Drinking Alcohol, should a Christian do it?

[Hobie]

Some people say doesn't the Bible refer in a number of places to wine and strong drink, doesnt it show people drinking alcohol in the Bible? Can't we assume, then, that it does not condemn drinking alcohol?

It's true that we often find people drinking alcohol in the Bible and that Scripture speaks of alcoholic beverages, but we need to be look at the context and also that there was nothing to refrigerate it to keep it from fermenting. When our English Old Testaments refer to alcohol, they generally use the words wine or strong drink. Since the process of distilling alcohol did not develop until around A.D. 500, the strongest alcoholic beverage people could make in Bible times contained only 14 percent alcohol by volume, approximately the maximum produced by natural fermentation. This fact tells us that the scriptural term strong drink certainly gives us no license to drink what we know today as hard liquor.

And what view does the Bible take of this beverage? Of 21 Old Testament texts that mention shekar (beer), 19 strongly condemn it and you can see what is says in the New Testament regarding John the Baptist..
Luke 1:15
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

So let's look at what it says about shekar:

Leviticus 10:9
Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:

Numbers 6:3
He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

Deuteronomy 29:6
Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the Lord your God.

Judges 13:4
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

Judges 13:7
But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

Judges 13:14
She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

And we see the story of Hannah. She went to the tabernacle at Shiloh and prayed so earnestly about the fact that she was childless that the priest accused her of being drunk with shekar.

1 Samuel 1:15
And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.

When you look at wine in the Scriptures, you will find two main words, tirosh which usually refers to grape juice in its unfermented state or fresh, and yayin.

In 30 of the 38 references to tirosh in the Old Testament it is paired with grain and oil, or oil alone, as products of the harvest used for tithe and taxes and the other as the product of the grape or produced by pressing and only one text suggests that tirosh may produce intoxication-and this text may actually be referring to early fermentation or to the practice of mixing new and old (fermented) wine.
Hosea 4:11
Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.

How then should we relate to alcohol if we look at the whole picture and the evidence it shows us......

 

[BlessedPeace]

For me, I see alcohol as poison. What it does to the body,the liver,heart,brain, is like imbiding in slow suicide.

In Jesus time wine was precious when water wasn't plentiful. Also, I wonder if it was potent in percentage of alcohol. Was it watered down?


I don't recall a prohibition to consuming wine or alcohol.
If there is,the wedding at Caana, the last supper,would be a big issue.
What I do recall are warning and prohibition against drunkeness.

 

[Debp]

Some people can become addicted to alcohol so it's probably better to avoid it in the first place.

I had a neighbor (raised Catholic) whose family moved to Argentina when she was a child. In Argentina they drank wine with their meals.

Long story short...she became an alcoholic. She nearly burned her apartment up so she got evicted. Before she got evicted she wasn't eating so I would make her smoothies to drink. Also, would call the paramedics for her. They got tired of coming all of the time.

After her eviction she became homeless although someone tried to give her a room for a little while.

When paramedics took her to the hospital, afterwards the social worker tried to get her into a nice halfway house. Instead she went back to living on the street. She finally disappeared... probably died.

I always think what if she wouldn't have taken her first drink. She had a career as a nurse until she fell off of the wagon....had been sober for some time.

 

[Behold]

Judges 13:4
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

What does Paul say about it?

Well, he told Timothy to drink some wine, for medicinal purposes.
Jesus turned Water into Wine, and not into grape juice.

Paul says....>"All things are lawful for me, but, i dont do many things because i dont want to be under their power, or influence".

So, apply that to gambling, or chronic online purchasing, or NetFlix binging, or eating too many sweets.

Here is the rule. :

1.) All things in moderation, except for sin.

 

[Pearl]

Why not? Jesus and his disciples did. So long as you are able to keep it under control and not let it control you. I like a nice social drink with good company or a glass of beer or wine at home occasionally. But I know there are some organisations which demonise it and count it as sin. I do not.

 

[Bob Estey]

Some people say doesn't the Bible refer in a number of places to wine and strong drink, doesnt it show people drinking alcohol in the Bible? Can't we assume, then, that it does not condemn drinking alcohol?

It's true that we often find people drinking alcohol in the Bible and that Scripture speaks of alcoholic beverages, but we need to be look at the context and also that there was nothing to refrigerate it to keep it from fermenting. When our English Old Testaments refer to alcohol, they generally use the words wine or strong drink. Since the process of distilling alcohol did not develop until around A.D. 500, the strongest alcoholic beverage people could make in Bible times contained only 14 percent alcohol by volume, approximately the maximum produced by natural fermentation. This fact tells us that the scriptural term strong drink certainly gives us no license to drink what we know today as hard liquor.

And what view does the Bible take of this beverage? Of 21 Old Testament texts that mention shekar (beer), 19 strongly condemn it and you can see what is says in the New Testament regarding John the Baptist..
Luke 1:15
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

So let's look at what it says about shekar:

Leviticus 10:9
Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:

Numbers 6:3
He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

Deuteronomy 29:6
Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the Lord your God.

Judges 13:4
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

Judges 13:7
But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

Judges 13:14
She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

And we see the story of Hannah. She went to the tabernacle at Shiloh and prayed so earnestly about the fact that she was childless that the priest accused her of being drunk with shekar.

1 Samuel 1:15
And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.

When you look at wine in the Scriptures, you will find two main words, tirosh which usually refers to grape juice in its unfermented state or fresh, and yayin.

In 30 of the 38 references to tirosh in the Old Testament it is paired with grain and oil, or oil alone, as products of the harvest used for tithe and taxes and the other as the product of the grape or produced by pressing and only one text suggests that tirosh may produce intoxication-and this text may actually be referring to early fermentation or to the practice of mixing new and old (fermented) wine.
Hosea 4:11
Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.

How then should we relate to alcohol if we look at the whole picture and the evidence it shows us......

The Bible does not prohibit moderate use of alcohol, as far as I know. My mother's definition of "moderate" was "two drinks." I have given up drinking.

 

[Nancy]

Some people say doesn't the Bible refer in a number of places to wine and strong drink, doesnt it show people drinking alcohol in the Bible? Can't we assume, then, that it does not condemn drinking alcohol?

It's true that we often find people drinking alcohol in the Bible and that Scripture speaks of alcoholic beverages, but we need to be look at the context and also that there was nothing to refrigerate it to keep it from fermenting. When our English Old Testaments refer to alcohol, they generally use the words wine or strong drink. Since the process of distilling alcohol did not develop until around A.D. 500, the strongest alcoholic beverage people could make in Bible times contained only 14 percent alcohol by volume, approximately the maximum produced by natural fermentation. This fact tells us that the scriptural term strong drink certainly gives us no license to drink what we know today as hard liquor.

And what view does the Bible take of this beverage? Of 21 Old Testament texts that mention shekar (beer), 19 strongly condemn it and you can see what is says in the New Testament regarding John the Baptist..
Luke 1:15
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

So let's look at what it says about shekar:

Leviticus 10:9
Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:

Numbers 6:3
He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

Deuteronomy 29:6
Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the Lord your God.

Judges 13:4
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

Judges 13:7
But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

Judges 13:14
She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

And we see the story of Hannah. She went to the tabernacle at Shiloh and prayed so earnestly about the fact that she was childless that the priest accused her of being drunk with shekar.

1 Samuel 1:15
And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.

When you look at wine in the Scriptures, you will find two main words, tirosh which usually refers to grape juice in its unfermented state or fresh, and yayin.

In 30 of the 38 references to tirosh in the Old Testament it is paired with grain and oil, or oil alone, as products of the harvest used for tithe and taxes and the other as the product of the grape or produced by pressing and only one text suggests that tirosh may produce intoxication-and this text may actually be referring to early fermentation or to the practice of mixing new and old (fermented) wine.
Hosea 4:11
Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.

How then should we relate to alcohol if we look at the whole picture and the evidence it shows us......

We just should not abuse it, I like red wine but not liquor and have a glass or two each night. We are not to get drunk, unless it is with the Holy Spirit

I do not see it as sin unless drunk.

Psalm 104: 14-16
"14 He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth: 15 wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart. 16 The trees of the LORD have their fill, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted,…"

 

[Lambano]

Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:

Okay, so getting drunk before going to church is a bad idea.

 

[Pearl]

Who are these cults that tell us we can't drink wine or eat pork?

 

[dev553344]

Some people say doesn't the Bible refer in a number of places to wine and strong drink, doesnt it show people drinking alcohol in the Bible? Can't we assume, then, that it does not condemn drinking alcohol?

It's true that we often find people drinking alcohol in the Bible and that Scripture speaks of alcoholic beverages, but we need to be look at the context and also that there was nothing to refrigerate it to keep it from fermenting. When our English Old Testaments refer to alcohol, they generally use the words wine or strong drink. Since the process of distilling alcohol did not develop until around A.D. 500, the strongest alcoholic beverage people could make in Bible times contained only 14 percent alcohol by volume, approximately the maximum produced by natural fermentation. This fact tells us that the scriptural term strong drink certainly gives us no license to drink what we know today as hard liquor.

And what view does the Bible take of this beverage? Of 21 Old Testament texts that mention shekar (beer), 19 strongly condemn it and you can see what is says in the New Testament regarding John the Baptist..
Luke 1:15
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

So let's look at what it says about shekar:

Leviticus 10:9
Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:

Numbers 6:3
He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

Deuteronomy 29:6
Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the Lord your God.

Judges 13:4
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

Judges 13:7
But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

Judges 13:14
She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

And we see the story of Hannah. She went to the tabernacle at Shiloh and prayed so earnestly about the fact that she was childless that the priest accused her of being drunk with shekar.

1 Samuel 1:15
And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.

When you look at wine in the Scriptures, you will find two main words, tirosh which usually refers to grape juice in its unfermented state or fresh, and yayin.

In 30 of the 38 references to tirosh in the Old Testament it is paired with grain and oil, or oil alone, as products of the harvest used for tithe and taxes and the other as the product of the grape or produced by pressing and only one text suggests that tirosh may produce intoxication-and this text may actually be referring to early fermentation or to the practice of mixing new and old (fermented) wine.
Hosea 4:11
Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.

How then should we relate to alcohol if we look at the whole picture and the evidence it shows us......

Much nonsense here. Everyone in the bible stories drank a little and some for fun and some like Lot and Noah drank too much. I see you missed the bible verses the promote the use of alcohol. And there are many.

 

[Dan Clarkston]

I've heard numerous people says Jesus drank lots of wine so maybe Christians are supposed to get drunk every once in a while.

Are there any bible passages that say not to get drunk? I hear nothing is mentioned about weed, so have no problem smoking a little weed myself.

 

[Dan Clarkston]

Much nonsense here.

Wow! Is it OK to say passages from the bible are nonsense?

Doesn't that make God angry or something?

 

[dev553344]

Wow! Is it OK to say passages from the bible are nonsense?

Doesn't that make God angry or something?

I didn't say the passages he quoted were nonsense. And yes using those scriptures to say people can't drink is nonsense.

The bible spells out not to abuse alcohol. And that is the general sense when you take all the bible and consider the meaning. Basically drinking during the day and every day and in excess is discouraged.

 

[dev553344]

@Dan Clarkston the bible spells out not to be a drunkard for such do not inherit the Kingdom of God:

1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

The bible also spells out that people that hold offices in the church should be sober minded:

1 Timothy 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

This doesn't tell them they can't drink wine at parties or dinners, Jesus and his apostles did drink wine at dinners and parties with sinners no less. Marriages too, as Jesus turned water into wine.

So what is this drunkard definition:

Drunkard:

1. a person who is habitually drunk.
   

Interesting to note that bodies of flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God either. So none of us the way we are can inherit it either:

1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—

 

[dev553344]

@Dan Clarkston this topic has been done over and over again. I have never seen where someone was able to prove that drinking is forbidden. I also see that you wanted some of the pro-drinking verses. You should note that most of the scriptures quoted in the OP are from the Old testament, and a lot of the old testament is dismissed with the new covenant:

1 Timothy 5:23 Don't drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often.

Proverbs 31:6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart.

There is a reason that Jesus gave wine and bread for his body and blood: Wine comforts the body, like Jesus does but alcohol is addictive and people should be careful of it.

Here's a good read: Did Jesus Drink Wine? (And Should Christians?)

"For Jesus himself, we can look at two scriptures that indicate he also drank wine. First, in Matthew 26:27-29, he institutes the new covenant by sharing a cup of wine with the twelve apostles. He blessed the wine and instructed the men to drink from it. Then Jesus makes this interesting statement, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

This fruit of the vine means wine. The implication is he drank before but wouldn’t drink again until the kingdom’s fulfillment. He doesn’t make this statement to have anything to do with alcohol, good or bad. It’s about celebration and instituting a New Covenant. Wine symbolizes blood and the wedding analogy Jesus spoke of at the Last Supper, as well.

Next, Jesus noted that his critics called him a glutton and a winebibber (another term for drunkard) because he came “eating and drinking” (Matthew 11:9, Luke 7:34). He was revealing the critics’ hearts since they attacked him whether he fasted or went around eating with people (sinners especially). They called him a drunk because they saw him drinking wine with sinners. However, since Jesus was tempted yet sinless (1 Peter 2:22), he drank wine but never took it so far that he got drunk."

 

[Pearl]

I've heard numerous people says Jesus drank lots of wine so maybe Christians are supposed to get drunk every once in a while.

Are there any bible passages that say not to get drunk? I hear nothing is mentioned about weed, so have no problem smoking a little weed myself.

We shouldn't need a bible passage to tell us not to get drunk, it's common sense. Jesus did drink wine but as far as the bible tells us it was only on special occasions and nowhere does it say he drank lots.

 

[Dan Clarkston]

yes using those scriptures to say people can't drink is nonsense.

These passages do say it's wrong to drink, so it's OK to just not pay attention to passages that we don't like?

 

[Dan Clarkston]

I have never seen where someone was able to prove that drinking is forbidden.

If drinking is not forbidden then smoking weed wouldn't be forbidden either!

 

[marks]

Okay, so getting drunk before going to church is a bad idea.

I found it to be a poor idea myself!

Much love!

 

[Lambano]

I found it to be a poor idea myself!

Much love!

I'd chuckle - but a brother in Christ at my church knows where you're coming from. He's going on 22 years sobor now, praise God.