testimonials

• “Cannabis and the Christian is an outstanding book. It’s thoughtful, biblical, and enjoyable to read. Whether you agree or disagree with the conclusions, this book deserves a wide reading. We need to think through how to navigate one of the biggest ethical issues of our day, and Todd Miles has given us a helpful tool.”

  Sean McDowell, PhD, Biola University professor, speaker, and author

• “The question of what to do about legalized marijuana has reached the church’s doorstop. Todd Miles provides a skilled and timely answer. He is fiercely biblical in his treatment, clear in his warnings, and tender with those looking for relief in the midst of suffering. But he does so much more than address cannabis use. Miles models how to think Christianly about ethics when the Bible doesn’t offer a proof text, how to lean into God and his Word when we experience chronic pain, and how to react when the demands of the government don’t align with the demands of God. Pick up this book as soon as you can! If the problems Miles addresses aren’t knocking on the door of your church and family right now, they will be very soon.”

  Aaron Menikoff, PhD, senior pastor, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, and author of Character Matters: Shepherding in the Fruit of the Spirit

• “More than ever before, it is critically important to be a thinking Christian. It’s so easy for our responses to questions to be based on opinions or emotions, or to not think about it too much and go with whatever the strongest voices are—even if they’re not biblically thoughtful or well researched. What I love about Todd’s book is that it is extremely thoughtful. Foremost, it is biblically based, but it really looks at the reality of marijuana usage today, not in a shallow or reactionary way, but in the context of scientific and cultural insight. I’m thankful to finally have a book I can now recommend and use in day-to-day life and ministry on this topic.”

  Dan Kimball, author of How (Not) to Study the Bible and Western Seminary faculty

• “We are called to take every thought and action captive to Christ. Therefore, as states continue to legalize marijuana, the question becomes, How are we to think biblically about Mary Jane? Though the Bible doesn’t address it directly, Miles argues the Bible is sufficient to address the issue. The research on marijuana is a moving target, but Miles provides a wise and winsome Christian analysis of both recreational and medical marijuana. Discipleship must include dealing with tough current issues, and Miles is a shepherd along the path. Pick up a few copies of this book and pass it around to parents, teens, and pastors.”

  Patrick Schreiner, PhD, associate professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and author of The Visual Word: Illustrated Outlines of the New Testament Books

• With the de-stigmatization and often recreational legalization of marijuana sweeping across the American landscape, it is easy to treat significant issues as old hat and simply as part of the “new consensus.” Todd Miles’s book is a welcome rebuttal to what will likely be an issue that will have tremendous impact on the local church and throughout American culture. He does a fine job of exploring the overt and implicit dangers linked with marijuana use and does so by appealing to scriptural authority.

  Andrew T. Walker, PhD, associate professor of Christian Ethics, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

• Todd Miles has done the Christian and the local pastor an enormous service with this book. With clarity, precision, and pastoral sensitivity, he addresses the legal, medical, moral, and ethical questions facing Christians in a culture hurtling toward widespread legalization of marijuana. This book distills and presents the careful, nuanced wisdom of Scripture to help followers of Jesus answer the questions posed by legalization. But more than that, Todd calls us to a faithful discipleship which understands the relief of suffering is not our highest goal, but rather joy in the Lord. I highly recommend this book.

  Michael Lawrence, lead pastor of Hinson Baptist Church, Portland, Oregon