Bible scholar, Dan McClellan has a very brief response to people who claim weed is condemned in the Bible" Does the Bible Say Smoking Weed is Sorcery? - YouTube
Kind of one extreme to the other, The Bible gives a decent description of a person abusing drugs and alcohol. Read them all or just pick one.. make up your own mind based on knowledge and wisdom. Ephesians 5:18 ESV / 338 helpful votes And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV / 283 helpful votes Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. Proverbs 20:1 ESV / 259 helpful votes Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. Galatians 5:21 ESV / 256 helpful votes Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Peter 5:8 ESV / 209 helpful votes Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 ESV / 157 helpful votes Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. Proverbs 23:29-35 ESV / 156 helpful votes Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. ... Isaiah 5:11 ESV / 112 helpful votes Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them! Isaiah 28:7 ESV / 108 helpful votes These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed by wine, they stagger with strong drink, they reel in vision, they stumble in giving judgment. 1 Corinthians 6:10 ESV / 103 helpful votes Nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 2 Timothy 4:5 ESV / 99 helpful votes As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 1 Corinthians 3:17 ESV / 98 helpful votes If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Peter 4:7 ESV / 96 helpful votes The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Proverbs 31:4 ESV / 85 helpful votes It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, Proverbs 21:17 ESV / 84 helpful votes Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich. Luke 21:34 ESV / 75 helpful votes “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV / 69 helpful votes Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 1 Timothy 5:23 ESV / 68 helpful votes (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) Isaiah 5:22 ESV / 62 helpful votes Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, Galatians 5:1 ESV / 58 helpful votes For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Proverbs 23:20-21 ESV / 58 helpful votes Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. Judges 13:4 ESV / 57 helpful votes Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, Galatians 5:19-21 ESV / 56 helpful votes Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Romans 14:1-23 ESV / 50 helpful votes As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ... John 8:44 ESV / 47 helpful votes You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV / 46 helpful votes No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Romans 13:13 ESV / 45 helpful votes Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 1 Timothy 3:8 ESV / 43 helpful votes Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. Leviticus 10:9 ESV / 41 helpful votes “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 1 Corinthians 5:11 ESV / 40 helpful votes But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. Romans 14:21 ESV / 39 helpful votes It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. Romans 6:16 ESV / 39 helpful votes Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? Habakkuk 2:15 ESV / 36 helpful votes “Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink— you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness! Numbers 6:3 ESV / 36 helpful votes He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. Hosea 4:11 ESV / 35 helpful votes Whoredom, wine, and new wine, which take away the understanding. 1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV / 33 helpful votes “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. Proverbs 31:6 ESV / 33 helpful votes Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; Exodus 20:3 ESV / 33 helpful votes “You shall have no other gods before me. 1 Peter 1:13 ESV / 31 helpful votes Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 28:1 ESV / 31 helpful votes Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine! Psalm 104:14-15 ESV / 31 helpful votes You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart. Revelation 21:8 ESV / 29 helpful votes But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 9:21 ESV / 29 helpful votes Nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. 1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV / 27 helpful votes So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Peter 4:3 ESV / 26 helpful votes For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. Philippians 4:13 ESV / 26 helpful votes I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Isaiah 56:12 ESV / 26 helpful votes “Come,” they say, “let me get wine; let us fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure.” Revelation 1:1 ESV / 25 helpful votes The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, Luke 7:34 ESV / 25 helpful votes The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Ephesians 5:18-20 ESV / 24 helpful votes And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 ESV / 23 helpful votes So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. Proverbs 4:23 ESV / 23 helpful votes Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 1 Peter 5:7 ESV / 22 helpful votes Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV / 22 helpful votes For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 1 Timothy 3:3 ESV / 22 helpful votes Not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV / 22 helpful votes Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” James 4:7 ESV / 21 helpful votes Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV / 21 helpful votes Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Romans 12:2 ESV / 21 helpful votes Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Revelation 18:23 ESV / 20 helpful votes And the light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV / 20 helpful votes Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Ecclesiastes 9:7 ESV / 20 helpful votes Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. Proverbs 20:1-30 ESV / 20 helpful votes Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life. It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling. The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing. The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. ... Psalm 23:1-6 ESV / 19 helpful votes A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ... Proverbs 19:3 ESV / 18 helpful votes When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord. John 10:10 ESV / 17 helpful votes The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Proverbs 23:29-33 ESV / 17 helpful votes Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. 1 Peter 4:1-5:14 ESV / 16 helpful votes Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ... Titus 3:1 ESV / 16 helpful votes Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, Titus 2:3 ESV / 16 helpful votes Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 1 Thessalonians 5:6 ESV / 16 helpful votes So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV / 16 helpful votes Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. Proverbs 23:21 ESV / 16 helpful votes For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. 3 John 1:2 ESV / 15 helpful votes Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. Titus 2:12 ESV / 15 helpful votes Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, Matthew 6:13 ESV / 15 helpful votes And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Galatians 5:20 ESV / 14 helpful votes Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, Ecclesiastes 10:17 ESV / 14 helpful votes Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness! Proverbs 11:17 ESV / 14 helpful votes A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself. John 3:16 ESV / 13 helpful votes “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Proverbs 31:4-5 ESV / 13 helpful votes It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. Colossians 3:5 ESV / 12 helpful votes Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV / 12 helpful votes Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Galatians 5:16 ESV / 12 helpful votes But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. John 3:16-17 ESV / 12 helpful votes “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Daniel 1:8 ESV / 12 helpful votes But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. Isaiah 48:1-22 ESV / 12 helpful votes Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right. For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the Lord of hosts is his name. “The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, ‘My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’ ... Proverbs 23:31 ESV / 12 helpful votes Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. 2 Peter 2:19 ESV / 11 helpful votes They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 1 Corinthians 6:18 ESV / 11 helpful votes Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Romans 14:17 ESV / 11 helpful votes For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Acts 5:29 ESV / 11 helpful votes But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. Proverbs 23:19-21 ESV / 11 helpful votes Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way. Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. Proverbs 21:1-31 ESV / 11 helpful votes The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin. The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. ... Galatians 5:1-26 ESV / 10 helpful votes For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. ... Romans 13:14 ESV / 10 helpful votes But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 14:16 ESV / 9 helpful votes So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. Jeremiah 6:16 ESV / 9 helpful votes Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Isaiah 48:10 ESV / 9 helpful votes Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. Genesis 9:21 ESV / 9 helpful votes He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.
It all depends on the state of your heart. If weed is an idol or a stumbling block, makes you lazy and/or gluttonous, if you're not of right mind and/or not discerning, if it makes you prone to gossip or paranoia, if it stops you from studying or of serving etc, I think you might want to question if pot is ok for you in the spiritual sense.
67 English versions of the Bible,,, and it has been translated into many 100’s of languages… I’m certain sure no one writing any of the many versions, or translating the Bible into any of the countless languages, ever made a mistake,,, BUT, to be positive, I’ll just use cannabis to suit myself until God or Jesus to come tell me something different…
This is true but it also says that if you are with a weaker brother and it's a stumbling block for him, you shouldn't partake! As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Romans 14:1-23 Of course this is about fellow Christians but still pertains!
Pardon me, a Fundamentalist wishes to contribute here. kaneh-bosm is the Hebrew phrase for cannabis, which literally means “sweet hemp”. Exodus 30:23 Lists the ingredients in the “holy anointing oil” that was to be used by the priests to anoint the tabernacle and the priesthood. Numbers 17:12-13, where Aaron the High Priest, burned marijuana as an incense offering “during a time of turmoil.” “Keneh bosem” is also mentioned in the Song of Songs 4:14, Isaiah 43:24, Jeremiah 6:20 and Ezekiel 27:19. Another pronunciation is the Aramaic “kene busma”
Yes, the anointing oil” that was to be used by the priests to anoint the tabernacle and the priesthood. When David was selected to be King, he was anointed.
qeneh(k'neh) is "reed" and bosem is translated to "aromatic". Most academics believe the terms refer to sweet cane, or calamus and do no think cannabis was the target of that Hebrew description. With that said, it is still ambiguous to exactly what the translation is; however, and I must say, I like your translation the best. Imagine Isaiah taking bong rips while writing those beautiful 66 chapters!!
By 'most academics' you mean three translators in the 1800s. We have gained a lot of knowledge in the past 200 years.
I dont want to beat this subject up. Instead, I just mean to say that the subject is far from agreed upon by clergy, rabbis and or others who study scripture. I certainly want it to be as you read, but the subject is not black or white. Please do not take this note as an affront. I love Fundamentalists for many reasons. The claim that cannabis is mentioned in the Bible originates in the work of Polish anthropologist Sula Benet (1903-1982) who earned a doctorate from the University of Warsaw, where her thesis was titled, “Hashish in Folk Customs and Beliefs.” She also earned a PhD at Columbia University in 1943 and went on to teach at Hunter College in New York City. Lecturing in Warsaw in 1936, she first proposed the idea that cannabis is mentioned in the Bible, an assertion she continued to repeat throughout her academic career. Modern cannabis advocates who announce “Marijuana is in the Bible!” almost always have Benet’s research in mind. Why would Benet make such a claim? She arrives at this erroneous conclusion via a very sloppy word study. In Exodus 30:23 -24, God instructs Moses to make incense for worship and gives the ingredients, saying, “Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane, and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.” The Hebrew phrase translated “aromatic cane” by the ESV in Exodus 30:23 is qanēh-bōśem. Playing fast and loose with the background of other words in Sanskrit, Assyrian, Persian, and Arabic, Benet essentially claims the Hebrew term qanēh-bōśem sounds a lot like the word cannabis, and thus, “Voila! Cannabis is in the Bible!”
Cannabis aside, obviously both of us think G-d is very important and that is why we are on this sub forum. G-d bless.
It is my understanding that the translators doing the Greek Septuagint did not know how to handle the Hebrew phrase qanēh-bōśem, they made a substitution. Which later the KJV translators copied. It is the Aramaic texts that really shed light on the topic. Since Aramaic texts have survived from the 100 AD era of both the Old Testament and the various books used for the New Testament. George Lamsa's Aramaic Bible helps a lot.
My brother, correct me if I am wrong, but Aramaic texts have survived much, much longer than that. The Book of Isaiah alone was written 700BCE
There certainly are Aramaic manuscripts that are much older, I only meant that some Aramaic texts include the New Testament books along with the Old Testament books. Aramaic and Hebrew share many words in common.
This book doesn't deal with MJ or alcohol but it does explain about the translations of the bible. Gods of the Bible by Mauro Biglino, a well know Italian author. He was a Vatican translator. He did a literal, word for word translation of the oldest transcripts of the bible. When he showed them his work and what the bible actually says in the original language they FIRED HIM ON THE SPOT. It doesn't fit their religion. I very highly recommend that everyone read this book. It's about $20 from Amazon. His translation was published in Italian but not yet in English. You can catch him on YouTube. the book is interlineal so there's very little dought about what it says.
In college you buy a book for a course...maybe you take several courses and read several books that first semester...but now you have many more courses and many more books before you graduate. If you're stuck on a single book as you're sole spiritual educational material, you're still a freshman in a spiritual sense