Since Jesus and his contemporaries drank wine?

Question

And he is believed to be God, thus incapable of sin, and there was no problem with him doing so, then why do many Christian churches today believe that any amount of wine (or any alcohol for that matter) intake is sinful? Isn't that an oxymoron or is he only allowed to do so because he is God?

Answer 1

It was the safest drink of the day. Water supplies were not safe. The fermenting of wine insured its purity. That's why every one drank wine.

Answer 2

Drinking wine is not a sin. Back in the days when Jesus was alive, wine was consumed because there was no refrigeration and wine was used by many, including Jesus and his followers(in the book of Matthew he was at a wedding and turned water into wine and I presume drank it, also during the last supper before his death he drank wine with his disciples) Unfortunately too many churches today are legalistic and don't encourage their congregation to drink because unfortunately people take it to excess and then give Christians a bad reputation. I believe conviction is the key, if you feel convicted that drinking is wrong and not for you, then don't drink.

Answer 3

Mostly because people do not really study the scriptures or they smehow believe that in those days no one knew how to ferment the juice of grapes. Silly I know but there it is.

Jesus was often called a drunk ( though He was not ) .. mostly by people who were afraid of his growing power over people.. On one occasion when he was out to dinner with his friends .. was called a drunk....he said rather dryly that it was remarkable that they called John the Baptist a nut ( remember he was addressing real jews from the temple in this occasion..) and he never drank a drop and obeyed all the rules the jews were supposed to obey.. yet they hated John as well and called him bad names.. ..the point was.. they seemed to not be able to settle down and focus on why they were all really unhappy and needed to learn to focus on a new way to become happy.

Over intake of alcohol is improper . it damages brain function and has caused quite a few problems throughout mankinds history. Jesus did drink wine and the first miracle recorded which he did was to cause water to turn into the very finest wine ever at the behest of his mother, Mary for a wedding for some friends of hers. ( they ran out )

Answer 4

Some people like their religion really simple, with no fuzzy areas. Alcohol abuse can be a problem, so if your religion has a strong temperance element, you will need to justify it, including biblically.

If you read in the Bible about Jesus drinking wine, that can cause a problem UNLESS you adjust your UNDERSTANDING of the scriptures. Obviously what the Bible means by "wine" must mean something else, since alcohol is clearly forbidden by God. The marvellous flexibility of the human mind makes it possible even for religious literalism to be fun.

Answer 5

Not all, but yes, a lot of churches tell their members not to drink. I don't agree with that, and neither does my church.

I think in part it comes from the "avoid the appearance of evil" thing and they think that any drinking condones all drinking. Alcohol is a big problem in our country, very much abused, so it is maybe just wiser to avoid it at all to avoid running the risk of becoming an abuser.

There are many good reasons to abstain, but no, the Bible does not list drinking as a sin. Only drunkenness. There are actually a few places in the OT where it is encouraged to drink strong drinks. But never to get drunk. That is always a no-no.

Answer 6

The odd thing is, not only is the "Drinking Bad" stuff coming out of the old Temperance movements of the 1800's, that eventually led to prohibition in the 20's, but also that it's *still* being spouted by some Xian ministers, with absolutely *NO* idea of where the idea's come from. I've seen some of the most idiotic and poor historical garbage, attempting to prove that wine is not wine.

Answer 7

I've been told (although I don't have a source) that the wine of today is way more potent than the wine then. That being said, scientists are finding more and more reasons why a small ammount of alcohol is good for you. However, most people have a problem with that small ammount. It is very easy to become addicted. And once addicted, it controls you, not the other way around. Therefore, most churches would rather preach complete abstinence than moderation, makes it easier to preach about. Because, the line is so different for everybody, you couldn't possibly tell everyone where the line is. Way easier to preach abstinence.
Hope this helps a bit

Answer 8

Oiy - (just read some of the answers)!
Both Greek and Hebrew have perfectly good words for "juice - and when it says wine - that's what it means.
There's nothing sinful about drinking a glass of wine - or a beer - the problem is letting it gain control of you instead of you controlling it.
Scripture even goes so far as to praise God for "wine that makes glad the heart of man" (Psalm 104:15) and wine is considered a symbol of joy and blessing in Jewish thought and practice - but unfortunately a LOT of Christians have forgotten or neglected the fact (and the implications thereof)
that He and all His first followers were about as Jewish as they come.

EDIT: The instructions/requirements for an elder is one not "given to drunkenness" and for a deacon one not "addicted to much wine." Neither of these passages speak against drinking alcohol itself - just the abuse of it.

Answer 9

Yes, Jesus and the disciples drank wine. They did this every Passover feast, as prescribed in the Law of Moses. From the night of the Exodus in Egypt, Jews were to eat roast lamb, bitter herbs and to drink wine - as a commemoration every year. Jesus changed water into wine as his first miracle. Timothy was told to drink a little wine for his stomach's sake (medicinally). And in Psalm 104:14 we read,

'He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth; wine that gladdens the heart of men, oil to make his face shine, and bread to sustain his heart.' Those are all God's good provisions, wine included! Enjoy!

Answer 10

I wouldn't call it an oxymoron, but it is surely a contradiction.

To those asking for examples; during the wedding feast at Cana, Christ turned water into wine - and, apparently, pretty good wine, too. He also drank wine at the last supper.

Answer 11

This is an outgrowth of the temperance movement that grew up from the 18th century and eventually led to prohibition in the US. The logic is that since alcohol ABUSE leads to so many problems, that if people were not drinking at all, there would be no such problems. It's another example of churches being busy-bodies and trying to inflict their morals onto the rest of us.

In Washington, DC, the closest privately held building to the Capitol is "The Methodist Building," which was built to lobby congress to enact prohibition. It still serves as offices for a number of lobbyists.

Oddly enough, there is little difference between the prohibition period and its corresponding increase in crime and the current US war on drugs. We're still trying to put morals onto people, who are consistently looking for ways around it.

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