On the morality of being drunk

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Some people believe that being drunk is a sin, even a mortal sin. Some say that drinking in of itself is a sin. Needless to say, most of these people don’t drink. This is a thread for people who drink alcohol. “Water-drinkers” need not apply!

And this is about being drunk, not just having a beer after work or with your dinner.

Of course excessive drinking is a crime against temperance, one of the cardinal virtues. Drinking so much you fall over and throw up all over the floor is certainly imprudent- makes you look like an irresponsible idiot, and lowers people’s impression of you and could cause a scandal which is a sin.

The question might also have something to do with setting. Drinking 5 beers after work and getting buzzed while watching the Simpsons just seems, well, unseemly, a slovenly, gross thing to do. However, drinking 5 beers and getting buzzed with some good friends on a friday evening, or at a wedding reception or some other kind of occasion doesn’t make me feel repulsed at all, in fact, it seems like a good time.

So when is drunkenness a sin and when is it not? What are your thoughts? This is what I think:

Being drunk, or the effect of having booze floating around in your brain is neither moral nor immoral, it has to do with external factors.

Firstly, motivation: Why are you drinking? Are you drinking to escape from reality, or are you doing it to bond with other people?

Secondly, occasion: Drinking (to the point of getting drunk) should be an occasional thing. It should not be an ‘every weekend’ kind of thing where that is all you do when you are out with your friends. Drinking nights should be balanced out with going to the movies, bowling, fishing, whatever.

Thirdly, moderation: Moderation applies even when you’re buzzing- you should never drink enough so you do things or say things that you would never do sober. There is a big difference between 3-5 pints (buzzed) and 8 pints (fall down drunk). You should not turn into another person. If you need booze to ‘be yourself’, and to be pleasant, then you have a serious problem.

Motivation, occasion, moderation… When you’re drinking for the wrong motivation, then you might sin against hope, and drink out of despair for life. When you’re drinking one, twice a week, then you’re sinning against your health and the 5th commandment. When you’re not moderating your drinking, then you might fall prey to all kinds of sins, chastity, kindness, envy, greed, you name it. Alcohol can be a gateway to sin but not a sin in itself.
 
IMHO drinking, and/or getting “buzzed”/“happy” is not a sin unless
  1. It causes you to engage in other sinful acts (DWI, fighting, sexual sins) that you wouldn’t if sober.
or
  1. You drink to the point it endangers your health (by getting buzzed every night etc.)
God Bless
 
I’m a Scot 😃 what can I say:)

OK seriously, I know I over do it sometimes & need to curb things a bit. :o
 
Well we all know God invented alcohol to keep the celtic peoples from taking over the world. 🙂
 
My wife and I enjoy a couple of cocktails every night after a long day’s work, which I obviously think is acceptable. Niether of us get “drunk”.
On occasionall we’ll have a few drinks with friends, and everyone has a nice respectable time. Which I would also think as being acceptable.
I’m sure it would be wrong, however, (and I’ve been guilty of it), if I were to allow myself to get to the point where perhaps even my sense of humor might offend someone.
I think we should know our limitations,…deep down inside we all understand, if we’re honest with ourselves, what the difference is between getting “drunk” and simply enjoying ourselves.

I’m pretty sure all the times I got “drunk”, were sins and needed to be discussed in the confessional, however I’ve never confessed my enjoyment of a couple of cocktails or several glasses of wine with a nice meal.

I hope I’m not wrong.😊
 
This poll was defective as the only answer that fit was “I can outdrink a dinosaur.”

Drinking is a GOOD. It is an important way of celebrating the good gifts that God has provided us. We should celebrate feastdays, solemnities, weddings, baptisms, etc by getting together with friends and family and drinking, socializing and laughing.

The Wedding feast at Cana was not people having one or two glasses of wine. It was people drinking and dancing to celebrate the occasion.
 
There is a missing choice. “Being drunk is a sin.” To say you can “feel it” is not enough. That is not the point where sin is being committed. The point comes when you can feel and continue to consume alcohol.
 
I’d go for the missing choice - being ‘buzzed’ is not a sin in itself, being very drunk is. Needing to get buzzed too often is problematic b/c you get too attached to something which is not God - but it’s no worse than HAVING to treat yourself to a special coffee or chocolate every day.

I truly can outdrink men twice my size (I’m a woman), but I (try to 😃 ) limit myself to 2 (sometimes 3 😃 ) pints of beer.

I’m a Serb, and, well, we have a few common traits with Celts (guess what they are?)
 
rpp said:
There is a missing choice. “Being drunk is a sin.” To say you can “feel it” is not enough. That is not the point where sin is being committed. The point comes when you can feel and continue to consume alcohol.
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You should of picked #2, because that’s the closest answer. If I created a poll to match everyone’s semantic idiosyncracies then the poll would be several pages long.

Basically #2 is the option for people who believe that being in an altered state in of itself is a sin.
 
Being drunk is when one reaches the stage where they don’t give a rip and will do almost anything they wouldn’t do when sober. A little buzz is hardly being drunk. When your kids say the next day as you are doing alka seltzer and holding your head," Dad is drunk sick"; then you know that you have absolutely gotten sinfully drunk.

I personally, because of my health and naturally jovial personality, seldom take a drink anymore. I have been accused of being drunk at parties where I have had no alcohol whatsoever.

One or two drinks max per day hardly makes one an alcoholic, but it is a habit to watch because obviously that drink has become necessary enough, to set up a dependency. Of course that would not be a sin unless you are using the kid’s milk money to buy booze.
 
rwoehmke said:
Being drunk is when one reaches the stage where they don’t give a rip and will do almost anything they wouldn’t do when sober. A little buzz is hardly being drunk. When your kids say the next day as you are doing alka seltzer and holding your head," Dad is drunk sick"; then you know that you have absolutely gotten sinfully drunk.

I personally, because of my health and naturally jovial personality, seldom take a drink anymore. I have been accused of being drunk at parties where I have had no alcohol whatsoever.

One or two drinks max per day hardly makes one an alcoholic, but it is a habit to watch because obviously that drink has become necessary enough, to set up a dependency. Of course that would not be a sin unless you are using the kid’s milk money to buy booze.
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Umm, no. As Christians we are to wean ourselves of all attachment to material goods - incuding food and drink.

To determine whether you’re overly attached to alcohol - spend one day (if you’re a daily drinker) or one social event (if you drink socially) entirely alcohol-free. If you genuinely miss that drink or two then you’re overly attached.

And one or two drinks per day is more than enough to damage your health, if it truly is daily. It’s three or four drinks per week which is the ideal balance for health.
 
LilyM said:
Umm, no. As Christians we are to wean ourselves of all attachment to material goods - incuding food and drink.

To determine whether you’re overly attached to alcohol - spend one day (if you’re a daily drinker) or one social event (if you drink socially) entirely alcohol-free. If you genuinely miss that drink or two then you’re overly attached.

And one or two drinks per day is more than enough to damage your health, if it truly is daily. It’s three or four drinks per week which is the ideal balance for health.
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Yes, we are to wean ourselves of attachment to material goods. Keep in mind we are talking about material “goods” they are things that are good for us! Food and alcohol are good, but in moderation. The consensus among physicians is that 1 or 2 drinks per day is beneficial for a man and 1per day for a woman. But, that is a generalization and can vary among individuals.

Your statement that “if you genuinely miss it, you’re overly attached,” is flawed. If you were to go without food for a day, you would miss it, but that wouldn’t necessarily mean you are overly attached to food.

Feeling like you “need” a drink after a hard week at work doesn’t necessarily mean you have a problem, it could just mean you had a hard week and God wants you to have a drink and relax.
 
As was already said, I believe that it is getting drunk that is sinful. Social drinking is fine. Jesus drank. If you drink and start feeling that it’s affecting you then you should stop.

What’s however the worst is drinking to get drunk (something that doesn’t stop to amaze me about the British culture). I would say that this becomes a mortal sin.
 
drinking can be ok provided you do not drink too much. It is true to say that it is sinful when it affects your health but it is also true when it affects those around you too. I have just found out that my husband has been spending a phenominal amount of money on alcohol. I never realised he had a problem but he has lied to hide it and has put us into further debt. I’d condider that a sin. What’s more, it has put him in a condition where he has commited further sins - dishonesty, behaving inappropriately, neglecting his parental duties etc. I have lost my trust of him and he is going to have to do a lot to earn back my trust. Thing is - he doesn’t think he has done wrong.😦
 
mschrank said:
Some people believe that being drunk is a sin, even a mortal sin.
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If it could be prudently foreseen that one would wind up drunk, it is indeed a mortal sin.​

Some say that drinking in of itself is a sin. Needless to say, most of these people don’t drink. This is a thread for people who drink alcohol. “Water-drinkers” need not apply!
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“I started, so I’ll finish”.​

Priests don’t marry - yet they act as marriage counsellors. One does not need to do evil, in order to know it to be evil, & to know why: otherwise, only murderers would be properly equipped to try murderers.
And this is about being drunk, not just having a beer after work or with your dinner.

Of course excessive drinking is a crime against temperance, one of the cardinal virtues. Drinking so much you fall over and throw up all over the floor is certainly imprudent- makes you look like an irresponsible idiot, and lowers people’s impression of you and could cause a scandal which is a sin.
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And potentially a mortal sin.​

One drink can cause drunkenness - someone else may be the kind of person who can drink 14 pints without being the worse of wear. Solution: know your limits.
The question might also have something to do with setting. Drinking 5 beers after work and getting buzzed while watching the Simpsons just seems, well, unseemly, a slovenly, gross thing to do. However, drinking 5 beers and getting buzzed with some good friends on a friday evening, or at a wedding reception or some other kind of occasion doesn’t make me feel repulsed at all, in fact, it seems like a good time.

So when is drunkenness a sin and when is it not? What are your thoughts? This is what I think:

Being drunk, or the effect of having booze floating around in your brain is neither moral nor immoral, it has to do with external factors.

Firstly, motivation: Why are you drinking? Are you drinking to escape from reality, or are you doing it to bond with other people?

Secondly, occasion: Drinking (to the point of getting drunk) should be an occasional thing. It should not be an ‘every weekend’ kind of thing where that is all you do when you are out with your friends. Drinking nights should be balanced out with going to the movies, bowling, fishing, whatever.

Thirdly, moderation: Moderation applies even when you’re buzzing- you should never drink enough so you do things or say things that you would never do sober. There is a big difference between 3-5 pints (buzzed) and 8 pints (fall down drunk). You should not turn into another person. If you need booze to ‘be yourself’, and to be pleasant, then you have a serious problem.

Motivation, occasion, moderation… When you’re drinking for the wrong motivation, then you might sin against hope, and drink out of despair for life. When you’re drinking one, twice a week, then you’re sinning against your health and the 5th commandment. When you’re not moderating your drinking, then you might fall prey to all kinds of sins, chastity, kindness, envy, greed, you name it. Alcohol can be a gateway to sin but not a sin in itself.
Click to expand...

In itself, alcohol is a good thing - what makes it bad, is the misuse of it.​

 
I don’t fully agree with any of the answers. In my humble opinion:

Drinking alcohol is not a sin unless the person is an alcoholic for whom one drink will set off. There may be other circumstances, but in general, there’s no problem with alcohol in moderation, i.e. “responsible drinking.” (Don’t drive afterward, though - at least for a while!)

Getting drunk deliberately is a sin. In addition, if that happens, the drunk person is also morally responsible for all of his actions while drunk.
 
I think Saints Peter and Paul give a pretty grim outlook about drunkenness that gives one pause.

I Peter 4:1-4

Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God, For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominations. In all this, they are suprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

Ephesians 5:15-19

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but by filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

Galatians 5:16-24

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets itself against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

I don’t know about y’all, but the one time I was drunk, the last thing I was feeling was the fruit of the Spririt of self-control. And I definitely felt convicted that I had sinned against Jesus Christ Himself, even though I got drunk unintentionally! I was still responsible for my lack of caution. (For the rest of you as foolish as me out there, never underestimate the striking impact an empty stomach has on your alcohol tolerance!) Fortunately, God used my getting drunk to do a lot of good things for me, most importantly, in humbling me, making me less judgmental, and more compassionate. I had been chatting with some classmates over beer #1 that night, and they were recounting their stories of when they had been the most intoxicated. I remember thinking in kind of a motherly, obnoxious way, “These poor kids, they really need to get a grip on their lives. Some people just don’t know when to say when.” Little did I think then that a few hours later I would be plastered to my couch, barely able to move, and puking my guts up all over my living room floor. In fact, I still have this nice bleach stain on my couch, where I unthinkingly tried to clean puke off my couch with kitchen cleaner, not realizing it had bleach in it. Not pretty! It’s a nice frequent reminder. I have drawn a nice little slogan from that incident, with which I frequently remind myself of, which is, “You’re never too old to be stupid!” It’s very true. I was 24 the first time I got drunk. How ridiculous is that? Most people are like 16. It just goes to show that you should never think you’ve got it together, or beware!

cont’d in next post
 
I think God was very merciful to me in all this, in that I wasn’t put in any compromising situations or didn’t endanger anyone by driving drunk or embarrass myself in public, but I think getting drunk was definitely not honoring to Jesus. I really felt the force of this when I was attending a wedding a few weeks later. At the reception I was seated at a table with a friend of mine, another coworker friend, her husband and twelve-year-old daughter. My friend had recently become a Christian, and when the champagne was poured, she asked if I would drink hers (with which I was happy to oblige, being partial to champagne). She didn’t think drinking was wrong, but she associated drinking with too many negative aspects of her past life. I really respected her decision. I told her that she might be on to something, and related my getting drunk incident, forgetting about my other friend’s daughter within earshot. When it later hit me that my friend’s daughter might have overheard, I felt really terrible. The reason, was, that as an adult with a certain maternal affection for this kid, wanting her to make good decisions in her teenage years, etc., I realized that I had set a poor example for her. I had never thought of myself as someone who was a bad example for children. (Disclaimer: I am not advocating hiding our mistakes from children, but they need to be clearly put in the context of mistakes.) It was very convicting. Maybe that’s a good test. Would you feel comfortable with a son or daughter, niece or nephew, seeing you drunk? Would you be comfortable if they decided to imitate you later on?

Folks, I think the problem with excessive drinking is, that aside from what it does to us, there are few instances I can think of where it doesn’t affect other people. Maybe your friends feel pressured to keep up with you, and overstretch their limits, putting them in a compromising situation. While you may not have a problem with alcoholism, maybe some of your drinking buddies do. Maybe there’s some kid in your life, who respects you and will follow your example in drinking, but who does not have the wisdom to ascertain if they’re in a safe situation to drink. Maybe a friend drinking with you will feel embarrassed to call a cab, if no one else needs one, and take the risk of driving drunk. Drunkenness has ruined a lot of peoples’ lives. Both my sisters and I all have friends who have been raped when they were drunk (and they though they were with people they could trust). People get killed in accidents. Alchoholism ruins families. Maybe some of us get away with getting drunk now and again without suffering any serious consequences, but who’s to say that the people we influence will be so fortunate?

I’m not trying to be some gloom and doom, stick-in-the-mud, naysayer here. In fact I rarely miss a Friday Happy Hour with my friends. But now, I always try to limit myself to two drinks (better one if I’m driving) and make sure I’ve had something to eat beforehand. I really don’t feel like that has been some huge sacrifice. Are three or four drinks going to make you that much happier than two? I think sometimes maybe we look at issues the wrong way when we ask what is permissable. Perhaps the better question is “What behavior is best?”

In conclusion to this lengthy diatribe, I agree with those who say there should have been a choice between saying it’s wrong to have more than one beer, and that getting drunk is fine. I think between those two choices is exactly where the happy medium lies for many people!
 
CCC 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.
 
Getting drunk is stupid, but not sinful in itself. It just makes it much easier to sin by silencing your logic, inhibitions, etc.

Just a note to all you guys out there, you’re not suave/attractive/smart/cool when you’re drunk. You may think you are, but the girls you approach probably don’t think you are. They’re laughing at you, not with you. :tiphat:

❤️
 
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