Religion : Christianity and Alcohol
By Yolanda kaniki,
Is the attitude portrayed by most Christians towards alcohol really defensible? Many Christians would completely forbid the use of alcohol and view consumption of it as being a sin or even an abomination to their belief systems and moral mandate, but do they really have a full understanding of alcohol or is it part of tradition???…
Maria and Zotos are Christian parents to 3 beautiful teenagers namely Clara, Marcus and Ben. Clara who is the last born is turning 18 next month and is having a birthday party with only friends and her 2 siblings invited.
The siblings have agreed amongst themselves that they will allow alcohol during the party under the condition that it will be taken responsibly and have all sworn to secrecy not to mention a word to the folks. Ben (who’s the first born turning 21 ) said, “Okay guys, we have all agreed that whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, so if anyone dares snitch to mom and dad about the alcohol or anything that they would not approve of, I’ll never support you guys in anything that has to do with such.” So they all agreed to not mention anything to the parents. Saturday came and everyone had so much fun, the alcohol was on point, nobody misbehaved and when it was all over, they were all left with fond memories. Obviously the parents had no idea and life went on as usual…
Now after such a fun experience, where is the harm is consuming alcohol as a Christian? Throughout Christian history, alcohol was rarely a taboo as it is in some circles today. John Calvin had a stipend of 250 gallons of wine per year written into his church contract. Martin Luther’s wife was a famed brewer of beer, which certainly won Martin’s heart. And the Guinness family created their renowned Irish Stout as an act of worship to Jesus. From Bordeaux to Berlin, wine and beer have always been part of church tradition. But what was once considered the nectar of heaven was later condemned as the devil’s libation. Why? The Bible never requires all believers to abstain from alcohol, but rather, it condemn drunkenness and being enslaved to wine (Ephesians 5:18; Titus 2:3). Christians must stop quoting the Bible out of context just to satisfy their sinful nature of self-righteousness. Alcohol is not a sin, self-righteousness is. In fact, the Bible never says that abstaining from alcohol is the wisest way to avoid getting drunk. Think about it.
Alcoholism has been rampant through every age, but the Bible never says that all believers should therefore refrain from drinking. If Christians want to maintain consistency with their righteous attitude, then to be consistent, they should also avoid making a lot of money to guard against the crushing sin of materialism and the misuse of wealth.
I often hear people saying, ‘’you are a pastor’s kid, you shouldn’t drink alcoholic things because it is a sin.’’ Quite honestly, I’ve never understood this line of thinking, if you are really serious about winning souls for God, you will consider that fact that most non-Christians are turned off by the arbitrary dos and don’ts created by modern Christians. I’m not convinced that if my unbelieving neighbour sees me slipping into a pub, I will lose much traction to my Gospel witness.
In many cases, the Gospel will shine brighter when you break down wrong assumptions about Christianity by having a beer with your neighbour. What is my point here? Christianity is about your lifestyle in reflection to your relationship with Christ… Having said all the above, my question to you who is reading this would be, Is the negative attitude portrayed by most Christians towards alcohol really warranted or is it all part of the man-made clutter that dims the Gospel???
Is the attitude portrayed by most Christians towards alcohol really defensible? Many Christians would completely forbid the use of alcohol and view consumption of it as being a sin or even an abomination to their belief systems and moral mandate, but do they really have a full understanding of alcohol or is it part of tradition???…
Maria and Zotos are Christian parents to 3 beautiful teenagers namely Clara, Marcus and Ben. Clara who is the last born is turning 18 next month and is having a birthday party with only friends and her 2 siblings invited.
The siblings have agreed amongst themselves that they will allow alcohol during the party under the condition that it will be taken responsibly and have all sworn to secrecy not to mention a word to the folks. Ben (who’s the first born turning 21 ) said, “Okay guys, we have all agreed that whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, so if anyone dares snitch to mom and dad about the alcohol or anything that they would not approve of, I’ll never support you guys in anything that has to do with such.” So they all agreed to not mention anything to the parents. Saturday came and everyone had so much fun, the alcohol was on point, nobody misbehaved and when it was all over, they were all left with fond memories. Obviously the parents had no idea and life went on as usual…
Now after such a fun experience, where is the harm is consuming alcohol as a Christian? Throughout Christian history, alcohol was rarely a taboo as it is in some circles today. John Calvin had a stipend of 250 gallons of wine per year written into his church contract. Martin Luther’s wife was a famed brewer of beer, which certainly won Martin’s heart. And the Guinness family created their renowned Irish Stout as an act of worship to Jesus. From Bordeaux to Berlin, wine and beer have always been part of church tradition. But what was once considered the nectar of heaven was later condemned as the devil’s libation. Why? The Bible never requires all believers to abstain from alcohol, but rather, it condemn drunkenness and being enslaved to wine (Ephesians 5:18; Titus 2:3). Christians must stop quoting the Bible out of context just to satisfy their sinful nature of self-righteousness. Alcohol is not a sin, self-righteousness is. In fact, the Bible never says that abstaining from alcohol is the wisest way to avoid getting drunk. Think about it.
Alcoholism has been rampant through every age, but the Bible never says that all believers should therefore refrain from drinking. If Christians want to maintain consistency with their righteous attitude, then to be consistent, they should also avoid making a lot of money to guard against the crushing sin of materialism and the misuse of wealth.
I often hear people saying, ‘’you are a pastor’s kid, you shouldn’t drink alcoholic things because it is a sin.’’ Quite honestly, I’ve never understood this line of thinking, if you are really serious about winning souls for God, you will consider that fact that most non-Christians are turned off by the arbitrary dos and don’ts created by modern Christians. I’m not convinced that if my unbelieving neighbour sees me slipping into a pub, I will lose much traction to my Gospel witness.
In many cases, the Gospel will shine brighter when you break down wrong assumptions about Christianity by having a beer with your neighbour. What is my point here? Christianity is about your lifestyle in reflection to your relationship with Christ… Having said all the above, my question to you who is reading this would be, Is the negative attitude portrayed by most Christians towards alcohol really warranted or is it all part of the man-made clutter that dims the Gospel???
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