• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Alcohol and religion

I have found Ares is a gin man. Offered it to him once, came back a half hour later and it was wiped clean! Not a drop in the glass(it was a small shot glass). No one home to drink it(except me, and I didn't), and the room was locked!

Might not be traditional, but I sure took it as a preference.

What were you offering to Ares for? There are things which like alcohol and suck it up right before your eyes even. Did your house ever seem like it might have been "haunted" or anything?
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
What were you offering to Ares for? There are things which like alcohol and suck it up right before your eyes even. Did your house ever seem like it might have been "haunted" or anything?

I offered to Ares because I love him. :)

The house was haunted; we even knew by who. However, I don't think Katie drank it(the ghosts name). She didn't drink anyone else's drinks, so it would have been pretty uncharacteristic of her.

Had a rabbit that drank people's drinks. We let him run frequently... I remember telling my husband's guests not to put their drinks on the floor, as the rabbit would drink their beer. They kinda chuckled, and disregarded... and about 5 minutes later "Hey, that rabbit's drinking my beer!" Well, I told you he would. "I didn't think you were serious!" Shame for them; he didn't use cups, as he preferred to drink his beer off the floor. The rabbit also enjoyed pizza, chips, popcorn, burgers, macaroni and cheese...gave a whole new definition of 'rabbit food'.

The rabbit did not drink Ares's gin, though. He was in his cage the whole time.
 

Dawnofhope

Non-Proselytizing Baha'i
Staff member
Premium Member
I agree that in large quantities it can be very harmful, but in small amounts I can't find a problem with it. You don't have to get drunk or to drink every day.
But of course if your belief is that you shouldn't consume any alcohol, that's up to you and I respect that.

It is of course my faith/belief and I wouldn't impose that on anybody.

From a medical perspective it is estimated that one out of every five to six people who consume alcohol have a significant problem with it. So those problem drinkers start with being able to consume small amounts and then it becomes more and more of a habit. Further alcohol is linked to a number of cancers and is a neurotoxin. So increasingly it is hard to recommend a safe amount of alcohol from a medical perspective. I work in general practice in a rural area so see a lot of problems within this community, but even more in an urban area I work in.
 

Vouthon

Dominus Deus tuus ignis consumens est
Staff member
Premium Member
Does your religion allow for the consumption of alcohol? If so, how does that work? Can you drink as much as you want or are there any restrictions and why?

Yes to the first question.

Jesus evidently consumed a fair amount of wine, such that he gained a less-than-desirable reputation for being a heavy drinker (even though this was, purportedly, slander and a misrepresentation). In his own words, he proclaimed, “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, ‘Behold, a glutton and a drunkard’” (Luke 7:34). The Greek word translated as “drunkard” is oinopotes, which means a winebibber, one who drinks far too much wine.

He even spoke about the fermentation process in parabolic form, as part of his ethical teaching: "Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved (Matt. 9:17; see also Mark 2:22, Luke 5:37-38). The old skins burst because the wine contained yeast—the catalyst of fermentation—which causes expansion. Similarly, the saying “no one after drinking old wine desires new; for he says, ‘The old is good’” (Luke 5:39).

Jesus drank. His precursor, St. John the Baptist, did not drink and this decision to embrace a life of ascetic abstinence was equally extolled by Jesus, as an alternative path to holiness:


"For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’...Yet wisdom is justified by all her children" (Luke 7:33)

Whether one wishes to be a Jesus or a John, is left to personal determination in accordance with conscience in my religion - outside the sacramental usage of wine. Both Jesus and John were 'wisdom's children', differentially manifested in two quite variant yet mutually complementary lifestyles.

Jesus - for his part - was a man who knew his fine wines and enjoyed them as a moderate, convivial pastime with friends and acquaintances at feasts. Since we regard him as the truest exemplar for the moral life, it is evident that it is 'holy' and acceptable for the faithful in Christ to live as Jesus did in this way, by deriving pleasure and enjoyment from reasonable consumption of alcoholic beverages - De Imitatione Christi.

Furthermore, Christians are explicitly encouraged by Scripture to drink a 'little wine' to ease discomfort or suffering: "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1 Timothy 5:23).

The most sacred rite of my religion is - coincidentally? - the Sacrament of Holy Communion (or 'the Eucharist'), which involves the ritualistic consecration and consumption of "bread and wine". The Catechism of the Catholic Church asserts that one of the “essential signs of the eucharistic sacrament” is “grape wine” (CCC 1412).

Canon law stipulates that properly 'sacramental wine' must be alcoholic to pass the test of "valid matter" for the words of institution. According to Heribert Jone’s Moral Theology: "Wine is lawful matter if it is unadulterated, fermented, unspoiled and clear” (359). Grapejuice is, therefore, not a valid alternative:


Code of Canon Law - Book IV - Function of the Church Liber (Cann. 879-958).


Can. 924 §1. The most holy eucharistic sacrifice must be offered with bread and with wine in which a little water must be mixed.

§2. The bread must be only wheat and recently made so that there is no danger of spoiling.

§3. The wine must be natural from the fruit of the vine and not spoiled.


Sacramental wine can be red or white, dry or sweet - even fortified, provided the source of fortification is also grape-derived - so long as the 'alcoholic content' stays between 5 and 18%.

From this initial premise, I think it is quite evident that alcohol consumption is not merely 'allowed' but presupposed in Catholicism, at least for our ritual setting during Mass.

However, we are not promoters of an unhealthy alcoholism and its deleterious effects for both the individual sufferer and wider society.

For this reason, the Code of Canon Law also rules that 'mustum', a practically non-alcoholic beverage derived from grapes, can be used in exceptional cases for 'alcoholics' who still wish to consecrate (if they happen to be the priest, because he must drink from the cup of blessing) the sacramental wine: Canonists and theologians have commonly held that mustum, or the unfermented juice of ripe grapes, is valid matter for the Eucharist but is gravely illicit except in necessity.”

When is it necessary and therefore licit (or allowed)? The CDF document Norms for Use of Low-Gluten Bread and Mustum stipulates that “the permission to use mustum can be granted by ordinaries to priests affected by alcoholism or other conditions which prevent the ingestion of even the smallest quantity of alcohol, after presentation of a medical certificate” (II:B).

Without this special dispensation, however, such matter is not lawful because the normative 'licit matter' is completely fermented alcoholic wine. For that reason, the Norms for Use of Low-Gluten Bread and Mustum declare: “Given the centrality of the celebration of the Eucharist in the life of the priest, candidates for the priesthood who are affected by celiac disease or suffer from alcoholism or similar conditions may not be admitted to holy orders” (III).

So, the preceding dispensation is applicable only to a man already ordained and subsequently exhibiting symptoms of alcoholism. This stringent requirement demonstates how seriously Catholic doctrine treats the alcoholic quality of the wine - it is absolutely fundamental for the sacrament.

To your second question: 'abuse' of alcohol - drinking to excess, beyond moderate enjoyment and a nice pleasant 'tipsy' feeling from time-to-time - and the addiction that can accrue therefrom, is not condoned: this arises from a lack of respect for one's own health and the safety of other people, both of which may be endangered by one's incapacitated mental functioning and loss of inhibitions whilst under the influence.

Hence the reason why "temperance" is one of the cardinal virtues in Catholic morality. Temperance is the “moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods”. Temperance also “ensures the will’s mastery over instincts” and restrains our appetites (CCC1809):


Catechism of the Catholic Church - The fifth commandment


2288 Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good.

2290 The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others' safety on the road, at sea, or in the air.


In addition to the foregoing, we are counseled by the church to hone another cardinal virtue: that of 'prudential judgment' or discrimination.

Exercising prudence, it may very well be the case that a person determines - in their conscience, which is 'supreme' - that drinking alcohol would be personally bad for them, on account of genetics or a lifestyle that predisposes the individual to 'substance-abuse' / addictive tendencies. Thus, teetotalism is necessary for certain people and a boon for society, if adopted willingly out of free volition.

St. Paul laid down this rule for life in his Epistle to the Romans:


"I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean...

Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat; it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble.

The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve
" (Romans 14:14; 20-22)​


Alcohol is 'clean' in itself (as with everything else in dietary choices) but if a person judges it to be an 'unclean' influence on their life, personally speaking, then it is morally wrong for that person to consume what they know to be detrimental to their wellbeing or that of other people in close proximity to them. Also, when you’re in the company of an alcoholic, St. Paul counsels the believer to be vigilant not to tempt the person into succumbing to what for them constitutes a vice. But this doesn’t mean you should never drink - just temporarily forgo it to save that other person from "stumbling".

Primacy of individual conscience and profound respect for that same freedom of choice in other people is the guiding norm under Christ's "law of liberty" as to whether one should drink or abstain. As St. Thomas Aquinas says:


SUMMA THEOLOGIAE: Things that are contained in the New Law (Prima Secundae Partis, Q. 108)


Article 1. Whether the New Law ought to prescribe or prohibit any external acts?


Article 1. Whether the New Law ought to prescribe or prohibit any external acts?

The New Law of Christ consists chiefly in the grace of the Holy Ghost, which is shown forth by faith that worketh through love....

On the other hand, there are works which are not necessarily opposed to, or in keeping with faith that worketh through love. Such works are not prescribed or forbidden in the New Law, by virtue of its primitive institution; but have been left by Christ, to the discretion of each individual.


And so to each one it is free to decide what he should do or avoid

And so to each one it is free to decide what he should do or avoid; and to each superior, to direct his subjects in such matters as regards what they must do or avoid. Wherefore also in this respect the Gospel is called the "law of liberty".
 
Last edited:
I offered to Ares because I love him. :)

The house was haunted; we even knew by who. However, I don't think Katie drank it(the ghosts name). She didn't drink anyone else's drinks, so it would have been pretty uncharacteristic of her.

Had a rabbit that drank people's drinks. We let him run frequently... I remember telling my husband's guests not to put their drinks on the floor, as the rabbit would drink their beer. They kinda chuckled, and disregarded... and about 5 minutes later "Hey, that rabbit's drinking my beer!" Well, I told you he would. "I didn't think you were serious!" Shame for them; he didn't use cups, as he preferred to drink his beer off the floor. The rabbit also enjoyed pizza, chips, popcorn, burgers, macaroni and cheese...gave a whole new definition of 'rabbit food'.

The rabbit did not drink Ares's gin, though. He was in his cage the whole time.
Haha, yeah I don't think the rabbit or Katie did it, how did you receive the name of the ghost or find out about her? Also, do you still offer to Ares and its just out of love and adoration that you offer, its not for anything else except to simply worship and honor Ares? What does Ares represent for you or what is Ares in your view?

"literally "injurer, destroyer," from are "bane, ruin," and perhaps cognate with Sanskrit irasya "ill-will" (see ire)"

I worship Ares as well, but I consider the name or its meaning relevant and useful, so that it is distinguished from calling upon or praying to or worshipping something with another meaning.
 

Clara Tea

Well-Known Member
Intoxicants create religion.

https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1509&context=ebl

Peyote (spineless cactus in southwestern US, northern Mexico, and Peru) has mescaline. Mescaline can also be man-made. AIRFA, as amended in 1994, gives American Indians the right to use it (for religious services, of course). It alters time perception, coordination, and causes hallucinations. "Hey, man, I just heard a mountain lion talking....he's my animal spirit guide." Navajo and Apache are among the various tribes that use peyote.

Alcohol. . . many have pink elephant spirit guides. "Cocktail waitress, I'll take a water, and make it a double" "I'm not a waitress, I'm a man." "Well, nobody's perfect, but since I see two of you, you can work twice as fast." "On my third bottle of sacramental wine, I saw someone walking on water, then beamed up to the mother ship."

Everything You Need to Know About Hallucinations

Epilepsy, schizophrenia, dementia, sleep loss, and delirium can cause hallucinations. Hypnagogic hallucinations occur just before sleep.


No. 1037: Rye Ergot and Witches

Some believe that rye ergot fungus caused hallucinations in Salem (and brutal "witch" murders).


ANSWER:

Gluttony is one of the 7 deadly sins. That includes excessive use of alcohol.
 

Evangelicalhumanist

"Truth" isn't a thing...
Premium Member
Beer and wine are evidence that the gods love us and want us to be happy...
Or maybe just wanted us to live? Don't forget, water isn't always that clean -- and especially in areas that are actually populated with people, with their animals, and their effluent...yecchh!

Alcohol can actually help to reduce the danger from such water. Throw some strong wine into your water, and you're less likely to ingest a live bacterium that can do you harm. Drink beer (which has been processed with heat, and also contains alcohol), instead of a glass of water pulled from the local stream, and you're a lot less likely to be attacked by an amoeba that doesn't have your best interest in mind.
 

beenherebeforeagain

Rogue Animist
Premium Member
Or maybe just wanted us to live? Don't forget, water isn't always that clean -- and especially in areas that are actually populated with people, with their animals, and their effluent...yecchh!

Alcohol can actually help to reduce the danger from such water. Throw some strong wine into your water, and you're less likely to ingest a live bacterium that can do you harm. Drink beer (which has been processed with heat, and also contains alcohol), instead of a glass of water pulled from the local stream, and you're a lot less likely to be attacked by an amoeba that doesn't have your best interest in mind.
that is indeed part of my reasoning...
 

amorphous_constellation

Well-Known Member
The problem is that Anglo culture encourages alcohol abuse due to its pub/bar culture and binge drinking culture. It's very pushed on the populace in places like the US, UK, Australia, etc.

Well I don't know what it's like in the rest of this place, but here in the midwest that's something that comes into play. I mean right now it's dark, cold, and windy at five in the afternoon. We got towns where there over a dozen bars on main street , and they're attractive to people cause they get bored with being trapped from the outdoors I think
 
Last edited:

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
To add in complexity for us Hindus here. In my tradition alcohol is consumed to help with spirituality.
That said I probably ought to cut down on my personal drinking.

At least that’s what I keep telling myself. Never seems to happen though. Oh well
upload_2020-11-2_11-23-48.gif
 

Samantha Rinne

Resident Genderfluid Writer/Artist
Does your religion allow for the consumption of alcohol? If so, how does that work? Can you drink as much as you want or are there any restrictions and why?
The Bible allows for alcohol consumption - there is even a story of Jesus turning water into wine - but in moderation. I guess that makes sense since alcoholism can lead to some very bad consequences, so drinking in moderation is for our own protection. I'm happy about those terms since I can enjoy the odd glass of wine and have a good time.
Honestly, the couple of times in my life I got drunk weren't fun at all, so not drinking too much works fine for me. I can live without the thirst and the headache the next day, and let's be honest, if I want to make a fool of myself, I can do that just fine while I'm sober. After all, I can trip on my own feet, walking on a straight surface :oops:

It does technically, since my religion is about personal choices.

However, it does frown on the idea of worship of the physical world (which could involve substance abuse), and I personally don't like the taste of alcohol.
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
Working as a Tobacco Cessation counselor for many years for the leading lung disease hospital in the country, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, I can tell you that tobacco consumption is deadly. Especially ciggerate smoking. There is nothing sanatary about it. And the carnage it reaks is horrible upon human society. I could write pages about the subject, but I am not going to. I will put my strong disdain for the harm it has caused in any amount. Nicotine addiction can be harder to kick than heroin or cocaine. And it can take as little as 1 cigarette to get a person physically addicted. Scientists have brewed together a concoction of deadly chemicals they put in the cigarette that wears down the lining of the lungs that makes the nicotine penetrate the blood quicker and get to the brain that triggers the release of endorphins. Many of these chemicals, over 50 of them are carcinogens. Nicotine itself causes HBP and heart disease. Smoking causes COPD, and many many many other health diseases including cancer. I talked with so so so so many sick and dying patients during my time there it was astounding.
I am a Smoker.
Although I have not smoked a cigarette since 1998 I still light cigarettes in my dreams.......
If I smoked one cigarette I would be back on f-gs.

So I do understand how an alcoholic might have been booze free for years.
:)
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
I like the odd glass of wine (one or three) :oops:, but wouldn't recommend any getting plastered as a form of entertainment - which does seem more common for so many now - and although in the past there have been a few occasions where this has occurred, it was never my aim to do so. Not wise - for one's health, and for placing oneself as to being more vulnerable. But then after so much inebriation caution is often thrown to the winds. :eek:

No religion to interfere with what I might or might not do either, fortunately. :D
 

firedragon

Veteran Member
Does your religion allow for the consumption of alcohol? If so, how does that work? Can you drink as much as you want or are there any restrictions and why?
The Bible allows for alcohol consumption - there is even a story of Jesus turning water into wine - but in moderation. I guess that makes sense since alcoholism can lead to some very bad consequences, so drinking in moderation is for our own protection. I'm happy about those terms since I can enjoy the odd glass of wine and have a good time.
Honestly, the couple of times in my life I got drunk weren't fun at all, so not drinking too much works fine for me. I can live without the thirst and the headache the next day, and let's be honest, if I want to make a fool of myself, I can do that just fine while I'm sober. After all, I can trip on my own feet, walking on a straight surface :oops:

So you interpret "do not get drunk with wine" in the New Testament as heavy drinking?

How about the NT condemning Methusoi who are "those who drink"?
 

wellwisher

Well-Known Member
Does your religion allow for the consumption of alcohol? If so, how does that work? Can you drink as much as you want or are there any restrictions and why?
The Bible allows for alcohol consumption - there is even a story of Jesus turning water into wine - but in moderation. I guess that makes sense since alcoholism can lead to some very bad consequences, so drinking in moderation is for our own protection. I'm happy about those terms since I can enjoy the odd glass of wine and have a good time.
Honestly, the couple of times in my life I got drunk weren't fun at all, so not drinking too much works fine for me. I can live without the thirst and the headache the next day, and let's be honest, if I want to make a fool of myself, I can do that just fine while I'm sober. After all, I can trip on my own feet, walking on a straight surface :oops:

The purpose of alcohol, within Christianity, is to let what is hidden inside, under the mask of the ego, to be revealed. Alcohol can lower inhibitions and weaken self censor, allowing the real person beneath the mask to be revealed. If one is a nice person inside and out, the alcohol will reveal this. If they are nice on the surface, but an angry hypocrite under the mask, this will also be revealed. This can offer a glimpse inside your soul.

A socially acceptable mask for the ego; persona, may be useful for controlling and homogenizing culture. But Christianity was more about the needs of the inner man instead of the outer man. The inner man becomes more conscious when inhibitions are lowered by the alcohol.

The down side of alcohol is also expressed within Christianity, as the drunkard. The drunkard understands the affect of alcohol, in terms of lowering inhibitions and releasing what is unconscious and/or repressed. But they use this to get an inflation type buzz without trying to learn anything. They may get a sense of their inner self, via the lowered inhibitions, but that of itself is not constructive in the longer term, even if it feels good in the short term; party time. The compromise was drinking during the festivals and holidays and sobering up when one needed to be controlled snd constructive. This rendered onto God as well as Caesar.
 
Top