Showing posts with label Alcohol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alcohol. Show all posts
Thursday, January 08, 2026
Eight Reasons to Quit Alcohol – from the Experts
The Serving and
Sharing website has moved! Please look for this article (and all other
articles) here: https://serving-and-sharing.blogspot.com/.
Sunday, October 07, 2018
Wine-Drinking in New Testament Times – Robert H. Stein
The following
article was written by Robert H. Stein to describe the use of wine in the first
century. The source of the article is noted at the end of this post.
-------
As evangelicals we
maintain that the Bible is for us the only infallible rule of faith and
practice. It is our final authority in all matters of doctrine (faith) and
ethics (practice). Yet the Bible was not written to evangelicals living in the
twentieth century. The science—or better, the art—of interpreting the biblical
text so that the revelation of God written centuries ago is meaningful and
correctly understood today is called “hermeneutics.” The basic principle of
hermeneutics, to be somewhat simplistic, is that the question “What does it
mean for us today?” must be preceded by the question “What did it mean for them
yesterday?” If we do not seek first to understand what the text meant when it
was written, it will be very difficult to interpret intelligently what it means
and demands of us today.
My subject here is
the use of the term “wine” in the New Testament. Some readers may already be
thinking, “Is he going to try to tell us that wine in the Bible means grape
juice? Is he going to try to say that the wine mentioned in the New Testament
is any different from the wine bottled today by Christian Brothers or Château
Lafite-Rothschild or Mogen David?” Well, my answers are no and yes. No, the
wine of the Bible was not unfermented grape juice. Yes, it was different from
the wine of today.
In ancient times
wine was usually stored in large pointed jugs called amphorae. When wine
was to be used it was poured from the amphorae into large bowls called kraters,
where it was mixed with water. Last year 1 had the privilege of visiting
the great archaeological museum in Athens,
Greece, where I
saw dozens of these large kraters. At the time it did not dawn on me
what their use signified about the drinking of wine in biblical times. From
these kraters, cups or kylix were then filled. What is important for us
to note is that before wine was drunk it was mixed with water. The kylix were
filled not from the amphorae but from the kraters.
The ratio of water
to wine varied. Homer (Odyssey IX, 208f.) mentions a ratio of 20 to 1,
twenty parts water to one part wine. Pliny (Natural History XIV, vi, 54)
mentions a ratio of eight parts water to one part wine. In one ancient
work, Athenaeus’s The Learned Banquet, written around A.D. 200,
we find in Book Ten a collection of statements from earlier writers about
drinking practices. A quotation from a play by Aristophanes reads: “‘Here,
drink this also, mingled three and two.’ Demus. ‘Zeus! But it’s sweet and
bears the three parts well!’” The poet Euenos, who lived in the fifth century B.C.,
is also quoted:
The best measure of
wine is neither much nor very little;
For ‘tis the cause
of either grief or madness.
It pleases the wine
to be the fourth, mixed with three nymphs.
Here the ratio of
water to wine is 3 to 1. Others mentioned are:
3 to 1—Hesiod
4 to 1—Alexis
2 to 1—Diodes
3 to 1—Ion
5 to 2—Nichochares
2 to 1—Anacreon
Sometimes the ratio
goes down to 1 to 1 (and even lower), but it should be noted that such a
mixture is referred to as “strong wine.” Drinking wine unmixed, on the other
hand, was looked upon as a “Scythian” or barbarian custom. Athenaeus in this
work quotes Mnesitheus of Athens:
The gods have
revealed wine to mortals, to be the greatest blessing for those who use it
aright, but for those who use it without measure, the reverse. For it gives
food to them that take it and strength in mind and body. In medicine it is most
beneficial; it can be mixed with liquid and drugs and it brings aid to the
wounded. In daily intercourse, to those who mix and drink it moderately, it
gives good cheer; but if you overstep the bounds, it brings violence. Mix it
half and half, and you get madness; unmixed, bodily collapse.
It is evident that
wine was seen in ancient times as a medicine (and as a solvent for medicines)
and of course as a beverage. Yet as a beverage it was always thought of as a
mixed drink. Plutarch (Symposiacs III, ix), for instance, states. “We
call a mixture ‘wine,’ although the larger of the component parts is water.”
The ratio of water might vary, but only barbarians drank it unmixed, and a
mixture of wine and water of equal parts was seen as “strong drink” and frowned
upon. The term “wine” or oinos in the ancient world, then, did not mean
wine as we understand it today but wine mixed with water. Usually a writer
simply referred to the mixture of water and wine as “wine.” To indicate that
the beverage was not a mixture of water and wine he would say “unmixed (akratesteron)
wine.”
One might wonder
whether the custom of mixing wine with water was limited to the ancient Greeks.
The burden of proof would be upon anyone who argued that the pattern of
drinking wine in Jewish society was substantially different from that of the
examples already ‘given. And we do have examples in both Jewish and Christian
literature and perhaps in the Bible that wine was likewise understood as being
a mixture of wine and water. In several instances in the Old Testament a
distinction is made between “wine” and “strong drink.” In Leviticus 10:8, 9, we
read, “And the LORD spoke to Aaron, saying, ‘Drink no wine nor strong
drink, you nor your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting. . .
.‘“ Concerning the Nazarite vow Numbers 6:3 states that the Nazarite “shall separate
himself from wine and strong drink.” This distinction is found also in
Deuteronomy 14:26; 29:6; Judges 13:4, 7, 14; First Samuel 1:15: Proverbs 20:1;
31:4,6: Isaiah 5:11, 22; 28:7; 29:9; 56:12; and Micah 2:11.
The 1901 Jewish
Encyclopedia (Vol. 12, p. 533) states that in the rabbinic period at
least “‘yayin’ [or wine] ‘is to be distinguished from ‘shekar’ [or strong
drink]: the former is diluted with water (mazug’); the latter is undiluted
(‘yayin hal’).” ln the Talmud, which contains the oral traditions of Judaism
from about 200 B.C. to A.D. 200, there are several tractates in
which the mixture of water and wine is discussed. One tractate (Shabbath 77a)
states that wine that does not carry three parts of water well is not wine. The
normal mixture is said to consist of two parts water to one part wine. In a
most important reference (Pesahim 108b) it is stated that the four cups every
Jew was to drink during the Passover ritual were to be mixed in a ratio of
three parts water to one part wine. From this we can conclude with a fair
degree of certainty that the fruit of the vine used at the institution of the
Lord’s Supper was a mixture of three parts water to one part wine. In another
Jewish reference from around 60 B.C. we read, “It is harmful to drink
wine alone, or again, to drink water alone, while wine mixed with water is
sweet and delicious and enhances one’s enjoyment” (II Maccabees 15:39).
In ancient times
there were not many beverages that were safe to drink. The danger of drinking
water alone raises another point. There were several ways in which the ancients
could make water safe to drink. One method was boiling, but this was tedious
and costly. Different methods of filtration were tried. The safest and easiest
method of making the water safe to drink, however, was to mix it with wine. The
drinking of wine (i.e., a mixture of water and wine) served therefore as a
safety measure, since often the water available was not safe. (I remember
drinking some water in Salonica,
Greece, that
would have been much better for me had it been mixed with wine or some other
purifying agent.)
When we come to the
New Testament the content of the wine is never discussed. The burden of proof,
however, is surely upon anyone who would say that the “wine” of the New Testament
is substantially different from the wine mentioned by the Greeks, the Jews
during the intertestamental period, and the early church fathers. In the
writings of the early church fathers it is clear that “wine” means wine mixed
with water. Justin Martyr around A.D. 150 described the Lord’s Supper in
this way: “Bread is brought, and wine and water, and the president sends up
prayers and thanksgiving” (Apology 1, 67, 5). Some sixty-five
years later Hippolytus instructed the bishops that they shall “eucharistize
[bless] first the bread into the representation of the Flesh of Christ; and the
cup mixed with wine for the antitype of the Blood which was shed for all who
have believed in Him” (Apostolic Tradition XXIII, 1). Cyprian around
A.D. 250 stated in his refutation of certain heretical practices:
Nothing must be done
by us but what the Lord first did on our behalf, as that the cup which is
offered in remembrance of Him should be offered mingled with wine. . . .
Thus, therefore, in
considering the cup of the Lord, water alone cannot be offered, even as wine
alone cannot be offered. For if anyone offer wine only, the blood of Christ is
dissociated from us: but if the water be alone, the people are dissociated from
Christ. . . . Thus the cup of the Lord is not indeed water alone, nor wine
alone, unless each be mingled with the other [Epistle LXII, 2, 11 and
13].
Unmixed wine and
plain water at the Lord’s Supper were both found unacceptable. A mixture of
wine and water was the norm. Earlier in the latter part of the second century
Clement of Alexandria stated:
It is best for the
wine to be mixed with as much water as possible. . . . For both are works of
God, and the mixing of the two, both of water and wine produces health, because
life is composed of a necessary element and a useful element. To the necessary
element, the water, which is in the greatest quantity, there is to be mixed in
some of the useful element [Instructor II, ii, 23.3—24.1].
To consume the
amount of alcohol that is in two martinis by drinking wine containing three
parts water to one part wine, one would have to drink over twenty-two glasses.
In other words, it is possible to become intoxicated from wine mixed with three
parts of water, but one’s drinking would probably affect the bladder long
before it affected the mind.
In concluding this
brief article I would like to emphasize two points. First, it is important to
try to understand the biblical text in the context in which it was written.
Before we ask “What does the biblical text mean for us today?” we must ask
“What did it mean to them originally?” Second, there is a striking difference
between the drinking of alcoholic beverages today and the drinking of wine in
New Testament times. If the drinking of unmixed wine or even wine mixed in a
ratio of one to one with water was frowned upon in ancient times, certainly the
drinking of distilled spirits in which the alcoholic content is frequently
three to ten times greater would be frowned upon a great deal more.
Robert H. Stein is
associate professor of New Testament at Bethel College, St. Paul, Minnesota. He has the
B.D. from Fuller Seminary, S.T.M. from Andover
Newton Theological
School, and Ph.D. from Princeton Seminary.
-------
Source:
The Most Clever Thief - Ann Landers
The following
essay appeared in Ann Landers’ column in the Chicago
Tribune and other newspapers on July 28, 1993. She reprinted it on that
occasion in response to a reader’s request. I have included that reader’s request
at the end of this post.
The Most Clever Thief in the World
I invited her into
our home for special occasions. We’d become good friends, I thought. And then I
began to look forward to our meeting at the end of each day. After a while, we
became so friendly I had to see her every evening.
People began to
think of us as a couple. Even the police knew our names. Our identities were
too closely linked, I thought, so I began to see her on the sly.
At first, she stole
small change from my pocket. I wasn’t concerned. Before long, she crept into my
billfold. I wasn’t happy about that, but I enjoyed her company too much to
complain.
Friends said I was
seeing too much of her and that she had made changes in me they didn’t like. I
resented their interference and said so. They dropped me.
My wife and children
complained about the time I took from them to spend with her. I said, “If you
insist that I make a choice, I will choose her.” And I did. She began to demand
so much of my money I could no longer afford new clothes. I heard people at
work whisper about my shabby appearance. They blamed her. I was annoyed and
distanced myself from my colleagues.
She started to visit
me at the office. My boss became upset. He said my friend was interfering with
my work. After several warnings, I lost my job. We had some heavy arguments
after that. I told her to stay away for a while, so I could think. She said, “So
long, buddy. You’ll come back to me before long.” She knew me better than I
knew myself. Within three days, I was seeing her again.
Our affair became
more intense than ever. We spent every day and night together. I lost my wife,
my family and my job. The next thing to go was my health.
When I became so
sick I couldn’t eat or sleep, I realized she had taken everything in my life
that had meaning. Although I was not religious, I decided to turn to God. He
wrapped his loving arms around me and gave me strength I cannot describe to
this day. He made me feel whole. My sense of self-worth and sanity began to
return. I knew I would never again let my friend back into my life.
Today, though I
still bear the scars of that hideous friendship, I am on my way back. With God
at my side, I know I will make it. My old friend will always be around the
corner, waiting for me to weaken and stumble and come back to her, but I am
determined to keep her out of my life forever. I have found a magnificent
replacement.
Here is the reader’s request that caused Ann Landers to
reprint this essay:
Dear Ann Landers:
Ten years ago, you published an essay titled “The Most Clever Thief in the World.”
That essay changed my life. The next day, I went to my first meeting of
Alcoholics Anonymous. I haven’t had a drink since.
I clipped out that
column and carried it in my wallet for many years. I often showed it to people
I thought it might help. Unfortunately, I lost the clipping a few days ago and
am asking you to reprint it. Thanks, Ann. You and A.A. saved my life.
Sunday, December 08, 2013
Just a Little Wine: One Man’s Story, Part Two
The Serving and
Sharing website has moved! Please look for this article (and all other
articles) here: https://serving-and-sharing.blogspot.com/.
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Just a Little Wine: One Man’s Story, Part One
The Serving and
Sharing website has moved! Please look for this article (and all other
articles) here: https://serving-and-sharing.blogspot.com/.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Should I Start Drinking? If So, Why?
When it comes to the
use of alcohol, more and more sincere Christians seem to reason, “The Bible
does not say not to!” They figure that, since the Jews of Jesus’ day drank at
least small amounts of alcohol diluted with water, alcohol itself is not
inherently evil. Therefore, they say, drinking in moderation is a matter of
personal preference today. They ask, “Why not drink?”
I’d like to ask a
different question. Instead of asking, “Why not?” I’d like to ask, “Why?” Is
there a strong, convincing reason for me to start drinking? Will anyone say,
“Cory, you really ought to start drinking, and this is the
reason?” So far, no one has proposed anything strong enough to get me started.
In
first-century
In such situations in
ancient times the addition of a little alcohol purified the water so that it
could be used. I understand that. It makes sense. In such cases, a little
alcohol was not optional. It was essential.
However, one is
hard-pressed today to find any equally compelling reason to start drinking.
Some might try to make a case for the alleged health or sleep benefits of
drinking a little wine. However, I know personally of an outstanding preacher
and Christian college president who secretly began drinking “a little” wine to
help him deal with stress. Over time he increased his usage, and while driving
he eventually killed two women and injured a third as a result. His true story
helped me decide not even to start without some very strong reason that would
be worth the risk. So far I have not found it.
Why do people begin
drinking? Perhaps they want to be social or to experience a high. They want to
have a good time and to fit in with their peers. Perhaps they grew up in a home
or a culture where it seemed that “everyone did it.” Perhaps their parents said
“no,” and they with their friends thought they had to prove themselves.
Most start when they
are young. They are often first exposed to alcohol in their own homes, by their
own parents. The older a non-drinker is, the harder it is to convince him or
her to start drinking. People over time seem to realize that, even if
they could start, they do not need to start.
In the first century it was essential. In our own day it is not. So my first
question is not, “Could I?” My first question is, “Should I?”
Yes, one may say, “The
Bible does not say not to!” The same can be said of other practices as well. In
such cases we must exercise wisdom and judgment.
“The Bible does not say
that I cannot smoke just one cigarette, or even a pack.” That may be true, but
I just do not think it’s smart for me to do it. I ask, “Why should I?” Plain
old common sense and my doctor tell me to avoid tobacco and nicotine.
"The Bible does not say that I cannot have most of my
body tattooed.” How should we answer that? We may consider Lev 19:28 and its
application today, but I still want to ask, “Why
should I? What would be the purpose?” I just cannot find a compelling reason.
“The Bible does not say
that I cannot blow $20 on lottery tickets, just for an evening’s
entertainment.” That may be true, but I cannot find a good reason to try it.
The thrill of the lottery comes from the exciting idea that I might win or gain
something for little or nothing. I would support the gambling industry by doing
so. Perhaps I could try that, but again I ask, “Why should I?”
In my youth I heard,
“You must not start drinking alcohol because …” Various reasons were given.
These included the Bible’s warnings about alcohol, the potential loss of one’s
influence, and the financial cost. I was warned against supporting the alcohol
industry, about the association of alcohol with various sins, and about the
link between alcohol and disease and death. I was told that 50% of all traffic
fatalities involved the use of alcohol, for example. I heard of people who
started drinking socially but eventually lost their jobs and their families as
their alcohol use increased. I was taught that drunkenness was a sin, and that
I would never become drunk if I never started drinking. All of that made sense
to me. Frankly, it still does.
One of my high school
classmates began drinking with his buddies behind the stands at football games.
He thought it was cool, and he gained “friends” by providing them with enough to
go around. One thing led to another, and he became a drunk and a drug addict.
Now he is clean. Imagine someone saying to him today, “You know, the Bible does
not forbid you to start drinking again!” Does anyone think he should?
In my own life I have
watched and learned from his experience and the experience of others. Could I
drink? My response is, “Tell me why I should.”
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is
led astray by it is not wise. Prov 20:1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)