Is drinking a mortal sin?

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reed987 said:
I haven’t had a chance to read all the replies yet but I got a problem with what I’ve read so far.

So drinking alone constitutes mortal sin??? hogwash! I highly highly doubt I’m gonna spend an eternity in hell just because I like to have a drink or two in private while listening to my stereo and thinking about life.

Drinking until speech is slurred constitutes mortal sin???

Sorry guys Im really really trying not to be rude right now but I DONT believe this teaching at all. Drinking doesnt’ bother my conscience, that’s why I was so surprised that some catholic ppl list it as a mortal sin.

So let me get this straight, some guy who has a couple beers on a friday night is doomed the same fate as adolf hitler, rapists and murderers???
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Not all mortal sins are of equal level for one thing. As for this issue, Aquinas says knowingly drinking to where you lose control of your faculties is mortally sinful. Drinking to get drunk is childish. One should drink to enjoy the drink for itself. Just my opinion.
 
reed987 said:
I haven’t had a chance to read all the replies yet but I got a problem with what I’ve read so far.

So drinking alone constitutes mortal sin??? hogwash! I highly highly doubt I’m gonna spend an eternity in hell just because I like to have a drink or two in private while listening to my stereo and thinking about life.

Drinking until speech is slurred constitutes mortal sin???

Sorry guys Im really really trying not to be rude right now but I DONT believe this teaching at all. Drinking doesnt’ bother my conscience, that’s why I was so surprised that some catholic ppl list it as a mortal sin.

So let me get this straight, some guy who has a couple beers on a friday night is doomed the same fate as adolf hitler, rapists and murderers???
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Reed, I am with you. And with C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton and St. Brigid of Ireland.
 
for crying out loud guys what are we- puritans in 16th century new england??

I do believe that being **** faced is pretty seriously messed up but i think its just plain ridiculous to say that drinking a little bit past a good buzz is even venial sin.
 
ah and no response.

let the dead bury their dead: puritanism dide out long long ago and NOBODY has missed it
 
The way I learned it was that drinking is not a sin, but being drunk is a mortal sin. The catechism says not to drink in excess or in a way that you would endanger your life or others’ lives.
 
Therefore do not be foolilsh, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,
Ephesians 5:17-18
 
Drinking in itself is not a sin. Drinking to get drunk is a sin because when you are drunk you lose the gift of reason which is one of the things that seperates us from lower animals, the other is the human soul. Also drinking that much to get you drunk is damaging the body that God has given you.

Three things need to happen before an action is mortal sin: of grave matter, full knowledge of what you are doing is wrong, and full consent to do the action.
 
Look people you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Mankind is great at picking and choosing which sins are “sins”, so long as they don’t interfere with their way of living. Part of bearing our cross is doing things which honor God rather than satisfying the desires of the flesh.

As was stated previously, in order for a sin to be mortal it must satisfy three criteria:
  1. Grave Matter
  2. Knowledge
  3. Intent
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral(fornicators), nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Ok, now that YOU know that getting drunk is a grave sin you have Knowledge.

In the future if you choose (intent) to get drunk you have committed a mortal sin.

Now go and do your best to live like Christ but remember we are not perfect that is why there is confession.

God Bless,

Lux Caelum
 
Lux_Caelum said:
Look people you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Mankind is great at picking and choosing which sins are “sins”, so long as they don’t interfere with their way of living. Part of bearing our cross is doing things which honor God rather than satisfying the desires of the flesh.

As was stated previously, in order for a sin to be mortal it must satisfy three criteria:
  1. Grave Matter
  2. Knowledge
  3. Intent
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral(fornicators), nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Ok, now that YOU know that getting drunk is a grave sin you have Knowledge.

In the future if you choose (intent) to get drunk you have committed a mortal sin.

Now go and do your best to live like Christ but remember we are not perfect that is why there is confession.

God Bless,

Lux Caelum
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Getting drunk is different from drinking. Being a drunkard is different from a social drinker.
 
Sailor_Kenshin said:
Getting drunk is different from drinking. Being a drunkard is different from a social drinker.
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Correct, and that is what my post said. Drinking casually (not getting drunk) would not be a sin unless one was an alcoholic or someone unable to control themself after one or two drinks.

I’m no saint. I battled the alcohol demon for a number of years not to mention a few others I didn’t “want” to give up for God.

God Bless
 
Lux_Caelum said:
Correct, and that is what my post said. Drinking casually (not getting drunk) would not be a sin unless one was an alcoholic or someone unable to control themself after one or two drinks.

I’m no saint. I battled the alcohol demon for a number of years not to mention a few others I didn’t “want” to give up for God.

God Bless
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Fr. John Hardin’s catholic dictionary provides a great definition of 'drunk"…In cases where excess has been consumed, it depends on the person’s disposition. If they drank to excess thinking it would cause loss of senses{right and wrong} , it is gravely sinful. If, however, they drank to excess thinking it would not cause loss of senses{ even if it did}, it would be venially sinful. Drinking to any lesser degree is not sinful at all.
 
coda said:
Fr. John Hardin’s catholic dictionary provides a great definition of 'drunk"…In cases where excess has been consumed, it depends on the person’s disposition. If they drank to excess thinking it would cause loss of senses{right and wrong} , it is gravely sinful. If, however, they drank to excess thinking it would not cause loss of senses{ even if it did}, it would be venially sinful. Drinking to any lesser degree is not sinful at all.
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I can understand that. So in the case of someone drinking in excess thinking it would not cause loss of senses that would be a valid excuse only the first time. One could not continually claim they did not know they would get drunk once they realized how much alcohol it would take to reach that level.
 
Unless there is some other factor in play (someone else is providing the beverages and the actual alcohol content is unknown), a person who is having a drink should be able to stop well before becoming drunk. Awareness that one is starting to get tipsy is a definite sign to stop, and I would think that deliberately choosing to continue past that point is sinful. Mortally sinful? Well, it’s going to depend on the 3 factors, but the seriousness (of drunkenness) is already present. Drinking, in and of itself, is not the sin, however.

Consumption of a beer or a glass of wine (or even 1 after-dinner brandy/sherry/scotch/mixed drink), especially in conjunction with certain meals (some call for beer, like brauts and kraut, burgers, and other such ‘casual food’, some call for wine, like that nice surf ‘n’ turf dinner) should not result in intoxication, and therefore would not be sinful. If, however, one knows that one is incapable of stopping with 1-2 such drinks, then the responsibility is to stop before starting.
 
Melissa said:
Unless there is some other factor in play (someone else is providing the beverages and the actual alcohol content is unknown), a person who is having a drink should be able to stop well before becoming drunk. Awareness that one is starting to get tipsy is a definite sign to stop, and I would think that deliberately choosing to continue past that point is sinful. Mortally sinful? Well, it’s going to depend on the 3 factors, but the seriousness (of drunkenness) is already present. Drinking, in and of itself, is not the sin, however.

Consumption of a beer or a glass of wine (or even 1 after-dinner brandy/sherry/scotch/mixed drink), especially in conjunction with certain meals (some call for beer, like brauts and kraut, burgers, and other such ‘casual food’, some call for wine, like that nice surf ‘n’ turf dinner) should not result in intoxication, and therefore would not be sinful. If, however, one knows that one is incapable of stopping with 1-2 such drinks, then the responsibility is to stop before starting.
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I think one could be “drunk”{venially} LONG before “drunk” and losing one’s senses{mortally}. In fact, I’m positive of it… If you still know right from wrong—you aren’t "drunk"yet.
 
coda said:
I think one could be “drunk”{venially} LONG before “drunk” and losing one’s senses{mortally}. In fact, I’m positive of it… If you still know right from wrong—you aren’t "drunk"yet.
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I can still know right from wrong AND realize I should not get behind the wheel of a car.
 
Sailor_Kenshin said:
I can still know right from wrong AND realize I should not get behind the wheel of a car.
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Wouldn’t one imply the other?? Its the driving part that IS the sin, not the drinking part… No one should ever drink anything and get behind the wheel…
 
coda said:
I think one could be “drunk”{venially} LONG before “drunk” and losing one’s senses{mortally}. In fact, I’m positive of it… If you still know right from wrong—you aren’t "drunk"yet.
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Incorrect.

“Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.” - 1Corinth ch. 6

Please define what you mean by right from wrong. Do you mean they don’t know it is wrong to get drunk? In that case, Yes they have not committed a mortal sin because they were not aware of the grave nature of this action.

If you mean that it is OK to get drunk to the point where it effects your physical and mental capacity but you still know that it is wrong to drive a car. That is still a mortal sin.
 
Lux_Caelum said:
Incorrect.

“Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.” - 1Corinth ch. 6

Please define what you mean by right from wrong. Do you mean they don’t know it is wrong to get drunk? In that case, Yes they have not committed a mortal sin because they were not aware of the grave nature of this action.

If you mean that it is OK to get drunk to the point where it effects your physical and mental capacity but you still know that it is wrong to drive a car. That is still a mortal sin.
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INCORRECT

Drinking ANYTHING impairs our ability to drive LONG before it impairs us to the point where the church would deem us in a grave position. This is why the church allows a grey area when it comes to drinking, but not for endangering the lives of ouselves or others…check out the catechism. However, If you are looking for a guide to the number of allowable drinks one can have, its not there…A number of priests have explained to me DRINKING= NO SIN/ DRINKING TOO MUCH= VENIAL SIN / DRINKING TO WHERE HARM [PHYSICAL/EMOTIONAL ETC.] COMES TO ANYONE= MORTAL SIN

Im aware of what scripure says, however , drinking does not always equal “drunkard”…
 
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