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He has no idea what is odd for churches to teach. He doesn't even know what goes on in the average church. He just does not like those doctrines so he tries to make look kike he knows when and where they are being taught.

 

RE The preference of wine drinking :

It is very unlikely that grape juice could remain unfermented in Jesus day.
After the harvest the grapes were turned to raisins or processed into juice that fermented into alcoholic wine or acetic acid vinegar. There were no refrigerators so this process was unstoppable.

There was a substance of which the Greek word hupostasis was used - cooking down the grape juice into a syrupy sticky mass which was so intense it wouldn't ferment (usually). This could be eaten or mixed with water and drank. Water was always a risky situation unless it came from a well and even then it had some risk especially from a river and/or a lake.

We should remember that there were no water purification plants in Jesus day. The alcohol in wine from natural controlled fermentation was less than modern day wine but enough to overcome pathogens in the liquid. So it was an alternative to bad water.

We don't have this problem today.


HankD

 

This is very well said. When one is looking for the local church where God would have one serve, one should become familiar with a church's statement of faith first of all, then any other governing/procedural documents. If one sees any "hill to die on" disagreements, one should not join that church - to do so will almost inevitably lead to dissension among the members. If one finds things with which one disagrees but can live with, it's up to one's conscience whether to join, but if one does so, one should not make an issue of said things.

It's extremely unlikely that one will find any church where one can agree 100% with everything. If I had written those documents and looked at them some time later, I'm sure I'd disagree with myself! Therefore, joining a church (which I see as biblically correct though I cannot cite a rock-solid proof text) will mean giving up a portion of one's personal liberty. There's scriptural precedent for that - it's what Paul meant when he talked about becoming all things to all people. It was relinquishing some liberty so as not to offend, thus costing him a chance to witness for Christ.

 

Evan, stop. Just stop. Grow up and reason with people instead of taking such an immature approach.

 

What person?