drink alcohol?

[Lovemyfaith]

I’m always suspicious of people who say they don’t drink. I’d be equally suspicious about someone who says they never eat dessert.

Why on earth are you suspicious of people who say they don’t drink? I don’t even know what that means. Suspicious of what? I don’t drink. My husband doesn’t drink. We are both in great health.

I am not suspicious of people who drink, unless they are doing something else that would warrant my suspicious. Sounds like drinking makes people paranoid.

 

[Just_wondering]

Why on earth are you suspicious of people who say they don’t drink? I don’t even know what that means. Suspicious of what? I don’t drink. My husband doesn’t drink. We are both in great health.

I am not suspicious of people who drink, unless they are doing something else that would warrant my suspicious. Sounds like drinking makes people paranoid.

I believe nobeerinheaven was referring to the common belief among drinkers that nondrinkers are fundamentally opposed to fun of all varieties. I don’t believe that all nondrinkers object to fun, but I’ve met a few who did.

By the way, nobeerinheaven, what inspired your username? I heard a song by that title once, but it was in Tagalog, not English.

 

[Tietjen]

My mom says that it changed my mood so its wrong…but sleep changes my mood, coffee changes my mood, hockey changes my mood…etc.

My views at least.

Ahh… that brings up a good point then. Since I believe that we all agree that having an occasional drink (and perhaps a little more) is not sinful; when then does it become a sin? Specifically, what constitutes being drunk? I think that we would all agree that someone who can’t walk a line or who passes out on the floor, or wears a lampshade is easily recognized as being “drunk.” However, must it reach that point prior to it being a sin? The poster above says that his mother believes that if the alcohol changes your mood, then you are drunk. However, speaking for myself, if I simply walk into the local pub my mood changes; the worries and aggravations of the day are left at the door and I enter feeling happier. Is it gauged by the amount a person drinks? For example, I am 6’5" and weigh 275lbs, it generally takes more than a couple of beers before I begin even to slightly feel the effects. Yet, someone half my weight may start feeling light headed long before I do. Is light-headedness the same as drunkenness? Or is that the indicator, which is used to know when it’s time to stop?

My personal opinion is that a person should stop before or when they first begin to feel the euphoria starting to set in. The problem with that is that if you reach this limit daily, you will find that over time that euphoric feeling begins to take longer to reach. Eventually, you may find that you don’t begin to feel it until after a sizable amount of alcohol. As a deputy sheriff, I know of many people who have been arrested, brought in and given a breathalyzer test where they blew above a .16 (twice the legal limit) yet they had developed such a high tolerance to alcohol that you would never know that they had consumed that much. They will tell you that they don’t feel even slightly drunk, they can walk straight lines, recite the alphabet without singing it, touch their nose, count backwards, etc. and there is no other indication that they are drunk other than the smell of alcohol and the blood alcohol content (b.a.c.) results. Is this person guilty of the sin of drunkenness? Legally he/she is, but I am asking theologically is he/she guilty? God bless all.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

ok, what is everybodys policy on alcohol, none at all?

i’m thinking none at all for me from now on, i’m very much in a period of change

do you drink alcohol?

what guidance does the bible give on this?

In my opinion, as a Catholic, alcohol is a netural item. It neither has sin, nor is touted as touted as helpful. It is what one does with it that makes it bad for a situation.

 

[CarrieH]

Some people say to me at work when we’re have a post-closing beer…“I thought you’re Catholic, how come you’re drinking”

Nobody has ever asked me that, but if they did, I would remind them that some of the finest beers and liqueurs have been brewed in the monasteries of Europe, especially by the Benedictines and the Belgian Trappists. If it’s OK for the monks to make the stuff, it’s OK for us to drink it!

 

[CarrieH]

By the way, nobeerinheaven, what inspired your username? I heard a song by that title once, but it was in Tagalog, not English.

We have that song in English, too:

“In Heaven there is no beer,
That’s why we drink it here,
And when we’re gone from here,
Our friends will be drinking all the beer.”

http://bestsmileys.com/drinking/8.gif

 

[Phemie]

Why on earth are you suspicious of people who say they don’t drink? I don’t even know what that means. Suspicious of what? I don’t drink. My husband doesn’t drink. We are both in great health.

I am not suspicious of people who drink, unless they are doing something else that would warrant my suspicious. Sounds like drinking makes people paranoid.

I think he means that he doesn’t believe people who say they ‘never’ drink just as he doesn’t believe people who say they ‘never’ eat dessert.

 

[nobeerinheaven]

Why on earth are you suspicious of people who say they don’t drink? I don’t even know what that means. Suspicious of what? I don’t drink. My husband doesn’t drink. We are both in great health.

Just Wondering and Phemie pointed out the major reasons. Unless I find out there is some overriding health reasons preventing someone from drinking, I’m generally suspicious of why people wouldn’t enjoy something that the Psalmist calls a blessing from God, i.e. *intrinsically *enjoyable. Hence the comparison to dessert - I’d be suspicious of someone who has a blanket refusal to have an occasional slice of pie, say, because pie (and other desserts) are enjoyable and someone who refuses such simple enjoyments in life is someone whom I’d look at in a generally suspicious way. You seem upset about that?

By the way, nobeerinheaven, what inspired your username? I heard a song by that title once, but it was in Tagalog, not English.

CarrieH nailed it.

 

[CHCatholic]

I’s got proof beer isn’t bad



(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[TC2]

I don’t drink. At all.
Most I’ve ever had was one teaspoon (just enough to taste) of wine cooler when I was a/b 15. Didn’t like it, that was it.

My father was a raging alcoholic, who beat my mother, nearly killing her several times.
My mother is also an alcoholic, who’s decisions and lifestyle have caused much grief for my family, most related to the drinking.

My father is now dead, my mom is recovering, but it is a day to day thing. Our relationship has strengthened over the years, and I hope it will continue to do so.

I refuse to drink, even the smallest amount, because I believe that it (alcoholism) is hereditary. I’ve already got 2 strikes against me. It’s in our family for over a hundred years. My many great times grandfather, father of the Westberry family, founder of numerous churches around this area, was once admonished by his church.
In the minutes of that meeting, a group of deacons were sent out to ‘admonish him as he drinks too much’. This was some 150+ years ago.

I already have a control problem, in relation to food. If one pepsi is good, then a pack a day is better. One brownie/cookie/ice cream scoop? Never heard of it. It’s something I struggle with every day. With my background, alcohol is the LAST thing I need to worry about.

Also, I view it as a control issue. As in control of my life. Growing up, watching others with hangovers and stupid drinking/drunken behavior was the norm. I didn’t want anything to do with something that would make me not remember what I did, or put me out of control.

Sorry for the long post, but wanted to share that yes, there are people who don’t drink, never have, and that their reasons are legitimate.

Oh, I don’t consider alcohol, or the drinking of, to be sinful, only the drunkeness. Enjoy your wine/beer/liquor, and I’ll join in with my Pepsi, and we’ll all be happy!

Came back to add, for the curious, I was raised southern Baptist.

 

[Teakafrog]

It’s a very fundamentalist/evangelical idea that all alcohol is evil. I know, I was raised that way. But if you read the bible, it says all over the place how everyone drank wine, including Jesus. They just didn’t get drunk. That is the difference. Jesus’ first miracle was to make wine out of water, and for no other reason than a party (wedding)!

So obviously alcohol itself is not bad, just the way we could choose to use it. It’s the same with everything. Sex is good in marriage, bad if used improperly for fornication or adultery. Food is good, bad if it leads to gluttony. Sleep is good, bad if it leads to sloth.

Yes, I drink. In moderation, I love a good stout beer or a nice glass of wine with dinner. A margarita goes perfectly with Mexican food. But I don’t get drunk. That’s the difference.

And yes, some people NEVER drink alcohol, but the are all evangelical/fundamentalist from my experience. Which is odd, because many many of those same people overeat to the point of gluttony. I think it’s because they deny themselves so very many things that are good in moderation, they can’t deny food completely, so they go to excess in the one area they allow themselves.

 

[nobeerinheaven]

I refuse to drink, even the smallest amount, because I believe that it (alcoholism) is hereditary.

This I consider to be an “overriding health reason,” just to clarify. Although, I suspect some people with histories like yours throw the baby out with the bathwater, it is up to the individual and their capacity for self-control to make decisions about whether to try consuming things they might inevitably abuse. If you really think you’d abuse alcohol, then don’t consume it.

However, I’m skeptical that many people with a history like yours *would *abuse alcohol, especially given the strong disposition against any consumption at all that already exists. I’ve known people like you who didn’t drink for the longest time, coming from situations like yours, who finally realized that the alcohol wasn’t the problem - it was the person who abused it. Many of them now consume in perfect moderation, and enjoy their lives that much more because they realize in just one more way how God has blessed his people on earth.

TC2:

Came back to add, for the curious, I was raised southern Baptist.

So was I

 

[Biblioassistant]

I don’t drink. I have nothing against alcohol at all, but I don’t like the taste. If forced, I will get a screwdriver (lots of orange juice and stingy with vodka), and I will nurse that one drink for the duration. But that last time I did that was 2 years ago.

I hate the taste of every alcoholic beverage I have ever tried. However, I do like liquor in cooking. Tonight I am making bananas foster for my parents and me.

 

[whatevergirl]

I really don’t think the variety matters. The differences in nutrition between the slightly different grape varieties are marginal; usually they just produce different tastes, but have the same nutritional contribution. The major benefit is the alcohol itself, so in theory a high end glass of red wine will have approximately the same health benefit as moonshine or ever-clear (i.e. pure ethyl alcohol). Of course, the former *tastes *much better than the latter.

really? I thought only red wines gave the heart benefits? thank you for your info, professor!

 

[PatienceAndLove]

DH and I enjoy a nice wine with dinner (when finances permit such an extravagance). And we love Chimay (Belgian Trappist Ale).
I was raised on the ability to have a sip of whatever Mom and Dad were having. When I was 14, my family and I were in Germany. My parents got me a large glass of wine and I preceded to consume the entire glass, and got horribly blitzed. During my hangover the next day, my father asked if being hungover was a pleasant experience. When I replied “no” he stated “well, now you won’t drink enough to feel this way again, will you?”. Hehe. It’s stuck with me ever since.

 

[CarrieH]

Another thing about alcohol, for those with family histories of alcoholism and depression, is that regular consumption alters the brain chemistry. It reduces serotonin levels, which are already often lower than normal in those so afflicted, and makes depressive symptoms worse. A google search using the terms alcohol, serotonin, and depression will give you several sources to verify this information. This is my medical reason for avoiding it. I have a strong family history of major depression – my mother has had several psychiatric hospitalizations over the years for this – plus my maternal grandfather was an alcoholic, and there are strong genetic factors in both illnesses. I have depressive tendencies myself, but I find these much worse when I drink. It’s not so much sadness as it is generalized anxiety and dwelling upon thoughts of death, past sins, etc. and having no energy. A drink makes the dark thoughts go away for awhile, but then they return. It could easily become a vicious cycle. But when I stay away from alcohol altogether, I am rarely plagued by these thoughts. People like TC2, with such a family history, are wise to avoid it altogether rather than to experiment, knowing that the likelihood of a bad outcome is much higher than for a person without such a history. I have a much better time in life sticking to soda and keeping my neurotransmitters more stable than I had when I would drink and then ride the brain-chemistry seesaw, even though my companions who are enjoying their adult beverages think I’m missing out.

 

[Just_wondering]

There’s alcoholism in my family, too. My maternal grandmother died from the effects of it, and my father is a recovering alcoholic (who has been mostly sober since before I was born). I’ve found in my own drinking experiences that I can have one or two drinks, but if I get a third drink, I don’t stop until I can’t stand up. My mother tells me that’s how my father is, too.

My friends and family do consume alcohol when we get together, so I’ve been training myself to space alcohol drinks with water, and to drink them very slowly. Then, if the evening is continuing late, I drink the “virgin” version of whatever everyone else is drinking. On days when I know my self-control is going to be weak, I often ask a friend in advance to replace my alcoholic drink with something non-alcoholic. Luckily, a lot of the people I’m spending time with don’t expect women to drink more than a glass or two of wine, so when the bottle gets passed around, they don’t pass it to me unless I specifically ask for it.

 

[drafdog]

What does the bible say about it?
Psalm 104 is very explicit. It thanks God for a number of things, including the grass for the cattle, cultivated plants for food, and “wine to gladden the heart of man.”
Note that it says “to gladden the heart”; it does not say to get blotto. There are a number of places wherethe bible decries drunkeness or addiction to strong drink.
As a parent and some time foster parent I considered it part of my job to drink in moderation in front of my children in order to set an example of the proper attitude toward alcoholic beverages. One of my foster children was surprised that a party we had the night before didn’t disturb her sleep. We had had about 8 or 10 people in that night.

Matthew

 

[Lovemyfaith]

Unless I find out there is some overriding health reasons preventing someone from drinking, I’m generally suspicious of why people wouldn’t enjoy something that the Psalmist calls a blessing from God, i.e. *intrinsically *enjoyable. Hence the comparison to dessert - I’d be suspicious of someone who has a blanket refusal to have an occasional slice of pie, say, because pie (and other desserts) are enjoyable and someone who refuses such simple enjoyments in life is someone whom I’d look at in a generally suspicious way. You seem upset about that?

Well I don’t drink, never have and never will. I wouldn’t spend too much time wondering about people who don’t eat pie either. I’ve known some pretty nice people who don’t eat sugar and I don’t know that it is my job to covince them that they are missing out on something that other people enjoy. Suspicious is a pretty strong word to use for a group of people who you don’t know who simply don’t enjoy the things you do.

There are probably a lot of reasons I don’t drink, the biggest one is I just don’t want to. The one thing I do want to point out is alcohol combined with drugs, even simple sleep aid medications, can be deadly. Impaiment starts with the first drink.

 

[LilyM]

Just Wondering and Phemie pointed out the major reasons. Unless I find out there is some overriding health reasons preventing someone from drinking, I’m generally suspicious of why people wouldn’t enjoy something that the Psalmist calls a blessing from God, i.e. *intrinsically *enjoyable. Hence the comparison to dessert - I’d be suspicious of someone who has a blanket refusal to have an occasional slice of pie, say, because pie (and other desserts) are enjoyable and someone who refuses such simple enjoyments in life is someone whom I’d look at in a generally suspicious way. You seem upset about that?

CarrieH nailed it.

That’s a bit silly - just because a person isn’t into ONE type of enjoyment doesn’t mean they have NO enjoyments or something.

My Dad isn’t a dessert kinda guy, fruit after a meal is more his thing. But he enjoys his wine in moderation, and is nuts about movie Westerns, chess, silly songs, certain comedy shows.

He is very cute the way he looks after his cows (has about 30 or so on his farm), loves my Mum and us kids and the grandkids. There’s nothing wrong with his not liking and rarely to never having desserts.

Besides, how do you know the person who ‘never’ eats dessert doesn’t avoid them because they’re diabetic? It’s hardly suspicious to avoid foods that ruin your health. And how do you know the person who ‘never’ drink doesn’t do so because they’re a recovering alcoholic to whom one drink is dangerous?