Following the Dark Ages, two very powerful cultural forces emerged in Europe. One movement was the Protestant Reformation while the other was the Renaissance. The great figures of the Reformation are noted in most courses on Western Civilization. However, in most secular institutes of higher learning, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and especially the success of the Natural Sciences, are more closely studied. Modernity is essentially understood as the triumph of Naturalism as a worldview (cf. Baumer)1.
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The use of Marijuana for medical treatment has been under consideration for several decades. However, within the past ten years, the push has intensified, and a number of states have legalized Medical Marijuana. The push has not gone through the normal evidence-based scientific research where the substance is tested under many conditions in order to identify and minimize any side effects and the research ends with an approval by the Food and Drug Administration. The process to legalize Marijuana for medical use has taken the legislative route with persistent public advocacy and media advertisement. The process might create the appearance that the legislation was written for a segment of the society already self-medicating. Such a reversal of roles leaves the need for serious research to be conducted to examine the true benefits and risks of Marijuana issues over various periods of time among differing populations (Fitcharies and Eiserberg). Nonetheless, in 2017 West Virginia became the 30th state to legalize Medical Marijuana, and New Hampshire voted to decriminalize possession of small amounts of the drug.
Read MoreIn recent years, there has been an enormous shift in public opinion regarding Marijuana use. In 1969, only 12% of Americans believed Marijuana should be legalized, and in 1999, the number had risen to around 30%. Today, nearly 60% favor legalization (Swift; Stemen 406), and an intense push for Marijuana law reform has helped change the landscape of discussion regarding the propriety of the drug’s consumption. As a result, a majority of states now permit Marijuana use as a medical alternative upon a doctor’s recommendation (Stemen 416). Moreover, seven states and the District of Columbia require no medicinal nexus and allow it for recreational purposes. Along with this larger social shift, there appears to be a notable increase in support for decriminalizing, or even legalizing, Marijuana among those professing Christian faith (Bailey 14-15).
A comprehensive discussion of Marijuana use is multifaceted and necessarily includes potential medical benefits and risks as well as mental and psychological consequences
Read MoreIn 2013, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta reported that he had changed his mind on Marijuana since his 2009 Time Magazine article—”Why I would Vote No on Pot.” Gupta writes:
I apologize because I didn’t look hard enough, until now. I didn’t look far enough. I didn’t review papers from smaller labs in other countries doing some remarkable research, and I was too dismissive of the loud chorus of legitimate patients whose symptoms improved on cannabis.
Read MoreWhat is Modernism?
Modernism is the philosophy that elevates humans to the apex of authority. Postmodernism, its successor, suggests that objective truth cannot be determined. Modernism (also referred to as the Enlightenment) believed it could rescue civilization from dark superstition and Christianity by stripping away all sources of authority except that of humans.
Modernists hold that reality is limited to the physical world, eliminating all possibility of God intervening in history. There are no miracles, no opening of the Red Sea, healing of the lame, or the resurrection from the dead. As scientist Carl Sagan memorably declared, “The cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be” (4). Modernists suggest that humans were nothing more than especially well evolved animals whose value differs little from that of the other animals sharing the planet. Modernists believe that humans are inherently good, and that human progress is inevitable. Such progress seemed feasible for much of the nineteenth century, when medicines began to control diseases and technology eased lifestyles. The phrase “science says” came to carry the authority once reserved for the words “the Bible says.” Many spoke of humanity becoming more noble and rational, and many attempted to develop utopian communities on Earth.
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