Your views on Alcohol: ALL Christians, trinitarian, unitarian or anyone claiming to b

[Scuba Pete]

OK, there are SOOOO MANY reactions to alcohol within Christendom...

1. What DO you believe?
2. Is it scripturally based?
3. Is it based on social pressures?
4. Are you comfortable with how your congregation views alcohol???

 

[love]

Moderation! People take all kinds of drugs these days. You can't turn on the t.v.without seeing a commercial telling you what kind of new drug you need to make it better (what ever it is) like you could write yourself a prescription. Though few of these drugs can make you as stupid as alcohol (if abused) they still effect something.

 

[Katzpur]

OK, there are SOOOO MANY reactions to alcohol within Christendom...

1. What DO you believe?
2. Is it scripturally based?
3. Is it based on social pressures?
4. Are you comfortable with how your congregation views alcohol???

1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a health code (The Word of Wisdom) which prohibits alcohol.

2. It's not biblically based, but it is scripturally based.

3. No. The commandment itself has nothing to do with social pressure, but there is a real stigma in Mormonism against drinking.

4. Personally, I think there is a bit too much emphasis on it. A lot of Mormons seem to see the adherance to the Word of Wisdom as a good measuring stick of how devout a person is. The president of the company I work for is a devout Mormon. He has told non-Mormons in the company, "Never has a drop of alcohol touched my lips." He is so proud of himself I want to throw up. On the other hand, he's a crook. I'm not saying it should be an either/or situation. We're supposed to obey all of God's commandments, and we believe that abstaining from alcohol is one of God's commandments. I just think that if I were to ask this man whether he lives his religion or not, he'd say, "Absolutely!' I think that, in his mind, he does.

 

[Mister Emu]

That alcohol, in moderation, is fine.

Yes, Jesus turned water into wine.

No.

Yes.

 

[Bishka]

What DO you believe?

In my faith, we do not drink

Is it scripturally based?

Actually, yes. If you are counting my scriptures. It is found in the Doctrine and Covenants Section 89 (link here), it is called the Word of Wisdom

Is it based on social pressures?

Not to drink? Or to drink?

Are you comfortable with how your congregation views alcohol???

Absolutely.

 

[James the Persian]

That alcohol, in moderation, is fine.

Yes, Jesus turned water into wine.

No.

Yes.

I'd echo this. The only thing I'd add is that a small amount of wine, in the Eucharist, is not just fine, but required, and, yes, this is totally consistent with Scripture (I won't say Scripturally based as that doesn't really work in our faith). And no, it certainly wasn't grape juice that was used at the Last Supper.

James

 

[Mister Emu]

I'd echo this. The only thing I'd add is that a small amount of wine, in the Eucharist, is not just fine, but required, and, yes, this is totally consistent with Scripture (I won't say Scripturally based as that doesn't really work in our faith). And no, it certainly wasn't grape juice that was used at the Last Supper.

Yep...

 

[Scuba Pete]

Katzpur or Becky,

Could you provide the precise reading on this for us? Becky gave us a link to the ENTIRE text, but I would like to see it narrowed down just a tad. Thanks in advance.

 

[Scuba Pete]

Yeah, Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine. I would like to think that he did it to frustrate a lot of extremists who view alcohol as "evil". For a long time I thought this was a recent cultural phenomenon, but they were around during Jesus' life as well. After all it's OBVIOUS from scriptures that Jesus drank alcohol.

Matthew 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions." -NIV

We often portray Jesus as living as ascetic life, but that does not appear to be the case. I fully believe that the man had FUN.

 

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings!

The Baha'i Faith is is Christian in that every Baha'i world wide accepts and believes in both Jesus and the Bible!

That said, the Baha'i scriptures flatly prohibit the use of alcohol except when prescribed by a physician.

And yes, I'm comfortable with this.

Best,

Bruce

 

[angellous_evangellous]

What DO you believe?

It's a gift from God that is moderated.

Is it scripturally based?

Sure. Jesus' first miracle in John was giving wine to drunk people... not exactly the example of moderation, but this gift is consistent with the OT, where God is the giver of all good things, and alcohol is one of them.

Is it based on social pressures?

Nope.

Are you comfortable with how your congregation views alcohol???

No. Most of my life was spent with wacko fundies who cringe at the thought.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

Moderation in all things.


My son in law (an MD) keeps telling me I don't drink enough
It seems at my age I should drink a unit of alcohol a day for Cardio-vascular health.
I never seem to get round to it.

When I go round his house he feeds me a pint of strong beer....It's a tough life.

 

[sojourner]

OK, there are SOOOO MANY reactions to alcohol within Christendom...

1. What DO you believe?
2. Is it scripturally based?
3. Is it based on social pressures?
4. Are you comfortable with how your congregation views alcohol???

"Wherever three or four are gathered, there's always a fifth."

It's consistent with scripture.

Absolutely not.

No. They use grape juice. :areyoucra

 

[doppelganger]

What DO you believe?

For myself, moderation in anything is alright, including alcohol. So a drink or two is fine. Getting intoxicated is not.

Is it scripturally based?

I don't know about scripturally "based" but self-control and moderation are among the "fruits of the spirit." Intoxication wouldn't be. At least not for me anyway. I have no opinion about whether it is for others. Excessive alcohol use is about much more than the alcohol usually.

Are you comfortable with how your congregation views alcohol???

The closest I am to a congregation is a Texas Episcopal church I semi-regularly attend. There are people at the congregation who engage in what I would consider spiritually and physically unhealthy alcohol use. The vast majority appear to drink responsibly and in moderation though.

 

[Scuba Pete]

"Wherever three or four are gathered, there's always a fifth."

Bwahahahahaha! Too funny my friend.

 

[CaptainXeroid]

1. My personal belief and one that many Disciples share is that the problem is not alcohol per se, but rather the abuse of it. When people spend grocery or rent/mortgage money on alcohol or start withdrawing from family and friends because they'd rather get drunk, then they have a real serious problem.
2. I believe so. Jesus turned water into wine AND admonished those who were who drunkards.
3. Our church uses grape juice instead of wine and forbids alcohol in any church property. I've shared a beer with our pastor. We were at a Super Bowl party with friends from our church and from other sources. We had plenty of food, and nobody got drunk. Some people did not drink, and we respected their choice. I guess you could say it is partly based on social pressures in that if there is no alcohol in the church, no one will feel pressured to drink it.
4. Yes. We have several recovering alcoholics in our congregation, and our church hosts AA meetings. The purpose of the Lord's Supper is to recognize Jesus' sacrifice that unites us as Christians. What matters is that we come to the table. The liquid we use to symbolize the blood is secondary. If some people are uncomfortable with wine, there is no harm in using a non-alcoholic drink. We also fill some communion cups with water at the request of some diabetic members. I'm very comfortable with that action as well. :162:

 

[ChristineES]

1. What DO you believe? I don't think drinking is moderation is wrong, it only bad if you overindulge, but that goes for anything
2. Is it scripturally based? Sure, Jesus drank wine.
4. Is it based on social pressures? It may. I don't drink personally, since there is a lot of alcoholism in my family. My mother and stepfather, My grandmother, aunts and uncle, my brother are all either alcoholics or recovered alcoholics. A few have died or been sick with cirrhosis of the liver (only 2, one died and one is walking a narrow line)
5. Are you comfortable with how your congregation views alcohol??? No, since I don't drink anyway, it does not effect me that my congregation does not like drinking at all.

__________________

 

[angellous_evangellous]

For myself, moderation in anything is alright, including alcohol. So a drink or two is fine. Getting intoxicated is not.

Anything?! Like murder, adultery, and lying? :slap:

And Jesus said, "You have heard said before, 'You shall not murder... but I say to you, a 'dab'll do ya!'"

 

[doppelganger]

Anything?! Like murder, adultery, and lying? :slap:

"Murder" "adultery" and "lying" wouldn't be just for myself now, would it?:slap:

Aside from that, try arguing against Christian Just War Theory. The official answer is that a little dab of murder will do ya'.:yes:

 

[angellous_evangellous]

Aside from that, try arguing against Christian Just War Theory. The official answer is that a little dab of murder will do ya'.:yes:

Yeah... that would be killing, not murder. I don't argue for just war anyway.

But... both the OT and NT condemn murder but not all forms of killing. It's not difficult to build a case for this considering that in both Hebrew and Greek, the words for murder and killing (like in war, capital punishment, and law enforcement by humans and judgment by God) are quite different and used in different contexts.