Thanks.The temperance movement in the US began in the 1800’s, It included many Baptist and Methodists, and eventually led to Prohibition… which turned out to be a huge mistake, basically a price support system for organized crime. As, IMO, the War on Drugs is today.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance_movement
Having been led as we believe, by the spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, we do now in the presence of God, angels and this assembly most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with on another as on body in Christ.
We engage therefore by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk together in Christian love, to strive for the advancement of this church, in knowledge, holiness and comfort; to promote it’s prosperity and spirituality: to sustain it’s worship, ordinances, discipline and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the spread of the gospel through all nations.
We also engage to maintain family and secret devotion; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage, and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the Kingdom of our Savior.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, and mindful of the rules of our Savior, to secure it without delay.
We moreover engage that when we remove from this place, we will as soon as possible unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.
As one who has been a Southern Baptist all my life, I can confidently say that the majority of Baptists don’t drink. However, a significant number do. In my church I would guess that would be about 75% total abstainers and 25% who drink.And now unto Him, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, be power and glory forever. Amen.
Thanks for the history lesson!In the early years of their existence, Baptists were no different than others in their attitude toward alcohol. In fact one of the early distillers of whiskey in Kentucky was a Baptist preacher named Elijah Craig, .
Zenas, thank you for that quote. I remember that phrase being included in the chuch covenant of the American Baptist Church that I grew up in. By the time I had reached adulthood, they had watered it down (pun intended). It was changed so that we would abstain from things that were harmful to ourselves. .In the early years of their existence, Baptists were no different than others in their attitude toward alcohol. In fact one of the early distillers of whiskey in Kentucky was a Baptist preacher named Elijah Craig, who established a distillery in 1789. Craig is credited with having developed Kentucky Bourbon, although that is probably not correct inasmuch as his distillery was in Scott County and Kentucky Bourbon took its name from Bourbon County, Kentucky.
Like Izadaari said, the negative attitude toward alcoholic beverages began in the 1800’s. It probably originated on the frontier where there where drunkenness seems to have been more prevalent. Certainly it was a problem among the Indians. The approach of the Baptists, and others as well, was that this social problem would not exist if no one drank. How to prevent drinking? Prohibition, of course.
A significant majority of Baptist churches today have what they call a church covenant. Most of them are virtually identical, and were taken from a document written in New Hampshire arount 1833. Each church adopts it independently of any other church, but most of them do adopt it. I have highlighted the “alcohol” clause.
As one who has been a Southern Baptist all my life, I can confidently say that the majority of Baptists don’t drink. However, a significant number do. In my church I would guess that would be about 75% total abstainers and 25% who drink.
That extra “e” changes* everything.*His 18 year old barely kissed with cool water is a thing o’ beauty.
In an area where I used to live, it had a large amount of Methodists and they were referred to as closet Methodist because they drank alcohol in the closet where they wouldn’t be seen.The temperance movement in the US began in the 1800’s, It included many Baptist and Methodists, and eventually led to Prohibition… which turned out to be a huge mistake, basically a price support system for organized crime. As, IMO, the War on Drugs is today.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance_movement
We call Baptists where we are from “smoking Baptists” since a few churches actually have scheduled smoke breaks lol.In an area where I used to live, it had a large amount of Methodists and they were referred to as closet Methodist because they drank alcohol in the closet where they wouldn’t be seen.