Right and wrong reasons to avoid alcohol

Since I posted my article about drinking beer for spiritual purposes, I have had the opportunity to have several chats with Christian friends and family about it. My cousin John recently asked me why conservative Christian congregations almost universally reject alcohol consumption. If it is truly a neutral issue that can and should be decided by individual Christians, why do almost all Christians reject it as sinful?

I should point out from the start that John was truly asking the intellectual question. He wasn’t attempting to get me to change my position on this topic via the “Christians all around the world reject your interpretation, so you must be wrong” kind of argument. I think he basically agrees with my conclusion in the matter (if not the results of my conclusion — having an occasional beer). This has had me thinking a bit. I’m going to explore this idea in a couple of articles.

There are many arguments that I’ve heard over the years that attempt to build the case that drinking any form of alcoholic beverage is wrong.

1. There are many warnings in scripture about getting drunk. If you never take that first drink, you’ll never be drunk.
2. The wine that is seen in scripture (what Christ created from water, for instance) was really non-alcoholic grape juice.
3. The wine in scripture was alcoholic, but it was of a much lesser alcohol content than our modern wines. So you can’t use the example of Christ at the wedding of Cana as a defense of drinking modern alcoholic beverages.
4. Alcohol has ruined so many lives, why mess with it?

I’d like to give my impression of each of these arguments. But first, I’d like to state that if you have decided to abstain from alcohol in your life, that’s fine with me. And it can be fine and honoring to God. The only time I think it becomes a problem is when you view your abstinence as something that makes you a good Christian (or worse a better Christian than those who actually do drink alcohol from time to time). I’m not attempting to put forth the idea that all Christians who believe that they shouldn’t drink alcohol are wrong and/or stupid. There are valid reasons to abstain from alcohol. My claim is that making the blanket statement that all consumption of alcohol is sinful just isn’t correct or supported by scripture.

1. There are many warnings in scripture about getting drunk. If you never take that first drink, you’ll never be drunk. This is the basic “slippery slope” argument. And to some degree it is valid. If you’re worried about becoming enslaved to alcohol, you probably shouldn’t have that first drink. But it is a far cry from making the case that any consumption of alcohol is wrong.

   Drunkenness is sinful. But having a beer from time to time is not the same as getting drunk.

   And this argument is weak because it has the problems inherent in slippery slope arguments. Having the first piece of cheesecake doesn’t make me a glutton. Spanking a child doesn’t make me a child abuser. And having a beer from time to time doesn’t make me a drunkard.

2. The wine that is seen in scripture (what Christ created from water, for instance) was really non-alcoholic grape juice. This is just a bogus argument. If you study the Greek and Hebrew words used for wine in scripture, you’ll quickly come to the conclusion that this claim is false. It just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.

   Of course, if you’re more interested in clinging to your set of rules or ideals than you are to scripture, than this argument can still be persuasive.

3. The wine in scripture was alcoholic, but it was of a much lesser alcohol content than our modern wines. So you can’t use the example of Christ at the wedding of Cana as a defense of drinking modern alcoholic beverages. Actually, I believe we do make more potent potables today. We have learned a lot in the last couple thousand years about purifying water, distillation techniques, etc. I’m sure that modern liquors are much more potent than the alcoholic beverages mentioned in scripture.

   But this only cautions for more moderation than what we see in scripture. It doesn’t call for an all-out ban. If the argument is that it is not good to drink alcohol today because the products are stronger than what was in scripture, then the argument implicitly admits that what was mentioned in scripture is fine because it is lesser in alcoholic content. So all that is warranted is to make sure I only take in comparable amounts of alcohol — amounts that won’t affect me deleteriously.

4. Alcohol has ruined so many lives, why mess with it? This is a guilty-by-association argument. People have misused alcohol in the past, therefore alcohol is bad. It has logical problems similar to those of the slippery-slope argument. The fact that others have misused something doesn’t mean that it is evil. Nearly anything can become an idol — even good things (sometimes especially good things)!

But I mentioned that there are valid reasons for abstaining from alcohol. I do think that’s true. Here are some reasons that I would think are valid.

• Because you live and worship among believers who harbor a conviction (rightly or wrongly) that drinking alcohol is sinful. This was my reason for abstaining for most of my life. If you find yourself among believers whose faith would be shaken if they saw a close Christian friend drinking alcohol, then scripture clearly calls you to abstain. Paul’s example of meat offered to idols in 1 Corinthians speaks to this situation very clearly.

  But I do think that it has everything to do with the weaker brother in this case. I can have a beer in my own house without causing my brother to stumble. But I will abstain when I have him over.

• Because you know that you have an issue with alcohol. If you’ve beaten alcohol addiction in the past, it would be pretty foolish to have a casual drink.

• Because you truly fear that your lack of self control or tendency towards escapism (as manifested in other areas, maybe) would work itself out in alcohol addiction. Alcohol is an addictive substance. If misused it can have disastrous results. Knowing your weaknesses and using that knowledge to protect yourself is wise.

  This practice is sometimes referred to as “fence-building.” You’re putting a fence around a dangerous area so you don’t slip into it. A fence around God’s law as it were. God commands not to be drunken, so you build the fence of abstinence. That’s fine as long as you understand that it is a fence. We mustn’t confuse the fence with God’s law.

There are reasons that I think are wrong for choosing to abstain from alcohol. Probably the most prominent one is a form of self-righteousness and pride. You believe that somehow God loves you more because you’ve been able to keep yourself “pure” from the stain of alcohol. I’ve heard many sermons where the boast was made (about the preacher or about someone else) that “alcohol has never touched these lips!” This is usually seen as some kind of wonderful testimony for God, but it really only serves to impress Christians. It’s a form of pride.

But I haven’t really hit on the question my cousin asked me. Why is alcohol taboo in most of Christian culture? I think I’ll write up some thoughts about that in another article.