By the way I’m not suggesting a return to Prohibition at all !

However, I do think there’s a double standard when a non-Alcoholic gets drunk and disorderly, and it’s completely written off; whereas when a bona fide ‘Alcoholic’ exhibits drunken disorderly behavior….and it’s considered an urgent matter.

To me drunk is drunk, no matter the label you apply to yourself, and it’s not a pretty sight, whether it’s the the casual drinker or the alcoholic.

On the alcohol question, I can make a financial case for it, I can make a cultural case for it, I can make an addictions case for it, but I can’t make a strictly Scriptural case for it. The truth is that we have no evidence that anyone mentioned in Scripture was a teetotaller, and our Saviour Himself made wine at the wedding at Cana. I don’t like the taste or the cost of wine and beer, so it’s easy for me to follow my Scandinavian Pietistic cultural bias against drinking, but I do sometimes wonder if we’re not doing a disservice to the Lord’s Supper when we drink grape juice. The Spirit of God isn’t confused with Kool-Aid…

More than anything, reading Christian blogs will remind you that Christians are regular, real people in whom God is working. None of us are yet the finished product, but we can help on each other’s assembly lines, so to speak.

Every time I come here I’m challenged and encouraged.

If they decide that’s how they want to live, that choice is theirs to make, they should just avoid doing it out of a sense that Scripture requires it.

If a person reads 1 Corinthians 8 and decides to abstain from alcohol for the sake of other people who might be tempted to drink because of his/her freedom to drink, that’s an admirable choice based on love of and consideration for, other people.

The Biblical principle behind this kind of choice is concern for how what you do affects people around you, and being free to NOT do something even if it in itself isn’t a sin.

Something is just odd about a Christian blog conference being held in “Sin City.”…

Question 2: YES ! Especially that one post about would you take a bullet or renounce your faith. I’m still disturbed by that topic….but in a good way. I’ve thought about that topic a lot, the severity of the issue, and keep coming back to that post.
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SUGGESTIONS:

I would like to hear if there’s a Biblical basis for never taking a drink of liquor. Not so much Alcoholism, I know about the teachings against false Gods. I’m just talking about a non-Alcoholic who simply decides, arbitrarily, to never take a drink of alcohol, ever, …..and can that be backed-up in Scripture?

We have these divisions between Alcoholic and non-Alcoholic, but I’ve long thought that nobody should be drinking alcohol, no matter what label you are putting on yourself. And, whether the Bible has anything to say about casual use of Alcohol among those who aren’t necessarily addicted.

Please keep me in your prayers!

It’s blogs like PyroManiacs that force me to go to the Bible and read, and from there, grow.

Thanks for stepping up. Your blog is an important influence!

Has my blog and other Christian blogs helped you grow in faith?

And I take the weasel road! Yes, because they are a daily reminder of who I claim to be. No, because I turn away from Christian on Christian arguments about small “c” and capital “C” issues.

I find being a Christian to be tough work. It is a great comfort to find a home here among others who struggle with the same challenges.

Blogging, in my mind, has become an evangelical ministry in its own right. Whereas we all have the call to minister and preach the gospel in whatever limited capacity we can (with coworkers and neighbors, etc.), bloggers can reach hundreds, thousands and perhaps millions of people. It is a great calling you’ve come upon. God bless you and all the others out there sharing God’s Word with the world.