In The Name of God The
Merciful, The Compassionate.
The Bible says, "Wether
therefore ye eat, or drink, ... do all to the glory of God." [ 1 COR 10:31
] Among the other popular poisons which are imbibed by modern man, one that is
particularly pernicious and destructive is alcohol. Glorified as a symbol of
gracious living, it has, in fact, been the most malignant social disease known
to civilization.
In these
days of comprimise, most of the great religious bodies have changed their
attitude towards social drinking. From total abstinence they now take a stance
of moderation. In essence this is exactly the same position the brewers take --
no drunkenness. But is that a safe posture to take toward alcoholic beverages?
Statistics reveal that one out of every ten that start drinking become either
alcoholics or problem drinkers.
Beer
commericals show the party and the fun. They don't show the hangovers, the sick
feelings, the dizziness, the pounding headaches, the rejection the body goes
through, the brain cells that die, the stupidity and obnoxiousness of someone
who's had too much, the smell which resembles horse urine, the people who have
wasted their lives into nothingness, those victims which have been mimed or
injured by irresponsible drinkers who drive, those girls who get pregnant due
to lowered ambitions or who have just passed out and were taken advantage of.
There's a dark side to drinking, and many people just close the door and turn
their backs -- it can happen to 'me.' If you ever stated part of the following
sentence, "I don't think I could .... without a drink" or "In
order to .... I need a drink." Whether its study, relax, socialize, whatever
... there is a place where something is the possibility of taking a stronger
hold on you.
The
claim is made by many Christians that the Bible endorses moderate drinking of
alcohol. This is based largely on the use of the term "wine" in the
Scriptures. But the recommended wine of the Bible is not alcoholic. The word
wine is used for either fermented or unfermented drink. God declared, "As
the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a
blessing is in it: so will I do for my servant's sakes, that I man not destroy
them." [ ISA 65:8 ]
This
wine in the cluster has to be the fresh juice of the vine. This is the only
kind God ever declared to have a blessing in it. There is no blessing in the
intoxicating (toxic?), befuddling bottle of fermented poison. "Wine is a
mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not
wise." [ PRO 20:1 ] "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when
it giveth his colour in the cup, when it mouth itself aright. At the last it
biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." [ PRO 23:31, 32 ]
Did
Jesus go contrary to the Old Testament and turn water into alcoholic wine? It
is unthinkable to think that He should do so. He obeyed the Word of God. The
wine He created was the unfermented kind. [ see the Greek ]
Research
has proven that intoxication is caused by a process, which deprives the brain
of oxygen. This deprivation destroys brain cells, affecting, ultimately, the
reasoning powers of the conscious thought. And wasn't it the free will and choice
to make one's own decisions that the non-believer craves, before he fully
understands God's intentions, and that drink is slowly robbing him of it?
On the
assumption that people of Bible times could not have preserved grape juice for
an extended period of time in the warm climate of Israel from the time the
grape harvest until the Passover in the spring it is taken for granted that
Jews celebrated the Passover with fermented wine. This assumption is
unwarranted. throughout the ancient world juices were often preserved in an
unfermented state for extended periods of time through various methods. One
method was to concentrate the juice to a syrup by boiling it. Stored in a cool
place, this concentrate would not ferment. simply diluting it with water yielded
a non-alcoholic "sweet wine."
All the praise be to the Creator the God