Why no drinking?

[arthra]

I agree with the above that prohibition and womens rights were closely alied and many protestant churches support prohibition. I recall my mother telling me she learned prohibitionist lyrics at the knee of her mother… a member of the WCTU.

You’ll find some strong statements in Holy Writ against drinking wine…

Best use a concordance and insert “wine” and you’ll find a variety of positions…

The Nazarite vow was among the more strict about drink

Numbers 6:1* And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 6:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: 6:3 ***He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
**

One of the passages that jumped out to me was in the deuterocanonical work Esdras I in the third chapter:

*And he said unto them, Declare unto us your mind concerning
the writings. Then began the first, who had spoken of the
strength of wine;

18
And he said thus, O ye men, how exceeding strong is wine! it
causeth all men to err that drink it:

19
It maketh the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to
be all one; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man
and of the rich:

20
It turneth also every thought into jollity and mirth, so that
a man remembereth neither sorrow nor debt:

21
And it maketh every heart rich, so that a man remembereth
neither king nor governor; and it maketh to speak all things by
talents:

22
And when they are in their cups, they forget their love both
to friends and brethren, and a little after draw out swords:

23
But when they are from the wine, they remember not what they
have done.

24
O ye men, is not wine the strongest, that enforceth to do
thus? And when he had so spoken, he held his peace.*

 

[esieffe]

In fairness, how else does society prevent alcoholism?

In fairness, there is no way to prevent alcoholism, it is a disease. You can’t prevent sickle cell, you cant prevent food allergies. Most people have a drink every now and then, why should we have that taken away from us due to a disease that we don’t have?

Some people die or suffer from eating disorders, you cant ban food. though some forms of it have been banned in NYC]

 

[esieffe]

I believe the Lord once turned some water into wine. I don’t remember him or anyone else having a problem with that.

 

[magnet]

It is an inaccuracy to assume that all wine has the same alcoholic content and that all wine has the same effect on its drinkers. In Ancient Greece, wine, as it came from the cask, was often watered down to make it go further. It was likely that this kind of wine was used in religious services.

There are dry wines and sweet wines and fortified wines, according to my wine salesman father. Dry wines are acidic and have less alcohol than sweet wines, thus enabling the drinker to imbibe more before getting tipsy. Fortified wines have alcohol added to them.

When I was travelling on French trains back in the sixties, wine was often consumed in place of water because it was a way to avoid travelers diarrhea. In Spain, I was told that tap water in a hotel was safe to drink so I drank it. The result was two weeks of misery.

So wine can be a blessing.

 

[Reuben_J]

It is an inaccuracy to assume that all wine has the same alcoholic content and that all wine has the same effect on its drinkers. In Ancient Greece, wine, as it came from the cask, was often watered down to make it go further. It was likely that this kind of wine was used in religious services.

There are dry wines and sweet wines and fortified wines, according to my wine salesman father. Dry wines are acidic and have less alcohol than sweet wines, thus enabling the drinker to imbibe more before getting tipsy. Fortified wines have alcohol added to them.

When I was travelling on French trains back in the sixties, wine was often consumed in place of water because it was a way to avoid travelers diarrhea. In Spain, I was told that tap water in a hotel was safe to drink so I drank it. The result was two weeks of misery.

So wine can be a blessing.

Wine can be a blessing …1 Timothy 5:23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

Anyway what kind of wine that the Jews used in that wedding in Cana? My guess it would be mostly the intoxicated type, as it would be in many weddings, where it would make people getting tipsy and maybe uninhibited.

 

[magnet]

In fairness, how else does society prevent alcoholism?

Susceptibility to alcoholism varies among individuals. Native Americans have a history of intolerance to alcohol. On my mother’s side (Portuguese) where my grandmother served Catholic priests wine in her home, none of her eleven children became alcoholics. On my father’s side (German), alcohol, especially beer, was prominent. In fact my grandfather made his own beer during prohibition. Two of his sons died of alcoholism. His brother-in-law was an extreme alcoholic. Yet my father and his younger brother enjoyed alcohol without any problems. Among his three sons, none of them became alcoholics.

So, alcoholism is more a disease than it is a result of the availability of alcohol.

 

[SyroMalankara]

Hopefully you are sure that certain company, if they decide to follow your example because it works for you, has your self control and a high enough body weight to handle a drink.

Sure, one must be aware of themselves. Nevertheless, there is no implication of sin one way or the other as some imply.

 

[AbideWithMe]

Sure, one must be aware of themselves. Nevertheless, there is no implication of sin one way or the other as some imply.

Yes, it’s not a sin to drink lightly, but I was wondering if you know those certain people so very well that you’re sure they have no susceptibility to either a lower amount of self control than you have, or any inherited tendency toward addictions, or, if they’re women who may be much lighter weight than you, if they’re educated about alcohol enough to know how little they can drink compared to the amount they may see a man drink in comparable circumstances.

 

[QuestLove]

Hi CAF,

I’ve gotten the impression that some Protestants (or let’s just say “non-Catholic Christians”) do not drink any alcohol for religious reasons. Can anyone verify that this is the case and explain why?

Thanks.
n

Not all non-catholics have this rule, it varies from denomination to denomination. Some are so strict that they do not have stimulants of any kind eg. caffeinated drinks such as tea and coffee.
I don’t judge, they must have a reason. I am glad my church does not have such restrictions though.

 

[JerryZ]

In fairness, how else does society prevent alcoholism?

You cannot force anyone against their will. Sooner rather than later they will prevail and come with a vengeance against those they see as oppressing them.

The only way is by changing hearts and education.

As for no drinking, the Bible is clear about abusing strong drinks, wine and beer in antiquity were the safe drinks used to thwart thirst. Water was extremely dangerous to drink. Dysenthery is a painful way to die. Even today many people do not have a safe source of drinking water.

…

 

[Kmon23]

Although I came from a United Methodist background and almost became Catholic, I never drank alcohol. However it is for non religious reasons, and is just a preference of mine.

 

[Miriam1947]

I agree with the above that prohibition and womens rights were closely alied and many protestant churches support prohibition. I recall my mother telling me she learned prohibitionist lyrics at the knee of her mother… a member of the WCTU.

You’ll find some strong statements in Holy Writ against drinking wine…

Best use a concordance and insert “wine” and you’ll find a variety of positions…

The Nazarite vow was among the more strict about drink

Numbers 6:1* And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 6:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: 6:3 *He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

One of the passages that jumped out to me was in the deuterocanonical work Esdras I in the third chapter:

*And he said unto them, Declare unto us your mind concerning
the writings. Then began the first, who had spoken of the
strength of wine;

18
And he said thus, O ye men, how exceeding strong is wine! it
causeth all men to err that drink it:

19
It maketh the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to
be all one; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man
and of the rich:

20
It turneth also every thought into jollity and mirth, so that
a man remembereth neither sorrow nor debt:

21
And it maketh every heart rich, so that a man remembereth
neither king nor governor; and it maketh to speak all things by
talents:

22
And when they are in their cups, they forget their love both
to friends and brethren, and a little after draw out swords:

23
But when they are from the wine, they remember not what they
have done.

24
O ye men, is not wine the strongest, that enforceth to do
thus? And when he had so spoken, he held his peace.*

Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.

 

[SyroMalankara]

Yes, it’s not a sin to drink lightly, but I was wondering if you know those certain people so very well that you’re sure they have no susceptibility to either a lower amount of self control than you have, or any inherited tendency toward addictions, or, if they’re women who may be much lighter weight than you, if they’re educated about alcohol enough to know how little they can drink compared to the amount they may see a man drink in comparable circumstances.

Whether I know them or how well is rather irrelevant, isn’t it? Perhaps by indulging their scrupulosity or anti-drink stance I may be encouraging the thought that drink is sinful, when in fact there is no sin.