Before I started my yr of live biblically , I had feared that I ’d be forced into twelve months of sobriety . After all , I knew the prude had a reputation for condemn alcohol . And sure fundamentalistic Christians think of booze as up there with adultery , idol worship andSouth Park . Some even argue that the " wine" intoxicated in the Bible is not wine at all , but actually grape succus . This was apparently the cerebration of a temperance advocate named Thomas Welch who tried to sell " unfermented wine" in the late 19th 100 for sacramental manduction services . He failed . At least until his family line changed the name to grapeshot juice and market it to the worldly . The truth is ,
Biblical wine is wine. But is it a good thing or a bad thing?
In some passage , wine-coloured seems like a gift from God . In other passages , it ’s impersonate as a disgusting toxin :
To clear thing up , I see the expert of all experts , a Christian enophile named Daniel Whitfield who has made an astoundingly exhaustive study of every alcohol citation in Scripture Bible " “ all 247 of them .
Marijuana and the Bible , the damaging and positive character to hootch , and what bechance when Noah got drunk all after the leap …
On the negative side,
( I ’m quoting Whitfeld ’s findings here ) there are 17 warning against mistreat alcohol , 19 example of people abusing alcohol , 3 references to selecting leaders , and one verse preach abstinence if drinking will cause a brother to stumble . full negative references : 40 , or 16 % .
On the positive side,
there are 59 references to the commonly accepted drill of drinking wine-colored ( and stiff drunkenness ) with meals , 27 character to the abundance of wine as an deterrent example of God ’s boon , 20 references to the loss of wine and strong drink as an example of God ’s curse , 25 reference to the use of wine-coloured in offering and sacrifice , 9 character reference to wine being used as a gift , and 5 metaphoric reference to wine as a basis for a favorable comparison . Total positivistic address : 145 , or 59%.Neutral references make up the remaining 25 percent .
If I could add one observation to Whitfield ’s study : There is also one reference to medicative alcohol : " No longer drink only weewee , but use a slight vino for the saki of your stomach and your frequent ailments ( 1 Timothy 5:23 )
It comes down to the battle between the Bible ’s gusto for life , and the Bible ’s wariness of surfeit . Between its Epicureanism and Puritanism . you could find both themes in the Holy Scripture . The Epicurean side is intimately seen in Book of Ecclesiastes :
The key seems to be to delight vino as one of the many neat thing that God has provide us . But do n’t bask it too much . Use what Anheuser - Busch public inspection and repair proclamation call " Responsible drinking . “ Otherwise , tough things happen . For instance , after the Flood , Noah got sozzled and pass out naked . Noah ’s Logos Ham walk in on him au naturel and presumptively mocked him , and Noah cursed Ham ’s descendant to bondage . So that did n’t twist out well .
Or else there ’s the singular history of what happened when Lot " “ the one who fly Sodom " “ drank too much . Lot had escaped to a cave with his two girl ( his wife , as you know , had been turn into a pillar of common salt ) . The daughter , opine all other men in the world had died , got their beginner very , very intoxicated " “ and slept with him . Both pose significant . Their incestuous offspring founded two nations " “ Moab and Amon " “ which became enemies of Israel .
Too much wine-coloured is an loathing . But a glass or two ? That seems fine . by the way , I did an Internet hunt for marijuana and the Bible . As I suspected , someone has enter out a way to make the Bible seem in favor of potbelly - smoke . Not only does the website equalirghts4all quote Genesis 1:29 ( " Behold , I have give you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth . " ¦ To you it will be for meat" ) , but it claims Moses ' holy anointing oil contained a high assiduity of THC . This , as my mellow schooltime paladin Jeff Spicoli used to say , seems totally phony .
