Why Christians shouldn't drink alcohol (even if it's in moderation, it's a sin!)

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abinjoy said:
But dont be so judgemental Juliane Sir or make assumptions …God has not appointed you as the judge on this matter.When I use the term I think I mean “I understand” only.I never claim that my understanding is perfect or absolutely right
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nor you
 
abinjoy;10769388**:
I doubt if there was poverty at the time of Jesus.Did any one starve to death?
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.But if we ignore the poor and needy I really doubt whether we are followers of Christ(myself included).Why did pope ask people of Argentina not to come to his inauguration mass and instead donate the travel expenses that wud have incurred to poor people?Flying to Rome from Argentina per se is not a sin but its a nobler act to watch it in TV and donate the air fare to poor.We are called to perfection as the father in heaven is.So If one really really really want to be a true follower of Christ I think we shud avoid many of our indulgences one of them is alcoho**l **or at least reduce them

You are kidding right? There was more poverty then than there is now!
 
I really wonder if this is a catholic forum .Personal allegations,blame,personal attacks,tit for tat…pointless arguments(including myself)
epic lol.I really don’t think this thread has served its purpose. or doubt if the spirit of Christ is there in any one of us

Would request moderators to close this thread
 
abinjoy said:
This might sound very hypocritical.But I certainly feel our small indulgences can mean a lot to thousands across the world
I too live in Australia currently(originally an Indian).A chocolate may cost me only 3-4$.But if I donate that 3$ back home the money after conversion is sufficinet enough for 3 absolutely poor people to have 3 good meals on day.In that sense If I indulge in a chocolate for **solely sensual gratification **I think it is a sin(however small it may be as I am neglecting a needy person)and not that I am paranoid about drinking juice being a sin as it tastes better than water
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Sensual gratification is not a sin. It is wrong to over indulge in it. But it isn’t wrong to do things simply because they feel good. We’re supposed to enjoy life. I read for sensual gratification, is that a sin too?
 
abinjoy said:
But dont be so judgemental Juliane Sir or make assumptions …God has not appointed you as the judge on this matter.When I use the term I think I mean “I understand” only.I never claim that my understanding is perfect or absolutely right
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You are judging everyone else as being sinful for drinking alcohol, yet telling ME not to judge!

:rolleyes:

Don’t preach about things that are only personal preference. We’re not Puritans. I think some rather scrupulous Catholics would rather that we all followed their particular “understanding” than live with more free will than they are comfortable with.
 
Gricken said:
Sensual gratification is not a sin. It is wrong to over indulge in it. But it isn’t wrong to do things simply because they feel good. We’re supposed to enjoy life.** I read for sensual gratification, is that a sin too?**
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Of course it is. You should give it up and donate the money you spend on books to helping the poor.

[/sarcasm]

We’re not all called to monasticism.

This thread has become farcical.
 
abinjoy said:
But dont be so judgemental Juliane Sir or make assumptions …God has not appointed you as the judge on this matter.When I use the term I think I mean “I understand” only.I never claim that my understanding is perfect or absolutely right
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Hello pot, meet kettle.

I think its great if you feel called to give up alcohol and if it draws you closer to God. I applaud anyone that takes on a sacrifice if its drawing them closer to God. But you can’t speak for everyone, only yourself and what you feel you need to do. That’s the point everyone is trying to stress and you keep ignoring their comments.
 
Jesus turned water into wine, and even drank some himself.

And one can drink alcohol without altering one’s state of mind. It’s a sugar that the body naturally breaks down.

Sheesh.
 
Sky_River said:
Here’s why. Alcohol is a mind altering drug. Even just somebody having one drink to “relax, but not to get drunk”, is still having their inhibitions lowered, as well as their thought processes slowing down, which violates the Bible’s commands to stay sober. Sometimes, even when they’re not drunk, alcohol may influence some people to say things that they wouldn’t normally say. Yes, they can still think clearly and they still can keep their basic judgement if they drink in moderation, it’s nowhere near as bad as a drunk person who’s judgement and soberness is totally impaired, but it’s still not right! Their soberness is still being impaired to some extent.

Christians that defend drinking alcoholic beverages in moderation are condoning the usage of mind altering drugs.

Even if drinking in and of itself isn’t a sin, in a culture that’s so harmed by the abuse of alcohol, why not decide to not drink, in an effort to influence everybody else not to drink, which might stop some people from using alcohol irresponsibly and dangerously.

Sure, having a glass of beer or wine is not on the same level as sin or wickedness as getting drunk is, but it’s still not right at all, in my opinion.

It’s definitely immoral for somebody to smoke pot, don’t you agree with me? Yes it is, because “drugs are bad” and us Christians shouldn’t be drug users. Yet you think nothing is morally wrong with using a mind-altering drug in the form of alcohol? A casual booze drinker is no better than a casual pot smoker, except they aren’t breaking the law. They are after the same psychoactive effect, that “buzz” one gets from a mind-altering drug. And that’s not good.

A marijuana smoker has their inhibitions lowered, which contradicts the Bible’s commands at soberness, however, a person that has a glass of wine is doing that same exact thing. What’s the difference? There is none. Both are using mind altering drugs for a “buzz”, which lowers their inhibitions, which the Bible condemns. By defending the moderate consumption of alcohol, Christians are acting no better than a pot smoker defending the moderate usage of marijuana, by stating “yes, getting drunk is immoral, but I don’t drink to get drunk, i drink to relax”, which is the same exact thing as a pot smoker saying, “i just get buzzed, i don’t get stoned”.

Most people that condone alcohol in moderation would never smoke marijuana (and rightfully so, using drugs is very immoral!). That’s because “drugs are bad” and they aren’t drug users. Yet they thought nothing of using some other mind-altering drug in the form of alcohol! Such hypocrites!

Yes I know that drinking small amounts of alcohol don’t lead to drunkenness and intoxication (which the Bible clearly condemns). But it still doesn’t make it right!

Just like a casual pot smoker, someone taking a few tokes isn’t going to be stoned and intoxicated (which is intoxication-the equivalent to being drunk). But it still doesn’t make it right to smoke pot, which is a drug! Also, alcohol is a DRUG! Remember that!

Yes I know that someone who has a glass of beer or wine isn’t really drunk or intoxicated! Technically, yes. But that still doesn’t make it right!

Just like someone having one puff of a joint isn’t stoned or intoxicated. But that still doesn’t make that right either. Is that moral and OK to do? No, of course not! So why should doing that very same thing with another mind altering drug (aka alcohol), be condoned? That’s very hypocritical and inconsistent if you ask me, to condone the moderate consumption of alcohol. We shouldn’t have double standards as Christians. Sin is sin.

Shouldn’t us as Christians realize that we should simply just stop defending and justifying this mind altering drug called alcohol, simply because of our cultural bias and because of it’s popularity and social acceptance? We wouldn’t do that very same thing with other mind altering drugs, so what makes alcohol any different?

Also, yayin and oinos can also mean regular grape juice also. Those words don’t really prove that drinking alcohol is condoned in the Bible. In fact, proverbs 31 4 even states that kings and princes are not supposed to drink wine, as well as strong drinks.

My conclusion to all of this is basically this. It’s sinful and unwise for Christians to drink alcohol.
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I think you make an excellent case. But you have put yourself in a difficult position by concluding something a bit above your case. The correct conclusion that we can arrive from your case is that Alcohol consumption should be avoided if possible.

In other words, it is not something we should be drooling after to drink in “moderation”. It should be something we avoid in general but drink in special occasions in moderation.
 
Sky_River said:
My conclusion to all of this is basically this. It’s sinful and unwise for Christians to drink alcohol.
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the Magisterium doesn’t agree with you,and i would think its above your pay grade to determine what is and is not a sin for everyone else:shrug:
 
Eufrosnia said:
I think you make an excellent case. But you have put yourself in a difficult position by concluding something a bit above your case. The correct conclusion that we can arrive from your case is that Alcohol consumption should be avoided if possible.

In other words, it is not something we should be drooling after to drink in “moderation”. It should be something we avoid in general but drink in special occasions in moderation.
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That is still, only one person’s viewpoint or opinion. Even that is up to personal judgment. A person who drinks wine every day, in moderation, is not sinning according to the Church.
 
anjoh66 said:
You are then on good way of developing the disease of alchoholism!

Secondly it is not funny and certainly nothing to make fun about.
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It was a JOKE, shall I define that for you? Sounds as though you might take yourself a wee bit too seriously.

:rolleyes:
 
 
Windmill said:
This is plain silly. You should stop now before God calls you to judgement for leading weak souls astray from centuries of uninterrupted Catholic moral teaching disagreeing with your assertions.

I’ll stick with the Magisterium here.
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I agree. It is the job of the Magisterium to define sin. Not some random stranger on the internet. When I was Evangelical everybody and his dog felt it was his duty to define sin. I thought I was free of that when I came to the Catholic church. I was wrong.
 
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