Do You

[cowboysfan1970]

I was raised to believe that it was a profound sin. One so serious that it would get you sent to hell. I began to question that along with some other things that I had been led to believe and started looking for it in the Bible. I haven't found anything that makes me believe that it is. I looked into it some more and found out that it was more or less the Women's Temperance Movement in the 19th Century that was responsible for putting that "alcohol is the devil's drink" message out there. They became highly influential and were the ones that had more to do with Prohibition being passed into law than anyone else. Islam is the anti alcohol religion. Christianity doesn't prohibit drinking, at least not in the Bible.

 

[RebeccatheGreat]

 

[dies-l]

Wow! That picture almost makes me want to start drinking again.

Seriously, as a recovering alcoholic, I know that it would be sinful for me to drink, because I could not do it without taking it to sinful extremes. However, that doesn't mean that it is sinful for all people; just for me (and perhaps others with similar struggles).

As to the comment that our bodies are temples and that drinking harms our bodies, I would have to disagree. I think the medical community is pretty much in agreement that moderate amounts of wine (and perhaps other alcoholic beverages) can actually improve health. Alcohol is like sodium, fat, sugar, iodine, and a whole bunch of other things, which can be helpful, or even necessary, in moderate amounts, but can become unhealthy, or even deadly, in larger amounts.

 

[BrBob]

Wow! This is the most calm and positive thread about drinking that I've ever seen here on this site. Wonderful!

Now, to the topic, no it's not a sin. Yes, just like anything else, it is a sin to go too far with it.

I like good wine and I like good beer. Life is too short to drink bad wine and beer!

Bob
Spearfish, SD

 

[eyzonthepriz]

I dont think alcohol is a problem at all. Its the people who cant handle it that are the problem. I homebrew both wine and beer and I've never hurt my wife, children or neighbors, yeah I hurt myself by the negative effects on the liver and so on but you get my point. Its an interesting hobby with benefits. Benjamin Franklin said; "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." I agree with him. Maybe you dont feel the need for a drink from time to time but I do. Part of life consists of picking up self destructive evils and trying to put them down; Mastery over our choice of evil is something we must strive for but its real important to teach this to our children before they pick theirs. I tell my children to pick theirs wisely and to learn from my bad choices.
Think about it, everyone picks up one or a combination of them. Its either 1.You smoke
2. you drink
3.you do drugs street or prescription
4.you stuff your face with food
5. your have sex addictions
No one is exempt and if you say you dont have any on the list I tell you straight up your not being honest or your old enough to have put them down. I asked God thousands of times to show me where the button is so I can shut of my desire for my self destructive choice and he hasn't shown me yet. We are human and unfortunately this is how it goes. If any of you know how to trully put these down without picking up another I'd be very interested. Like I said earlier, all we can do is pass on this truth to our children and point it out often when we see in society the ills of our choices.
My parents unfortunately grew up in really disfunctional families so they were handicapped from jump street .They lacked any tools to pass on to me as far as avoiding the top 5. Stupid is as stupid does right? I will not make the same mistake for my childrens sake.

 

[cgrim4god29588]

No, because Jesus drank wine and the bible tells us not to get drunk, but I don't think wine can get you drunk.

 

[dies-l]

I dont think alcohol is a problem at all. Its the people who cant handle it that are the problem. I homebrew both wine and beer and I've never hurt my wife, children or neighbors, yeah I hurt myself by the negative effects on the liver and so on but you get my point. Its an interesting hobby with benefits. Benjamin Franklin said; "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." I agree with him. Maybe you dont feel the need for a drink from time to time but I do. Part of life consists of picking up self destructive evils and trying to put them down; Mastery over our choice of evil is something we must strive for but its real important to teach this to our children before they pick theirs. I tell my children to pick theirs wisely and to learn from my bad choices.
Think about it, everyone picks up one or a combination of them. Its either 1.You smoke
2. you drink
3.you do drugs street or prescription
4.you stuff your face with food
5. your have sex addictions
No one is exempt and if you say you dont have any on the list I tell you straight up your not being honest or your old enough to have put them down. I asked God thousands of times to show me where the button is so I can shut of my desire for my self destructive choice and he hasn't shown me yet. We are human and unfortunately this is how it goes. If any of you know how to trully put these down without picking up another I'd be very interested. Like I said earlier, all we can do is pass on this truth to our children and point it out often when we see in society the ills of our choices.
My parents unfortunately grew up in really disfunctional families so they were handicapped from jump street .They lacked any tools to pass on to me as far as avoiding the top 5. Stupid is as stupid does right? I will not make the same mistake for my childrens sake.

First, just to be clear, I agree with you that drinking is not inherently bad. Many people drink regularly without getting drunk, and there is nothing in Scripture or reason to suggest that there is anything wrong with that.

However, I am still a bit troubled by your post. You seem to be saying that we all have our self-destructive habits, so we should just be content to live with them. Perhaps, I am misunderstanding, but if that really is what you are saying, then that attitude makes a complete mockery of everything that Christ came to suffer and die for. Please correct me if I am misunderstanding you.

Certainly, we all sin and fall short of the Glory of God. Christ died, however, to set us free from self-destructive path of sin. While this doesn't mean that we become perfectly sanctified the moment we begin our walk with Christ, it does mean that we become slaves to Christ. From the moment of justification, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and given the means to sanctification, and as Christians, I believe that our central purpose in existing is to overcome (with God's help) the sinful and destructive habits that have separated us from God so that we can love God and love our neighbor as He has called us to.

Incidentally, I believe that I can honestly say that I have struggled with all 5 and have set down all 5 of the behaviors on your list (at least to the extent that they are self-destructive).

 

[dies-l]

No, because Jesus drank wine and the bible tells us not to get drunk, but I don't think wine can get you drunk.

I have been drunk on wine plenty of times in my life. The Bible also contains several references (at least 15 that I could find) to getting drunk on wine. But, still, wine is not the problem; excess is.

 

[eyzonthepriz]

First, just to be clear, I agree with you that drinking is not inherently bad. Many people drink regularly without getting drunk, and there is nothing in Scripture or reason to suggest that there is anything wrong with that.

However, I am still a bit troubled by your post. You seem to be saying that we all have our self-destructive habits, so we should just be content to live with them. Perhaps, I am misunderstanding, but if that really is what you are saying, then that attitude makes a complete mockery of everything that Christ came to suffer and die for. Please correct me if I am misunderstanding you. .

I'm not saying that we should to be content with living with them, I'm just stating what I feel is reality, and that is everybody picks something bad up and that some people just cant shake the habits no matter how hard they try or they just dont try hard enough or a combination. I dont think this is mocking Christ its just stating the human condition. Christ died to pay our sin debt, he didn't kill the sin nature unfortunately. However, after reading your reply and following the progression of logic it actually does end up bad for people who struggle and dont put sin down. See Hebrews 10:26-31. Yeah its better to look at reality though His eyes instead of mine.

 

[cowboysfan1970]

Many times I wonder how I was taught things so different from seemingly everyone else.

 

[RebeccatheGreat]

I have been drunk on wine plenty of times in my life. The Bible also contains several references (at least 15 that I could find) to getting drunk on wine. But, still, wine is not the problem; excess is.

exactly.
even getting drunk is not the sin, but living that way on a continual basis is the sin.

 

[CharliePureFlame]

exactly.
even getting drunk is not the sin, but living that way on a continual basis is the sin.

What scripture can support what you say? Not that I don't believe this.... but everyone always refer to the scripture that requires us to be sober. and like someone else said in this thread that we should not harm the temple of our soul. Thank you for your time.

 

[fifi]

The bible says drunkeness is a sin... but the way I see it is as this, with so many other wonderful things God has given us to drink, why drink wine?

very true if we are truly saved why would we wont to put anything in our temple that is not of God.

 

[JacksLadder]

very true if we are truly saved why would we wont to put anything in our temple that is not of God.

Well God made everything. Alcohol and wine/dark beer etc.. in small amounts can have some positive affects on the body. In larger amounts can cause cancer. And in even larger amounts can kill you so it is all about moderation in my opinion. Hey, if you want to go the extra mile to be healthy and eat a salad with a Gatorade instead of a beer and pizza go for it.

Some people are called to not drink alcoholic beverages.

He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth-Luke 1:14-15

For others wine and beer at a wedding or such festivity can be a way to build community.

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.". John 2:9-10

 

[lifeknowingjesus]

There is a difference between drinking a little wine at a party (which Jesus did) and becoming drunk and drinking as a practice (which Jesus warned against; said to “be on your guard” against).

(I personally figure why even try it if it could wind up to be a temptation.)

The Bible speaks of “those who spend the night with a bottle, for whom drinking is serious business." Those ”gulping wine and swilling beer." “Who get up early and start drinking booze before breakfast, who stay up all hours of the night drinking themselves into a stupor”. Who “stagger from drink, weaving, falling-down drunks, besotted with wine and whiskey, can't see straight, can't talk sense” (Isaiah 28:8, Proverbs 23:30, Proverbs 31:4, Isaiah 5:11, Luke 21:34).

Why did Jesus warn against getting drunk and drinking as a practice? For your own good (and the good of those around you)! The drink....

• “Cheapens your life” (Ephesians 5:18)
• Dulls your expectation of the coming of God/day of the Lord (Luke 21:34).
• “Take away the understanding” and “wisdom” (Hosea 4:11)
  [*]“Rob [you] of [your] senses” (Hosea 4:11)
  [*]“Leave my people in a stupor” (Jesus, Hosea 4:11)
  [*] Results in faulty judgment (Isaiah 28:8)
  [*]Makes it so you don't know right from wrong (Proverbs 31:__)
  [*]Leads to poverty “Drunks and gluttons will end up on skid row, in a stupor and dressed in rags.” (Proverbs 23:21)
  [*]Leads to sorrow “Who are the people who are always crying the blues?”
  [*]Leads to self pity “Who do you know who reeks of self-pity?”
  [*] Damages your body and makes you sick. Drinking results in bleary, blood-shot eyes, hangovers, slitting headaches, a queasy stomach, vomit, double-vision, slurred speech, and senseless talk “Don't judge wine by its label, or its bouquet, or its full-bodied flavor. Judge it rather by the hangover it leaves you with— [wash my mouth]the splitting headache, the queasy stomach. Do you really prefer seeing double, with your speech all slurred, Reeling and seasick, drunk as a sailor?”
  [*]Makes a fool of you (Proverbs 31:___)
  [*]Leads to mocking/scorn (verse)
  [*]Leads to fights, quarrels/quarrelsomeness, meanness and strife “Wine makes you mean, beer makes you quarrelsome— a staggering drunk is not much fun.” “Who keeps getting beat up for no reason at all?” ”'They hit me,' you'll say, 'but it didn't hurt; they beat on me, but I didn't feel a thing. When I'm sober enough to manage it, bring me another drink!'"(Proverbs 23:29-30, Isaiah 28:8, Hosea 7:5, Proverbs 20:1).
  [*] Hurts the people who depend on you (Proverbs 31:___)
  [*]Is a disgrace. "Who do you think you are—inviting your neighbors to your drunken parties, giving them too much to drink, roping them into your sexual orgies? You thought you were having the time of your life. Wrong! It's a time of disgrace.” (Habakukk 2:15)
  [*]Leads to contempt of/having nothing to do with God’s work and "pay[ing] no mind to what he is doing.” (Isaiah 5:12)
  [*] “Keeps you from performing at your peak potential and stops you from having the kind of reliable energy you need to best serve your Creator. ....Dietary poisons...irritate your system, affect your moods, cloud your mind, and rob your body of strength and health. As a result, your effectiveness, your relationship with others and with God and your length of time on this planet are negatively affected.”
  [*] Dishoners your God-given and God-livin' body. Our body “is a miraculous gift that God has handed over to you for the relatively brief duration of your lifetime. Showing respect for your gift means showing respect and love for God. This irreverence for our bodies is made most evident by just looking at what people are willing to put into their mouths....Your body is not your own! Your body is not only BY God, it is FOR God, and it IS God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6 says: “Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body! God honored the Master's body by raising it from the grave. He'll treat yours with the same resurrection power. Until that time, remember that your bodies are created with the same dignity as the Master's body. ...Didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.”
  [*]Squanders your life. “Don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us.” (2 Corinthians 6:__) “We can't afford to waste a minute, we must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!”
  

Instead....

• Replace alcohol with God. Instead of “drinking too much wine”, the bible says to“drink the Spirit of God, huge droughts of him.” (Ephesians 5:18).
• Behave becomingly. Jesus challenges us to behave “decently”, “honestly”, “properly” and “becomingly.” ”Wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, rivalry, and jealousy cannot be part of our lives.“ (Romans 13:13).
• Offer God your life. “Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life--and place it before God as an offering.” (Romans 12:1) “Let every detail in your lives - words, actions, whatever - be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.” (verse)
• Handle well what God entrusted you. “Life is test,” says Rick Warren, in his bestselling book: Your time on earth and your energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, resources and body are all gifts from God that he has entrusted to your care and management. At the end of your life you are rewarded according to how well you handled what God entrusted you. Everything you do has eternal implications.

 

[dies-l]

exactly.
even getting drunk is not the sin, but living that way on a continual basis is the sin.

No, I think the Bible is very clear that getting drunk is sinful. But, it is also very clear that drinking alcohol, in itself, is not sin.

 

[fifi]

many people on this thread seem to think that it is ok to drink wine are beer but the bible says in Daniel ch 1:8 But daniel did not defile himself with theroyal food and wine, ahd he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.

so as you can see Daniel saw this as a sin and he did not partake of the wine but their were many jews that did partake but him and his 3 friends chose to stay pure.

 

[dies-l]

many people on this thread seem to think that it is ok to drink wine are beer but the bible says in Daniel ch 1:8 But daniel did not defile himself with theroyal food and wine, ahd he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.

so as you can see Daniel saw this as a sin and he did not partake of the wine but their were many jews that did partake but him and his 3 friends chose to stay pure.

It would seem from this interpretation that it would follow that God wants us all to vegetarians as well. But, since we see that God allowed the consumption of meat throughout Scripture, this cannot be the case. Likewise, since Jesus not only drank wine, but made it, we should question this interpretation in regard to alcohol.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

Do you feel that it is sinful to drink wine?

Nope!