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Pretty harmless huh? Well, you wouldn't believe the firestorm it created. I won't get into the specifics of it, but a little bit of a debate resulted from it. My wife not wanting the post to turn into a debate on the sinfulness (or lack there of) of alcohol did the wise thing and removed the discussion from the post in order to let it remain about it's intent, which was simple recap of our weekend in Statesboro for one our best friend's 30th B-day.
I however am not that wise. So for this reason I have dusted off the ole "Inner thoughts" to pose this question: On the subject of alcohol, "What would Jesus Do?"
I think there are two schools of thought here in the Christian world, Frankly I have been in both camps at one point or another.
1.) The T-Totalers, that basically believe you should not, under ANY circumstance drink alcohol. Many good reasons for this are in the vein of not wanting to make your brother stumble. For some reason drinking alcohol ranks higher on the sin Richter scale than maybe some "lesser" sins in their eyes.
2.) The moderators, they believe that all things in moderation are OK. There's that verse that says for everything there is a season. Mostly they use the excuse: "Jesus turned water into wine, so it must not be too bad."
3.) (OK I lied there are 3 schools of thought) The gracies. These people believe I am saved by grace, so I can do what I want.
So, who's right? I'll reserve my opinion for later. I'll let y'all discuss it for now. That is if any of you have made it back from the bar and are just drunk enough to respond. (But only if you are Episcopalian or Presbyterian. If you are Baptist, we certainly know there has been no drinking done, at least that you would admit to.)
4 comments:
I'm still here...and you have come back from the dead! I was shocked when I checked my bloglines and you were alive!
As for your question (I didn't read the debate on Annie's blog)--well, I am not sure what is "right". We are not all the same. My convictions are not your convictions. I am not your Holy Spirit! I am not your Judge! I do not want anyone judgeing me for things I have or have not done in my life. And if I did think you were living in sin, I would deal with it privately. Isn't that the Biblical way?
(And I didn't notice, until you mentioned this, that there was even alcohol in the pics.)
Am I going to be stoned?
klee -- THanks for the comments. I agree completely with them. Frankly, I can't think of anything to add. Tell J I said hello and I miss you guys.
Wow! I had to dust this URL off before I typed it :) Good to see the blog back in action. As for your question, I'll bite.
I agree with the first commenter that I think the Holy Spirit convicts so my comments are not meant to be convicting ... only to express my opinion (whether right or wrong).
I'm not a big fan of alcohol. I don't drink. I've had very few drinks in my life. My convictions about alcohol are in no way religious. I don't think God cares when people have a casual glass of wine ... or beer for that matter. My convictions are due to the following:
* My college roommate flunked out of college because he couldn't get a handle on all the drinking he was doing. In fact, I'm convinced I saved his life one night when he came home drunk (for the fifth night in a row) and began choking in his sleep while trying to roll-over to throw-up. I jumped out of bed, rolled him over (he puked all over me). I spend the rest of the night taking care of him. I think he'd be dead today had I not been there for him. That story is unfortunately all too common in college these days.
* When I was 21 years old, I was stopped at a traffic light in a Chevy Corsica when a drunk driver slammed into the back of my car in his F-150 truck at a speed of 60 miles an hour. He didn't even brake before he impacted my car and three others before coming to a stop. I could have died that night because he couldn't handle his alcohol.
* I didn't have a relationship with my Grandfather because he was a mean, old man who had ruined his life by drinking too much and took that out on everyone around him. Some kids have memories of tossing a baseball with their Grandfather ... I don't have those ... all because he couldn't handle his alcohol.
Maybe it's just me, but I've run into too many people who just can't handle their alcohol. And it doesn't just effect them ... it effects other people. I have some friends who can't go out and have fun without drinking a few. Really??? Life is that hard that you require alcohol in order to have fun? People are supposed to be attracted to a life in Christ, a life that is redeemed and offers hope ... but these same Christians require tossing a few back before they go out to have fun. I think that's a problem.
Ok. I'm done. Just my opinion on the topic. Most every one I know has a casual drink from time to time. And I don't see any problem with you, Annie, or anyone else for that matter having a casual drink at any time. I do see it as a problem if you "require" the drink to have fun or you can't handle your drinking.
Ted
Ted,
Thanks for posting.
You are exactly right. There are certainly people who can't handle their alcohol (or get control of it as you put so well.) Alcohol is a NON-issue to me. Meaning, I can have a great time with or with out it, and I never place myself or Annie in a place that will cause harm to either of us or anyone around us for that matter, but your post was not directed at me, therefore there is no need to defend myself here.
I agree. There is freedom in Christ, not in the "I can do whatever I want, because I am saved by grace" kind of way, but more of a "I don't have to worry about trying to remember what I did the night before, because I was too drunnk to remember" sorta way.
On a slightly different train of thought, I would also say that we as Christians hold our selves to a higher standard. Does that mean we completely obstain? Or just only have one or two? OR can we drink as many as we want as long as we are over 21 and aren't driving? I tend to lean towards the second option, though in all honesty, it wasn't too long ago that I was closer to the first option.
Not sure if this made any sense or not, maybe it's all the drinking. :-)
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