Does Matthew 18:1-35 provide support for banning alcohol and tobacco consumption among Christians? Are Christian alcohol brewers, sellers, and consumers doomed to punishment before a Holy God because they have caused infant Christians to stumble?
Does 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 have something to say about it?
Who is the weak Christian Paul mentions in Romans 14:1-3? Is it the alcohol consumer or the alcohol prohibitionist?
What does Galatians teach us about Christian liberty?
How did Jesus Christ deal with wine? Did Christ live in an environment where alcohol was abused? Shouldn’t he have dealt with wine differently because of that?
Pastor Mark Driscoll asks a pair of poignant questions, “Is it ok if I give up some of my freedom because I love you, and I don’t want you to stumble? Is it ok for you to come and steal my freedom by making legalistic rules that take away the freedom that God has given me?”
“Do you suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused? Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall then we prohibit and abolish women? Some people worship the stars. Should we pluck them out of the sky?” — Martin Luther
I’ve always thought those fundamentalists should be fired up about the space program more than they are. That way they they can start plucking.
Comment by — January 31, 2007 @ 11:37 pm
the proposed ban based on matthew would be conditional, of course based on whether or not you are “causing one of these little ones to sin”….exiting scripture, i would have a hard time dealing with my conscience if i were to take a job as an alcohol distributor of somekind. or a lobbyist for a tobacco company….we are all deserving of punishment regardless of our relationship to booze or tobacco…
paul warns not to allow your liberties to become a stumbling block; ultimately you are risking sinning against Christ by “wounding their conscience”…
Christ basically WAS an alcohol distributor in john 2…..
“Is it ok if I give up some of my freedom because I love you, and I don’t want you to stumble? YES
Is it ok for you to come and steal my freedom by making legalistic rules that take away the freedom that God has given me?†NO
is it OK to drop the whole thing and never take another sip as long as you live, and preach some more sermons on the gospel message? hhhmmmmm
if you go ahead and make the rules, should i disobey them, favoring my liberty over your conscience? NO
destroying the objects that are abused does seem dubious ( a word i use alot more since befriending an englishman…) obviously “blogging” would have to be eliminated in light of “highcaliberguns.com”. of course i dont practice this in the rearing of my children.
the christian liberty to throw back a couple should be excercised with EXTREME caution to those of you (hhmmm… throat clearing) who have had “issues” with alcohol in the past….
arrow, you are a drunk and a smokey dokey….try as hard as you like, i doubt i will ever take up drinking even in moderation…..i wouldnt however, mind a square every now and then….
Comment by — February 1, 2007 @ 6:33 am
Harsh. Yikes.
Comment by — February 1, 2007 @ 10:34 am