Featured BJU Prof Randy Jaeggli's book on alcohol

Many years ago, a professor for a class I was taking stated that 14% is the point at which ethanol becomes toxic to the fermentation yeast, thus setting the upper limit for its content in non-fortified wines. 20% wines like sherry and port have distilled spirits added, usually brandy IIRC. A lot of wines I noted back when I used to drink had alcohol at 9-10%. The cheapo bottles like Richard's Wild Irish Rose were the 14-percenters. (However, I'm about as far from being an expert as is possible.)

 

So, whose church bylaws mention alcohol in regards to membership?

 

Is this a new edition, or did you get ahold of the one that was pulled from the market?

 

I believe our church covenant says, "to abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage" (or something very close to that).

Thanks. I haven't kept up in the last couple of years I guess. I have the old one. It would be interesting to see what changes were made.

 

evangelist6589, to clarify, I was reporting on what our church covenant states, because a couple of previous commenters mentioned church bylaws and church covenants. I would agree with you that it is not biblical to call all (limited and moderate) use of alcoholic beverage a sin. But I would not agree that it is unbiblical for some to voluntarily decide and agree together to not engage in the sale or use of alcoholic beverages.

 

Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have brought it up.

But I personally find it troubling that a church would restrict membership over alcohol use.

 

www.sbc.net/resolutions/1156

"RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina, June 13-14, 2006, express our total opposition to the manufacturing, advertising, distributing, and consuming of alcoholic beverages; and be it further RESOLVED, That we urge that no one be elected to serve as a trustee or member of any entity or committee of the Southern Baptist Convention that is a user of alcoholic beverages."

 

I see the messengers agreeing to some things, and URGING other to do the same.

Is there anything actually binding on the books?

 

You are probably right that most SBC churches teach tithing, but it seems that less may do so now than in the past. Most SBC churches are not Arminian. Some people call SBC churches Arminian if they do not embrace Calvinism, but that is a polemic use of terminology rather than an accurate one. Ii is my sense that a very large majority of SBC churches believe in the doctrine of Eternal Security without question, which cannot accurately be described as Arminian. Perseverance of the saints and falling from grace is an open question among Arminians. If you just mean to say that most SBC are not Calvinistic, then I think you are correct.

The very nature of a church covenant is that it is an agreement entered into voluntarily by church members. If you don't agree with the covenant you don't enter into covenant. (I suppose one could ask for an exception and have it granted, but I've never heard of that.) In actual practice many churches and church members may pay little to no attention to their church covenant.

 

Here's how one SBC entity implemented this directive from the Convention:

2017 Code of Conduct for North American Mission Board church planters

www.namb.net/NAMB_CodeofConduct2017.pdf

"...member of record and in good standing in a Southern Baptist or Canadian National Baptist Church. I will abstain from the consumption of any alcoholic beverage or illegal drugs. I will not view pornography..."