When does drinking alcohol become a venial sin?

  • Thread starter Thread starter houston1
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
coda said:
I should expand somewhat on "lose oneself’… this does not mean to lose one’s reason or moral guard. Just to lose one’s immediate self { worries, burdens, to lighten up or have fun}. This is why anyone who drinks does so.
Click to expand...
So, drinking to have fun is a venial sin? Then what should be the motive in drinking? How can drinking not be sinful otherwise? Maybe I misunderstand what you are saying. I do appreciate your post. I gives me pause for thought.

I primarily drink for the enjoyment of taste and for the relaxation effect. I can’t help but find this “fun.” I’m not really doing it for medical reasons (i.e., drinking a glass of wine for good health).
 
houston1 said:
So, drinking to have fun is a venial sin? Then what should be the motive in drinking? How can drinking not be sinful otherwise? Maybe I misunderstand what you are saying. I do appreciate your post. I gives me pause for thought.

I primarily drink for the enjoyment of taste and for the relaxation effect. I can’t help but find this “fun.” I’m not really doing it for medical reasons (i.e., drinking a glass of wine for good health).
Click to expand...
No-- please re-read my first post, which I expanded on with the post you are
citing. Drinking to lose oneself= NO sin etc. Drinking to ‘loosen up’ or for pleasure is NOT a sin. This is why most of us drink…
 
coda said:
No-- please re-read my first post, which I expanded on with the post you are
citing. Drinking to lose oneself= NO sin etc. Drinking to ‘loosen up’ or for pleasure is NOT a sin. This is why most of us drink…
Click to expand...
Oh, I see. I thought you had said drinking to lose oneself=venially sinful. Thanks. This is helpful.
 
coda said:
I should expand somewhat on "lose oneself’… this does not mean to lose one’s reason or moral guard. Just to lose one’s immediate self { worries, burdens, to lighten up or have fun}. This is why anyone who drinks does so.
Click to expand...
I agree. Nothing in this world is better medicine then having a few and having fun.

My husband and I are good for this in the summer outside. we sit by the pool have a few and let the stress roll off our back. Sometimes we laugh so hard you would not believe.

Drinking makes me unwind and laugh. Its a good thing for me. But of course I must keep it under control also.

My Best frind called me up just yesterday and said. I am waiting, no LIVING for the day this summer when it warms up and we can sit at your pool and drink and unwind and laugh all day. And we do!😃 It is priceless. We allow ourself this once in awhile when we are under a huge amount of stress. Then the next day life is not so hard. We call it Therapy. 😃
 
Drinking for the Irish is not a sin.

Ed McMahon
God invented whiskey to keep the Irish from ruling the world.

Irish Quote
When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to Heaven. So, let’s all get drunk and go to heaven.

Irish Proverb
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you fight with your neighbor. It makes you shoot at your landlord and it makes you miss him.

Ricky Gervais
I like a drink as much as the next man unless that man is Mel Gibson

Noel Gallagher
I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my Mum. I know I’ve got Irish blood because I wake up everyday with a hangover.

Unkown
For every wound, a balm.
For every sorrow, cheer.
For every storm, a calm.
For every thirst, a beer.

Alex Levine
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat.

Oscar Wilde
Work is the curse of the drinking class.
 
Houston, I think the difference between drinking without sin, as a venial sin, and as a mortal sin have to do with the results of the drinking.

If you truly just do it to relax, I doubt that it’s sinful.

If it has negative effects on those around you - if you choose to drink (at home) instead of helping the kids with homework, for example - it is sinful.

It gets up into the grave range when you risk lives and souls with drinking - including your own. Driving drunk is grave. Giving your children an idea of fatherhood that includes always having a drink in your hand… getting into fights when you drink, that wouldn’t happen if you hadn’t… spending your paycheck at the bar or the liquor store before paying your bills…

So, you see that it is pretty subjective.

Drinking at all is a sin for the alcoholic (as long as they know that they are alcoholic). It is not a sin for the “normal drinker,” because they have the ability to drink in moderation.

If you are afraid of alcoholism, take this quiz for a clearer idea.

P. S. The best description I’ve ever seen of a drunk alcoholic is Prov. 23:29, 33-35. (I’m a sober alky.)

To put a Jeff Foxworthy slant on it, if you drink for relaxation, and you want to be relaxed all day, you might be an alcoholic!

God bless you,

Ruthie
Tiber Swim Team '06
 
Is it a sin to drink to achieve a buzz and then stop? One can be buzzed, but not lose control of ones mind or body? If you realize you have reached that point and stop, is that a sin? I know if you purposely go past that point to full drunkeness after you realize you are already buzzed, then that would be grave matter.
 
michaeldaniels said:
Is it a sin to drink to achieve a buzz and then stop? One can be buzzed, but not lose control of ones mind or body? If you realize you have reached that point and stop, is that a sin? I know if you purposely go past that point to full drunkeness after you realize you are already buzzed, then that would be grave matter.
Click to expand...
I personally do not think so, because the buzz is just really being relaxed to me. I guess it would have to define what a buzz really is. But to me alcohol is just like any other thing. You cannot use it as a crutch, you cannot abuse it, and you cannot do it as a means of excape.🤷
 
rinnie said:
I personally do not think so, because the buzz is just really being relaxed to me. I guess it would have to define what a buzz really is. But to me alcohol is just like any other thing. You cannot use it as a crutch, you cannot abuse it, and you cannot do it as a means of excape.🤷
Click to expand...
Anyone who drinks does so to escape… --{to something else}.
 
coda said:
Anyone who drinks does so to escape… --{to something else}.
Click to expand...
That is not true. I can speak for myself, Let me give you an example. This weekend for starters comming up. Its VDD. My Husband is going to work 7-mid, for the next 2 days. We got pounded by snow, and more to come. Now on Sun he is taking me out. Weather permitting, for a great dinner, and a couple drinks. We do not want to escape anything.

We want to remember, laugh, celebrate. Celebrate our Love for the last 30 years, celebrate our Memory’s for the last 30 years!

I do not want to escape from anywhere. Especially the moment we are about to live. SO I disagree with you. The only thing I would like to do is push up is time so I won’t have to be without him for the next 2 days. But thats okay. It will make the next few even better.

Drinking, like money, like sex, like gambling, like love, etc does not have to be a sin or a crutch. Its People when they abuse it, make it so. Food can be a sin for goodness sakes and can be abused also and become a obsession and sin. ITs equal balance. You must have balance and stability in your life. Then you can enjoy many things. If you do not have stability and balance you will abuse EVERYTHING.

If you cannot control drinking you must quit. For some People drinking turns them into a monster, etc and they cannot and should not drink. But not all. So it is not right to judge one by anothers actions.🤷
 
rinnie said:
That is not true. I can speak for myself, Let me give you an example. This weekend for starters comming up. Its VDD. My Husband is going to work 7-mid, for the next 2 days. We got pounded by snow, and more to come. Now on Sun he is taking me out. Weather permitting, for a great dinner, and a couple drinks. We do not want to escape anything.

We want to remember, laugh, celebrate. Celebrate our Love for the last 30 years, celebrate our Memory’s for the last 30 years!

I do not want to escape from anywhere. Especially the moment we are about to live. SO I disagree with you. The only thing I would like to do is push up is time so I won’t have to be without him for the next 2 days. But thats okay. It will make the next few even better.

Drinking, like money, like sex, like gambling, like love, etc does not have to be a sin or a crutch. Its People when they abuse it, make it so. Food can be a sin for goodness sakes and can be abused also and become a obsession and sin. ITs equal balance. You must have balance and stability in your life. Then you can enjoy many things. If you do not have stability and balance you will abuse EVERYTHING.

If you cannot control drinking you must quit. For some People drinking turns them into a monster, etc and they cannot and should not drink. But not all. So it is not right to judge one by anothers actions.🤷
Click to expand...
This thread , like most others, got way off base. I am a social drinker as well, and yes, whenever I drink{ anything} I am " escaping" my ‘normalcy" so to speak. So too for anyone who chooses to drink. It is the expected result of alcohol in our bodies to alter our perceptions— it is why humans drink. This does not mean drunk{ although it can}, it means that for all people alcohol in any amount results in an "escape’ from normal perception = buzzed.We ALL drink to “escape”, or we wouldn’t drink at all. I’m not judging anyone… Maybe alcohol has no effect on you, and you just like the taste of it. Who knows! Sorry these threads get so convoluted.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top