Alcohol and the devil

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The devil is real Mtheory, regardless of academics publishing books and papers.
 
We as Catholics know that alcohol in moderation, if one chooses to drink it, is fine unless a person has some sort of medical condition (such as alcoholism) that makes it imprudent. However, there are certain Evangelical Christian traditions which see alcohol as horribly evil. I grew up in the midst of such traditions (central Appalachia) and have heard drinking referred to as “the worst sin there is”. There is no tradition there of having beer or wine with a meal. Every so often a city or county will go into a pitched verbal battle over whether to “go wet” or “stay dry”. It’s just part of the cultural heritage to see alcohol as something evil. Benign uses of wine in the Bible are dismissed as having dealt with “grape juice”, and this is what they use in their “Lord’s Supper”. In fact, Catholicism is viewed negatively in these regions largely because of our acceptance of alcohol. You have to have grown up amidst this to understand what a “hot button topic” alcohol is there.

As for me (Catholic 43 of my 59 years), a cold beer with a cheeseburger and fries, or a double shot of bourbon on a holiday or special occasion, is one of the great simple pleasures of my life. (Booker’s is best, though my retiree’s income makes it too expensive for me anymore, and I have heard many good things about the utterly unaffordable Pappy Van Winkle.) But don’t tell my dearly departed aunts.
 
Psalm 104:14-15
You make the grass grow for the cattle
and plants for people’s work
to bring forth food from the earth,
wine to gladden their hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread to sustain the human heart.
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Be that as it may, alcohol does more harm than good in today’s world, in my opinion.
 
Sugar is worse for the health of the body, but abuse of alcohol is worse for human relationships and society.
 
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The Catechism was quite clear:

2290 The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess : the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others’ safety on the road, at sea, or in the air.
 
Eric_Hyom said:
I continuously witness the impact of alcohol fuelled violence and rage. Last Friday I spent about an hour with a dozen angry drunks at 3 am.
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And I frequently enjoy a quiet evening with a few glasses of single-malt, my pipe, and a good book.

Abuse of alcohol is the sin, not the enjoyment of it. Or, to paraphrase Chesterton, we should thank God for booze by not drinking too much of it.
 
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