"It’s time to grow up in your discernment and compassion and to be a warner rather than a tempter."
“Unless you’ve counseled a worn-out wife about her husband’s alcoholism, unless you’ve comforted a teen whose parents have both been heavy drinkers for as long as he can remember, unless you’ve discipled a new believer trying to throw off his addiction before he loses custody of his child, unless you’ve wept with a woman who has tried and failed to get sober for the better part of two decades, and most of all, unless you’ve looked into the dull eyes of a husband who just an hour ago lost the mother of his two young children to a drunk driver—unless you have some real life experience with the dangers of alcohol—I don’t want to hear about your liberty to drink.” Ambivalence about Alcohol
I’m attaching an image I captured off F/B just this minute. I blocked out the person’s name, picture, ministry name and graphic, and URL
I’m neither criticizing nor commending.
Her’s a guy ministering in a cultural setting where wine and cheese is considered appropriate. (It’s not in the US)
(I know a pastor who is now stateside. He was a missionary in a European country (not naming to protect him). He beat his head against the wall (figuratively) to get those Europeans to not drink wine. He’s now stateside … for a reason)
[handerson]…I assumed he was addressing the category of young evangelical/fundamentalists who having grown up in tee-totaling cultures suddenly have been “liberated” to drink. My observation and concern has less to do with whether they do or do not drink (I recognize that Scripture does not condemn and at times even celebrates alcohol); my concern has more to do with the naive and careless approach that they often take by means of ignorance.Well put. Real danger there.
I think that the danger is worsened by the previous isolation, which insulates one against the dangers.
Some comments above stand out to me.
“…Also know enough to designate a driver at social gathering etc.”
So Christians think it is perfectly fine to take a drug, not for medicine but for pleasure, that makes you incapable of driving a car? It seems to me several biblical principles would contradict that view.
“One can think clearly while drinking in moderation.”
I know even drinkers who would strongly dispute that statement. The first thing alcohol does is take away your normal, good, judgment. States are now even emphasizing how alcohol levels below the legally drunk limit are causing accidents.
“The notion that wine and strong drink described in the Bible weren’t alcoholic is a preconceived conclusion based on gobbledygook eisegesis, not simple hermeneutic.”
Note that no exegesis for this view is given; no Scripture is given. Is alcoholic wine in Scripture? Of course it is. Does that mean every reference to wine in Scripture is referring to alcoholic wine? No.
A number of Scriptures are listed above that refer to wine than is nonalcoholic or unfermented. Even ancient non-biblical writers spoke of how some wine was intoxicating and some was not.
And it is very interesting that Proverbs 23 meticulously describes the effects of alcoholic wine so there is no misunderstanding; then says not to even look at that kind of wine.
David R. Brumbelow
In my early years, I took a position similar to David Brumbelow’s and defended it from Scripture, as far as my understanding informed me at that time. I preached that position, and even wrote an article defending it in our church publication. However, as I continued to study the Bible, I became increasingly uneasy about “the Bible requires abstinence” position. It didn’t fit all the texts. It’s not easy to change, but commitment to Scripture, and integrity as a pastor required me to swallow my pride and honestly teach a more accurate understanding. It created the most difficult crisis our church ever faced. We lost a few good people. I thought we might suffer a church split, but the Lord graciously kept us together.
A former youth pastor chided me for changing, and even sent me a copy of the article I wrote more than two decades before. He strongly disagreed with my new understanding. I can identify with those who take the “abstinence is required” position, because I’ve been there, done that. I can especially understand those, like Pastor Brumbelow, who have written books to defend that position. When you have a published position, it is difficult to change, or even give another interpretation an unbiased examination. There’s a great deal at stake.
Required abstinence has a long history of Baptist tradition in America. A lot has been written over the last two centuries to support it. Many have quoted “ancient” sources to defend the abstinence position. After two centuries of citation in numerous books and articles, these quotations begin to take on unquestioned authenticity in the minds of many. They have been cited so many times that one begins to think they must be true. A dubious claim, repeated endlessly for two hundred years begins to take on a life of its own. I’m afraid many have allowed these questionable claims to color their study of Scripture. I know that was true of me.
However, the real issue is not what the ancients do or do not say, but what does the Bible say. Careful Bible exegesis does not support the abstinence is required position. Like all pastors, I can only proclaim what God enables me to understand from His Word. Like others, I pray daily for God to enlarge my understanding. I doubt there will ever come a time when all God’s people agree on this issue. That’s why Paul wrote Romans 14, to inform us how to relate to one another in the face of differing opinions. I love and respect my brothers in Christ who believe the Bible requires abstinence. I appeal to them to keep studying. Perhaps we shall reach agreement some day, and if not, we can continue to rejoice together in God’s amazing grace.
G. N. Barkman
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