Is it a sin to drink alcohol

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John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
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I drink in moderation. And so do my Christian friends. A glass of wine with a meal. I have no desire to get drunk. I believe the American prohibition ruined the American Christians understanding of Alchohol. (excpet for the presbyterians) It wasn't the Bible that condemned alcohol, it was people. We will drink wine at the wedding feast.
But now you’ve lost your testimony to those who may stumble. You now must answer yes to the question, do you drink? You can claim moderation, but to most all they hear is yes, you drink. This includes children.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,097
3,683
113
I drink in moderation. And so do my Christian friends. A glass of wine with a meal. I have no desire to get drunk. I believe the American prohibition ruined the American Christians understanding of Alchohol. (excpet for the presbyterians) It wasn't the Bible that condemned alcohol, it was people. We will drink wine at the wedding feast.
And why not just give it up altogether? Do you really need a glass of wine with your meal?
 
Mar 26, 2020
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But now you’ve lost your testimony to those who may stumble. You now must answer yes to the question, do you drink? You can claim moderation, but to most all they hear is yes, you drink. This includes children.
Really? Can you hear how legalistic you sound?
Do I drink in front of or with people who have an addiction? Absolutely not. I have no problem drinking water, or coke if I know a brother or sister has a problem. Do I lie to them? Nope. I love my brothers and sisters. I love God and Know that enjoying a glass of wine is not sinful. My conscience and testimony are intact.
 

WithinReason

Active member
Feb 21, 2020
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No such thing with alcohol. The Bible speaks of "temperance", which includes a category of 'none at all', such as alcohol, 'drugs', etc:

The science is becoming more and more clear, in harmony with scripture:

"... Alcohol: One drink a day is one too many, scientists say​
A study of drinking around the world warns that even an occasional glass of wine or beer can increase your chances of disease and an early death. Scientists say there's no such thing as a "safe level" of alcohol.​
Alcohol consumption caused almost 3 million premature deaths in 2016, according to the results of a major study of drinking in 195 countries.​
The research, published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet, found that drinking was the leading factor in deaths of people between the ages of 15 and 49. It also concluded that any amount of alcohol consumption, even one drink every now and again, increased the risk of health problems like cancer, cardiovascular disease and tuberculosis.​
"The health risks associated with alcohol are enormous," said Emmanuela Gakidou, senior author and director at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in Seattle.​
One drink a day?​
The researchers drew on more than 1,000 studies to compile a picture of alcohol's health impacts and drinking habits among men and women around the world.​
They reported that imbibing one standard drink — equivalent to a small beer, glass of wine or shot of spirits — each day, boosted the odds of developing at least one of 23 possible health conditions by about 0.5 percent.​
That might not sound like much, but — at a global level — that daily drinking habit translates to about 100,000 additional deaths every year, Gakidou said.​
Read more: A little history of what Germans drink and why​
"There is no safe level of alcohol," Max Griswold, lead author and IHME researcher, told the AFP news agency. "Overall, the health risks associated with alcohol rose in line with the amount consumed."​
In addition to the prevalence of alcohol-related disease, the study also looked at injuries and death resulting from alcohol consumption, such as road accidents and self-harm.​
Two drinks per day increased the chances of disease and injury by 7 percent, the researchers wrote. The risk climbed to 37 percent with five drinks.​
Read more: Alcohol loses its 'coolness' tag​
Cause of death​
According to the study, drinking was the seventh leading risk factor for premature death and disease in 2016, accounting for around 2 percent of deaths in women and nearly 7 percent in men.​
Alcohol was the most lethal factor in the 15-49 age bracket, responsible for more than 12 percent of male deaths.​
A global picture​
Of the more than 2 billion people around the world who consume alcohol, about 63 percent are men, the researchers wrote.​
The biggest drinkers in 2016 were men in Romania, who put away an average of eight drinks a day. Portugal, Luxembourg, Lithuania and Ukraine followed with seven "units" per day.​
Among women, Ukrainians led with four drinks a day, followed by Andorra, Luxembourg, Belarus, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and Britain, all averaging about three per day. ..." - https://www.dw.com/en/alcohol-one-drink-a-day-is-one-too-many-scientists-say/a-45204396

Again:

"... Earlier studies had found women feel the effects of alcohol much quicker than men for numerous reasons, including the average man weighing more than the average women. The Lancet study, however, found no evidence to support different guidelines for women and men.​
Canada and Sweden have similar guidelines as the United States, but some countries have much higher limits. For instance, Spain and Romania set the upper limit for men at the equivalent of 20 drinks each week.​
Jeremy Pearson of the British Heart Foundation, a group that partially funded the study, said in a statement that it "is a serious wake-up call for many countries."​
Shaving off years​
The international team of researchers analyzed nearly 600,000 people aged 30-100 from 19 different countries as part of 80 different studies. They recorded 40,310 deaths and 39,018 cardiovascular disease events among the group's members.​
The study found that drinking between 100-200 grams of alcohol could decrease one's life expectancy by six months, 200-350 grams by two years and more than 350 grams by four years.​
On average, each unit of alcohol that exceeds the 100-gram limit slices off 15 minutes of a person's life — about the same as a cigarette, said David Spiegelhalter, a professor at the University of Cambridge, in a comment on the report. ..." - https://www.dw.com/en/sobering-trut...-safe-in-many-countries-study-says/a-43368146
The Bible is clear:

Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.​

That includes yourself, slowly, by alcohol., cigarettes, etc.

1Co_3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.​

Look up that word 'defile'.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,097
3,683
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Why give it up? Wine is a gift from God. Just because people say it's sin, doesn't mean I should listen to them. That's foolish.
Spoiled grape juice is a gift from God?

You never know who might ask you if you drink. Your answe may cause someone to stumble and you’re unaware. That’s all. Why not eliminate that possibility?
 

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2014
70,920
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And why not just give it up altogether? Do you really need a glass of wine with your meal?
Jesus turned water into wine. Did HE partake of any of it?

He made it so that the wedding guests could drink it..
 
Mar 26, 2020
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Spoiled grape juice is a gift from God?

You never know who might ask you if you drink. Your answe may cause someone to stumble and you’re unaware. That’s all. Why not eliminate that possibility?
I don't drink in secret. If anyone asks I say yes! I have no shame, because it's not sinning.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,097
3,683
113
Jesus turned water into wine. Did HE partake of any of it?

He made it so that the wedding guests could drink it..
The word itself calls wine a mocker. Do you really think the Lord turned water into a mocker? If so, for what purpose? Did you know that wine, fresh grape juice, was a privilege? Not all had access. Kings and people in high authority had cup bearers. They could have fresh wine anytime they wanted, straight from the wine press.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,097
3,683
113
No offense John, but this sounds a tad judgemental and condescending..
Not trying to be, but a simple question. Why drink at all? I watched my alcoholic father. It wasn’t good. Guess what, he started out in “moderation.”
 

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2014
70,920
9,668
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The word itself calls wine a mocker. Do you really think the Lord turned water into a mocker? If so, for what purpose? Did you know that wine, fresh grape juice, was a privilege? Not all had access. Kings and people in high authority had cup bearers. They could have fresh wine anytime they wanted, straight from the wine press.
My point is, Jesus made wine so that people could drink it. Was He contributing to their drunken-ness? Or did they consume only a tiny bit? Wine IS grape juice, btw.. Fermented into alcohol but it comes from grapes..

He called wine (any alcohol) a mocker because people do stupid stuff when they get drunk. Then they suffer the consequences of those stupid actions.
 
Mar 26, 2020
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Jesus turned water into wine. Did HE partake of any of it?

He made it so that the wedding guests could drink it..
The last supper... Jesus said, "Take and drink"... why turn what God made beautiful and symbolic into confusion? Jesus also said, "I am the bread and wine". There is nothing special about Grape juice. But there is something special about wine. Be careful and don't get drunk. But enjoy what God made and what he called good.
Suprise......... We can enjoy God when we enjoy a glass of wine. That's the truth. I am sorry if your religion has messed you up. But my faith has given me liberty.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,097
3,683
113
My point is, Jesus made wine so that people could drink it. Was He contributing to their drunken-ness? Or did they consume only a tiny bit? Wine IS grape juice, btw.. Fermented into alcohol but it comes from grapes..

He called wine (any alcohol) a mocker because people do stupid stuff when they get drunk. Then they suffer the consequences of those stupid actions.
Wine, biblically, can be fresh grape juice. The context will define.
 

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2014
70,920
9,668
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Not trying to be, but a simple question. Why drink at all? I watched my alcoholic father. It wasn’t good. Guess what, he started out in “moderation.”
Again no offense, but obviously your father enjoyed alcohol to the point that he became a hopeless alcoholic. I don't know if he tried to cut down or get help, but he chose to get drunk.
 

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2014
70,920
9,668
113
The last supper... Jesus said, "Take and drink"... why turn what God made beautiful and symbolic into confusion? Jesus also said, "I am the bread and wine". There is nothing special about Grape juice. But there is something special about wine. Be careful and don't get drunk. But enjoy what God made and what he called good.
Suprise......... We can enjoy God when we enjoy a glass of wine. That's the truth. I am sorry if your religion has messed you up. But my faith has given me liberty.

Uhh, I agree with you. :unsure: My religion hasn't messed me up. I'm Christian. :)

But nobody has yet answered my question: did JESUS himself partake of the wine He made? If He did, then surely it must be okay to partake of small anounts of wine on rare occasions.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,097
3,683
113
Again no offense, but obviously your father enjoyed alcohol to the point that he became a hopeless alcoholic. I don't know if he tried to cut down or get help, but he chose to get drunk.
An alcoholic never sets out to become an alcoholic. It starts with moderation. Why even go there? “Well, I can control it.” Ask the millions of people who said this, even fellow Christians.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
37,726
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Yep, that is one of the cases of showing the evil of alcohol,
((in re Exodus 32:4-7))
FALSE

as previously stated on page 1

read verse 4.
The corruption is that they had built a golden calf idol and were worshipping it.

When you overlook blatant idolatry in order to condemn others over food and drink you have a serious problem, and you are not a good teacher.