This is my first blog post, which means, among other things, that it might never be read. It'll take some time before my blog gets any attention (if it ever does), and by then this first post will be buried where people won't bother looking. But here it is anyway. Because my blog will mostly feature microbreweries and ale houses, and because I am an Evangelical Christian, I thought it might be good to start out with an explanation of the compatibility between the two. For those of you who didn't already know, drinking alcohol is something of a taboo among most Evangelical Christians.
I enjoy well-crafted wine and ale, especially the latter. I drink them because they seem to me like liquid art; masterpieces that I can consume. I do not enjoy yellow, fizzy beer; they seem like bad art to me. In addition to appreciating the craft and art of brewing fine ale, I also welcome the enhanced sense of joy and celebration alcohol provides. That is, I don't mind occasional inebriation. However, I honestly cannot remember the last time I drank in order to get drunk. Excessive drunkenness is never my goal in drinking alcohol and very rarely the result.
The Bible recognizes a difference between sinful drunkenness and occasional celebratory consumption of alcohol. Drunkenness is considered foolish, even sinful, if excessive or overly frequent, and being a drunkard (someone who is often or continually drunk) is warned against in the Bible. On the other hand, consuming alcohol was part of Biblical culture and did not conflict with a proper relationship with God. In fact, celebratory consumption of alcohol was specified as being perfectly acceptable to God. Consider the following:
"Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice." (Deuteronomy 14:22-26)
In the above passage, we learn that a tenth of a farmer’s produce, including wine, was to be set aside each year, hauled to a special place chosen by God (the place ended up being Jerusalem) and then consumed in the presence of the Lord. If Jerusalem was too far away—that is, if carrying your tithe of food and wine all the way to Jerusalem would be too much of a burden—you could exchange the produce for money, take the money to Jerusalem, and spend it on anything you wanted to eat or drink, including wine or other alcohol, to celebrate the goodness of God. Far from condemning the consumption of alcohol, drinking was specifically encouraged and to be done joyfully in the presence of God.
The purpose of drinking “wine or other fermented drink” in a celebration was (and is) to enhance people's joy and sense of celebration. That is, getting an enjoyable buzz was (and is) sort of the point. Clearly, by calling for the consumption of “wine or other fermented drink,” God was not merely advocating hydration but was rather inviting His people to pursue the attitude of celebration that comes from consuming alcohol. Though excessive drunkenness would not have been acceptable, consuming alcohol to enhance one’s enjoyment of a celebration was perfectly alright and had no negative moral connotation.
The only people who were specifically not to consume alcohol were those who were under a “Nazirite vow” (Numbers 6:1-21). They could not consume anything at all related to grapes, including fruit, wine, juice, raisins, seeds or skin. This was because the person under such a vow was to be absolutely austere and show resolute devotion in their religious intention, while grapes represented alcohol, joy and celebration that did not fit the seriousness of the vow. Once the vow was fulfilled, however, grapes, wine and celebration were again perfectly permissible.
In John chapter two, Jesus turned 120-180 gallons of water into wine. He didn’t turn it into grape juice; He turned it into wine, and He did so only after all the rest of the wine had already been consumed. Jesus kept the party going by supplying a huge amount of additional wine beyond the generous amount originally provided by the bridegroom. When the initial stock of wine ran out and Jesus’ mother hinted that she wanted Him to provide more wine, Jesus was clearly irritated with Mary but He didn’t say, “No, they’ve had enough wine already,” or “No, providing wine would be a sin,” or “No, drinking alcohol is sinful.” Rather, He produced as much as 180 gallons of exquisite wine. How can any followers of Jesus today claim that the making, providing and consumption of alcohol are sinful when Jesus did all three? I’m sure there is an ingenious answer.
Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Abstinence-espousing evangelical preachers are fond of pointing out this verse, supposing it to forbid the consumption of alcohol. They also like to emphasize that the phrase “be filled with the Spirit” is in the aorist tense, meaning “go on being continually filled with the Spirit.” However, they invariably fail to point out that “do not get drunk on wine” is also in the aorist tense! That is, Saint Paul's meaning is “Do not go on being continually drunk with wine.” The admonition is against continual or overly-frequent drunkenness, not against occasional celebratory drunkenness or mere consumption of alcohol. This is clear not only from the aorist verb tense but also from the stated reason for the admonishment: “drunkenness . . . which leads to debauchery.” Debauchery refers to the debased activities a person might fall into if they allow excessive drunkenness to destroy their moral sensibility. The verse says nothing whatsoever about mere consumption of alcohol or even about occasional celebratory drunkenness.
I do not advocate drunkenness. Drunkenness has destroyed millions of individuals and families. The Bible condemns excessive and frequent drunkenness. However, abstinence is not the only acceptable Christian position regarding alcohol, and in fact, the consumption of alcohol is far more consistent with Biblical Christian culture than is abstinence. That is, consumption of alcohol was not a taboo among the early Christians, though drunkenness was rejected, and abstinence would have been considered very odd (though welcomed as a matter of self-control). There is a big difference between consumption of alcohol, on the one hand, and sinful drunkenness, on the other, even if a large number of Christians refuse to see it. The Bible nowhere condemns the consumption of alcohol, nor even occasional celebratory drunkenness, but it has strong warnings against excessive and/or ongoing drunkenness.
The consumption of wine and other fermented beverages was specified as being perfectly acceptable to God even in religious celebrations; abstinence was considered a severe, unusual and temporary form of self-denial expected only of those fulfilling the Nazirite vow; Jesus Himself provided an extraordinary amount of wine for a wedding celebration; and Saint Paul emphasized the goodness of continual, ongoing joy in the Spirit in contradistinction to the sin of continual, ongoing drunkenness, but he did not condemn the consumption of alcohol itself.
My microbrewery visits have nothing at all to do with getting drunk. To me, a brew pub is like an art gallery and every pint of ale a piece of art. The artists take four of God's creations - water, grain, hops and yeast - and craft them into delicious, consumable works of art to be enjoyed by God's people.
Cheers!
I enjoy well-crafted wine and ale, especially the latter. I drink them because they seem to me like liquid art; masterpieces that I can consume. I do not enjoy yellow, fizzy beer; they seem like bad art to me. In addition to appreciating the craft and art of brewing fine ale, I also welcome the enhanced sense of joy and celebration alcohol provides. That is, I don't mind occasional inebriation. However, I honestly cannot remember the last time I drank in order to get drunk. Excessive drunkenness is never my goal in drinking alcohol and very rarely the result.
The Bible recognizes a difference between sinful drunkenness and occasional celebratory consumption of alcohol. Drunkenness is considered foolish, even sinful, if excessive or overly frequent, and being a drunkard (someone who is often or continually drunk) is warned against in the Bible. On the other hand, consuming alcohol was part of Biblical culture and did not conflict with a proper relationship with God. In fact, celebratory consumption of alcohol was specified as being perfectly acceptable to God. Consider the following:
"Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice." (Deuteronomy 14:22-26)
In the above passage, we learn that a tenth of a farmer’s produce, including wine, was to be set aside each year, hauled to a special place chosen by God (the place ended up being Jerusalem) and then consumed in the presence of the Lord. If Jerusalem was too far away—that is, if carrying your tithe of food and wine all the way to Jerusalem would be too much of a burden—you could exchange the produce for money, take the money to Jerusalem, and spend it on anything you wanted to eat or drink, including wine or other alcohol, to celebrate the goodness of God. Far from condemning the consumption of alcohol, drinking was specifically encouraged and to be done joyfully in the presence of God.
The purpose of drinking “wine or other fermented drink” in a celebration was (and is) to enhance people's joy and sense of celebration. That is, getting an enjoyable buzz was (and is) sort of the point. Clearly, by calling for the consumption of “wine or other fermented drink,” God was not merely advocating hydration but was rather inviting His people to pursue the attitude of celebration that comes from consuming alcohol. Though excessive drunkenness would not have been acceptable, consuming alcohol to enhance one’s enjoyment of a celebration was perfectly alright and had no negative moral connotation.
The only people who were specifically not to consume alcohol were those who were under a “Nazirite vow” (Numbers 6:1-21). They could not consume anything at all related to grapes, including fruit, wine, juice, raisins, seeds or skin. This was because the person under such a vow was to be absolutely austere and show resolute devotion in their religious intention, while grapes represented alcohol, joy and celebration that did not fit the seriousness of the vow. Once the vow was fulfilled, however, grapes, wine and celebration were again perfectly permissible.
In John chapter two, Jesus turned 120-180 gallons of water into wine. He didn’t turn it into grape juice; He turned it into wine, and He did so only after all the rest of the wine had already been consumed. Jesus kept the party going by supplying a huge amount of additional wine beyond the generous amount originally provided by the bridegroom. When the initial stock of wine ran out and Jesus’ mother hinted that she wanted Him to provide more wine, Jesus was clearly irritated with Mary but He didn’t say, “No, they’ve had enough wine already,” or “No, providing wine would be a sin,” or “No, drinking alcohol is sinful.” Rather, He produced as much as 180 gallons of exquisite wine. How can any followers of Jesus today claim that the making, providing and consumption of alcohol are sinful when Jesus did all three? I’m sure there is an ingenious answer.
Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Abstinence-espousing evangelical preachers are fond of pointing out this verse, supposing it to forbid the consumption of alcohol. They also like to emphasize that the phrase “be filled with the Spirit” is in the aorist tense, meaning “go on being continually filled with the Spirit.” However, they invariably fail to point out that “do not get drunk on wine” is also in the aorist tense! That is, Saint Paul's meaning is “Do not go on being continually drunk with wine.” The admonition is against continual or overly-frequent drunkenness, not against occasional celebratory drunkenness or mere consumption of alcohol. This is clear not only from the aorist verb tense but also from the stated reason for the admonishment: “drunkenness . . . which leads to debauchery.” Debauchery refers to the debased activities a person might fall into if they allow excessive drunkenness to destroy their moral sensibility. The verse says nothing whatsoever about mere consumption of alcohol or even about occasional celebratory drunkenness.
I do not advocate drunkenness. Drunkenness has destroyed millions of individuals and families. The Bible condemns excessive and frequent drunkenness. However, abstinence is not the only acceptable Christian position regarding alcohol, and in fact, the consumption of alcohol is far more consistent with Biblical Christian culture than is abstinence. That is, consumption of alcohol was not a taboo among the early Christians, though drunkenness was rejected, and abstinence would have been considered very odd (though welcomed as a matter of self-control). There is a big difference between consumption of alcohol, on the one hand, and sinful drunkenness, on the other, even if a large number of Christians refuse to see it. The Bible nowhere condemns the consumption of alcohol, nor even occasional celebratory drunkenness, but it has strong warnings against excessive and/or ongoing drunkenness.
The consumption of wine and other fermented beverages was specified as being perfectly acceptable to God even in religious celebrations; abstinence was considered a severe, unusual and temporary form of self-denial expected only of those fulfilling the Nazirite vow; Jesus Himself provided an extraordinary amount of wine for a wedding celebration; and Saint Paul emphasized the goodness of continual, ongoing joy in the Spirit in contradistinction to the sin of continual, ongoing drunkenness, but he did not condemn the consumption of alcohol itself.
My microbrewery visits have nothing at all to do with getting drunk. To me, a brew pub is like an art gallery and every pint of ale a piece of art. The artists take four of God's creations - water, grain, hops and yeast - and craft them into delicious, consumable works of art to be enjoyed by God's people.
Cheers!
Gregg,
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you were an Evangelical Christian.
Kenty
Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that before.
ReplyDelete