Study: Most churchgoers still abstain from alcohol
“While 41 percent of Protestant churchgoers say they consume alcohol, 59 percent say they do not. That’s a slight shift from 10 years ago, according to the LifeWay Research survey, which was conducted Aug. 22-30, 2017.” - BP News
- 8 views
…..that it’s been far too long since SI has had a debate on the subject of alcohol.
We could certainly skip the “debate.” Pretty sure there is nothing new to say!
Interesting survey though. The trend in particular. Number of people who believe a Christian should never get drunk is up a bit from 2007, and the number of people who believe in never drinking at all is down slightly. Probably in the margin of error.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
[Aaron Blumer]We could certainly skip the “debate.” Pretty sure there is nothing new to say!
The proportion who drink is within the 95% confidence range (two sample proportion test, Fisher’s exact, Minitab, p = 0.362), but the proportion who say a Christian ought never get drunk is shifted in a statistically significant way—p = 0.002, well below the threshold of p= 0.05. So that number at least is going in the right direction. You can still (and should really) quibble about how the questions were asked, to whom they were asked, all that, but to the extent that we can trust the methodology and sample, this is good news. Slightly more Christians may be confessing to having a drink now and then, but significantly more Christians understand that it’s wrong to get drunk. The shift in the proportion of Christians who believe that Christians should never drink alcohol—29% before, 23% now—is also statistically significant.
Hopefully this reflects an increasing level of theological maturity.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
Most Churchgoers Still Abstain From Alcohol – Good.
Want to have happier, more peaceful Christmas and New Year’s gatherings? Make them alcohol-free. Doesn’t solve all the problems, but it solves one of them.
David R. Brumbelow
Those statistics don’t make sense. For example:
But when it comes to total abstinence, fewer than a quarter (23 percent) of Protestant churchgoers believe Scripture indicates people should never drink alcohol. A majority (71 percent) disagree.
and
Scripture indicates all beverages, including alcohol, can be consumed without sin (55 percent)
How do you explain the 16 percentage point difference? Or are people that nebulous?
"The Midrash Detective"
Ed, it may be nebulousity in part, but my best guess is that a huge portion of that 16% difference simply reflects discomfort with hard liquor, especially cheap hard liquor. It may also reflect discomfort with cheap liquor in general—think the vulgar jokes that one may have heard about “Coors Light” and such.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
One question I would like to ask is “Why.”
With all the warnings in the Bible against alcohol and all of the societal ills & damage caused by it.
Why?
Why is it then OK for a Christian to drink?
For what purpose?
For what reason?
Why should any Christian consider drinking?
We keep going round and round, poking at the question of why a Christian shouldn’t drink and some arrive at the belief that it is OK. (Because in part, gluttony is far worse, right??)
But what about the other side of the coin. That is, not why a Christian shouldn’t drink, but rather why should they drink.
BTW, the answer of “The Bible doesn’t command against it (or such type of a reply),” is not an answer.
John 2, no? Really, the Biblical witness is not just about warning and curses, but also about blessings associated with wine. It’s going to be served at the wedding supper of the Lamb, so maybe learn to enjoy it here? Besides, if we need some kind of permission or reason do do something, we can write pretty much all of our enjoyments out of our lives. Just enjoy some Rumfordsuppe, wear polyester clothes and plastic shoes, etc..
Reality is that throughout the Scriptures, God gives us hints that we are supposed to, within reason, enjoy the good gifts He’s given us. We could subsist on grains and legumes; He gives us meat and dairy as well. “Take, Peter, kill and eat.” He could have worn rags; He wore a robe woven in one piece. No seams to irritate Him as He walked. He allowed a vendor of purple to help found a church. He gave us sex for our enjoyment and not (as is the case for most animals) just for procreation. He told His people to worship Him in dance (Psalms 149, 150) and joy, and part of that blessing was full wine-vats.
And so those of us who can do so responsibly are free to enjoy this good gift of God that cheers the heart. Or not, if that’s your choice. On a more earthly level, medicine is telling us that it’s mildly helpful vs. heart disease and stroke, and on a culinary level, good wine teaches people how to sip and nibble instead of gulping. Go around your church with a tape measure and measure waists if you doubt that’s a good thing. Moreover, there is a mood of conviviality over sensible use of wine—the Germans call it “Gemuetlichkeit”—that Christians, increasingly isolated from each other, would do well to learn.
Count me very glad that, with statistically significant shifts (in the right way) in views against drunkenness and for the responsible use of wine, evangelicals seem to be maturing regarding this hot button issue.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
Why is alcohol a “good gift?” Does a Christian need alcohol to “cheer the heart?” By “cheer the heart” do you mean in the same manner as it can be enjoyable to eat a good steak?
Regarding gluttony vs alcohol, upon which subject does the Bible speak more of, both “for” and against?
Meanwhile business is still booming at Krispy Kreme, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the all-you-can-eat buffets! SMILE
"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan
Deuteronomy 7:13, 11:14, 33:28, Judges 9:13, Psalm 104:5, Proverbs 9:5, Ecclesiastes 9:7, Song of Solomon 1:2-4, 4:10, 5:1, 7:9, 8:2, Isaiah 25:6, 27:2, 55:1, 62:8, 65:8, Jeremiah 31:12, Joel 2:24, 3:18, Amos 9:14, Zechariah 9:17, 10:7, John 2, 1 Tim. 5:23, no?
In short, God says it’s a good gift, though it is of course at some times a blessing and at other times a curse, just like food. Again; ask your cardiologist or endocrinologist (diabetes) if you doubt that food can be a curse—excess of food and lack of exercise kills about 7-8 times as many people as does excess of alcohol.
Regarding counts…. would we subject other Biblical principles to “counts” as you propose? I don’t think so, as it’s not a valid hermeneutical principle.
What’s the “cheering” of the heart? Well, you can look up the Hebrew and see how God describes it, no? One of the phrases used (I’ve looked it up) is that to be merry is to have a “good heart”. Our German friends would describe it as social conviviality and relaxation, a subtle release from the tensions of the day, a slowing down with good conversation and a bit of food to boot. A “need”? Of course not, but definitely a good gift that a Christian can use in good conscience.
Really, if it’s all about what we “need”, make sure you show me pictures of yourself eating rumfordsuppe, wearing polyester clothes in an “8x 12 four-bit room”, and single, no? You don’t “need” tasty food, comfortable clothes, a nice home, or a wife. But God in His Providence provides these to many of us, and we should not be afraid to enjoy these good gifts.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
Had a Dutch Reformed friend who liked to brew beer in his basement. He told me he once had a Pentecostal fellow over, and the hobby sort of came up. The Pentecostal firmly rebuked him and told him he was “in sin.” My Reformed friend related as an aside, “You know, that same guy not long after that ran off with another man’s wife.”
Discussion