II. PHARMAKEIA (witchcraft, sorcery, magic)
A. INFORMATION RELATED TO THIS WORD...
1. PHARMAKEIA is found to be used in three ways
a. Medically, to the use of drugs with no bad meaning at all
b. The misuse of drugs so as to poison, not cure
c. The practice of sorcery and witchcraft, which often used
drugs to cast spells and alter the behavior of others
2. The practice of witchcraft and sorcery is strongly condemned
in the Bible
a. In the Old Testament - Exo 22:18
b. In the New Testament - Re 21:8
3. In Ac 19:18-20, we find a remarkable example of repentance
related to the practice of magic
B. EXAMPLES OF THIS SIN TODAY...
1. There is an increasing number of religions based upon the
occult, and that make use of drugs in their religion
2. The "recreational" use of drugs also falls into this
category...
a. Remember that altering the behavior of others through such
drugs was a basic function of sorcery and witchcraft
b. What difference is there between using drugs to alter
others' behavior, and your own?
c. This is not to discount the proper medicinal use of drugs
d. But just as the Bible condemns drunkenness, which is an
altered state brought on by alcohol (a drug), so it would
seem to condemn similar use of other drugs