Christianity and alcohol

==Alcohol in the Bible==
Alcoholic beverages appear repeatedly in the Bible, both in actual usage and in poetic expression, and on the whole, the Bible is ambivalent toward them, considering them both a blessing from God that brings merriment and a potential danger that can be unwisely and sinfully abused. Since nearly all Christians base their views of alcohol, in whole or in part, on their understanding of what the Bible says about it, the Bible is the single most important source on the subject, followed by Christian tradition. 
The biblical languages have several words for alcoholic beverages,Fitzsimmonds, pp. 1254f. and though prohibitionists and some abstentionists (see "Current views" below) dissent, Quoted in Reynolds, The Biblical Approach to Alcohol. there is a broad consensus that the words did ordinarily refer to intoxicating drinks. (Emphasis in original.) Quoted in Pierard, p. 28: "No evidence whatsoever exists to support the notion that the wine mentioned in the Bible was unfermented grape juice. When juice is referred to, it is not called wine (Gen. 40:11). Nor can 'new wine' ... mean unfermented juice, because the process of chemical change begins almost immediately after pressing." 
The commonness and centrality of wine in daily life in biblical times is apparent from its many positive and negative metaphorical uses throughout the Bible.Raymond, p. 24: "The numerous allusions to the vine and wine in the Old Testament furnish an admirable basis for the study of its estimation among the people at large." Positively, wine is used as a symbol of abundance and physical blessing, Ge 27:28; 49:9-12; Dt 7:13; 11:14; 15:14; compare 33:28; Pr 3:9f; Jr 31:10-12; Ho 2:21-22; Jl 2:19,24; 3:18; Am 9:13f; compare 2Ki 18:31-32; 2Ch 32:28; Ne 5:11; 13:12; etc. for example. Negatively, wine is personified as a mocker and beer a brawler,Pr 20:1 and drinking a cup of strong wine to the dregs and getting drunk are sometimes presented as a symbol of God's judgment and wrath.Ps 60:3; 75:8; Is 51:17-23; 63:6; Jr 13:12-14; 25:15-29; 49:12; 51:7; La 4:21f; Ezk 23:28-33; Na 1:9f; Hab 2:15f; Zc 12:2; Mt 20:22; 26:39, 42; Lk 22:42; Jn 18:11; Re 14:10; 16:19; compare Ps Sol 8:14
The Bible also speaks of wine in general terms as a bringer and concomitant of joy, particularly in the context of nourishment and feasting.Jg 9:13; Ps 4:7; 104:15; Ec 9:7; 10:19; Zc 9:17; 10:7 Wine was commonly drunk at meals, and the Old Testament prescribed it for use in sacrificial rituals and festal celebrations. The Gospels record that Jesus himself miraculously made copious amountsSix pots of thirty-nine liters each = 234 liters = 61.8 gallons, according to of wine at the wedding feast at Cana,Jn 2:1-11; 4:46 and when he instituted the ritual of the Eucharist at the Last Supper during a Passover celebration,Mt 26:17-19; Mk 14:12-16; Lk 22:7-13. The Gospel of John offers some difficulties when compared with the Synoptists' accounts on whether the meal was part of the Passover proper. In any case, it seems that the Last Supper was most likely somehow associated with Passover, even if it wasn't the paschal feast itself. See the discussion in he says that the wineSeesemann, p. 162: "Wine is specifically mentioned as an integral part of the passover meal no earlier than Jub. 49:6 ['... all Israel was eating the flesh of the paschal lamb, and drinking the wine ...'], but there can be no doubt that it was in use long before." P. 164: "In the accounts of the Last Supper the term [wine] occurs neither in the Synoptists nor Paul. It is obvious, however, that according to custom Jesus was proffering wine in the cup over which He pronounced the blessing; this may be seen especially from the solemn [fruit of the vine] (Mark 14:25 and par.) which was borrowed from Judaism." Compare "fruit of the vine" as a formula in the Mishnah, Raymond, p. 80: "All the wines used in basic religious services in Palestine were fermented." is a "New Covenant in [his] blood,"Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:17-20; 1 Co 10:16; 11:23-25 though Christians have differed on the implications of this statement (see Eucharistic theologies contrasted). Alcohol was also used for medicinal purposed in biblical times, and it appears in that context in several passages – as an oral anesthetic,Pr 31:4-7; Mt 27:34,48; Mk 15:23,36; Lk 23:36; Jn 19:28–30 a topical cleanser and soother,Lk 10:34 and a digestive aid.1 Ti 5:23
Kings and priests in the Old Testament were forbidden to partake of wine at various times,Pr 31:4f; Lv 10:9; compare Ez 44:21 and certain optional vows excluded as part of their ascetic regimen not only wine, but also vinegar, grapes, and raisinsNu 6:2-4 (compare Jg 13:4-5; Am 2:11f); Jr 35 (unlike John the Baptist,Compare Lk 1:15. Jesus evidently did not take such a vow during the three years of ministry depicted in the gospels).Mt 11:18f; Lk 7:33f; compare Mk 14:25; Lk 22:17fI. W. Raymond p. 81: "Not only did Jesus Christ Himself use and sanction the use of wine but also ... He saw nothing intrinsically evil in wine.[footnote citing Mt 15:11]" St. Paul further instructs Christians regarding their duty toward immature Christians: "It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall."Ro 14:21. Raymond understands this to mean that "if an individual by drinking wine either causes others to err through his example or abets a social evil which causes others to succumb to its temptations, then in the interests of Christian love he ought to forego the temporary pleasures of drinking in the interests of heavenly treasures" (p. 87).
Virtually all Christian denominations hold that the Bible condemns ordinary drunkenness in many passages,For instance, Pr 20:1; Is 5:11f; Ho 5:2,5; Ro 13:13; Ep 5:18; 1 Ti 3:2-3. and Easton's Bible Dictionary says, "The sin of drunkenness ... must have been not uncommon in the olden times, for it is mentioned either metaphorically or literally more than seventy times in the Bible." Additionally, the consequences of the drunkenness of NoahGe 9:20-27 and LotGe 19:31-38 "were intended to serve as examples of the dangers and repulsiveness of intemperance," and St. Paul later chides the Corinthians for becoming drunk on wine served at their attempted celebrations of the Eucharist.1Co 11:20-22 In short, for nearly all Christians, drunkenness "is not merely a disgusting personal habit and social vice, but a sin which bars the gates of Heaven, desecrates the body, which is now in a special sense the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit, and stains the mystical body of Christ, the Church."
==Read also==
Alcohol in Christian history and tradition
==References==
Category:Christianity