Drinking, Moderation, Good Stewardship
Michael Spencer, The Internet Monk, has an interesting post reflecting on his Southern Baptist upbringing, specifically the prohibition of alcohol. He concludes, “I was snuckered. The Bible didn't say what I was told it said. There are millions of Christians who drink. Jesus made real wine. It's what you are supposed to drink at communion. I was misled and there isn't any other word for it. It is just one, big lie. And now, we're hearing it all again. I've heard lots of articulate people try to build a new case for teetotalism, and while I respect what they are saying, the Bible is too clear. They can make a very good practical argument, but they can't get past Colossians 2:16-23. You can't bind the conscience in these matters. It's a fools errand, and life is too short to listen to it.”
It’s a fascinating story, and worth the read. Likely it caught my eye and imagination because I happen to like a martini, a bit of single malt Scotch, a glass of wine (I'm not necessarily implying a single unit of any of these), and I’m glad the Catholic Church doesn’t hold prohibitions against drinking (though all sorts of sinful problems can stem from immoderate drinking, and these are, of course, dealt with in prohibitions against the individual sins). But maybe it also caught my eye because for me it relates to a larger question – how are we, as Christians, even as humans, to draw the line on where the sincere appreciation of the good things God gives us becomes simply self-indulgence? I’m not talking about how good pleasures in moderation become destructive in immoderate quantities (this is self-evident and easy to see the sin in), but how good pleasures in moderation can become a misuse of the gifts we’ve been given, bad stewardship. This, it seems, is more complex and requires a good deal more discernment.
It also occurred to me Rick (and others!) may have interesting insights on this from a Southern evangelical perspective.
And in full disclosure ... after Mass today and before I posted this, I stopped at the liquor store for a bottle of good single malt Scotch to share while slow roasting pork on the grill on this cool, Green Mountain fall afternoon.
It’s a fascinating story, and worth the read. Likely it caught my eye and imagination because I happen to like a martini, a bit of single malt Scotch, a glass of wine (I'm not necessarily implying a single unit of any of these), and I’m glad the Catholic Church doesn’t hold prohibitions against drinking (though all sorts of sinful problems can stem from immoderate drinking, and these are, of course, dealt with in prohibitions against the individual sins). But maybe it also caught my eye because for me it relates to a larger question – how are we, as Christians, even as humans, to draw the line on where the sincere appreciation of the good things God gives us becomes simply self-indulgence? I’m not talking about how good pleasures in moderation become destructive in immoderate quantities (this is self-evident and easy to see the sin in), but how good pleasures in moderation can become a misuse of the gifts we’ve been given, bad stewardship. This, it seems, is more complex and requires a good deal more discernment.
It also occurred to me Rick (and others!) may have interesting insights on this from a Southern evangelical perspective.
And in full disclosure ... after Mass today and before I posted this, I stopped at the liquor store for a bottle of good single malt Scotch to share while slow roasting pork on the grill on this cool, Green Mountain fall afternoon.
posted by Ernesto at 1:33 PM
1 Comments:
This was a big topic of discussion in my old neck of the woods. Still is up here in my conservative Baptist church family. I'd say that most churches that preach against alcohol do not insist that the Bible specifically forbids it, though I have heard arguments aplenty to that effect. One radio preacher whose name I've forgotten had amassed a book of supporting material to argue that the term "wine" in scripture refers only to grape juice. That always seemed a specious argument at best. The more common line is that the ancients had to have fermented juice because the fermentation process was a natural way to preserve things. The alcohol content was very low, and now we have refrigeration. I think the most common argument is not from scripture directly, although there are scriptural admonitions against drunkenness, but from the moral logic that alcohol makes it easier to do bad things so to abstain from it is a good thing. Add to that the fact that it's a potentially addictive drug with devastating consequences for entire familes and it's not so odd that some churches would incorporate the prohibition into their church by-laws.
It makes more sense than, say, prohibiting all meat but fish on Fridays. (OK, cheap shot.)
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