Is drunkenness necessarily a sin, like hating God, or is it just because God decreed it to be? This is of particular interest to me because Rabbinic Judaism claims that it is not (It's only allowed on Purim) hence one could argue the following: 1. Rabbinic Judaism says that getting drunk is not (always) a sin. 2. But getting drunk is always a sin. 3. :. Rabbinic Judaism is false. Is this a sound argument? I know Aquinas and the Catholic Church would say yes, but advocates of some versions of divine command theory might say no. But it's also true that getting intoxicated can be allowed in a medical context although presumably in that case you're in a sort of controlled environment and there's a proportionate risk of bodily harm. Also Judaism concedes that sins committed due to getting drunk on Purim are still sins hence doing so may be a sin for some people. **Note:** Just for clarification, especially for those who don't speak English natively, we're talking about getting severely intoxicated, not just drinking alcohol.

I am an adoptive mother. Years after adopting two children I have learned that 80% of children NOT living with a biological parent was exposed prenatal to alcohol. 4-5% of the entire population of the developed world is so impaired by prenatal alcohol exposure that if the resources existed to actually diagnose everyone, they would have a diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. This disorder impairs the typical development of the brain and body. My child has FASD as well as 4 other diagnoses that are as a direct result of the fewer and less connected neurons and reduced speed of conduction. My child has impaired coordination, initiation, language skills and has an intellectual disability. It is expected that my child will not be able to care for themselves and will likely live in a group home unless supports fail and is homeless because no one understands the disabilities and helps when I am no longer around. The alcohol consumed during pregnancy was done responsibly… one to two beer a couple times a week. This would not be considered overindulgence. There is NO safe amount of alcohol use during pregnancy. As I have grieved this diagnosis I have reflected on how I have contributed, if any, to the social acceptance of alcohol consumption. My contribution is very little. My experience is that alcohol smells bad, tastes worse, burns going down and alters who you are and what you do. I cannot think of another individual who has done more to promote the production, and consumption of alcohol than Jesus: **the first miracle involves turning water into wine, and it is a critical element in some churches' communion**. It has become more than difficult for me to praise him after this life experience. If the purpose of the wine is to provide joy and gladness then it’s unlikely that it was just fresh unfermented juice. While wine and juice may not have been linguistically distinguished until more recently, I don’t think it’s plausible that when speaking of wine this was always fresh unfermented juice because there is a harvest time and a single time of year to make wine. It would be impossible to source just juice year round for something like communion. Wine would have almost always been actual wine with alcohol. So with the discussion about wine not really being wine out of the way, can anyone help me view this from another angle? And if you haven’t guessed, I really don’t relate to the idea of alcohol actually gladdening effectively. I am certainly not feeling the gladness watching my children struggle everyday with simple things. **Why would Jesus perpetuate the use of alcohol?** He either didn’t know, or he did know but did it anyway. My faith has experienced significant rupture. Sadly. I wish it were not so.

We all know that Jesus could make water into wine but was he an alcoholic?

I consider myself an Orthodox, and I'm from Eastern Europe (Not Russian, nor Ukrainian) and I discovered that we, Orthodox Christians, are very permissive regarding consuming alcohol. Of course, we believe that being a chronic alcoholic is a sin, however even if our official position regarding alcohol is "moderate drinking is fine", sometimes very religious people drink until they pass out (rarely, if you do this every day, then you are an alcoholic). We seem to believe that alcohol is a gift from God, rather than a demon (as other faiths believe). Of course, when someone abuses this gift, it becomes a demon, but we don't believe that drinking until strong drunkenness is bad once in a while. What is the official position of the Catholic Church as a spiritual institution?

> The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. CCC 2291 > Let me state this in the clearest terms possible: the problem of drug use is not solved with drugs! Drug addiction is an evil, and with evil there can be no yielding or compromise. To think that harm can be reduced by permitting drug addicts to use narcotics in no way resolves the problem. Attempts, however limited, to legalize so-called “recreational drugs”, are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the desired effects. Substitute drugs are not an adequate therapy but rather a veiled means of surrendering to the phenomenon. Here I would reaffirm what I have stated on another occasion: No to every type of drug use. It is as simple as that. No to any kind of drug use. Pope Francis As we can see, the Catholic Church seems to firmly oppose the use drugs. But at the same time, the Catholic Church seems to permit moderate use of alcohol. This position spawns much controversy among both alcohol prohibitionists and drug legalization supporters because of the claims that from the medical point of view there are no traits that would distinguish ethanol from other drugs like heroine, LSD, opium, marijuana, etc. Indeed, according to these claims, ethanol is even more harmful and dangerous than some of the others drugs condemned by the Church like marijuana. Therefore, as per this line of argument, Vatican should either prohibit the use of alcohol as sinful (which is hardly possible for liturgical reasons and would require re-interpreting some biblical passages like the one about the Wedding in Cana) or cease implying that the use of other drugs is inherently evil. I find it hard to believe that this critique hasn't reached Vatican yet. Are there any documents or statements that would explain the Church's teaching on this subject?

Say you drink and you know if you drink more you might get drunk, or you simply drink to get drunk. You will become drunk and you know it, and no one is forcing you to drink. Is that a sin, according to the Roman Catholic Church?

In discussions I have had in the past over the acceptability of a Christian drinking alcohol I have heard that some 'dry' believers say that the wine in the Bible was not wine as we know it commonly today. It was actually non-alcoholic grape juice. I personally believe that the wine of Jesus' day is the wine that we know. Is there any Biblical/historical evidence to the contrary, that the wine of the past was non-fermented juice?

>**1 Timothy 3:8 (DRB)** Deacons in like manner chaste, not double tongued, **not given to much wine,** not greedy of filthy lucre In case it's unclear why this is viewed as disproving notion that the Bible forbids the drinking of alcoholic wine: - By saying *excess* of wine is forbidden, he approves of *moderate* consumption: but this makes no sense with what amounts to grace juice with no alcoholic content. If excess causes drunkenness, then the wine spoken of is alcoholic. - προσεχοντας may be justly translated in this context 'addicted' or 'wont [to drink].' Question -- **How do Protestants against the use of alcoholic wine explain 1 Timothy 3:8?** Thanks in advance.

A strange passage in the beginning of Genesis contains the account of Noah who, after surviving the flood, planted a vineyard and made wine. After he drank the wine and became drunk one of his sons (Ham) sees him naked, tells his two brothers about it and they cover Noah up. After Noah wakes up he figures out what has gone on while he is asleep and curses Ham and his descendants. Here is the passage: Genesis 9:20-27 (KJV) > **20** And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: **21** And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. **22** And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. **23** And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. **24** And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. **25** And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. **26** And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. **27** God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. What is meaning/significance of this passage? I have heard that it was used to justify slavery in the 17th and 18th century. I suspect that the Israelites used it to justify their invasion of Canaan in ancient times. Is there not a better, more spiritual or redemptive interpretation on this passage?

This question have a bunch of subquestions. Not sure whether I should split that. People in Canae are drinking "Oinos" (which could mean wine/beer/grape juice). The party goers seem to prepare enough drink. Yet, the guests drink enough to deplete all "Oinos". Jesus then went on manufacturing even half a ton Oinos. The party leader told patron, that people usually serve the good Oinos first. Once people are "Methuo" (i.e. drunk), they give the bad Oinos. Yet the patron gave the good Oinos last. The word Methuo means drunk. However, it's miraculously translated as "have drunk freely" or have "drunk satisfiedly" in various bible translation for reasons beyond me. Some bible translations correctly translate that as were drunk. My question: 1. Did Jesus produce non alcoholic or alcoholic beverage? 2. Do parties at that time serve alcoholic or non alcoholic beverage? 3. Was there anyone getting drunk at the party? 4. If some people are already drunk, why Jesus produces more wine? 5. If no body at a party was drunk, how was that accomplished? Did Jesus create another miracle making everyone sobber? 6. Why many bible translations translate methuo as "have drunk freely" instead of "was drunk"? Basically it's one simple question. Did Jesus help drunk people get even more drunk? If the answer is yes, then we got issue of whether getting drunk is sin or not. If the answer is no, then we got a lot to explain there.

The Word of Wisdom prohibits members of the LDS church from drinking alcohol, but alcohol is quite common in both the Tanach (Jewish bible) and the New Testament. Why does the LDS church believe that alcohol was acceptable to those in Biblical times, but not now? In other words, what is the reason that alcohol use was a major part of religious life in biblical times, but forbidden now to LDS church members? (I am not a Christian, much less a Mormon, so I apologize if I have made any mistaken assumptions in my question)

> 17 Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and **barley** for all useful animals, and **for mild drinks**, as also other grain. (Doctrine and Covenants, Section 89:17) What mild barley drinks is this verse referring to? Does this mean Mormons are encouraged to drink non-alcoholic beer? What were they drinking in Joseph Smith's time that is considered good for man according to the word of wisdom?

As long as I've been a fairly globally aware Catholic, I'd always projected G.K. Chesterton's > We should thank God for Beer and Burgundy by not drinking too much of them as a universal maxim enjoyed by the whole church towards temperance, but not "extreme temperance". But [this article](http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/indian-state-okays-prohibition/) in the National Catholic Register struck me as odd. Apparently Bishops in India are lobbying against all sales of hard liquor, and winning (probably because of the combined support of Islam against all alcohol?). I wasn't aware that there was anything eviler in rum than in wine or beer. But is this just a local cause for a local purpose or, given the opportunity would Bishops everywhere be likely to oppose the sale of hard liquor?

> **Possible Duplicate:** > [How far is too far when it comes to drinking alcohol?](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/712/how-far-is-too-far-when-it-comes-to-drinking-alcohol) Most Christians agree that getting drunk is wrong, and there's even a question about [getting tipsy](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/712/what-about-getting-tipsy) . But is it okay for Christians to consume alcohol at all? I realize there are many views, and different (Christian) traditions and cultures have different takes on this question, so please provide Biblical (or other authoritative) evidence for your view.

From my understanding the bible is quite clear that Christians should not get drunk. However some denominations seem to go a step further and say that Christians shouldn't drink at all. From what I can work out the Old Testament Law doesn't prohibit drinking, and I can't find a record in the NT banning it. How do any of these denominations support their belief that Christians shouldn't drink at all?

Why does the Bible praise the effects of alcohol? How are we supposed to know when those effects have gone too far? I am mostly confused about this verse: > Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto > those that be of heavy hearts. **Proverbs 31:6** Phrases like "*wine that maketh glad the heart of man*" (**Psalm 104:15**) and "*wine, which cheereth God and man*" (**Judges 9:13**) seem to suggest that it's okay to seek the light pre-drunkenness that comes with alcohol. Does this mean it is okay to get tipsy? How far is too far in the merry-making associated with wine in the Bible?