Woah…ok. First of all the Guinness here gets skunked on the boat ride.
I like Guinness, especially when I can get Stout on tap. It’s so much better on tap than in bottles. The Toucan Brew was my favorite; unfortunately it was a limited-edition brew.
In all seriousness, you haven’t answered my question. You can drive a car here with a BAC of .07… BAC does not necessarily translate to “impaired reason”.
With a BAC of point 07 the cops will give you a ride to their house and make someone else pick you up. They just won’t arrest you. If you weren’t impaired at point 07 they’d let you drive yourself home. (Yes, I have needed to pick someone up for this reason. The drinker who I had to drive home had a lengthy history of alcohol abuse and a high physical tolerance for alcohol, but he was still impaired at point 07.)
My question again is: Since the church teaches that moderate drinking isn’t sinful, how do they define “intoxication”; at what point does it become mortal sin? What is “moderate drinking”?
OK, let’s examine what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:
1736-1737 Every act directly willed is imputable to its author… An action can be indirectly voluntary when it results from negligence regarding something one should have known or done: for example, an accident arising from ignorance of traffic laws… A bad effect is not imputable if it was not willed either as an end or as a means of an action, e.g., a death a person incurs in aiding someone in danger.
For a bad effect to be imputable it must be foreseeable and the agent must have the possibility of avoiding it, as in the case of manslaughter caused by a drunken driver.
A drunken driver IS responsible for the effects of his behvaior.
1852 There are a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. the Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: “
Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy,
drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that
those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.”
Drunkenness IS a mortal sin.
1853
Sins can be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or
according to the virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they concern God, neighbor, or oneself; they can be divided into spiritual and carnal sins, or again as
sins in thought, word, deed, or omission.
Omission, deed, neglect and excess are all sins. Someone who habitually drinks abundant quantities of alcohol and insists he is just fine anyway is guilty of all of these.
And finally:
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.
If you’re too drunk to drive, you have crossed the line from moderate to excess. 'Nuff said?
The question has yet to be answered. Mortal sin cannot occur when you begin drinking, it must begin at some point after the first drink is consumed. Granted, one may not be able to assess their level of intoxication once they begin drinking, but someone who is not drinking may be able to…or can they?
That’s rationalizing, and incorrect. Go back to CCC Paragraph 1737 above. “It must be foreseeable and the agent must have the possibility of avoiding it.” Since the first thing that gets numbed is your judgment about how drunk you really are, the possibility of avoiding drunkenness occurs BEFORE you take the first drink.
And yes, a sober person can easily see how drunk you are. Persuading you is another matter.
