God Gave Wine: What the Bible Says About Alcohol

[Baptist4life]

I guess I just don't see the "need" to have alcohol in a drink to enjoy the taste of it. I've had a lot of very enjoyable, flavorful drinks which had zero alcohol content. As a matter of fact, IMHO, alcohol tastes TERRIBLE on it's own, and detracts from the taste of anything you put it in. Other than "chemically altering" your brain, which is why you get "ozzy" :tongue3:, what's the purpose of putting alcohol in a drink? Enhancing the taste? Really? Somehow, I'm just not believing that. BTW, I'm not condemning anyone. Drink if you want to, but as a Christian, and knowing what alcohol can do to a person and family, I see it as playing "how close can I get to sin without crossing the line?" Not something I want to do, and don't understand Christians who do. My. 02.

 

[Aaron]

Sorry to tell you dear - you have no private life apart from your wife. If you do, you have a bigger problem than a Mike's Hard.

Actually, his stand is true to the eat no meat in his presence interpretations of I Cor. 8, marital bonds notwithstanding.

 

[Baptist Believer]

I guess I just don't see the "need" to have alcohol in a drink to enjoy the taste of it. I've had a lot of very enjoyable, flavorful drinks which had zero alcohol content.

Yes.

As a matter of fact, IMHO, alcohol tastes TERRIBLE on it's own...

Yes.

...and detracts from the taste of anything you put it in.

That's a matter of opinion and personal taste. I happen to agree with your opinion, but that's neither here nor there.

Other than "chemically altering" your brain, which is why you get "ozzy" :tongue3:, what's the purpose of putting alcohol in a drink?

Alcohol in modest quantities is good for one's circulatory system. It also has some value in relieving stress.

Drink if you want to, but as a Christian, and knowing what alcohol can do to a person and family, I see it as playing "how close can I get to sin without crossing the line?"

The problem with making this assumption is that you are assuming an attitude which another Christian may or may not have. Many things in the Christian life are more about attitude than actions. If I work very hard to serve God, someone may assume that I am trying to earn God's favor and condemn me for it. However, I might just be working very hard to serve God because I want to be involved in what He is doing in the world. The actions are the same, but the attitude makes all the difference.

Not something I want to do, and don't understand Christians who do.

I appreciate your honesty in saying you don't understand some other Christians in this regard. Just consider that we all come from different backgrounds and have different weaknesses. I could live in a bar, 24-hours-a-day, and never get drunk. I've never had much interest in alcoholic beverages (although I occasionally consume a glass of wine), and I've never been intoxicated or even had a "buzz." However, if you get me near an all-you-can-eat buffet, I will have to strenuously work to exercise self-control. However, you rarely hear much about the sin of gluttony in most Baptist churches, which is an area of personal weakness that I'm only slowly being transformed from in Christ.

 

[annsni]

I guess I just don't see the "need" to have alcohol in a drink to enjoy the taste of it. I've had a lot of very enjoyable, flavorful drinks which had zero alcohol content. As a matter of fact, IMHO, alcohol tastes TERRIBLE on it's own, and detracts from the taste of anything you put it in. Other than "chemically altering" your brain, which is why you get "ozzy" :tongue3:, what's the purpose of putting alcohol in a drink? Enhancing the taste? Really? Somehow, I'm just not believing that. BTW, I'm not condemning anyone. Drink if you want to, but as a Christian, and knowing what alcohol can do to a person and family, I see it as playing "how close can I get to sin without crossing the line?" Not something I want to do, and don't understand Christians who do. My. 02.

Honestly, there are some drinks that are just delicious. A margharita is one example - you can't make that non-alcoholic. A daqueri you can. I had a very yummy non-alcoholic drink at a wedding the other day that was Sprite and pineapple juice with a splash of cranberry juice. Oooo-eee!! That was yummy - and why I had 3 of them. LOL But really, there are some drinks that are great and just cannot be made non-alcoholic. I personally love (and miss) the taste of these drinks!

 

[InTheLight]

I guess I just don't see the "need" to have alcohol in a drink to enjoy the taste of it. I've had a lot of very enjoyable, flavorful drinks which had zero alcohol content. As a matter of fact, IMHO, alcohol tastes TERRIBLE on it's own, and detracts from the taste of anything you put it in. Other than "chemically altering" your brain, which is why you get "ozzy" :tongue3:, what's the purpose of putting alcohol in a drink? Enhancing the taste? Really? Somehow, I'm just not believing that. BTW, I'm not condemning anyone. Drink if you want to, but as a Christian, and knowing what alcohol can do to a person and family, I see it as playing "how close can I get to sin without crossing the line?" Not something I want to do, and don't understand Christians who do. My. 02.

I would like to substitute caffeine for alcohol and coffee for drink in this post. You do get a buzz from caffeine. It is cumulative. Anyway, here's what you get:

I guess I just don't see the "need" to have caffeine in coffee to enjoy the taste of it. I've had a lot of very enjoyable, flavorful coffees which had zero caffeine content. As a matter of fact, IMHO, caffeine tastes TERRIBLE on it's own, and detracts from the taste of anything you put it in. Other than "chemically altering" your brain, which is why you get "ozzy" :tongue3:, what's the purpose of putting caffeine in coffee? Enhancing the taste? Really? Somehow, I'm just not believing that. BTW, I'm not condemning anyone. Drink coffee if you want to, but as a Christian, and knowing what caffeine can do to a person and family, I see it as playing "how close can I get to sin without crossing the line?" Not something I want to do, and don't understand Christians who do. My. 02

 

[annsni]

I would like to substitute caffeine for alcohol and coffee for drink in this post. You do get a buzz from caffeine. It is cumulative. Anyway, here's what you get:

You are now walking on dangerous ground now buster. DO NOT TOUCH MY CAFFEINE!!!!!!

 

[InTheLight]

You are now walking on dangerous ground now buster. DO NOT TOUCH MY CAFFEINE!!!!!!

I hear you. :laugh:

But it's very comparable. A legal, mood altering substance that can be abused or used in moderation.

 

[Baptist4life]

Carry on..............

 

[Winman]

You know I get allot of kicks from the Three Stooges. I own every episode and every movie. The ones with Curly and Shemp are the best of course. You need to watch them.

I am a big fan of the Three Stooges, I once read a very good book about them. Moe, Shemp, and Curly were brothers in real life. Larry was an accomplished violinist. They were all Jewish, Moe's real name was Moses.

That funny walk of Curly's was not an act, he accidentally shot himself in the foot hunting when he was a boy, he incorporated his limp into his act.

Moe had a Model T car, he allowed Shemp to drive it, he drove it into a store front and was afraid to drive the rest of his life. When they did any car scenes, Shemp demanded the car could not be running and was pulled by stage-hands using ropes.

In real life Moe was a very gentle family man loved by everyone, he shunned Hollywood. Curly on the other hand was a real ladies man, married and divorced several times.

 

[Revmitchell]

Anyone who gets "ozzy" sinned if that is another word for "buzzed". And looking at the title adding "God gave" does not make getting drunk any better.

 

[Winman]

Anyone who gets "ozzy" sinned if that is another word for "buzzed". And looking at the title adding "God gave" does not make getting drunk any better.

I am pretty sure he meant to say "dizzy". Getting "ozzy" is MUCH worse. :laugh:

 

[InTheLight]

Carry on....

 

[saturneptune]

Maybe here is another way to look at it. If we spent as much time telling others about Jesus as we do worrying about who drinks, why and when, the pews would be much fuller.

 

[Luke2427]

Nobody but an infernal scoundrel will sell whisky, and nobody but an infernal fool will drink it. ~Sam Jones

Electa LaValley Williams was my great-great-grandmother on my Daddy's side. She was a Sam Jones kind of Methodist railing against red liquor, card playing and going to the motion picture show. Great-great Grandmother Williams was the founder and first president of the Women's Christian Temperance Movement of Osceola, New York populated by more Holsteins than humans. She and her husband Sylvanus owned and operated the Temperance Hotel in downtown Osceola where you could get a good meal and a comfortable bed but you could not get red liquor, a card game or see a motion picture show.

From a governor down to a dog pelter, I would not vote for a man that touches, tastes or handles whisky to save my life, and you can never redeem America with a legislature whose breath is tainted with whisky. ~Sam Jones

Every time one of these threads pop up I get a picture in my mind of my five-foot-nothing G-G-Grandma standing on the porch of the Temperance Hotel (the building is still there) shouting at the men going into the Osceola Hotel where you could get something to drink while you were card playing.

I'm not only not going to drink but I'll fight it to perdition, and when perdition freezes, then I'll fight it on the ice. If you can make it any stronger than that, put my name to it. ~Sam Jones

With respect to your grandma who was undoubtedly just standing firm for something she was convinced was true...

The sad fact is that this is what most IFB people sound like.

The MOTION PICTURE SHOW!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!! I love it! I used to preach against "the Hollywoood movies"!

I also used to damn to hell what we fundamentalists called "mixed bathing" MIXED BATHING!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

One of the things that makes these people so hilarious is that they try so hard to sound like guys like Sam Jones and it is so fake and out of place.

 

[Luke2427]

Ah, yes. Another "christian trying to justify drinking" thread. Why am I not surprised? :smilewinkgrin:

Justifying drinking responsibly is like justifying eating responsibly. It is a stupid waste of time because it does not REQUIRE justifying- the Bible is clear that it is already good.

Threads like this are not about justifying drinking but about condemning the phariseeism and ignorance of those who condemn drinking.

 

[Bob in St. Louis]

So. In summary...

If I drink and the effect does not steer my thoughts away from my goal of joining Jesus, then I'm "good". Right?

Bob
.....sorry if that sounds "noob", but I came here for guidance.

 

[Winman]

Justifying drinking responsibly is like justifying eating responsibly. It is a stupid waste of time because it does not REQUIRE justifying- the Bible is clear that it is already good.

Threads like this are not about justifying drinking but about condemning the phariseeism and ignorance of those who condemn drinking.

Not quite Satch, a person MUST eat to live. If you stop eating you will die. A person does not have to drink alcohol to live, and if a person does not drink they will not die. In fact, they will probably live much longer if they never drink. I had a few friends that liked to drink, they died in their 20s BECAUSE of drinking.

If a person chooses to drink that is their decision, but it is not the same as eating food. This is a RIDICULOUS argument.

 

[Revmitchell]

Not quite Satch, a person MUST eat to live. If you stop eating you will die. A person does not have to drink alcohol to live, and if a person does not drink they will not die. In fact, they will probably live much longer if they never drink. I had a few friends that liked to drink, they died in their 20s BECAUSE of drinking.

If a person chooses to drink that is their decision, but it is not the same as eating food. This is a RIDICULOUS argument.

A very logical and reasonable point.

 

[salzer mtn]

I am a big fan of the Three Stooges, I once read a very good book about them. Moe, Shemp, and Curly were brothers in real life. Larry was an accomplished violinist. They were all Jewish, Moe's real name was Moses.

That funny walk of Curly's was not an act, he accidentally shot himself in the foot hunting when he was a boy, he incorporated his limp into his act.

Moe had a Model T car, he allowed Shemp to drive it, he drove it into a store front and was afraid to drive the rest of his life. When they did any car scenes, Shemp demanded the car could not be running and was pulled by stage-hands using ropes.

In real life Moe was a very gentle family man loved by everyone, he shunned Hollywood. Curly on the other hand was a real ladies man, married and divorced several times.

Moe, Curly and Shemp were brothers.

 

[Winman]

Moe, Curly and Shemp were brothers.

Yes, that is what I said. They were Jewish, their last name was Howard.