What does the Bible say about Drinking?
This is an interesting topic to me mostly because I'm Baptist. IMO, the stereotypical Baptist hangup with drinking is one of the flaws of the Baptist church. I've been Baptist all my life. I grew up in a home where there was never any alcohol. I thought drinking was just something people on TV did.
I had my first taste of alcohol when I was 21. Champagne on New Year's eve. I still don't drink very regularly, but when I do, I do so with a clear conscience. I don't drink to excess, and I'm careful who I drink around.
Anyway, there's this discussion going on in WD right now http://www.christianforums.com/t3002...7#post24143208
Here are the thoughts I posted there:
1. Alcoholic beverages (wine included) are spoken of in the bible. We are urged not to get drunk on wine (Eph. 5:18). This must be alcoholic wine because it's impossible to get drunk on grape juice. The word for wine there is called "oinos". It's also called "new wine" according to Strong's Concordance. The # is 3631.
I Timothy 3:8 gives standards by which Deacons in the church are to adhere. It says they shouldn't be given to much wine. This is also "oinos". Again, it must refer to an alcoholic drink because why would we care how much grape juice a deacon drank?
2. We are cautioned not to get drunk. See Eph. 5:18. Drunkeness is mentioned as being a sin. When I was growing up, I was made to believe that there was no difference between having the smallest sip of alcohol and being a raving drunk. I literally thought that any amount of alcohol makes people tipsy. This is laughable and completely untrue. Having a drink != being drunk.
3. In 1 Tim. 5:23, it says "drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities". This word is also "oinos". So even then, they knew of the medicinal properties of wine. Even today's science confirms that wine (in moderation) has health benefits.
4. The wedding at Cana? Jesus' first miracle. What did he do? He turned water into wine. You guessed it. It's the same word "oinos". It makes sense that this would be alcoholic wine and not grape juice because of the nobleman's statement: "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
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Drinking is a personal decision. There are MANY good reasons NOT to drink.
I just think that my particular denomination (and perhaps others--I can only speak about what I know) has gotten so mired down in man-made tradition and pride about this issue that they put a spin on any verses in the bible that deal with alcohol to make it suit what they want it to say. We'd rather misrepresent the bible than admit we're wrong about something.
Too often we blindly believe what someone tells us about a topic without seeing the biblical basis for it. Not only is this dangerous, but it's unbiblical. We are supposed to compare what we're taught with what's actually in the bible. Not doing this can lead to big trouble. Perhaps not over a minor issue such as this, but if you're prone to blindly follow someone's teachings, you can end up in big trouble (Remember the Branch Davidians, Heaven's Gate, etc.?)
I'm not interested in hearing a man's personal opinions on a topic spewed out as biblical truth. Opinions are great and might even be good advice, but let's call them what they are.
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My other issue is that I think it's common (and completely silly) to judge others based on your own personal opinion. Why? I shouldn't have to worry if rumors about me being a drunk are going to be started if a fellow church member sees me having a daquiri with my dinner in a restaurant.
1. Don't judge me about something that's not called sin in the bible.
2. How do you know what's in my drink? It could be a virgin daquiri for all you know.
3. We'd be best off to just mind our own business sometimes instead of jumping at chances of comparing ourselves against others in an effort to deem someone else's "sin" as worse than our own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You heard it here first--the real life adventure of a Baptist who drinks.
But don't take my word for it, do your own research.
This is an interesting topic to me mostly because I'm Baptist. IMO, the stereotypical Baptist hangup with drinking is one of the flaws of the Baptist church. I've been Baptist all my life. I grew up in a home where there was never any alcohol. I thought drinking was just something people on TV did.
I had my first taste of alcohol when I was 21. Champagne on New Year's eve. I still don't drink very regularly, but when I do, I do so with a clear conscience. I don't drink to excess, and I'm careful who I drink around.
Anyway, there's this discussion going on in WD right now http://www.christianforums.com/t3002...7#post24143208
Here are the thoughts I posted there:
I completely respect your opinion (I'm Baptist, so I've probably heard the same viewpoints as you my whole life). But when I started digging into the verses in the bible that deal with alcohol, I noticed that there was no mention of drinking being a sin although drunkenness is mentioned several times as being a sin.
In fact, drinking for one's health is even encouraged in one instance (a verse that is conveniently skipped over in every sermon I've heard about drinking)
I Timothy 5:23
23Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
Science has also proved that a glass of red wine each day helps keep the heart healthy.
So maybe it is a drug, but I think it can be a useful drug (when used responsibly).
As far as the water into wine thing at the wedding of cana goes, I've thought about that too. The anti-alcohol viewpoints I've heard are:
1. It wasn't fermented, so it wasn't alcoholic wine.
2. It was fermented, but wine back then was much less concentrated/had a lower alcohol content than today's wine.
I don't speak or understand the original languages the bible was written in, so I can't go back and look at the translation and see if the word used for wine actually means unfermented. Does anyone know if that's the case? The translations we have today don't differentiate, so it's hard for me to tell.
Anyway, I do believe the wine at the wedding was alcoholic because of this passage:
John 2:9-11
They did so, 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
If the wine wasn't alcoholic, why would would the guests who had had too much to drink not know the difference in the cheap and good quality wine?
I can't make that mesh.
Anyway, I'm not arguing. I have full respect for those who choose not to drink for whatever reason. I'm just not a fan of people making judgements on others for drinking (not drunkenness) when IMO there's no biblical basis for it (and I'm not saying this is what you're doing, but I've seen it a lot in my denomination).
I just think we have bigger fish to fry.
Here are some things I know of for sure:In fact, drinking for one's health is even encouraged in one instance (a verse that is conveniently skipped over in every sermon I've heard about drinking)
I Timothy 5:23
23Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
Science has also proved that a glass of red wine each day helps keep the heart healthy.
So maybe it is a drug, but I think it can be a useful drug (when used responsibly).
As far as the water into wine thing at the wedding of cana goes, I've thought about that too. The anti-alcohol viewpoints I've heard are:
1. It wasn't fermented, so it wasn't alcoholic wine.
2. It was fermented, but wine back then was much less concentrated/had a lower alcohol content than today's wine.
I don't speak or understand the original languages the bible was written in, so I can't go back and look at the translation and see if the word used for wine actually means unfermented. Does anyone know if that's the case? The translations we have today don't differentiate, so it's hard for me to tell.
Anyway, I do believe the wine at the wedding was alcoholic because of this passage:
John 2:9-11
They did so, 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
If the wine wasn't alcoholic, why would would the guests who had had too much to drink not know the difference in the cheap and good quality wine?
I can't make that mesh.
Anyway, I'm not arguing. I have full respect for those who choose not to drink for whatever reason. I'm just not a fan of people making judgements on others for drinking (not drunkenness) when IMO there's no biblical basis for it (and I'm not saying this is what you're doing, but I've seen it a lot in my denomination).
I just think we have bigger fish to fry.
1. Alcoholic beverages (wine included) are spoken of in the bible. We are urged not to get drunk on wine (Eph. 5:18). This must be alcoholic wine because it's impossible to get drunk on grape juice. The word for wine there is called "oinos". It's also called "new wine" according to Strong's Concordance. The # is 3631.
I Timothy 3:8 gives standards by which Deacons in the church are to adhere. It says they shouldn't be given to much wine. This is also "oinos". Again, it must refer to an alcoholic drink because why would we care how much grape juice a deacon drank?
2. We are cautioned not to get drunk. See Eph. 5:18. Drunkeness is mentioned as being a sin. When I was growing up, I was made to believe that there was no difference between having the smallest sip of alcohol and being a raving drunk. I literally thought that any amount of alcohol makes people tipsy. This is laughable and completely untrue. Having a drink != being drunk.
3. In 1 Tim. 5:23, it says "drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities". This word is also "oinos". So even then, they knew of the medicinal properties of wine. Even today's science confirms that wine (in moderation) has health benefits.
4. The wedding at Cana? Jesus' first miracle. What did he do? He turned water into wine. You guessed it. It's the same word "oinos". It makes sense that this would be alcoholic wine and not grape juice because of the nobleman's statement: "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Drinking is a personal decision. There are MANY good reasons NOT to drink.
I just think that my particular denomination (and perhaps others--I can only speak about what I know) has gotten so mired down in man-made tradition and pride about this issue that they put a spin on any verses in the bible that deal with alcohol to make it suit what they want it to say. We'd rather misrepresent the bible than admit we're wrong about something.
Too often we blindly believe what someone tells us about a topic without seeing the biblical basis for it. Not only is this dangerous, but it's unbiblical. We are supposed to compare what we're taught with what's actually in the bible. Not doing this can lead to big trouble. Perhaps not over a minor issue such as this, but if you're prone to blindly follow someone's teachings, you can end up in big trouble (Remember the Branch Davidians, Heaven's Gate, etc.?)
I'm not interested in hearing a man's personal opinions on a topic spewed out as biblical truth. Opinions are great and might even be good advice, but let's call them what they are.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My other issue is that I think it's common (and completely silly) to judge others based on your own personal opinion. Why? I shouldn't have to worry if rumors about me being a drunk are going to be started if a fellow church member sees me having a daquiri with my dinner in a restaurant.
1. Don't judge me about something that's not called sin in the bible.
2. How do you know what's in my drink? It could be a virgin daquiri for all you know.
3. We'd be best off to just mind our own business sometimes instead of jumping at chances of comparing ourselves against others in an effort to deem someone else's "sin" as worse than our own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You heard it here first--the real life adventure of a Baptist who drinks.
But don't take my word for it, do your own research. 
