including a link to YouTube.com showing the Al Jazeera broadcast that seems to have been the reason for the brouhaha. Too bad they didn't do their homework first.

Fortunately I've never had poison sumac, but I have eaten sumac berries raw and furry and wow, talk about sour! Although I think I have had some sumac jelly or preserves with sugar added and fuzz removed, it was still quite tart.

Christians that are truly against the prohibition of cannabis are afraid to take back the unalienable right given to us from our Creator.
Hm… my guess is you left out a "not" between "are" and "afraid." As in, "Christians that are truly against the prohibition of cannabis are not afraid to take back the unalienable right given to us from our Creator." Yes, and that is not the only reason to end the Drug War for sure. Be sure to check out my "Drug War Tree and Fruit" flyer.

Just sign up at the website and in the future any little typos (I make many myself) can be fixed fairly easily. People who sign up can edit their posts later.

They continue to spread disinformation and misinformation to the conservatives and so we find ourselves at odds with our Christian brothers and sisters on the subject. This is a stumbling block for our weaker brothers and sisters. To fight against this travesty under the banner of Christianity causes us to offend them when in fact the responsible moderate use of these gifts of God is fine as long as we give thanks and keep it primarily between ourselves and God.

Yes, there are many very unfortunate casualties in the Drug War. Truth being one of them. As far as offending them, well, there's a quote from Jesus about that… I will fight against the Drug War with every reason I can think of, religious or not. If I was Buddhist I would use that perspective, if I was Muslim I would use that religion, if I was Hindu I would use that religion. And in fact, like this essay is titled, I love religion, so I often enjoy hearing others' perspective on God; this allows me to be able to try to reach others who are not Christian.

In person I try to speak to whatever level and ability to grasp reasons I perceive the others to be able to handle, letting them lead the conversation. I agree that it's not good to be rude, in-your-face, and all the negative aspects of offensive, but it's also important to remember that Jesus said we are the salt of the earth, and if the salt looses its saltiness, it's not fit for much but being tossed out.

Here at the website I've tried to write to all levels of acceptance that the Drug War is counter-productive and against God's will. Coming before too long I hope will be a redesigned home page with essays categorized in such a way as to facilitate the education of people on each level. But this is more than just a graphical do-over, it also means I have to consider adding another means to categorize essays… stay tuned!

Thanks for laugh. Actually it seems you have a few basic assumptions that are wrong:

• Not all illegal drugs are harmful.
• Those which are harmful are made more harmful due to prohibition.
• Not all drug use is drug abuse. Similar to the fact that not everyone who drinks alcohol is an alcoholic.
• That you think you have any right to go beyond friendly advice as to what another adult puts in his/her body; that you think it is justified to lock people up and screw them over because you disagree with what another adult puts in his/her body.
• Yes, the people who bullied our govt. to adopt un-constitutional laws are being hypocrites against the very founding documents of the USA and the Bible.
• Others know more than me about this point, but apparently the laws on which drug prohibition rests were never meant for such efforts, and even contradict other stances our government has taken with regard to prohibition. Search NORML.org and other drug policy reform organization's websites for "interstate commerce."
• Last but not least, let's turn to the Bible.
• Scripture clearly mentions this evil prohibition against God's plants by the Holier-Than-Thou Congregation.
• Please take a look at a number of other essays and polls to figure out how uneducated I am, then report back to me with specifics please. Just saying I am "completely uneducated" is, frankly, uneducated. Since clearly I can set up a website, and speak in a coherent manner. Here are some simple essays to inspect to do some introspection:
  • The Fruit of the War on Drugs is Mainly
  • Drug War Tree and Fruit
  • Why Do Teens Deal Drugs?
  • The Evil Lie Purporting That Marijuana is "Devil's Weed"
  • Did Jesus say to bring things into the light, or to push things into the dark?
  • Comparison: Prohibitionists are to the Devil What Abolitionists are to God
  • And many more…
• Finally if you are a religious person I highly suggestion you check out the Old Testament and the concept of "usury." It's mentioned in many places, both in "the law" and by raging prophets.
• Be sure to checkout the FRONTLINE documentary which shows it from an areligious angle.
• Here's more information which points out that "payday" loan interest rates are beyond usury if there is such a measure, slavery perhaps.

Bottom line? You are mistaken on many issues.

(In fairness, perhaps the link you provided is not to your website, but just something you typed in to make me think so, thus I removed the link to the website.)

So I am surprised that you are so upset and fighting those same religious beliefs.

I am not of the mind I need people who consider themselves more "conservative," "radical," or "fundamental" to fight for me. Just like Jesus opposed the religious leaders, law givers, zealots, and hypocrites of his time who were preaching teachings against God's will, I too feel I must do the same.

I do not see the world like some do, as a battle of religions, predominantly Muslim and Christianity. Clearly, based on the OT and NT, God judges each person as an individual, not as a member of some group the individual claimed to belong to.

Moderate Muslims who are glad that the radicals are spreading their religion are going to find themselves unpleasantly surprised when the radicals show up at their doorstep and do not accept their moderate views, but have come to force their own "conservative," "pure," etc… version of Islam. I guess there are probably some moderate Muslims who probably are waging "war" in the hearts and minds of other Muslims to talk them out of being so radical and forcing their religion on others, so the saying goes "more power to them."

As far as I'm concerned, all groups who consider themselves the "conservative," or "fundamentalist" versions of their religions will meet similar fates; God did not tell us to force our wills on others! We are to discuss and talk; God (and Jesus) many places in the Bible say they search hearts and minds.

God gave us freewill and allows us to use it. It is only evil humans who perverted God's will and decide to force their wills on others. And for sure, making laws to punish people for consuming various plants, and punishing them by tarnishing their reputation, and/or putting them in prison is pure evil. Yes, it says you know better than God, do you?

So back to the opening statement you made. This is the exact same thing I "hear" (in my imagination) fundamentalist/conservative Muslims saying to the moderate Muslims. And unless the moderate Muslims stand up to them, putting their killing sprees to an end, they too will find what Jesus prophesied is true. A time is coming, and is here, where those who kill us think they are doing a service for God. John 16:2.

I will take this opportunity to again ask you to itemize the religious beliefs you think I am fighting against.