Jesus supplied booze for the party when they ran out and it is considered a miracle. Is it OK to supply alcohol but not drink it? I never have understood this. Even as achild growing up in church. The sunday school teacher would give some poor excuse like "wine was non-alcolholic back then."
2007-09-28 05:29:13 · 17 answers · asked by David M 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I did not say look down on getting drunk I said look down on drinking
2007-09-28 05:47:14 · update #1
hehehe
2007-09-28 05:32:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
This is the answer that you will probably get from any pastor, priest or Christian educator...
Wine was a common drink for many 2000 years ago. since grapes were abundant and cocoa plants undiscovered, wine was the drink over Coca-Cola. Water was there, but wine was the "flavored" drink. Not a way to "forget ones woes".
But why is it frowned upon now, you may ask? Well, drinking to excess, or as the Bible puts it "to dullness" is not respectable. Can you really respect someone who is so drunk on wine that they cannot walk straight, or talk intelligently or drive a car? Do you really want to use a person in this state of mind as an example of someone who is living a "righteous" or living a "respectable" life?
Would this be a "good" role model for a child to emulate?
2007-09-28 05:42:45 · answer #2 · answered by joe_on_drums 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think there are two things to consider...
First, the bible does not say that consuming alcohol is a sin. What it says is that we are not to be given over to excessive drinking because it impairs the senses and affects one's reason and judgement. Medical studies have shown, for example, that there may be health benefits to consuming small amounts of red wine, though this has more to do with the fruit itself rather than the alcohol content. Moderation is the key factor....a concept which western culture has abandoned.
Second, in the area of what is or is not sinful, the bible makes a generic statement to believers in saying that we are not to be a stumbling block to non-believers or to those whose faith is being tested. For example, if my having a glass of wine now and then damages my Christian testimony in the eyes of non-believers or causes a fellow Christian to turn away from God, then I should abstain from drinking so as to be a better example to others and a better witness for Christ. Whether the bible explicitly states that something is or is not sin, if it causes another to fall into sin then it should be avoided.
I take the bible literally when it says "wine"....I believe it is speaking of alcoholic wine, just as we have today. However, I also believe that people of Christ's day understood that this was something to be enjoyed in moderation, and not guzzled for the sole purpose of getting "wasted".
2007-09-28 05:58:18 · answer #3 · answered by Marcus75 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus doesn't look down on drinking.....just excessive drinking. As a rule if something has the ability to make you lose your good sense and self-control, that is the thing the Lord wants us to avoid. The church has, in many instances, just put a unilateral rule to abstain from the drink itself, when in fact it should focus on the use/abuse of the drink. In the culture Jesus lived the fermented wine was commonly the drink of the day, besides water. Many great theologians of the day subscribe to the doctrine that the wine wasn't fermented, but, like you, I've never had that reasoning proven to me. I'm open to it, but at face value, it just doesn't make sense to me.....and I'm not even a drinker, never have been. Maybe you'll get a good answer for that one. Good question.
2007-09-28 05:42:11 · answer #4 · answered by Joyful Noise 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Booze may not be the best way to describe the wine Jesus provided. No doubt in my mind that drinking wine is not a sin - then or now. Yet, the Bible calls people to temperance and warns of the danger of drinking in excess. I have seen people use this miracle as permission to drink without restriction and that would be totally unreasonable. To rationalize this miracle by saying it is non-acoholic is likewise unreasonable. I choose not to drink alcohol and encourage my kids to follow my example. Remember in the first century people were not getting into cars going 70 mph. Worst case scenario was they would fall off their donkey! There is more risk today in drinking!
2007-09-28 05:40:43 · answer #5 · answered by Todd C 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The bible says in Prov 20:1 that its wrong to drink.
Habakkuk pronounced woe on those who give out strong drink.
If Jesus made anything other than grape juice (which was called good wine) he was a sinner
Mixed wine is alcohol Prov 23:30-32 30They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
32At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder
Verse 31 described the fermentation process.
The passage where Jesus turned water to wine it is not called mixed wine. Jesus did not sin. Man reads into Gods word so they can sin.
The bible proves itself. But a wicked heart wont recieve the truth so you can still be a drunkard. Recieve the truth and you will stay away from sin.
2007-09-28 05:38:37 · answer #6 · answered by jesussaves 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He clearly liked wine. Its not wrong as far as one doesn't derange oneself with over-drinking. Jesus at the Passover seder told his disciples he was keen to eat this meal with them, and that he wouldn't taste wine again until the Kingdom had come (which came when He rose again). Jesus likes wine as far as its not used for intoxication. Sex and food etc are good etc in themselves as far as we use them appropriately.
There were bad drink problems in the late 19C - early 20C, probably because some people lived hellishly difficult lives, and booze give them oblivion. Some churches got heavily involved in the Temperance movement, trying to get some people out of addiction. As a result some christians have been chary of approving the use of alcohol.
2007-09-28 05:55:46 · answer #7 · answered by Cader and Glyder scrambler 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Drinking alcohol is not a sin; drinking alcohol for the specific purpose to get drunk is a sin.
Besides this, alcohol has the potential to ruin lives and destroy families. Most Christians shy away from it for that very reason.
2007-09-28 05:34:55 · answer #8 · answered by stpolycarp77 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have actually been advised by a Messianic Jew what the real miracle was of the wedding. What happened was, Jesus did have the water jars brought to him, but it was not wine that the water was turned into, it was first pressed grape juice.
Jews do not believe in eating anything that is dead- wine is dying grape juice. The juice is destroyed during the fermentation process. So the real miracle is that water was turned into the best of all grape juice- the first press.
2007-09-28 05:35:45 · answer #9 · answered by Mark S 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Yeah i know.
I can't drink and won't only because i have a genetic liver/kidney disease.
But i used to drink causaly.
I don't appreciate anyone who gets absaloutly plastered, i think it is foolish.
But i do love my wine. I can not resist some wine with a weekend dinner and plus, it's good for you.
2007-09-28 05:34:16 · answer #10 · answered by Kat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christians frown upon drinking to excess, that is, getting drunk. Nothing in the Bible states that you are not allowed to drink. If a Christian tries to tell you this, than have them show you where in the Bible it says you cannot drink.
2007-09-28 05:35:58 · answer #11 · answered by b g 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋