Beer & the

A Theology Paper by Jason Rigby

As with every “hot topic” issue we deal with in the church this one seems to have the most negative viewpoint toward it. in general has been viewed negatively by modern-day Christians. This was not always the case; in fact, throughout history we see Godly men and women enjoying alcohol in moderation. From Genesis to we see alcohol being pleasurable, but we also see warnings (as with any substance or activity) that too much abuse is sinful. Man also has a bad habit of twisting it to conform to fleshly desire and that is wrong and is sinful.

For every issue that faces man, we can know that the scriptures are sufficient with eternal authority to bring an affirmative answer. Whatever man or woman may say “for” or “against” any issue or conviction we have to go with the truth and the sole truth is God’s Word. I believe that each of you would agree with me that any passion we may hold must be rooted in proper exegesis of scripture and not rooted in tradition. Jesus clearly stated that the traditions of men can make the Bible to no effect. Mat 15:6 So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

In this paper, we will go to the Bible and let it speak for itself concerning this issue. We will see that total abstinence is a false teaching that was adopted by the church through cultural and political pressure brought about by the . We will see clearly that the Bible teaches moderation in dealing with alcohol and many so-called “gray” areas of our lives.

What do you do about our legacy of prohibition preaching? I love what the reformation leader Martin Luther said concerning men’s teachings: "No one will believe" he writes "how great an ordeal it is and how severe a shock when a person first realizes that he must believe and teach contrary to the fathers, especially when he sees that so many excellent, intelligent, and learned men, yes, the best of them taught thus. . .holy men, like Saints Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine. I, too, have often experienced this shock. But in spite of this, that one man, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, must have greater weight with me than all the holiest people on earth put together." When we think of the false doctrine of priestly celibacy, for example, we see how true it is that virtually the whole visible Church (including the best people in it) can fall under the spell of error. What then, asks Luther, shall we "condemn these men? No, I do not intend to condemn Benedict and others" he says, "But I do propose to take their books and carry them to Christ and His Word as a criterion for comparison. . .If their doctrine agrees with the Gospel, I shall accept it; if not, I shall say 'You may be a holy man, but you will never subject me to your rule; for it is a human bauble.Therefore let the Devil adopt it! I do not want it." Where did this total abstinence teaching of alcohol come from? Well we must go back to the American Dream and the where G.I. Williamson wrote “It would be a mistake, however, to think of the temperance movement as a product of Scripture. The Washingtonian Temperance Movement which began in Baltimore, for example, professed no religious foundation at all. Even more important is the fact that the Scripture was not the "proof' that was used to support themovement. A famous tract for the times, for instance, was the Rev. George B. Cheever's lurid account of Deacon Gile's Distillery. In this "horror story" demons were pictured as working in a distillery to manufacture "liquid damnation. . .murder… and ." It also became common, in something that reminds us of certain modern evangelistic methods, to use reformed drunkards as crowd-drawing attractions in the great mass meetings of the movement. This naturally attracted some opportunists who were not really reformed, and the ensuing scandals brought something of a setback to the cause. Another thing that temporarily hindered the movement was the Civil War. The energies of the American people were too exhausted by this ordeal to leave much zeal for the cause of temperance. When the war was over, however, it displayed a marked resurgence, and the tide kept rising from that time on into the 20th century. As is well known, it finally culminated in the passing of the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which (from 1920 to 1933) prohibited "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating ."1

Some denominations began to condemn alcohol as sinful and the Methodist pastor Dr. Thomas Welch created the very “Christian” Welch’s grape juice to replace communion in 1869.

The 1920 -1933 Prohibition was fueled by monies from a big oil company (Standard Oil) who was owned by John Rockefeller. The Great automotive maker Henry Ford began to manufacture the Model T with various fuels, one of them being ethyl alcohol. Every farmer who had a still could produce his own fuel for his Model T. For long trips, you could stop at any farm and get fuel from your local farmer. John D. Rockefeller and the monopolizing company Standard Oil did not like this arrangement, as it would put the need for gasoline and gas stations out. After all Standard Oil had a monopoly on gasoline. He needed to get these local farming stills shut down then every engine would be made to run on gasoline. Mr. Rockefeller gave in the amount equivalent today of 60 million dollars to a feminist group called Women's Christian Temperance Union. As we can look back in history, we can see this surge of oil moneys and revival preachers jumping on the bandwagon with emotional tent shows creating a false epidemic. Side note: the sad part of this is that many of these prohibition sermons did not have the Gospel in them. These emotionally charged preachers used fear as a reason not to drink and told scary stories of what will happen if a person were to drink, instead of preaching Jesus and His Word. Therefore, with the pressure of Standard Oil and the people, being incensed up, the politicians caved in, and the production and sale of alcohol was prohibited. After the 18th amendment was passed, auto manufactures were forced, due to demand and the law, to produce engines that ran on gasoline only. By the time the 21st amendment was passed gasoline was the standard. In addition, the Rockefeller family made billions. They had 13 years to establish our energy policies and have a total monopoly. When the ban was lifted it was of course met with tariffs by

1 Wine in the Bible and Church pg. 6 by G.I. Williamson the government to the people. This deceitfulness is what can happen when churches get involved in anything contrary to scripture. We can go through religion and history and see many unholy alliances with government that has led men and women astray from the authority of the Bible. Ray Ortlund says “Moral fervor is our deepest evil. When we intend to serve God, but forget to crucify Self moment by moment, we are capable of acting cruelly while feeling virtuous about it.Let us always beware that delicious feeling that we are the defenders of the holy. Christ is the only Defender of the holy. He defends us from persecutors. He defends us from becoming persecutors. We can take refuge in him. But that esteem of him also means we regard ourselves with suspicion, especially when judging another.” I love this John Adams quote "Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God's service when it is violating all of His laws."

What does the Bible teach about drinking?

First, we must see the warnings of being a drunkard. We will know many of these scriptures, as they were taught to us in our youth at Sunday school and preached from the pulpit many times. We know that spirits can cause us to by being a drunkard. Proverbs 23:30-35 ESV Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. (31) Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. (32) In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. (33) Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. (34) You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. (35) "They struck me," you will say, "but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink." We can see clearly that scripture gives warning as it does with many heart issues to the over-use or abuse of alcohol. You might say, “Well why drink? Just abstain from it. Too many people are hurt by it and I don’t want to be an alcoholic.” May I say that 50% of marriages wind up in divorce, which makes far more incidents of divorce than alcoholics? Then should we abstain from marrying? As it may lead to divorce??? This reasoning is a slippery slope and one that cannot be justified by scripture as we can plug in any Godly created action and see man has condemned it by abuse and selfish desire. Look at sex! God created sex, and man has abused it, but we as Christians are not to abstain from sex but to enjoy it scripturally among married couples. We are to redeem it to its proper God given way! What has happened is Christians have so been afraid of sex that it is not talked about and our children are shouted at from the world ‘try this and try that, it feels good’ and we as ostriches have our head in the sand. We must redeem these God-given gifts and use them scripturally to the Glory of God.

Let us look at the other scriptures. In fact, there are around 247 references in the Bible concerning wine and strong drink in the Bible. That is a of talk about drinking in our inspired scriptures! Did you know that of all the references to alcohol in the Bible, just 40 references are negative? That is only 16%. On the other hand, there are 145 references in the Bible that put alcohol in a positive light– that is 59%, with the rest being neutral. You may have never seen these scriptures before as God approves and encourages drinking. Psalms 104:14-15 ESV You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth (15) and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart. 9:7 ESV Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.

Deuteronomy 7:12-13 ESV (12) "And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. (13) He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. Deuteronomy 11:14 ESV he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. Proverbs 3:9-10 ESV Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; (10) then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. Isaiah 62:8 ESV The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: "I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you have labored; We see that God blessed the Nation of Israel as they put him first telling them in Deuteronomy 14:26 ESV and spend the money for whatever you desire--oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household. The strong drink referred to here Aben Ezra says, “was a made of honey and of dates, of wheat and of barley:” God commands it here for Solomon as a ruler to the Kingdom :6-7 ESV Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; (7) let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. We also see wine was used to worship God in the (Ex. 29:40, Lev. 23:13; Nu. 15:5,7,10; 28:14).

What about old wine and New wine??? The Hebrew word for wine is yayin and is used over 140 times—where the Bible speaks of getting drunk it uses the word yayin as was also used when Lot was drunk as well. We see The Melchizedeck gives this wine to . The warning of drunkness in the Old Testament using this word shows us clearly that this was not unfermented grape juice, but fermented wine. The Hebrew word tirosh is new wine. Proverbs 3:9-10 ESV Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; (10) then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. This new wine was the . This was the Lord’s tithe as it was the best and first portion. We see that it was also fermented as Hosea says Hosea 4:10-11 ESV They shall eat, but not be satisfied; they shall play the whore, but not multiply, because they have forsaken the LORD to cherish (11) whoredom, wine, and new wine, which take away the understanding. Therefore, wine was a fermented beverage given by God to His people to enjoy but like food, women, and everything else it has warnings on its overuse.

What about Jesus drinking? The Bible is very clear that Jesus drank alcoholic wine. Luke 7:30-34 ESV but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.) (31) "To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? (32) They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.' (33) For has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' (34) The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'

John the Baptist was not drinking as he took of the Nazarite regulations (Nu. 6:14). Yet the religious still said he had a demon. Jesus says here that he ate and drank and they call him a glutton and drunkard. The first miracle Jesus does is recorded in :1-11. The official of the wedding was very impressed with the quality of the wine! Of course, Jesus would have made the best! John 2:9- 10 ESV “When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom (10) and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus is drinking here Matthew 26:29 ESV “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

Jesus clearly says in Mark 7:15 ESV “There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him." It is not wine that makes a drunk, as it is not food that makes a glutton or a wife that makes an adulterer! To blame what God has created is to fault God not the depravity of man. It is man and his sin nature that is to blame not God’s creation!!!

What about the Apostles and the early church? Paul condemns the church at Corinth as they were turning the Lord’s Supper into a drunk fest and not paying attention to the poor in their midst. 1 Corinthians 11:20-22 ESV (20) When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. (21) For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. (22) What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. What is interesting here is that Paul does not condemn drinking in fact he asks them ‘don’t they have houses they can do that in’! Paul tells Timothy in giving the job description of an elder, he says in I Timothy 3:3 not to be a drunkard, and to deacons in verse 8 he says to not be addicted to much wine. What is important to understand is that Paul in the next chapter condemns people who are teaching contrary to the Word of God in these matters . 1 Timothy 4:1-5 ESV Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, (2) through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, (3) who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. (4) For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, (5) for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. In addition, in chapter 5 he tells Timothy to drink wine to help his stomach ailment. We all know the health benefits of red wine. Doctors have told us this for years, and the Bible confirms it. Paul to the church at Colossae says Colossians 2:20-23 ESV If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations-- (21) "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" (22) (referring to things that all perish as they are used)--according to human precepts and teachings? (23) These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

What is always funny to me in churches is that gluttony is not talked about much but scientists say that addiction to food is as powerful as cocaine. You can look on Sunday morning into any American church and see obesity abounds in every pew. Many of the scriptures while giving warning against being drunk also talks about gluttony. It is hypocritical and legalism to impose an extra-biblical stance on drinking and not on over-eating.

Sin can be defined as “avah” or “out of joint” Sin is like dislocated joints. When someone says, “My biggest problem is drinking so keep it away from me,” they haven’t totally understood sin yet. Of course they need to be very careful when it comes to alcohol, but alcohol isn’t their biggest problem. It is their relationship to it that is the problem. Sin isn’t like a bullet that is foreign to the body and needs to be removed. Sin is like a bone that belongs to the body but is in the wrong place. It is something good that belongs there, but has become dislocated. Sex shouldn’t be taken away from your life; it should be relocated and put back in place because it’s dislocated. Food, alcohol, family and comfort should all be in your life like a bone. But when that thing becomes dislocated, it begins to destroy you. You don’t take out a bone because it’s out of joint; you put it back into place. The truth is that being drunk is clearly a sin asn overeating is a sin. We can do many harmful things to our body in both ways. We must walk in the Spirit and savor the Gospel and our lord Jesus Christ and by walking in the Spirit we will be able to enjoy all that God has created in a righteous way! God had a perfect design for Adam and Eve. Basically, God told them to (1) Enjoy Me, (2) Enjoy each other, and (3) Enjoy My creation. They blew it by not believing and obeying Him. Adam’s sin destroyed the ability to truly enjoy God, enjoy relationships and enjoy creation. But the second Adam, Jesus Christ, died so that these relationships could be redeemed (bought back).

Through Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead we are now able to (1) Enjoy God, (2) Enjoy His Bride – the Church, (3) Enjoy His Mission – reaching predisciples, the helpless and the hurting, (4) Enjoy His Creation. Drinking a beer to the glory of God falls in category 4. So does sex, power, money, food, materials, work, and others. The redemption of God frees us to bring the abused gifts of God (sin) back into alignment of God’s design. Therefore, you can choose to abuse any of gifts (sin). Or, you can choose to bring God glory by the righteous and God-designed use of that gift.

God chose to reveal the sacrament of communion through wine. He did not make a mistake. We have been told to remember Him through this sacrament until He comes again. Regarding this someone was quoted to say, “Others drink to forget. Christians drink to remember.” Call the abuse of His gifts evil. Just be careful to not call any of God’s gifts evil.

I respect and support anyone who feels led or has chosen to abstain from beverage alcohol. Abstain to the glory of God. John the Baptist did. However, I do not respect any thought or movement that uses extra-biblical preference as a bully pulpit for all to abstain. – David Fairchild

I believe the cure for drunkenness is not abstinence or moderation, but the gospel itself.

Some historical quotes from Christian Leaders:

Letter to Martin Luther’s Wife: To my kind, dear lord, Lady Catherine von Bora, Mrs. Doctor Luther, at Wittenberg

Grace and peace in Christ! Dear Sir Katie! I know of nothing to write to you since Master Philip, together with the others, is coming home. I have to remain here longer for the devout Sovereign’s sake. You might wonder how long I shall remain here, or how you might set me free. I think that Master Francis will set me free, just as I freed him—but not so soon.

Yesterday I drank something which did not agree with me, so that I had to sing: If I don’t drink well I have to suffer, and [yet] I do like to do it. I said to myself what good wine and beer I have at home, and also [what] a pretty lady or (should I say) lord. You would do well to ship the whole cellar full of my wine and a bottle of your beer to me here, as soon as you are able; otherwise I will not be able to return home because of the new beer.

With this I commend you to God, together with our young ones and all the members of our household. Amen. July 29, 1534 The Man whom you Love Martin Luther, Doctor

"If you are tired and downhearted, take a drink; but this does not mean being a pig and doing nothing but gorging and swilling... You should be moderate and sober; this means that we should not be drunken, though we may be exhilarated." —Martin Luther, Sermon on Soberness and Moderation

“Do you suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused? Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we then prohibit and abolish women? The sun, the moon, and the stars have been worshipped. Shall we then pluck them out of the sky? … See how much He has been able to accomplish through me, though I did no more than pray and preach. The Word did it all. Had I wished I might have started a conflagration at Worms. But while I sat still and drank beer with Philip and Amsdorf, God dealt the papacy a mighty blow.” –Martin Luther

Martin Luther said, “The selling of bad beer is a crime against Christian love.” He also said, “Beer is made by man, wine by God.”

John Calvin’s annual salary included about 250 gallons of wine. He even foresaw the dangers of the 19th and 20th centuries in America where abstinence became a sign of Christian maturity. Calvin wrote in his commentary on Psalm 104:15 that God has given “wine to make the heart of man glad,” and also cautioned against making the danger of drunkenness, “a pretext for a new cult based upon abstinence.”

When the Puritans landed on Plymouth Rock the first permanent building they erected was the brewery.

George Whitfield once wrote, “Give thanks to that friendly brewer for the keg of rum he sent us.” One sign in Olde Towne’s office quotes Benjamin Franklin: “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV (31) So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Thanks so much to David Fairchild, Kaleo church and G.I. Williamson, as much of this was gleaned from these two men.