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===19th century===
===19th century===
[[Image:Thomas Bramwell Welch.jpg|right|thumb|Thomas Bramwell Welch]]
[[Image:Thomas Bramwell Welch.jpg|right|thumb|Thomas Bramwell Welch]]
In the early 19th century, however, things began to change. With the social upheaval that accompanied the [[American Revolution]] and the [[urbanization]] induced by the [[Industrial Revolution]], drunkenness was on the rise and was blamed for the increasing poverty, unemployment, and crime, and [[Temperance Society|Temperance Societies]] began forming in order to combat the trend. Initially they espoused moderation and temperance in the use of alcohol, but, fueled in part by the [[Second Great Awakening]] — which emphasized personal [[holiness]] and sometimes [[perfectionism]] — the message soon changed to the outright elimination of alcohol.<ref>See [[Temperance movement#The United States]].</ref><ref name="ProtTrans4">{{cite_journal|author=Keith Mathison | title=Protestant Transubstantiation - Part 4: Origins of and Reasons for the Rejection of Wine | url=http://thirdmill.org/newfiles/kei_mathison/TH.Mathison.Prot.Transub.4.html | journal=IIIM Magazine Online | volume=3| issue=4 | date=January 22-28, 2001 | accessdate=2007-01-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite_web | author=Ra McLaughlin | url=http://thirdmill.org/answers/answer.asp/file/99906.qna/category/ch/page/questions/site/iiim | title=Protestant Transubstantiation (History of) | publisher=Third Millennium Ministries | accessdate=2007-01-22}}</ref><ref>Pierard, p. 28.</ref> Once the Temperance Movement made the leap from temperance to prohibition, alcohol itself became an evil, and so it had to be expunged from Christian practice, especially from the holy rite of the Lord's Supper.<ref name="ProtTrans4"/><ref>{{cite_encyclopedia| title=Wine |encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to the Bible| author=M. D. Coogan| editor=[[Bruce Metzger]] and M. D. Coogan |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |date=1993 |id=ISBN 978-0195046458 |pages= pp. 799f}}</ref> Such a position was made practical by [[Methodism|Methodist]] [[minister (Christianity)|minister]] [[Thomas Bramwell Welch]]'s invention of a [[pasteurization]] process to stop the fermentation that [[grape juice]] [[winemaking|naturally undergoes]].<ref name="DrinkWhat">{{cite_web| author=Ken Camp | url=http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=5853&print=1 | title="Drink to That? Have Baptists watered down their objections to alcohol?" | work=The Baptist Standard | date=January 05, 2007 | accessdate=2007-01-22}}</ref> Welch's church [[elder (Christianity)|elders]] considered substituting juice for wine in the Lord's Supper to be an "unacceptable innovation,"<ref>{{cite_web|author=Marian Van Til|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/moi/2003/002/apr/27.27.html|date=April 27, 2003|title=Welch's Innovation|publisher=Christianity Today International/''Men of Integrity'' magazine|accessdate=2007-02-24}}</ref> though it eventually took hold in much of American Protestantism.
In the early 19th century, however, things began to change. With the social upheaval that accompanied the [[American Revolution]] and the [[urbanization]] induced by the [[Industrial Revolution]], drunkenness was on the rise and was blamed for the increasing poverty, unemployment, and crime, and [[Temperance Society|Temperance Societies]] began forming in order to combat the trend. Initially they espoused moderation and temperance in the use of alcohol, but, fueled in part by the [[Second Great Awakening]] — which emphasized personal [[holiness]] and sometimes [[perfectionism]] — the message soon changed to the outright elimination of alcohol.<ref>See [[Temperance movement#United States]].</ref><ref name="ProtTrans4">{{cite_journal|author=Keith Mathison | title=Protestant Transubstantiation - Part 4: Origins of and Reasons for the Rejection of Wine | url=http://thirdmill.org/newfiles/kei_mathison/TH.Mathison.Prot.Transub.4.html | journal=IIIM Magazine Online | volume=3| issue=4 | date=January 22-28, 2001 | accessdate=2007-01-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite_web | author=Ra McLaughlin | url=http://thirdmill.org/answers/answer.asp/file/99906.qna/category/ch/page/questions/site/iiim | title=Protestant Transubstantiation (History of) | publisher=Third Millennium Ministries | accessdate=2007-01-22}}</ref><ref>Pierard, p. 28.</ref> Once the Temperance Movement made the leap from temperance to prohibition, alcohol itself became an evil, and so it had to be expunged from Christian practice, especially from the holy rite of the Lord's Supper.<ref name="ProtTrans4"/><ref>{{cite_encyclopedia| title=Wine |encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to the Bible| author=M. D. Coogan| editor=[[Bruce Metzger]] and M. D. Coogan |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |date=1993 |id=ISBN 978-0195046458 |pages= pp. 799f}}</ref> Such a position was made practical by [[Methodism|Methodist]] [[minister (Christianity)|minister]] [[Thomas Bramwell Welch]]'s invention of a [[pasteurization]] process to stop the fermentation that [[grape juice]] [[winemaking|naturally undergoes]].<ref name="DrinkWhat">{{cite_web| author=Ken Camp | url=http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=5853&print=1 | title="Drink to That? Have Baptists watered down their objections to alcohol?" | work=The Baptist Standard | date=January 05, 2007 | accessdate=2007-01-22}}</ref> Welch's church [[elder (Christianity)|elders]] considered substituting juice for wine in the Lord's Supper to be an "unacceptable innovation,"<ref>{{cite_web|author=Marian Van Til|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/moi/2003/002/apr/27.27.html|date=April 27, 2003|title=Welch's Innovation|publisher=Christianity Today International/''Men of Integrity'' magazine|accessdate=2007-02-24}}</ref> though it eventually took hold in much of American Protestantism.


Though many Protestants consider Christian tradition to be a valuable guide in matters of faith and practice (compare [[Paleo-Orthodoxy]], for instance), Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy each have a stronger view of [[Sacred Tradition]], and consequently they were largely unaffected by the movements to eliminate alcohol from church life. Similarly, while the [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] and [[Anglican]] churches felt some pressure, they did not alter in their moderationist position. Even the English [[religious denomination|denominational]] Temperance Societies refused to make abstention a requirement for membership, and their position remained moderationist in character.<ref name="Crusade">{{cite_book | author=Lilian Lewis Shiman | title=Crusade Against Drink in Victorian England | publisher=St. Martin's Press | date=1988 | id=ISBN 0-312-17777-1 | pages=p. 5}}</ref> The changes in practice thus were not common to the church around the world but rather were primarily a phenomenon in American Protestantism, particularly those without a strong international history or connections. These changes have persisted with some waning of support to the present.<ref name="DrinkWhat"/><ref>For instance, in 1937, the [[Bible Presbyterian Church]], which advocated total abstinence, split from the [[Orthodox Presbyterian Church]], which advocated moderation, over the issues of alcohol and [[dispensationalism]]. [[As of 2006]], the two denominations are in cooperative talks but remain divided over alcohol.</ref>
Though many Protestants consider Christian tradition to be a valuable guide in matters of faith and practice (compare [[Paleo-Orthodoxy]], for instance), Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy each have a stronger view of [[Sacred Tradition]], and consequently they were largely unaffected by the movements to eliminate alcohol from church life. Similarly, while the [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] and [[Anglican]] churches felt some pressure, they did not alter in their moderationist position. Even the English [[religious denomination|denominational]] Temperance Societies refused to make abstention a requirement for membership, and their position remained moderationist in character.<ref name="Crusade">{{cite_book | author=Lilian Lewis Shiman | title=Crusade Against Drink in Victorian England | publisher=St. Martin's Press | date=1988 | id=ISBN 0-312-17777-1 | pages=p. 5}}</ref> The changes in practice thus were not common to the church around the world but rather were primarily a phenomenon in American Protestantism, particularly those without a strong international history or connections. These changes have persisted with some waning of support to the present.<ref name="DrinkWhat"/><ref>For instance, in 1937, the [[Bible Presbyterian Church]], which advocated total abstinence, split from the [[Orthodox Presbyterian Church]], which advocated moderation, over the issues of alcohol and [[dispensationalism]]. [[As of 2006]], the two denominations are in cooperative talks but remain divided over alcohol.</ref>

Revision as of 00:24, 1 June 2007

Jesus making wine in The Marriage at Cana, a 14th century fresco from the Visoki Dečani monastery.

Throughout the first 1,800 years of church history, Christians shared the Bible's tension over alcoholic beverages: although they considered alcohol a gift from God that makes life more joyous, they also considered drunkenness a sin. During the same period, Christians nearly always used wine (that is, fermented grape juice) in their central rite — the Eucharist or Lord's Supper.[1][2] In the mid 1800s, some Protestant Christians moved from this historic position of allowing moderate use of alcohol (sometimes called moderationism) to either deciding that not imbibing was wisest in the present circumstances (abstentionism) or prohibiting all ordinary consumption of alcohol because it was believed to be a sin (prohibitionism).[3] Today, all three of these positions exist within Christendom, but the historic position remains the most common worldwide.

Alcohol in the Bible

Main page: User:Flex/Alcohol and the Bible
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

Alcoholic beverages appear repeatedly in the Bible, both in actual usage and in poetic expression, and on the whole, the Bible is ambivalent toward them, considering them both a blessing from God that brings merriment and a potential danger that can be unwisely and sinfully abused.[4][5][6][7] Since nearly all Christians base their views of alcohol, in whole or in part, on their understanding of what the Bible says about it, the Bible is the single most important source on the subject, followed by Christian tradition.

The original languages of the Bible have several different words to distinguish different types of alcoholic beverages,[8][9] and though prohibitionists and some abstentionists (see "Current views" below) sometimes dissent from the established view,[citation needed] there is a broad scholarly consensus that the words did ordinarily refer to intoxicating drinks.[4][7][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

The commonness and centrality of wine in daily life in biblical times is apparent from its many postitive and negative metaphorical uses throughout the Bible.[17][18] Positively, wine is used as a symbol of abundance and physical blessing,[19] for example. Negatively, wine is personified as a mocker and beer a brawler,[20] and drinking a cup of strong wine to the dregs and getting drunk are sometimes presented as a symbol of God's judgment and wrath.[21]

The Bible also speaks of wine in general terms as a bringer and concomitant of joy, particularly in the context of nourishment and feasting.[22] Wine was commonly drunk at meals,[23] and the Old Testament prescribed it for use in sacrificial rituals and festal celebrations.[9] The Gospels record that Jesus himself miraculously made copious amounts[24] of wine at the wedding feast at Cana,[25], and when he instituted the ritual of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, which took place at a Passover celebration,[26] he set apart the bread and wine[27][28] that were present there as symbols of "the new covenant in [his] blood."[29]

File:Drunkenness of Noah EUR.jpg
The Drunkenness of Noah by Giovanni Bellini

Kings and priests in the Old Testament were forbidden to partake of wine at various times,[30] and certain optional vows excluded as part of its ascetic regimen not only wine, but also vinegar, grapes, and raisins[31] (Jesus evidently did not take such a vow).[32][33] St. Paul further instructs Christians regarding their duty toward immature Christians: "It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall."[34]

All Christians agree that the Bible condemns ordinary drunkenness in passages such as Pr 20:1; Is 5:11f; Ho5:2,5; Ro 13:13; Ep 5:18; 1 Ti 3:2-3, and Easton's Bible Dictionary says, "The sin of drunkenness ... must have been not uncommon in the olden times, for it is mentioned either metaphorically or literally more than seventy times in the Bible."[9] Additionally, the consequences of the drunkenness of Noah[35] and Lot[36] "were intended to serve as examples of the dangers and repulsiveness of intemperance,"[37] and St. Paul later chides the Corinthians for becoming drunk on wine served at their attempted celebrations of the Eucharist.[38] In short, according to Christianity drunkenness "is not merely a disgusting personal habit and social vice, but a sin which bars the gates of Heaven, desecrates the body, which is now in a special sense the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit, and stains the mystical body of Christ, the Church."[39]

Winemaking in biblical times

Wine grapes on the vine

Both the climate and land of Palestine, where most of the Bible takes place, were well-suited to growing grapes,[40] and the wine that the vineyards produced was a valued commodity in ancient times, both for local consumption and for its value in trade.[41][42] Vineyards were protected from robbers and animals by walls, hedges, and manned watchtowers.[43]

The harvest time brought much joy and play,[44] as "[m]en, women and children took to the vineyard, often accompanied by the sound of music and song, from late August to September to bring in the grapes."[45][46] Some grapes were eaten immediately, while others were turned into raisins. Most of them, however, were put into the winepress where the men and boys trampled them, also often to music.[45]

The fermentation process started within six to twelve hours after pressing, and the must was usually left in the collection vat for a few days to allow the initial, "tumultuous" stage of fermentation to pass. The wine makers soon transferred it either into large earthenware jars, which were then sealed, or, if the wine were to be transported elsewhere, into wineskins (that is, partially tanned goat-skins, sewn up where the legs and tail had protruded but leaving the opening at the neck).[40] After six weeks, fermentation was complete, and the wine was filtered into larger containers and either sold for consumption or stored in a cellar or cistern, lasting for three to four years.[45][47] Even after a year of aging, the vintage was still called "new wine," and more aged wines were preferred.[48][49][47]

Spices and scents were often added to wine in order to hide "defects" that arose from storage that was often not sufficient to prevent all spoiling.[50] One might expect about 10% of any given cellar of wine to have been ruined completely, but vinegar was also created intentionally for dipping bread[51] among other uses.[52]

The Feast of Booths was a prescribed holiday that immediately followed the harvest and pressing of the grapes.[53]

Alcohol in Christian history and tradition

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Eucharist
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Practices and customs
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For over 1,800 years, the regular use of wine in the celebration of the Eucharist and in daily life was the universal and undisputed practice in Christendom.[54] During the 19th and early 20th century, as a general sense of prohibitionism arose, many Christians, particularly some Protestants in the United States, came to believe that the Bible prohibited alcohol or that the wisest choice in modern circumstances was for the Christian to willingly abstain from alcohol.

Before Christ

The Hebraic opinion of wine in the time before Christ was decidedly positive: wine is part of the world God created and is thus "necessarily inherently good,"[55] though excessive use is soundly condemned. The Jews emphasized joy in the goodness of creation rather than the virtue of temperance, which the Greek philosophers advocated.[56]

As the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile (starting in 537 BC) and the events of the Old Testament draw to a close, wine was "a common beverage for all classes and ages, including the very young; an important source of nourishment; a prominent part in the festivities of the people; a widely appreciated medicine; an essential provision for any fortress; and an important commodity," and it served as "a necessary element in the life of the Hebrews."[57][58][59] Wine was also used ritualistically to close the Sabbath and to celebrate weddings, and circumcisions, and Passover.[60]

Although some abstentionists argue that wine in the Bible was almost always cut with water greatly decreasing its potency for inebriation,[61] there is general agreement that, while Old Testament wine was sometimes mixed with various spices to enhance its flavor and stimulating properties, it was not usually diluted with water,[62] and wine mixed with water is used as an Old Testament metaphor for corruption.[63] Among the Greeks, however, the cutting of wine with water was a common practice used to reduce potency and improve taste.[57][64] By the time of the writing of 2 Maccabees (first or second century BC), the Greeks had conquered Palestine under Alexander the Great, and the Hellenistic custom had apparently found acceptance with the Jews[65][66][67][68] and was carried into Jewish rituals in New Testament times.[69][70][71]

Under the rule of Rome, which had conquered Palestine under Pompey, the average adult male who was a citizen drank an estimated liter (about a quarter of a gallon, or a modern-day bottle and a half) of wine per day,[72] though beer was more common in some parts of the world.[73]

Early Church

The Apostolic Fathers make very little reference to wine,[74] but the earliest references from the Church Fathers make it clear that the early church used wine in their celebration of the Eucharist, often mixing it with water according to the prevailing custom.[75][76] The Didache, an early Christian treatise which is generally accepted to be from the late 1st century, instructs Christians to give a portion of their wine in support of a true prophet or, if they have no prophet resident with them, to the poor.[77]

Clement of Alexandria (died circa 215) wrote in a chapter about drinking that he admires those who adopt an austere life and abstain from wine, and he suggests the young abstain from wine so as not to inflame their "wild impulses." But he says taking a little wine as medicine or for pleasure after the day's work is acceptable for those who are "moored by reason and time" such that they aren't tempted by drunkenness, and he encourages mixing water in with the wine to inhibit inebriation. He also says wine is an appropriate symbol of Jesus' blood.[78][79]

Cyprian (died 258) rejects as "contrary to evangelical and apostolical discipline" the practice of some Gnostics, who used water instead of wine in the Eucharist. While still rejecting drunkenness, on the content of the cup he says, "The Holy Spirit also ... makes mention of the Lord’s cup, and says, 'Thy inebriating cup, how excellent it is!' [quoting the Vulgate translation of Ps 23:5] Now the cup which inebriates is assuredly mingled with wine, for water cannot inebriate anybody."[80]

The virtue of temperance passed from Greek philosophy into Christian ethics and became one of the four cardinal virtues under St. Ambrose[81] and St. Augustine.[82][83] Drunkenness, on the other hand, is considered a manifestation of gluttony, one of the seven deadly sins as compiled by Gregory the Great in the 6th century.[84]

Middle Ages

A monk-cellarer tasting wine from a barrel while filling a jug (from an illuminated manuscript of the 13th century)

The decline of the Roman Empire brought with it a significant drop in the production and consumption of wine in western and central Europe, but the Eastern and Western Church (particularly the Byzantines) preserved the practices of viticulture and winemaking.[85]

The medieval monks were renowned as the finest creators of beer and wine,[86] were allotted about five liters of beer per day, and were allowed to drink beer (but not wine) during fasts,[87] and Will Durant says of the customs of England in the day: "a gallon of beer per day was the usual allowance per person, even for nuns."[88] The Catholic Church continues to celebrate a number of saints related to alcohol — for instance, St. Adrian, patron saint of beer; St. Amand, patron saint of brewers, barkeepers, and wine merchants; St. Martin, the so-called patron saint of wine; St. Vincent, patron saint of vintners.[86] The Orthodox celebrate St. Tryphon as the guardian saint of vines and vineyard workers.[89] Because the Catholic Church requires properly fermented wine in the Eucharist[90] — with a modern exception for alcoholic priests[91] — wherever Catholicism spread, the missionaries also brought grapevines so they could make wine and celebrate the Mass.[86]

Reformation

Further information: [[:Alcohol in the early modern period]]

As the Protestant Reformation began, the Reformers from Luther and Calvin to Zwingli and Knox strongly supported the enjoyment of wine as a biblical blessing,[92] and indeed Calvin's annual salary in Geneva included seven barrels of wine.[93] The Lutheran Formula of Concord (1576)[94] and the Reformed Christian confessions of faith[95][96][97][98] also make explicit mention of and assume the use of wine, as does the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith[99] and the Methodist Articles of Religion (1784).[100] In the Dordrecht Confession of Faith (1632), even the radical Anabaptists, who sought to expunge every trace of Catholicism and to rely only on the Bible, also assumed wine was to be used,[101] and despite their reputation as being killjoys, the English Puritans were temperate partakers of "God's good gifts," including wine and ale.[102]

Colonial America

Further information: [[:Alcohol in Colonial America]]

As the Pilgrims set out for America, they brought a considerable amount of alcohol with them for the voyage (more than 28,617 liters = 7,560 gallons),[103] and once settled, they served alcohol at "virtually all functions, including ordinations, funerals, and regular Sabbath meals."[104] M. E. Lender summarizes that "[t]he colonists had assimilated alcohol use, based on Old World patterns, into their community lifestyles" and that "[l]ocal brewing began almost as soon as the colonists were safely ashore."[105] Increase Mather (died 1723), prominent colonial clergyman and erstwhile president of Harvard, expressed the common view thusly in a sermon against drunkenness: "Drink is in itself a good creature of God, and to be received with thankfulness, but the abuse of drink is from Satan; the wine is from God, but the drunkard is from the Devil."[106] This Old World attitude is likewise found among the early English Methodists (John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and Adam Clarke) and Baptists (for instance, John Gill and John Bunyan).

19th century

Thomas Bramwell Welch

In the early 19th century, however, things began to change. With the social upheaval that accompanied the American Revolution and the urbanization induced by the Industrial Revolution, drunkenness was on the rise and was blamed for the increasing poverty, unemployment, and crime, and Temperance Societies began forming in order to combat the trend. Initially they espoused moderation and temperance in the use of alcohol, but, fueled in part by the Second Great Awakening — which emphasized personal holiness and sometimes perfectionism — the message soon changed to the outright elimination of alcohol.[107][108][109][110] Once the Temperance Movement made the leap from temperance to prohibition, alcohol itself became an evil, and so it had to be expunged from Christian practice, especially from the holy rite of the Lord's Supper.[108][111] Such a position was made practical by Methodist minister Thomas Bramwell Welch's invention of a pasteurization process to stop the fermentation that grape juice naturally undergoes.[112] Welch's church elders considered substituting juice for wine in the Lord's Supper to be an "unacceptable innovation,"[113] though it eventually took hold in much of American Protestantism.

Though many Protestants consider Christian tradition to be a valuable guide in matters of faith and practice (compare Paleo-Orthodoxy, for instance), Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy each have a stronger view of Sacred Tradition, and consequently they were largely unaffected by the movements to eliminate alcohol from church life. Similarly, while the Lutheran and Anglican churches felt some pressure, they did not alter in their moderationist position. Even the English denominational Temperance Societies refused to make abstention a requirement for membership, and their position remained moderationist in character.[114] The changes in practice thus were not common to the church around the world but rather were primarily a phenomenon in American Protestantism, particularly those without a strong international history or connections. These changes have persisted with some waning of support to the present.[112][115]

Current views

Today, the views on alcohol in Christendom can be divided into moderationism, abstentionism, and prohibitionism. Abstentionists and prohibitionists are sometimes lumped together as "teetotalers" (compare list of teetotalers) and share some similar arguments for their positions, but the distinction between them is that the latter abstain from alcohol as a matter of law (that is, they believe God requires abstinence in all ordinary circumstances), while the former abstain as a matter of prudence (that is, they believe total abstinence is the wisest and most loving way to live in the present circumstances).[3]

Moderationism

The moderationist position is held by Roman Catholicism[116] and Eastern Orthodoxy,[117] and within Protestantism, it is accepted by most Lutherans,[118][119] Anglicans,[7] and Reformed churches.[120][121][122][123][124] Moderationism is also accepted by Jehovah's Witnesses.[125]

Moderationism argues that, according to the biblical and traditional witness, (1) alcohol is a good gift of God that is rightly used for making the heart merry, and (2) while its dangers are real, it may be used wisely and moderately rather than being shunned or prohibited because of potential abuse.[54][126][127][108] Moderationism holds that temperance (that is, moderation or self-control) in all of one's behavior, not abstinence, is the biblical norm.[128]

On the first point, moderationists reflect the Hebrew mindset that all creation is good.[129] Going further, Calvin says that "it is lawful to use wine not only in cases of necessity, but also thereby to make us merry,"[130] and in his Genevan Catechism, he answers that wine is appropriate in the Lord's Supper because "by wine the hearts of men are gladdened, their strength recruited, and the whole man strengthened, so by the blood of our Lord the same benefits are received by our souls."[131]

On the second point, Martin Luther employs a reductio ad absurdum to counter the idea that abuse should be met with disuse: "[W]e must not ... reject [or] condemn anything because it is abused.... [W]ine and women bring many a man to misery and make a fool of him (Ecclus. 19:2; 31:30); so [we would need to] kill all the women and pour out all the wine."[132] In dealing with drunkenness at the love feast in Corinth,[38] St. Paul does not require total abstinence from drink but love for one another that would express itself in moderate, selfless behavior.[133][134] However, moderationists approve of voluntary abstinence in several cases, such as for a person one who finds it too difficult to drink in moderation and for the benefit of the "weaker brother," who would err because of a stronger Christian exercising his or her liberty to drink.[135]

While all moderationists approve of using (fermented) wine in the Eucharist in principle (Catholics, the Orthodox, Anglicans and some Lutherans require it),[90][91] because of prohibitionist heritage and a sensitivity to those who wish to abstain from alcohol, many offer either grape juice or both wine and juice at their celebrations of the Lord's Supper.[118][121][122][136] Some Christians mix some water with the wine following ancient tradition, and some attach a mystical significance to this practice.[137][138]

Comparison

In addition to lexical and historical differences,[126][139] moderationism holds that prohibitionism errs by confusing the Christian virtues of temperance and moderation with abstinence and prohibition and by locating the evil in the object that is abused rather in the heart and deeds of the abuser.[108][6] Moreover, moderationists suggest that the prohibitionist and abstentionist positions denigrate God's creation and his good gifts and deny that it is not what goes into a man that makes him evil but what comes out (that is, what he says and does).[33][140] And so, moderationists hold that in banishing wine from communion and dinner tables, prohibitionists and abstentionists go against the witness of the Bible and the church throughout the ages and implicitly adopt a Pharisaical moralism that is at odds with the what moderationists consider the right approach to biblical ethics and the doctrines of sin and sanctification.[141][142][127]

Abstentionism

The abstentionist position is held by many Baptists,[143] Pentecostals,[144] Methodists,[145] and other evangelical and Protestant groups including the Salvation Army.[146] Prominent proponents of abstentionism include Billy Graham,[147] John F. MacArthur,[148] R. Albert Mohler, Jr.,[149] and John Piper.[150]

Abstentionists believe that although alcohol consumption is not inherently sinful or necessarily avoided in all circumstances, it is generally not the wisest or most prudent choice. While most abstentionists don't require abstinence from alcohol for membership in their churches, they do often require it for leadership positions.[15][150][151]

Some reasons commonly given for voluntary abstention are:

  1. The Bible warns that alcohol can hinder moral discretion. As discussed above, Proverbs 31:4-5 warns kings and rulers that they might "forget what is decreed, and pervert the rights of all the afflicted." Some abstentionists speak of alcohol as "corrupt[ing]" the body and as a substance that can "impair my judgment and further distract me from God’s will for my life."[152]
  2. Christians must be sensitive to the "weaker brother," that is, the Christian who (incorrectly, in the abstentionist's view) believes imbibing to be a sin. On this point MacArthur says, "[T]he primary reason I don't do a lot of things I could do, including drinking wine or any alcoholic beverage, [is] because I know some believers would be offended by it.... [M]any Christians will drink their beer and wine and flaunt their liberty no matter what anyone thinks. Consequently, there is a rift in the fellowship."[153]
  3. Christians should make a public statement against drunkenness because of the negative consequences it can have on individuals, families, and society as a whole. Some abstentionists believe that their witness as persons of moral character is also enhanced by this choice.[151][152]

Additionally, abstentionists argue that while drinking may have been more acceptable in ancient times (for instance, using wine to purify polluted drinking water),[15][154] modern circumstances have changed the nature of Christian's responsibility in this area. First, some abstentionists argue that wine in Biblical times was weaker and diluted with water such that drunkenness was less common,[155][156][157] though few non-abstentionists accept this as a matter of historical fact (see above), and the invention of more efficient distillation techniques has led to even more potent and cheaper alcohol, which in turn has lessened the economic barrier to drinking to excess.[158][156] Second, some of the consequences of drunkenness have been amplified by changing circumstances such as the availability of automobiles and the hazards of driving under the influence.

Comparison

On historical and lexical grounds, many abstentionists reject the argument of prohibitionists that wine in the Bible was not alcoholic and that imbibing is nearly always a sin.[15][13] Piper summarizes the abstentionist position on this point:

The consumption of food and drink is in itself no basis for judging a person's standing with God.... [The Apostle Paul's] approach to these abuses [of food and drink] was never to forbid food or drink. It was always to forbid what destroyed God's temple and injured faith. He taught the principle of love, but did not determine its application with regulations in matters of food and drink.[159]

Abstentionists also reject the position of moderationists that in many circumstances Christians should feel free to drink for pleasure because abstentionists see alcohol as inherently too dangerous and not "a necessity for life or good living,"[151][61] with some even going so far as to say, "Moderation is the cause of the liquor problem."[151]

Prohibitionism

The prohibitionist position has experienced a general reduction of support since the days of Prohibitionism as a movement, with many of its advocates becoming abstentionists instead.

Prohibitionist individuals such as Stephen Reynolds[160][161][162] and Jack Van Impe[163] and denominations such as the Seventh-day Adventists[164][165] hold that the Bible forbids partaking of alcohol altogether, with some arguing that even the alleged medicinal use of wine in 1 Timothy 5:23 is a reference to unfermented grape juice.[166] They argue that the words for alcoholic beverages in the Bible can also refer to non-alcoholic versions such as unfermented grape juice, and for this reason the context must determine which meaning is required.[162] In passages where the beverages are viewed negatively, prohibitionists understand them to mean the alcoholic drinks, and where they are viewed positively, they understand them to mean non-alcoholic drinks.[167] Prohibitionists also accuse most Bible translators of exhibiting a bias in favor of alcohol that obscures the meaning of the original texts.[166][162]

The Word of Wisdom, which is a section in Doctrine and Covenants, part of the Mormon canon, also forbids the use of alcohol along with tobacco, coffee, and tea.[168]

References

  1. ^ R. V. Pierard (1984). "Alcohol, Drinking of". In Walter A. Elwell (ed.). Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House. pp. pp. 28f. ISBN 0801034132. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  2. ^ F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, ed. (2005). "Wine". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed. ed.). Oxford University Press, USA. pp. p. 1767. ISBN 978-0192802903. [W]ine has traditionally been held to be one of the essential materials for a valid Eucharist, though some have argued that usfermented grape-juice fulfils the Dominical [that is, Jesus'] command. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |edition= has extra text (help); |pages= has extra text (help)
  3. ^ a b Kenneth Gentry (2001). God Gave Wine. Oakdown. pp. pp. 3ff. ISBN 0-9700326-6-8. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  4. ^ a b Bruce Waltke (2005). "Commentary on 20:1". The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31. Wm. B. Eerdmans. pp. p. 127. ISBN 978-0802827760. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  5. ^ F. S. Fitzsimmonds (1982). "Wine and Strong Drink". In J. D. Douglas (ed.). New Bible Dictionary (2nd ed. ed.). Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press. pp. p. 1255. ISBN 0830814418. These two aspects of wine, its use and its abuse, its benefits and its curse, its acceptance in God's sight and its abhorrence, are interwoven into the fabric of the [Old Testament] so that it may gladden the heart of man (Ps. 104:15) or cause his mind to err (Is. 28:7), it can be associated with merriment (Ec. 10:19) or with anger (Is. 5:11), it can be used to uncover the shame of Noah (Gn. 9:21) or in the hands of Melchizedek to honor Abraham (Gn. 14:18).... The references [to alcohol] in the [New Testament] are very much fewer in number, but once more the good and the bad aspects are equally apparent.... {{cite encyclopedia}}: |edition= has extra text (help); |pages= has extra text (help)
  6. ^ a b I. W. Raymond (1970). The Teaching of the Early Church on the Use of Wine and Strong Drink. AMS Press. pp. p. 25. ISBN 978-0404512866. This favorable view [of wine in the Bible], however, is balanced by an unfavorable estimate.... The reason for the presence of these two conflicting opinions on the nature of wine [is that the] consequences of wine drinking follow its use and not its nature. Happy results ensue when it is drunk in its proper measure and evil results when it is drunk to excess. The nature of wine is indifferent. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b c Ethical Investment Advisory Group (January 2005). "Alcohol: An inappropriate investment for the Church of England" (PDF). Church of England. Retrieved 2007-02-08. Christians who are committed to total abstinence have sometimes interpreted biblical references to wine as meaning unfermented grape juice, but this is surely inconsistent with the recognition of both good and evil in the biblical attitude to wine. It is self-evident that human choice plays a crucial role in the use or abuse of alcohol.
  8. ^ Fitzsimmonds, pp. 1254f.
  9. ^ a b c d "Wine". Easton's Bible Dictionary. 1897. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  10. ^ W. Ewing (1913). "Wine". In James Hastings (ed.). Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: T & T Clark. p. 824. Retrieved 2007-03-14. There is nothing known in the East of anything called 'wine' which is unfermented.... [The Palestinian Jews'] attitude towards the drinker of unfermented grape juice may be gathered from the saying in Pirke Aboth (iv. 28), 'He who learns from the young, to what is he like? to one who eats unripe grapes and drinks wine from his vat [that is, unfermented juice].' (Emphasis in original.)
  11. ^ Charles Hodge (1940). "The Lord's Supper". Systematic Theology. Wm. B. Eerdmans. pp. p. 3:616. That [oinos] in the Bible, when unqualified by such terms as new, or sweet, means the fermented juice of the grape, is hardly an open question. It has never been questioned in the Church, if we except a few Christians of the present day. And it may safely be said that there is not a scholar on the continent of Europe, who has the least doubt on the subject. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |pages= has extra text (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ A. A. Hodge. Evangelical Theology. pp. pp. 347f. 'Wine,' according to the absolutely unanimous, unexceptional testimony of every scholar and missionary, is in its essence 'fermented grape juice.' Nothing else is wine.... There has been absolutely universal consent on this subject in the Christian Church until modern times, when the practice has been opposed, not upon change of evidence, but solely on prudential considerations. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help) Quoted in Keith Mathison (January 8 to January 14, 2001). "Protestant Transubstantiation - Part 3: Historic Reformed & Baptist Testimony". IIIM Magazine Online. 3 (2). Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ a b W. J. Beecher. "Total abstinence". The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. pp. p. 472. Retrieved 2007-01-22. The Scriptures, rightly understood, are thus the strongest bulwark of a true doctrine of total abstinence, so false exegesis of the Scriptures by temperance advocates, including false theories of unfermented wine, have done more than almost anything else to discredit the good cause. The full abandonment of these bad premises would strengthen the cause immeasurably. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  14. ^ William Kaiser and Duane Garrett, ed. (2006). "Wine and Alcoholic Beverages in the Ancient World". Archaeological Study Bible. Zondervan. ISBN 9780310926054. [T]here is no basis for suggesting that either the Greek or the Hebrew terms for wine refer to unfermented grape juice.
  15. ^ a b c d John F. MacArthur. "GC 70-11: "Bible Questions and Answers"". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  16. ^ Pierard, p. 28: "No evidence whatsoever exists to support the notion that the wine mentioned in the Bible was unfermented grape juice. When juice is referred to, it is not called wine (Gen. 40:11). Nor can 'new wine' ... mean unfermented juice, because the process of chemical change begins almost immediately after pressing."
  17. ^ W. Dommershausen (1990). "Yayin". In G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren (ed.). Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Vol. VI. trans. David E. Green. Wm. B. Eerdmans. pp. p. 64. ISBN 0802823300. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  18. ^ I. W. Raymond, p. 24: "The numerous allusions to the vine and wine in the Old Testament furnish an admirable basis for the study of its estimation among the people at large."
  19. ^ Ge 27:28; 49:9-12; Dt 7:13; 11:14; 15:14; compare 33:28; Pr 3:9f; Jr 31:10-12; Ho 2:21-22; Jl 2:19,24; 3:18; Am 9:13f; compare 2Ki 18:31-32; 2Ch 32:28; Ne 5:11; 13:12; etc.
  20. ^ Pr 20:1
  21. ^ Ps 60:3; 75:8; Is 51:17-23; 63:6; Jr 13:12-14; 25:15-29; 49:12; 51:7; La 4:21f; Ezk 23:28-33; Na 1:9f; Hab 2:15f; Zc 12:2; Mt 20:22; 26:39, 42; Lk 22:42; Jn 18:11; Re 14:10; 16:19; compare Ps Sol 8:14
  22. ^ Jg 9:13; Ps 4:7; 104:15; Ec 9:7; 10:19; Zc 9:17; 10:7
  23. ^ "Drunkenness". Illustrated Dictionary of Bible Life & Times. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association. 1997. pp. pp. 374-376. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  24. ^ Six pots of thirty-nine liters each = 234 liters = 61.8 gallons, according to Heinrich Seesemann (1967). "οινος". In Gerhard Kittel and Ronald E. Pitkin (ed.). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Vol. V. trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Wm. B. Eerdmans. p. 163. ISBN 0802822479.
  25. ^ Jn 2:1-11; 4:46
  26. ^ Mt 26:17-19; Mk 14:12-16; Lk 22:7-13
  27. ^ Seesemann, p. 162: "Wine is specifically mentioned as an integral part of the passover meal no earlier than Jub. 49:6 ['... all Israel was eating the flesh of the paschal lamb, and drinking the wine ...'], but there can be no doubt that it was in use long before." P. 164: "In the accounts of the Last Supper the term [wine] occurs neither in the Synoptists nor Paul. It is obvious, however, that according to custom Jesus was proffering wine in the cup over which He pronounced the blessing; this may be seen especially from the solemn [fruit of the vine] (Mark 14:25 and par.) which was borrowed from Judaism." Compare "fruit of the vine" as a formula in the Mishnah, "Tractate Berakoth 6.1". Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  28. ^ I. W. Raymond, p. 80: "All the wines used in basic religious services in Palestine were fermented."
  29. ^ Lk 22:20; compare Mt 26:27-29; Mk 14:23-25; 1 Co 11:25
  30. ^ Pr 31:4f; Lv 10:9; compare Ez 44:21
  31. ^ Nu 6:2-4 (compare Jg 13:4-5; Am 2:11f); Jr 35
  32. ^ Mt 11:18f; Lk 7:33f
  33. ^ a b I. W. Raymond p. 81: "Not only did Jesus Christ Himself use and sanction the use of wine but also ... He saw nothing intrinsically evil in wine.[footnote citing Mt 15:11]"
  34. ^ Ro 14:21. Raymond understands this to mean that "if an individual by drinking wine either causes others to err through his example or abets a social evil which causes others to succumb to its temptations, then in the interests of Christian love he ought to forego the temporary pleasures of drinking in the interests of heavenly treasures" (p. 87).
  35. ^ Ge 9:20-27
  36. ^ Ge 19:31-38
  37. ^ Magen Broshi (1984). "Wine in Ancient Palestine — Introductory Notes". Israel Museum Journal. III: 33.
  38. ^ a b 1Co 11:20-22
  39. ^ I. W. Raymond, p. 90.
  40. ^ a b Ewing, p. 824.
  41. ^ See Broshi, passim (for instance, p. 29: Palestine was "a country known for its good wines").
  42. ^ Compare 2Ch 2:3,10
  43. ^ Ps 80:8-15; Is 5:1f; Mk 12:1; compare SS 2:15
  44. ^ Compare Is 16:10; Jr 48:33
  45. ^ a b c "Wine Making". Illustrated Dictionary of Bible Life & Times. pp. pp. 374f. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  46. ^ Broshi, p. 24.
  47. ^ a b Broshi, p. 26.
  48. ^ Lk 5:39; compare Is 25:6
  49. ^ Dommershausen, pp. 60-62.
  50. ^ Broshi, p. 27.
  51. ^ Ru 2:14
  52. ^ Broshi, p. 36.
  53. ^ Dt 16:13-15
  54. ^ a b Keith Mathison (December 4–10, 2000). "Protestant Transubstantiation - Part 1: Thesis; Biblical Witness". IIIM Magazine Online. 2 (49). Retrieved 2007-01-22.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  55. ^ I. W. Raymond, p. 48.
  56. ^ I. W. Raymond, p. 49.
  57. ^ a b David J. Hanson. "History of Alcohol and Drinking around the World". Retrieved 2007-02-13. Adapted from David J. Hanson (1995). Preventing Alcohol Abuse: Alcohol, Culture and Control. Westport, CT: Praeger.
  58. ^ I. W. Raymond, p. 23: "[Wine] was a common beverage for all classes and ages, even for the very young. Wine might be part of the simpelest meal as well as a necessary article in the households of the rich."
  59. ^ Geoffrey Wigoder; et al., eds. (2002). "Wine". The New Encyclopedia of Judaism. New York University Press. pp. pp. 798f. ISBN 978-0814793886. As a beverage, it regularly accompanied the main meal of the day. Wherever the Bible mentions 'cup' — for example, 'my cup brims over' (Ps. 23:5) — the reference is to a cup of wine.... In the talmudic epoch, ... [i]t was customary to dilute wine before drinking by adding one-third water. The main meal of the day, taken in the evening (only breakfast and supper were eaten in talmudic times), consisted of two courses, with each of which a cup of wine was drunk. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |editor= (help)
  60. ^ Wigoder, p. 799.
  61. ^ a b John MacArthur. ""Living in the Spirit: Be Not Drunk with Wine--Part 2"". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  62. ^ Gentry, God Gave Wine, pp. 143-146: "[R]ecognized biblical scholars of every stripe are in virtual agreement on the nondiluted nature of wine in the Old Testament."
  63. ^ Is 1:22
  64. ^ Robert S. Rayburn (2001-01-28). ""Revising the Practice of the Lord's Supper at Faith Presbyterian Church No. 2, Wine, No. 1"". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  65. ^ Dommershausen, p. 61: "The custom of drinking wine mixed with water — probably in the ratio of two or three to one — seems to have made its first appearance in the Hellenistic era."
  66. ^ Archaeological Study Bible. Wine diluted with water was obviously considered to be of inferior quality (Isa.1:22), although the Greeks, considering the drinking of pure wine to be an excess, routinely diluted their wine.
  67. ^ I. W. Raymond, p.47: "The regulations of the Jewish banquets in Hellenistic times follow the rules of Greek etiquette and custom."
  68. ^ Compare 2 Mac 15:39 (Vulgate numbering: 2 Mac 15:40)
  69. ^ Compare the later Jewish views described in "Wine". Jewish Encyclopedia. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help) Hanson's "History" offers this evaluation (citations omitted): "In an effort to maintain traditional Jewish culture against the rise of Christianity, which was converting numerous Jews, detailed rules concerning the use of wine were incorporated into the Talmud. Importantly, wine was integrated into many religious ceremonies in limited quantity. In the social and political upheavals that rose as the fall of Rome approached in the fifth century, concern grew among rabbis that Judaism and its culture were in increasing danger. Consequently, more Talmudic rules were laid down concerning the use of wine. These included the amount of wine that could be drunk on the Sabbath, the way in which wine was to be drunk, the legal status of wine in any way connected with idolatry, and the extent of personal responsibility for behavior while intoxicated."
  70. ^ Broshi, pp. 32f: In the post-exilic period, "the wine in question generally corresponded to our table wine.... It was customary to dilute the wine according to its quality and the taste of the drinkers, in quantities between one measure of wine for one measure of water to one measure of wine for three measures of water."
  71. ^ Merrill F. Unger (1981). "Wine". Unger's Bible Dictionary (3rd ed. ed.). Chicago: Moody Press. pp. p. 1169. The use of wine at the paschal feast [that is, Passover] was not enjoined by the law, but had become an established custom, at all events in the post-Babylonian period. The wine was mixed with warm water on these occasions.... Hence the in the early Christian Church it was usual to mix the sacramental wine with water. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |edition= has extra text (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
  72. ^ Broshi, p. 33.
  73. ^ Broshi, p. 22.
  74. ^ I. W. Raymond, p. 88.
  75. ^ Justin Martyr, First Apology, "Chapter LXV. Administration of the sacraments" and "Chapter LXVII. Weekly worship of the Christians".
  76. ^ Hippolytus of Rome (died 235) says, "By thanksgiving the bishop shall make the bread into an image of the body of Christ, and the cup of wine mingled with water according to the likeness of the blood." Quoted in Keith Mathison (January 1 to January 7, 2001). "Protestant Transubstantiation - Part 2: Historical Testimony". IIIM Magazine Online. 3 (1). Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  77. ^ "Didache, chapter 13". Retrieved 2007-03-16.
  78. ^ Clement of Alexandria. ""On Drinking"". The Instructor, book 2, chapter 2. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  79. ^ Compare the summary in Raymond, pp. 97-104.
  80. ^ Cyprian. ""Epistle LXII: To Caecilius, on the Sacrament of the Cup of the Lord", §11". Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  81. ^ Ambrose. "Book I, chapter XLIII". On the Duties of the Clergy. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  82. ^ Augustine of Hippo. "Chapter 19". On the Morals of the Catholic Church. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  83. ^ I. W. Raymond, p. 78.
  84. ^ Gregory the Great. Moralia in Job, book 31, chapter 45.
  85. ^ "Wine History". Macedonian Heritage. 2003. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  86. ^ a b c Jim West (2003). Drinking with Calvin and Luther!. Oakdown Books. pp. pp. 22ff. ISBN 0-9700326-0-9. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  87. ^ Kevin Lynch (September 20 — October 3, 2006). "Sin & Tonic: Making beer, wine, and spirits is not the Devil's work". The Wave Magazine. 6 (19). Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  88. ^ Will Durant (1957). The Reformation. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. p. 113. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  89. ^ "Wine, Religion and Culture". Macedonian Heritage. 2003. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  90. ^ a b "Altar Wine". The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1917. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  91. ^ a b "Ask the Wise Man: Eucharistic Wine and an Alcoholic Priest; Hosts for the Gluten-allergic". St. Anthony Messenger. May 1996. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  92. ^ See West, Drinking and Mathison, "Protestant Transubstantiation" parts 2 and 3 for many examples.
  93. ^ Jim West (March /April 2000). "A Sober Assessment of Reformational Drinking". Modern Reformation. 9 (2). Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  94. ^ Article 7
  95. ^ Belgic Confession (1561), article 35
  96. ^ Heidelberg Catechism (1563), questions 78-80
  97. ^ Thirty-Nine Articles (1571), article 28
  98. ^ Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), chapter 29, paragraph 3
  99. ^ Chapter 30, paragraph 3
  100. ^ Article 18
  101. ^ Article 10
  102. ^ West, Drinking, pp. 68ff.
  103. ^ West, Drinking, pp. 79ff.
  104. ^ West, Drinking, p. 86.
  105. ^ M. E. Lender. Drinking In America. ISBN 0-02-918570-X.
  106. ^ Increase Mather (1673)."Wo to Drunkards."
  107. ^ See Temperance movement#United States.
  108. ^ a b c d Keith Mathison (January 22–28, 2001). "Protestant Transubstantiation - Part 4: Origins of and Reasons for the Rejection of Wine". IIIM Magazine Online. 3 (4). Retrieved 2007-01-22.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  109. ^ Ra McLaughlin. "Protestant Transubstantiation (History of)". Third Millennium Ministries. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  110. ^ Pierard, p. 28.
  111. ^ M. D. Coogan (1993). "Wine". In Bruce Metzger and M. D. Coogan (ed.). The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. pp. 799f. ISBN 978-0195046458. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  112. ^ a b Ken Camp (January 05, 2007). ""Drink to That? Have Baptists watered down their objections to alcohol?"". The Baptist Standard. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  113. ^ Marian Van Til (April 27, 2003). "Welch's Innovation". Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine. Retrieved 2007-02-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  114. ^ Lilian Lewis Shiman (1988). Crusade Against Drink in Victorian England. St. Martin's Press. pp. p. 5. ISBN 0-312-17777-1. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  115. ^ For instance, in 1937, the Bible Presbyterian Church, which advocated total abstinence, split from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, which advocated moderation, over the issues of alcohol and dispensationalism. As of 2006, the two denominations are in cooperative talks but remain divided over alcohol.
  116. ^ Patrick Madrid (March 1992). "Wrath of Grapes". This Rock. 3 (3). Retrieved 2007-03-16. The [Catholic] Church teaches ... that wine, like food, sex, laughter, and dancing, is a good thing when enjoyed in its proper time and context. To abuse any good thing is a sin, but the thing abused does not itself become sinful.
  117. ^ Paul O'Callaghan (March 1992). "The Spirit of True Christianity". Word Magazine. Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America: pp. 8-9. Retrieved 2007-03-16. So alcohol, sex, the body, money, television, and music are all good things. It is only the abuse of these things that is bad — drunkenness, pornography, compulsive gambling, etc. Even drugs marijuana, cocaine, heroin — all have good uses for medical and other reasons. It's only the abuse of them for pleasure that is wrong. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  118. ^ a b "Responding to Opportunities for 'Interim Eucharistic Sharing'" (PDF). Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Retrieved 2007-02-24. While many Lutheran congregations also provide grape juice or unfermented wine as an alternative, Lutherans have more emphasized the historical and ecumenical continuities which wine provides, as well as the richness and multivalences of its symbolic associations.
  119. ^ "Theology and Practice of The Lord's Supper - Part I" (PDF). Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. May 1983. Retrieved 2007-02-24. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  120. ^ "Alcohol". Presbyterian 101. Presbyterian Church (USA). Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  121. ^ a b "Introduction to Worship in the United Church of Christ" (PDF). Book of Worship. United Church of Christ. 1986. pp. Footnote 27. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  122. ^ a b "Alcohol". Christian Reformed Church in North America. 1996–2007. Retrieved 2007-02-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  123. ^ "Alcohol, Beverage use of". Presbyterian Church in America, 8th General Assembly. 1980. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  124. ^ "Alcoholic Beverages". Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  125. ^ "Alcohol Misuse: A Social Catastrophe". Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  126. ^ a b Jeffrey J. Meyers (November 1996). "Concerning Wine and Beer, Part 1". Rite Reasons, Studies in Worship (48). Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  127. ^ a b Jeffrey J. Meyers (January 1997). "Concerning Wine and Beer, Part 2". Rite Reasons, Studies in Worship (49). Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  128. ^ Pierard, p. 29.
  129. ^ Raymond, passim, especially pp. 48f. He adds on p. 85, "St. Paul regards wine as intrinsically good, 'for every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving' [1Ti 4:3f]."
  130. ^ John Calvin. "On Ps 104:15". Commentary on the Psalms. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  131. ^ John Calvin (1545). "Catechism of the Church of Geneva". Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  132. ^ Martin Luther. "Fourth Invocavit sermon from 1522". Works, American Edition, vol. 51, p. 85. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  133. ^ Compare 1Co 11:33f
  134. ^ I. W. Raymond, p. 86.
  135. ^ I. W. Raymond, pp. 83f.
  136. ^ "Wine or grape juice". Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  137. ^ Cross and Livingstone, p. 1767.
  138. ^ M. R. P. McGuire and T. D. Terry, ed. (2002). New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14 (2nd ed. ed.). Thomson Gale. p. 772. ISBN 978-0787640040. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  139. ^ See the thorough discussion of lexical differences in Gentry, God Gave Wine, pp. 33-104.
  140. ^ Compare Mt 15:11,18; Mk 7:20,23.
  141. ^ Robert S. Rayburn (2001-02-11). ""Revising the Practice of the Lord's Supper at Faith Presbyterian Church No. 4, Wine, No. 3"". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  142. ^ Gentry, God Gave Wine, pp. 105-130.
  143. ^ ""On alcohol use in America"". Southern Baptist Convention. 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  144. ^ "Position paper: Abstinence from Alcohol". Assemblies of God.
  145. ^ ""Alcohol and Other Drugs"". The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church. The United Methodist Publishing House. 2004. Retrieved 2007-01-22..
  146. ^ "The Salvation Army's Position on Alcohol and Drugs". 1982. Retrieved 2007-02-23. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
  147. ^ Billy Graham (n.d.). ""My Answer"". Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  148. ^ John F. MacArthur. "Living in the Spirit: Be Not Drunk with Wine--Part 3". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  149. ^ R. Albert Mohler and Russell Moore (September 14, 2005). Alcohol and Ministry (MP3 audio). Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |additional_url= ignored (help)
  150. ^ a b John Piper (October 4, 1981). ""Total Abstinence and Church Membership"". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  151. ^ a b c d Daniel L. Akin (June 30, 2006). ""FIRST-PERSON: The case for alcohol abstinence"". Baptist Press. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  152. ^ a b Richard Land (July 24, 2006). ""FIRST-PERSON: The great alcohol debate"". Baptist Press. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  153. ^ John MacArthur. ""Unity in Action: Building Up One Another Without Offending--Part 2"". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  154. ^ David Guzik. "Commentary on 1 Ti 5:23". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  155. ^ Kenneth L. Barker and John R. Kohlenberger III (1999). "Commentary on 1 Ti 5:23". Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary. ISBN 978-0310578406.
  156. ^ a b D. Miall Edwards (1915). "Drunkenness". In James Orr (ed.). International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
  157. ^ Norman Geisler (January -March 1982). "A Christian Perspective on Wine-Drinking". Bibliotheca Sacra. 139 (553): pp. 41-55. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  158. ^ W. J. Beecher. "Total abstinence". The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. pp. p. 468. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  159. ^ John Piper (January 17, 1982). ""Flesh Tank and Peashooter Regulations"". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  160. ^ Stephen M. Reynolds (1983). Alcohol and the Bible. Challenge Press. ISBN 978-0866450942.
  161. ^ Stephen M. Reynolds (1989). The Biblical Approach to Alcohol. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  162. ^ a b c Stephen M. Reynolds (May /June 1991). "Issue and Interchange - Scripture Prohibits the Drinking of Alhocolic Beverages". Antithesis. 2 (2). Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also the other installments in the debate between Reynolds and Kenneth Gentry in the same issue of the magazine.
  163. ^ Jack Van Impe (1980). Alcohol: The Beloved Enemy. Jack Van Impe Ministries. ISBN 978-0934803076.
  164. ^ "Historic Stand for Temperance Principles and Acceptance of Donations Statement Impacts Social Change". General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 1992. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  165. ^ "Chemical Use, Abuse, and Dependency". General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 1990. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  166. ^ a b Samuele Bacchiocchi. "A Preview of Wine in the Bible". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  167. ^ Hermano Cisco. ""Christians and Alcohol"".
  168. ^ "Word of Wisdom". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
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