ALCOHOL AND THE CHRISTIAN Seeking the Biblical Perspective Bible.

ALCOHOL AND THE CHRISTIAN

Seeking the Biblical Perspective

Bible

ALCOHOL AND THE BIBLESeeking the Biblical Perspective

ALCOHOL AND THE BIBLEWhat this study is not.

This study is not primarily about the issue of drunkenness. Any and every honest reader of the Bible recognizes that

the Bible is entirely opposed to drunkenness. We will, however, briefly touch on the subject.

• Ephesians 5:18• Proverbs 20:1• Proverbs 23:21• Isaiah 5:22,23• Romans 13:13• Deuteronomy 21:20,21• 1 Corinthians 5:11• 1 Corinthians 6:9,10

WHAT THIS STUDY IS NOT

• Violence: Proverbs 20:1, Proverbs 23:29,30, Matthew 24:48,49

• Poor judgment: Proverbs 31:4,5, Isaiah 5:22,2, Hosea 4:10,11

• Sexual immorality: Genesis 19:30-38, Habakkuk 2:15• Shame and disgrace: Proverbs 23:33• Financial ruin: Proverbs 23:20,21• Addiction: Proverbs 23:35, Isaiah 5:11

WHAT DRUNKENNESS LEADS TO

TWO OPPOSITES

Ephesians 5:18

The matter of being “Spirit filled” is different from being “Spirit Indwelt”.

• Indwelling is a one-time act completed at salvation.

• Filling is a repeated act whereby we submit ourselves to the Spirit’s control and leading.

• Being “under the influence,” then, is the opposite. We are no longer under our own control or under the Spirit’s control. We are under the “spirits” control.

• Drunkenness, then, is the antithesis of being filled with the Spirit. At no time, ever, should a Christian be drunk because the Bible forbids it.

BE

ING

FIL

LE

D

ALCOHOL AND THE BIBLEThe Three Main Views

Alcohol is a chemical produced by a process

known as “fermentation”.

In every day language, the alcohol referred to in beverages is called

“ethanol”.

Fermentation is the process where sugars are converted

into ethanol.

WHAT IS ALCOHOL?

Before delving into the matter, let us note the three popular opinions on the Bible’s view of alcohol.

• The Prohibitionist View: The Bible teaches against the consumption of alcohol. Proper understanding of the Greek and Hebrew as well as of the context and culture is necessary to understand that alcoholic beverages are not permitted to believers. The only acceptable use of alcohol is medicinal.

• The Moderationist View: The Bible teaches liberty to participate in light social drinking. As with anything, consumption of alcohol must be done in moderation. The Bible strictly prohibits drunkenness. However, Jesus made wine and Paul advised Timothy to drink wine. The qualification of pastors and deacons allows some light consumption of alcohol.

• The Abstentionist View: The Bible allows it but it is culturally a poor choice in North America because of the excessive issues related to alcohol. It is best to abstain from alcohol altogether – forgoing this liberty of mine for the benefit of others. In another culture or in another time, we would be free to drink it.

THE THREE MAIN VIEWS

The Bible knows only one kind of wine; alcoholic wine. This is known as the “one-wine theory”. The Bible strictly warns against drunkenness but permits and even recommends moderate drinking of alcoholic beverages.

• Jesus turned water into wine; John 2.• Paul told Timothy to drink wine; 1 Timothy 5:23• Jesus personally admitted to drinking wine; Matthew 11:18,19• Christian Liberty allows the freedom of choice; 1 Corinthians 10:23-31• All things created by God to be received with thanksgiving; 1 Timothy

4:4• Old Testament believers drank alcohol; 2 Samuel 11:12,13• The Law permitted even strong drink; Deuteronomy 14:26• Solomon condoned the consumption of alcohol; Ecclesiastes 9:7

THE MODERATIONIST VIEW

The Abstentionist view is essentially the same as the moderationist view except that it recognizes the modern

evils associated with the consumption of alcohol, especially in North American culture and on those grounds, abstains. In another culture or at another time, it would permit it (IE,

France / Germany)

• We should not do anything that makes another stumble or fall; Romans 14:20,21, 1 Corinthians 8

• We should avoid all appearance of evil; 1 Thessalonians 5:22

• The use of alcohol as a water purifier is no longer necessary, making alcohol unnecessary.

THE ABSTENTIONIST VIEW

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS…

Although these explanations sound good, are they Biblically right?

Do these “proof texts” for moderated consumption of alcohol fully understand the Bible’s whole view of alcohol?

Do these views properly understand the history of wine and alcohol?

Do these views understand the meanings of the Greek and Hebrew words?

The Prohibitionist view believes that the Bible strictly prohibits the consumption of alcohol in any quantity. The

word “wine” is used to refer to more than one kind of drink and a proper understanding of the textual context of the the

historical culture is necessary to understand the Bible’s position.

• Fermented wine itself, regardless of quantity, is not allowed

• There are different kinds of wine• Not all wine is alcoholic• Jesus did not make or consume alcoholic wine

THE PROHIBITIONIST VIEW

ALCOHOL AND THE BIBLESemantics.

What is “semantics”?

• Wikipedia: “[Semantics] is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, like words, phrases, signs, and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotation. Linguistic semantics is the study of meaning that is used for understanding human expression through language. ”

• The Free Dictionary .com: Semantics is…• 1. Linguistics The study or science of meaning in language.• 2. Linguistics The study of relationships between signs and

symbols and what they represent. Also called semasiology.• 3. The meaning or the interpretation of a word, sentence,

or other language form

SEMANTICS

Merriam Webster Online Oxford Dictionary Online

“WINE”

Cambridge Dictionary Online

Wikipedia

“WINE”

The definition of the word “wine” has remained almost the same for centuries, except that it’s definition has narrowed to refer strictly

to fermented wine. Older definitions of the word included fermented and unfermented wine.

• 1955 Funk & Wagnall’s New Standard Dictionary of the English Language“1. The fermented juice of the grape; in loose language the juice of the grape whether fermented or not.”

• 1971 New Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English LanguageMust: “Wine or juice pressed from the grapes but not fermented”

• 1896 Webster’s International Dictionary of the English Language“the expressed juice of grapes, especially when fermented…a beverage…prepared from grapes by squeezing out their juice, and (usually) allowing it to ferment.”

“WINE” IN HISTORY

• 1759 Nathan Bailey’s New Universal English Dictionary of Words and of Arts and Sciences“Natural wine is such as it comes from the grape, without any mixture or sophistication.”

• 1708 John Kersey’s A General English Dictionary“Wine, a liquor made of the juice of grapes or other fruits. Liquor or liquour, anything that is liquid; Drink, Juice, etc. Must, sweet wine, newly pressed from the grape.”

• 1748 Benjamin Marin’s A New English Dictionary“1. the juice of the grape. 2. a liquor extracted from other fruits besides the grape. 3. the vapours of wine, as wine disturbs his reason.”

“WINE” IN HISTORY

• 1737 William Whiston’s translation of Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews (originally written in Greek during the time of the Apostles).“He therefore said that in his sleep he saw three clusters of grapes hanging upon three branches of a vine, large already, and ripe for gathering; and that he squeezed them into a cup which the king held in his hand and when he had strained the wine, he gave it to the king to drink…Thou sayest that thou didst squeeze this wine from three clusters of grapes with thine hands and that the king received it: know, therefore, that the vision is for thy good.”

• Question, then: What did “wine” mean to the translators of the 1611 King James Bible, or of the Douay-Rheims in 1752 or the Tyndale Bible in 1526?

“WINE” IN HISTORY

ALCOHOL AND THE BIBLE“Wine” in other languages.

Latin: vinumGreek: οινος (oinos)Hebrew: יין(yayin)

As in English, all of these words can refer to both alcoholic and non-

alcoholic beverages.

WINE IN OTHER LANGUAGES

1740 Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, refers to aegluces vinum (“sweet wine”) and

defrutum vinum (“boiled wine”). Both of these wines are unfermented grape juice.

It also says, “vinum covantur ipsae etiam uvae”, translated “even the very grapes are

called wine”

Marcus Cato, On Agriculture, referred to vinum pendens, translated “wine still

hanging [on the grapes]”

VINUM

1640 Parkinson’s Theatrum Botanicum says “The juyce or liquor pressed out of the ripe

grapes, is called vinum, wine.”

Pliny (AD 24-79) “lists the boiled wines sapa and defrutum among the vinum dulce –

“sweet wine.”

VINUM

Particularly important over vinum and wine because the New Testament was written in

Greek.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) “…For some kinds of wine [oinos], for example must [gleukos],

solidify when boiled.”

Again, about gleukus (sweet wine), “though called wine [oinos], it has not the effect of

wine, for it does not taste like wine and does not intoxicate like ordinary wine.”

OINOS

Athenaeus was a grammarian from about 200 AD. Speaking to people who were

dyspeptic: “Let him take sweet wine, either mixed with water or warmed, especially that kind called

protropos, the sweet Lesbian glukus, as being good for the stomach; for sweet wine

[oinos] does not make the head heavy.”

Speaking of Drimacus the General, “At the time of the festivals, he went about, and

took wine from the field and such animals for victims as were in good condition.”

OINOS

Proclus (5th Century AD) about grapes: “they treaded them and squeezed out the wine

[oinon]”

A papyrus from AD 137 “They paid to the one who had earned his wages pure, fresh

wine [oinon] from the vat.”

Nicander of Colophon, “And Oineus first squeezed it out into hollow cups and called

it oinos.”

OINOS

The Jewish Encyclopedia says “Fresh wine before fermenting was called ‘yayin mi-gat’”

(wine of the vat)

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971) “The newly pressed wine prior to fermentation was

known as yayin mi-gat”.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 70a “If he eats pickled meat or drinks 'wine from the

vat', [i. e., new wine before it has matured], he does not become a stubborn and

rebellious son” (‘yayin mi-gat’)

YAYIN

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 70a “27And how long is it called new wine? - As lone as it is in its first stage of fermentation; and it has been taught: wine in the first stage of

fermentation does not come within the prohibition against uncovered liquid: 28 and how long is this first stage? - Three days.”

Baba Bathra 97a, Rabbi Hiyya says “Since the wine [yayin] from the press is

acceptable for libations bedi’abad, it is acceptable for Kiddush lekathehillah.”

YAYIN

Halakot Gedalot, “One may press out a cluster of grapes and pronounce the

Kiddush over the juice, since the juice of the grape is considered wine [yayin] in

connection with the laws of the Nazirite.”

YAYIN

YAYIN AND OINOS IN THE BIBLE

According to Robert Teachout, there are 141 references to yayin in the Old Testament. Of those, 71 refer to unfermented grape juice while 70 refer

to fermented wine.

Learned by Comparison: Proverbs 23:31,32. By using the word “when” and adding a condition to the wine, Scripture recognizes that not all wine

carries the same basic intoxicating quality.

• Isaiah 16:10 – “wine in the presses”• Jeremiah 40:10-12 – gathering wine• Nehemiah 13:15 – selling of wine

• Genesis 49:11 – clothes washed in wine

YAYIN AS UNFERMENTED WINE

Remember the Hebrew word “tirosh” ( ירוש� that we have (ת�mentioned a few times. It refers almost exclusively to

unfermented, fresh, sweet, grape juice. How did the translators of the Septuagint translate it?

• Proverbs 3:10 – tirosh > oinos• Joel 1:10 – tirosh > oinos• Psalm 4:7 – tirosh > oinos• Isaiah 16:10 – yayin > oinos• Genesis 9:21 – yayin > oinos

The point? Oinos is used to translate both tirosh and yayin in both unfermented and alcoholic contexts. So oinos in the New

Testament is a dual-purpose word.

OINOS IN THE SEPTUAGINT

The New Testament’s use of “wine” is limited. Understanding the Hebrew, as well as Latin and English uses of the word helps us understand that determining whether NT wine is fermented or not is determined by

context. In other words, we already know now that it can be either, so we read with wisdom.

• Matthew 9:17 – wine and wineskins

OINOS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

ALCOHOL AND THE BIBLEAncient Preservation Methods

Refrigeration is necessary for preservation.

The process of pasteurization was not discovered until 1864.

Since Passover was many months after harvest, the wine Jesus drank at the Last Supper was alcoholic.

COMMON THEORIES

“Rev. Henry Homes, an American missionary to Constantinople, in his article on wine published in the Bibliotheca Sacra (May 1848) gives this account of his

observations: “Simple grape-juice, without the addition of any earth to neutralize its acidity, is boiled from four to five

hours, so as to reduce it one-fourth the quantity put in. After the boiling, for preserving it cool, and that it be less liable to ferment, it is put into earthen instead of wooden vessels, closely ties over with skin to exclude the air. It

ordinarily has not a particle of intoxicating quality, being used freely by both Mohammedans and Christians. Some which I have had on hand for two years has undergone no

change.”

ANCIENT PRESERVATION METHODS

• Boiling• Filtering

• Cold Storage• Sulfur

ANCIENT PRESERVATION METHODS

ALCOHOL AND THE BIBLEJesus and wine.

• Moderationists assume this was alcoholic wine.• This wine is called “the good wine”. It is assumed that this

refers to a quality, aged, alcoholic wine. • The master of the feast says that it was served when the

people had “drunk freely”. Thus the assumption is that the master of the feast acknowledged the people were drunk.

• Since both the wine Jesus made and the first wine served were called “good wine,” they must both be the same type of wine.

• “good wine” does not necessarily refer to alcoholic wine.• The people had “drunk freely” and were not “well drunk”.

THE WEDDING AT CANAJOHN 2:1-11

• The main purpose of the miracle was that His disciples would believe in Him. The entire miracle MUST support this goal.

• There were six water pots which, together, could hold between 420 and 630 litres of liquid.

• The industry standard size of a wine bottle today is 750ml• This means Jesus made the equivalent of between 560 and

840 bottles of this wine, by today’s standard bottle size.• This amount of wine, if alcoholic, cannot be considered to be

in moderation. • This would place Jesus in violation of even a moderationist’s

view of the Old Testament teaching on alcohol, making it difficult, if not impossible for the disciples to believe in Jesus.

THE WEDDING AT CANA

The moderationist views this as an admission by Jesus that He drank wine. It is said that He compares Himself to John

the Baptist, who refrained from wine.• John the Baptist was a recluse. Matthew 3:1-6• John the Baptist was a Nazirite. Luke 1:15• Jesus was not a Nazirite. Luke 7:34 (He was a Nazarene.)• Jesus was a social man. Luke 7:34• Jesus socialized with gluttons and drunkards (the sinners

and tax collectors)• He was accused of doing as they did.• Accusations are not necessarily true. Verse 35 supports

this.

GLUTTON AND A DRUNKARD?LUKE 7:33-35

• Very important for moderationists because it shows Jesus commanding to drink this wine until the end of the present dispensation.

• The assumption is made that the wine was alcoholic because of the time of year in which it was drunk.

• We have already seen that preservation of grape juice was possible for a year or more.

• Passover (The Feast of Unleavened Bread) required that all leavening be removed from the houses in order to celebrate properly.

• The cup was intended to symbolize the blood of Christ. Leavening is most often used as a picture of sin in the Bible. Alcoholic wine cannot accurately picture the blood of Christ.

THE COMMUNION CUPMATTHEW 26:26-29

• Moderationists view this as a commendation of alcoholic wine by Jesus.

• This view missing a critical factor; It is not Jesus who says the old is good but the man who has been drinking it.

OLD WINE IS GOOD?LUKE 5:29

ALCOHOL AND THE BIBLEWhat about “strong drink”?

• The Bible speaks negatively of “strong drink”, just as it does of all intoxicating beverages.

Proverbs 20:1, 1 Samuel 1:15, Isaiah 5:22; 28:7• The Hebrew word is ש��כ�ר, “shekar”.• Deuteronomy 14:26 – an apparent divine allowance of “strong

drink”.• The purpose of the event was that the people should fear God

always.• The items bought should mirror the items sold.• The Levites involved in this ceremony were to abstain entirely

from alcohol.• Shekar was also a multi-purpose word, indicating either a

fermented or non-fermented drink, probably made of dates.• Isaiah 24:9 – support for this view

STRONG DRINK?

sugar (n.)

late 13c., sugre, from Old French sucre "sugar" (12c.), from Medieval Latin succarum, from Arabic sukkar, from Persian shakar, from Sanskrit sharkara "ground or candied sugar,"

originally "grit, gravel" (cognate with Greek kroke "pebble"). The Arabic word also was borrowed in Italian (zucchero), Spanish

(azucar), and German (Old High German zucura, German Zucker), and its forms are represented in most European

languages (cf. Serb. cukar, Polish cukier, Russian sakhar).

STRONG DRINK

ALCOHOL AND THE BIBLEBible Dive.

BIBLE DIVE

1. Proverbs 20:1 – Are you wise or not?2. Proverbs 23:31 – Look not at alcohol.3. Leviticus 10:8-11 – Who are priests?

1. 1 Peter 2:5,94. Alcohol is directly linked with various

moral sins.1. Sexual immorality – Habakkuk 2:15,

Romans 13:132. Violence – Matthew 24:48,493. Arguing and complaining – Proverbs

23:295. Alcohol is a picture of God’s judgment and

outpoured wrath – Jeremiah 25:15, Revelation 14:9,10

6. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – Moderation in everything?

7. Ephesians 5:18 – What are you controlled by?

• The Prohibitionist View: The Bible teaches against the consumption of alcohol. Proper understanding of the Greek and Hebrew as well as of the context and culture is necessary to understand that alcoholic beverages are not permitted to believers. The only acceptable use of alcohol is medicinal.

• The Moderationist View: The Bible teaches liberty to participate in light social drinking. As with anything, consumption of alcohol must be done in moderation. The Bible strictly prohibits drunkenness. However, Jesus made wine and Paul advised Timothy to drink wine. The qualification of pastors and deacons allows some light consumption of alcohol.

• The Abstentionist View: The Bible allows it but it is culturally a poor choice in North America because of the excessive issues related to alcohol. It is best to abstain from alcohol altogether – forgoing this liberty of mine for the benefit of others. In another culture or in another time, we would be free to drink it.

THE THREE MAIN VIEWS

A SIMPLE VIEW

The Bible’s view is not complicated. God does not condone the moderate drinking of alcohol. God requires complete

abstention. Man is responsible for the apparent complexity of the biblical doctrine on alcohol. Man is guilty of twisting Scripture to suit his own desires, as many have done in the

past.

2 Peter 3:14-18

ALCOHOL AND THE BIBLESeeking the Biblical Perspective