Is it a sin to drink?

Ok, so per my last post, I realize there is a lot on my mind about legalistic Christian views and that I'm going to have to post my personal take on it all one by one, post by post.

Let me just do a little preface, though.

People are ignorant.

Ignorant people upset me.

Ignorant CHRISTIAN people upset me even more.

When I think about the things I have felt condemned for over people's ignorance, I really get angry. As I mentioned before, an example of this is being told I'm going to hell because I had not been baptized. Another example that sticks out clear in my mind is being made to feel HORRIBLE as a little girl for a certain toy I got for Christmas. I used to collect trolls when I was little. I collected them because they had crazy hair, cute faces and jewels in their belly button. In the 2nd grade, I got a troll baby doll from Santa (that's another discussion for later.............................................. laughable) and I loved it. She had purple hair, a purple jewel on her stomach and wore a blue jean dress. I brought her to my grandparents' house Christmas day to show her off and that's when it started. I had family members in my face telling me how horrible it was that I got a troll doll, Christians shouldn't have trolls, trolls were of the devil, trolls represented magic, magic was of the devil, I shouldn't have a troll........... That happened. On Christmas day. From my family members. To a 7 year old girl.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I have felt condemned, as well as my family members have felt condemned for drinking. I have been made to feel guilty from friends and family members from every side. Ok, maybe not my mom's side...... But I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say "Jesus said drinking is bad." When challenged on the topic, people can't really seem to defend their view.

Now, let me say this, if you don't drink because of a personal experience or belief, I'm not going to judge you. But if you don't drink and you point your finger at people who DO drink, let me tell you, YOU are the one in the wrong. If it's a matter of your heart not to drink, by all means, I will respect that, but if it's not a matter of someone else's heart to not drink, then YOU have to respect that. I can think of very, very clear incidences in which my mom, dad, sister, myself, my husband, my brother-in-laws were drinking and someone, almost ALWAYS a family member, made them feel like a worthless piece of dirt. I watched my father and grandfather get ridiculed by a family member for ordering a beer when I was a little girl. I knew as a little girl that my dad and grandfather weren't bad people for ordering a drink, yet in that moment, I felt like my family members were trying to portray them as bad people and I felt like my cousins were buying into it. THAT'S WRONG!!! Hello??? Not that long ago, my dad confessed being pushed to tears by a family member accusing him of being an alcoholic for simply looking at an ad in the paper and saying "Wow, this is a good deal on wine." Really? An alcoholic? Here's the thing, when people react this way, they're judging. And in that moment of judging, the person who is drinking is not in sin. The person who is judging and pointing their finger is in sin.

Back to the matter of the heart. If you choose not to drink because you know alcoholism runs in your family or have watched someone suffer from alcoholism, again, I completely respect that. If you are close to someone who struggles with drinking/alcoholism and you choose to drink in front of them, you are causing them to stumble. My personal belief is against that.

Also, when the Bible talks about wine, I do not think it was merely grape juice. I've heard that argument before. I think it's incredibly ignorant. OPEN YOUR BIBLE. 1 Timothy and Titus speak against getting drunk off wine. If wine were simply grape juice in biblical times, tell me........ HOW CAN YOU GET DRUNK OFF GRAPE JUICE? That's all I'm going to debate on that point because I just think the grape juice argument is.... well.... stupid.

OK SO, with all that off my chest, I DO believe getting drunk is a sin because there are very clear statements biblically that say do not drink to the point of drunkenness. You know, God created our bodies- every single fiber, every detail. He tells us not to do certain things to our bodies because, MY GOODNESS, doesn't He know best? My wild, off-the-chart guess to the command not to get drunk is probably because being drunk harms us. Alcohol poisoning? Alcohol is a depressant. Depressants lead to depression. Depression leads to a whole world of messed up-ness, mostly, tragedy. Being drunk makes you do stupid things, like drive and die driving drunk or kill someone else driving drunk. It makes you lose your better judgement, like going home with someone and having sex, getting pregnant, receiving a great little gift called an STD, getting in a fight causing harm to yourself or someone else, getting arrested, passing out, getting raped. I mean, all in all, drunkenness is mostly negative, am I right? Do you think that's possibly why we are commanded not to get drunk- God telling us not to get drunk is for our protection because He loves us? That's what I think.

Here's some more great, great information to the lovely ignorance that is "Is it is a sin to drink?"

I obtained this golden information from biblestudy.org

Is it a SIN to drink wine or alcohol? Print Q. What does the Bible say about drinking wine or alcohol? Does it have any examples of people being drunk? Is drinking a sin? Why should someone not drink at all? (Submitted by: Lyn) A. To understand the drinking of alcohol, wine and strong drink, we must first understand how God looks upon drinking. In Matthew 11:18-19 Jesus said that John the Baptist came neither eating or drinking because he was under a Nazerite vow to God. Jesus' statement concerning criticism of John because he DIDN'T drink and criticism of him FOR drinking (and eating) is in the book of Matthew: “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not lament.’ "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has ademon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Butwisdom is justified by her children.” (Matthew 11:16-19, NKJV throughout) John's Nazerite vow precluded him from drinking not only wine (fermented juice) but also he couldn't drink grape juice or even eat any grapes. The primary location in the Bible that discusses the Nazarite vow is in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 6. Unlike John, Jesus came eating and drinking, and they called Him a WINEbibber (Matthew 11:19). So Jesus drank wine, but Jesus did not sin; therefore, to drink wine or alcohol is NOT a sin. In fact, Jesus' own mother, Mary, asked her son to make more wine at the marriage feast in Cana. He obeyed His mother even though He wasn't supposed to start doing miracles then, but He obeyed his mother and made more wine than they could drink.

One of the greatest Biblical proofs that drinking alcohol is not a sin in God's eyes is the fact that Christians drink wine showing Christ died for our sins. Some believe that "oinos" (Greek: οινος , Strong's Concordance#3631) was grape juice, but it couldn't be because it represented His blood which pictures life. God said that what gives us life is our blood. Wine is fermented grape juice which is active or "living" just as our blood. The Apostle Paul did not think drinking wine was a sin. He tells Timothy, who was having stomach trouble, that he should drink a little wine for his stomach's sake. "No longer drink only water, but use a little WINE for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities." (1Timothy 5:23) Based on the Bible, drinking alcohol is of itself not a sin or harmful. As stated previously, Paul told Timothyto drink a little wine to benefit his health. The latest scientific findings show drinking moderately is helpful for our heart and lowers cholesterol and high blood pressure. Of course, the Bible does condemn drunkenness. Lot, Abraham's nephew, got drunk after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and had sex with his daughters (see this site's article on the subject). Titus 1:7 states that a minister of God should not be given to wine or an alcoholic. Drunkenness is clearly a sin (1Timothy 3:8). The Apostle Paul warns us that we should not be drunk with wine, wherein is excess (Ephesians 5:18). As long as we drink moderately, the Bible states it is good for us, but drunkenness or alcoholism is definitely a sin and not to be a part of a Christian's life. Written by: Art Mokarow