Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!unix.cis.pitt.edu!dsinc!netnews.upenn.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: mmh@cs.qmw.ac.uk Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Alchohol: Good or Evil? Message-ID: Date: 1 Mar 90 07:52:32 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Computer Science Dept, Queen Mary and Westfield College, U of London, UK. Lines: 26 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article cci632!dls@cs.rochester.edu (Darren Swartzendruber) writes: > in communion, but I am wondering what is the general perspective of the > social drink? The Bible clearly condemns drunkenness, but should a > Christian be against the consumption of alcohol in general? Is alcohol > good or evil? Since Christ's first miracle was to turn water into wine, and the use of wine plays a fundamental part in Christian ritual I can't see how Christians can be against alcohol. Abuse of alcohol is of course another thing. The effect of drinking too much alcohol is to damage one's health. The effect of drinking a little alcohol is to remove some of one's inhibitions (the effect on me is merely that I fall asleep ...). If underneath one's inhibitions is a violent or sinful person, then that will be revealed by drinking alcohol. But I do not feel the alcohol itself causes the violence or sin. The effect on Christians of drinking a modest amount of alcohol ought to be that they become more prayerful, or ready to sing the praises of God, or something else positive, unless their Christianity is not very deep. Matthew Huntbach