Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Calling All Theoblogians #5

A couple of years ago I got into a conversation with a close friend and her husband about alcohol. This couple are staunch teetotallers and while I'm certainly not a big drinker myself, we found ourselves disagreeing on the question....should Christians drink? At all?

I had always been of the view that drinking is not a sin but drunkenness is. My friend and her husband believe that drinking is a sin, even if you're only an occasional drinker like me, even if you only have one sip, it's wrong, don't do it. They won't even go to a pub to have a soft drink. They think being anywhere around alcohol is wrong. I really don't know how it is possible to avoid alcohol in our alcohol-saturated society but that's what they believe.

What really surprised me was that they pulled out the Bible to justify their beliefs. Not that I think this is wrong but I just couldn't think which passages they would use to support their position.

Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise - Proverbs 20:1

This passage seems to be dealing with alcohol as a wisdom issue rather than a sin issue but they think it means that alcohol for a Christian is always wrong.

Next they turned to John 2 where Jesus turns water to wine. They said there are two different Greek words which are translated as 'wine'...one means alcoholic wine and the other means grape juice and that Jesus turned water into grape juice not alcoholic wine. None of us know Greek and I would rather hear from people who actually know Greek rather than know of someone who does. Duncan has a copy of Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words and there are two words oinos (the general word for wine) and gleukos which means sweet 'new wine'. Neither seemed to indicate the wine they meant was unfermented. I don't know anything else about Greek words though so I'm not going to pretend I do.

One thing another friend pointed out....if Jesus turned the water to grape juice then why does the master of the banquet say to the bridegroom, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." If the water that Jesus turned to wine was non-alcoholic then why does the master say it is the best?

The post is not about our personal convictions although I am interested in hearing yours. Some people believe they have the freedom to drink alcohol if they choose but abstain for various reasons.....perhaps they struggle with drinking too much, they think it would be a better witness not to drink, they think abstaining from alcohol is a healthier lifestyle. Some see it as a Romans 14 issue and choose not to drink so as not to cause a non-drinking brother to stumble in their faith. My issue is, are my friends right and it's a sin to drink at all or do we have freedom to drink as long as we drink wisely? Personally I think it's the latter but I just wanted to hear your thoughts, particularly your own convictions and if any you know any Greek which could clear up this matter.

1 comment:

Mark Edwards said...

I used to attend a conservative Bible college and they pulled out the "it was not real wine" line. Its a joke with no scriptural or cultural support. The best wine is the best wine. Jesus was someone who loved to party, we have lost that sense in our puritan roots.

Ephesians is clear, "dont get drunk"....Paul is clear to Timothy take some wine for your stomach.

I used to drink far too much, when I became a Christian, I became an avid non drinker proponent, until one day I was up in Port hedland and fishing with my non church relatives, and God covicted me that I should have a drink with him, as I sought to be a positive influence in my life. God gave me freedom in an area of my life that I had previously been a pharisee about.

Ultimately I enjoy beer and wine, but I would not indulge in front of 'my weaker brother and sister'.