Is it wrong to drink?

[KeilanS]

I think it is a personal choice. I feel convicted not to drink at all, but I know many Christians who do occasionally have a drink.

Drinking excessively is always a sin of course, and the thing I would take into consideration is how hard it is for you to stop once you start drinking. You said that in the past you've become drunk, if you just have a bit of alcohol will you be able to stop or will there be a huge temptation to keep drinking? If you can drink a little bit and control yourself, then I see nothing wrong with it. But if it tempts you to keep drinking, I would be a bit more careful with it.

[Vickilynn]

The culture that surrounds you has something to do with the way this question should be answered. Here in Israel, it is common for the home to have a glass of wine on the table for the Shabbat meal. Even the little children dip a finger in the glass and have a taste. With that as a starting point, many would expect there to be a high level of alcoholism. The opposite is the reality however. For some reason, since wine is not forbidden, it is not a huge temptation. Until the recent influx of Russians who seem to have a cultural fixation on Vodka, public drunkenness was nearly unknown. Even the Russians who came as alcoholics are drinking less and less the longer they live here.

On the other hand, if I were to sit in a bar in Missouri and drink beer or wine, it would undoubtedly be a stumbling block to somebody. Having seen what Damo wrote, I would never consider ordering a glass of wine if I were to take him out to dinner. That would definitely be wrong. If the question is, "Will I be sinning if I drink a glass of wine in the home of a Jewish friend next Shabbat?" The answer is probably no. If the question is, "Do I have the right to do anything that may cause my brother to stumble?" The answer is that I do not have that right at all and it would be a sin to do it.

Shalom,

Excellent post! Thank you.

[Massorite]

Is it wrong to drink? I know the bible says it is wrong to become intoxicated, and even in the bible Jesus and his disciples drank wine (probably plenty of times), but it was probably of a different potency back in those times. However, I was wondering is it wrong to drink champagne? Smirnoff? Wine, mixed drinks, things of that nature?

Now, I know the first question might be ... have you checked your spirit about this? Or, why do you want to drink in the first place, but I already have. I was one whom many times drank in excess, but I have recently cut that all ou because I felt a churning in my spirit against it, and honestly have no real access to it. I believe its a poor choice to deal and skate by life getting drunk every chance I got. I do, however, enjoy the taste of some of the things I did drink ... and I was wondering should I cut myself off completely?

Thoughts?

Here is the way to judge whether or not it is wrong to drink or not. If one drink of any kind causes you to feel it even it may only slightly you have had to much. If you feel it even slightly your senses and reaction speed has already been impaired and your judgment has begun to become clouded. That would be a sin as your inhibitions would already be inhibited also. Thereby letting your guard down about committing sin.

It is best not to do it at all. That way nothing can sneak up on you. Putting yourself in a compromising situation is never a good idea.

[Guest]

On the other hand, if I were to sit in a bar in Missouri and drink beer or wine, it would undoubtedly be a stumbling block to somebody. Having seen what Damo wrote, I would never consider ordering a glass of wine if I were to take him out to dinner. That would definitely be wrong. If the question is, "Will I be sinning if I drink a glass of wine in the home of a Jewish friend next Shabbat?" The answer is probably no. If the question is, "Do I have the right to do anything that may cause my brother to stumble?" The answer is that I do not have that right at all and it would be a sin to do it.

This is an issue I had forgotten about in my post earlier. Thanks for bringing this up!

[EricH]

The Bible does not forbid drinking, only drunkeness

[Axxman]

The Bible does not forbid drinking, only drunkeness

The bible forbids drunkenness...but it does not outright say you are allowed to drink alcoholic drink either.

The second that an alcoholic drink enters your body your liver begins the process of trying to protect your body from its effects. The liver is incapable of filtering the alcohol before it enters the bloodstream. Once it is in your bloodstream the alcohol travels through your body and into your brain, killing brain cells. So even if you don't feel the effects of the alcohol, your body is reacting to it in a negative way. I think that is a good indicator of whether or not God might approve of slcohol in our bodies.

[EricH]

The Bible does not forbid drinking, only drunkeness

The bible forbids drunkenness...but it does not outright say you are allowed to drink alcoholic drink either.

The second that an alcoholic drink enters your body your liver begins the process of trying to protect your body from its effects. The liver is incapable of filtering the alcohol before it enters the bloodstream. Once it is in your bloodstream the alcohol travels through your body and into your brain, killing brain cells. So even if you don't feel the effects of the alcohol, your body is reacting to it in a negative way. I think that is a good indicator of whether or not God might approve of slcohol in our bodies.

Your first statement (the bible doesn't overtly allow it) is an argument from silence. Using that logic, we would not be able to do most things (like drive cars) because the bible in no place says we can do it. Secondly, Jesus drank alcoholic wine. Your summary of the effect of even one drink is not quite accurate. So I am not putting the facts together in the same manner as you.

[hr.jr.]

it's really an issue between you and God. if you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit when you have a drink, then you should pay heed. God will let you know if you're displeasing Him.

as for asking us here, well, you'll get a wide variety of answers. many are very strongly opposed to any drinking whatsoever and don't believe the wine Jesus served was even fermented. others of us disagree with that position.

i enjoy an occasional drink. God has never chastised me over it... probably because it's a rare thing, and if i ever do become intoxicated (which is extremely rare) i do so in the privacy of my home and go to sleep... because intoxication makes me sleepy. in fact, that's really the only reason i ever bother to become intoxicated, is to sleep really good.

there've been very very few exceptions to the above.

Paul was quite plain that any behavior that caused a brother to stumble was sin. I am not aware how it is possible to consume alcohol around an immature Christian without it causing them a problem. To me, it is not sin to consume wine in moderation. By moderation, I mean a small 6oz. glass with a meal, or befor bed. However, I found many years ago that it is practically not possible for me to do this without being questioned by other Christians about why a Christian is drinking wine. It can be a stumbling block. Around a group of mature Christians, I will drink a glass of wine with a meal. Around an immature Christian, never. As to liquor, the Bible was plain about "strong drink." I think it is absolutely sin for a "Christian" to socially drink." Why would a "Christian" want to drink alcohol to lose inhibitions in a social atmosphere?

[kat8585]

The Bible does not forbid drinking, only drunkeness

The bible forbids drunkenness...but it does not outright say you are allowed to drink alcoholic drink either.

The second that an alcoholic drink enters your body your liver begins the process of trying to protect your body from its effects. The liver is incapable of filtering the alcohol before it enters the bloodstream. Once it is in your bloodstream the alcohol travels through your body and into your brain, killing brain cells. So even if you don't feel the effects of the alcohol, your body is reacting to it in a negative way. I think that is a good indicator of whether or not God might approve of slcohol in our bodies.

And since your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, how could you pollute it with even one drink? Wine wasn't the same then as it is now.

[forrestkc]

Is it wrong to drink? I know the bible says it is wrong to become intoxicated, and even in the bible Jesus and his disciples drank wine (probably plenty of times), but it was probably of a different potency back in those times. However, I was wondering is it wrong to drink champagne? Smirnoff? Wine, mixed drinks, things of that nature?

I doubt there was much of a difference in the potency of wine then as there is today. They also had beer back then, and forms of hard liquor.

Look at when Jesus turned water into wine.

John 2:1-10

"Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." (And) Jesus said to her, "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you." Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, "Fill the jars with water." So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." 6 So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now."

Ok, so lets look at this passage.

1. Jesus and his disciples are invited to a wedding.

2. The wedding ran out of wine.

3. Jesus turned approximately 150 gallons of water into wine.

4. The wine he made was good wine (strong).

That is pretty much the biblical times equivalent of a kegger right there. 150 gallons of wine is a lot of wine. Say you have 300 guests, thats about a magnum of wine each. More than enough to get everyone at the party flat out lit. More importantly though, even before Jesus turned the water into wine, everyone at the party obviously had already drank a lot of wine because they were running out.

So what is the logical conclusion here.

1. There is nothing wrong with drinking.

2. There is nothing wrong with drinking a good amount of alcohol at a social event and having a good time.

There is are a lot of scriptural references in the Bible on drinking, but there is a general trend with all of them. They all admonish drunkenness, especially drunkenness that results immorality. Now what does the Bible mean by drunkenness? The same thing we mean today when we refer to it. It means laying up drunk all the time, acting stupid because of it, losing your morals and good judgement because of it. If your just laying up drunk all the time, thats sinful. If you get so drunk your losing all sense of morality, thats sinful.

However, obviously drinking and having a good time at a social event because of it is not sinful.