Alcohol Again

As I said before, I’m still in an adventure of discovering how I feel about alcohol and my faith. I just briefed through a great biblically based article on alcohol and the Bible’s stance on it.

”Alcohol and the Bible” by Danial Whitfield (1999).

Extremely informative and I was impressed that the article did not try to prove its point by referencing strong verses supporting the argument and ignoring any the verses that may contradict - but rather unturned every stone to help clarify the bible’s stance on this controversial topic:

“It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.” Romans 14:21.

What is to be said of this scripture? It is in the Bible and is as valid as any of the other 246 verses that refer to alcohol. It cannot be ignored or avoided on the grounds that 246 to 1 are great odds. It must be faced squarely and all implications duly considered. Our goal here is to find truth, not to justify a particular bias toward a specific conclusion.

Though the article had just taken the time explaining every other verse and it’s stance on alcohol, it doesn’t just breeze by this one verse that seems to contradict some of the things that had been proved, but rather faces the verse head on to help interpret and understand its meaning.

An eye-opening (to me) comparison:

The abuse of sex in this current culture causes enormous social problems. The statistics are overwhelming, with 25% of children in the U.S. born out of wedlock. The incidence of sexually transmitted diseases has reached epidemic proportions. AIDS is currently killing 6,000 per year. Homosexuals are demanding special rights. However, we don’t demand a total ban on sex of any kind. To the contrary, we teach scriptural principles of responsible sexual behavior.

I would like to clarify here, that I still strongly oppose underage drinking - the Bible says to obey the laws of the government unless they specifically go against the laws of God - and the law is very clear on the age-restrictions of alcohol consumption… and for good reason.

Anways, if you have any question at all to your own thoughts on alcohol or are curious of the a biblical understanding of it, I would highly recommend this article.