What the Bible says about Alcoholism
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Leviticus 10:8-10 The influence of alcohol may have contributed to what Aaron's sons did. Perhaps they were not drunk, but had been drinking. Alcohol deludes one into thinking he is in control when he is not. John W. Ritenbaugh Presumption and Divine Justice (Part Two) Related Topics: Alcohol | Alcohol Abuse | Alcoholism | Drunkenness

Proverbs 23:19-21 A lack of self-control is commonly shown in lust, greed, gluttony, alcoholism, conceit, sexual sins, gossiping, violent quarreling, and false and reckless speech, and many other sins that Satan can tempt us to commit if we allow him. Martin G. Collins Self-Control Related Topics: Alcohol Abuse | Alcoholism | Conceit | Gluttony | Gossip | Quarreling | Quarrels | Self Control | Sexual Immorality | Sexual Sins | Speech, False | Speech, Reckless

Proverbs 23:31 This verse offers some seemingly unusual advice: "Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly" (NKJV). The "old" King James version puts it this way: "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright." What does this mean? The terms "red" and "moveth itself" refer to wine when it is in the process of fermentation. This is the period before the wine is fully fermented. If during this time a person "looks on it," so as to finally drink it, he may become sick and possibly even die. In fact, instances are recorded of winery workers becoming asphyxiated by merely leaning over the wine vats to "look on" the fermenting wine, and being overcome by the poisonous gases, falling into the vats and drowning. "What a great way to die!" we might joke, but not so long ago, just such an accident happened at a winery in Canada. Here is an excerpt from a recent fatal accident alert in the Workmen's Compensation Board of British Columbia's Health and Safety Centre: The owner of a winery collapsed while taking a sample from a wine fermentation tank. A second person entered the tank in an attempt to rescue him, and he also collapsed. They could not be revived. Both men died because they looked upon the wine when it was red! So we see, once again, that God's advice was not just for the people of previous millennia. It is, in fact, right up to date. Staff Is It a Sin to Drink Alcoholic Beverages? Related Topics: Alcohol Abuse | Alcoholic Beverages | Alcoholism | Fermentation

Matthew 11:18-19 What are the children of wisdom? Good works and good fruit. Whether what we do is wise or foolish is seen in the fruit we bear and in what we accomplish. An alcoholic produces sorrow for himself and his family, battered wives and children, poor health, and a shorter life. A glutton produces a bad example for his family and his brethren, poverty, poor health, and eventually death. We must control our desires because excess desire is the driving force behind gluttony. When we lose control of it, we sin, feeding the god that is in our belly, the god of excess, the god of too much, too fast, too eagerly. Another interpretation of "wisdom is justified by her children" is that those who follow the wisdom from above recognize and live their lives based on truth. By their example in living wisely and righteously, they justify, prove, that it is the right and reasonable way to live. The way the wise live destroys the credibility of false accusations. Avoiding gluttony is one way to show that we are living in wisdom. The foolish—the opposite of the wise—tend toward gluttony. Martin G. Collins Gluttony: Sin of Lust and Greed (Part One) Related Topics: Alcohol Abuse | Alcoholism | Belly as god | Desire | Desire as a Bridgehead to Sin | Excess Desire | Gluttony | Self Control | Sin of Gluttony

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 The homosexual community, with ample help from the media, is trying to convince Middle America that deviant sexual behavior is normal. Mary Eberstadt ("The Family: Discovering the Obvious," First Things, February 2004, p. 10) summarizes evidence that proves the contrary to be true. Drug Abuse: The "propensity to addiction . . . is ubiquitously documented to be worse among lesbians and gays. Virtually every study one can find on the subject confirms it." A recent issue of the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy dedicated an entire issue to the topic. Alcoholism: The Gay Community News points out, "The statistics do point to the gay community, particularly gay men, as being most at risk of becoming alcoholics." A website which focuses on gay and lesbian health issues claims that "alcohol, drug, and tobacco use all occur at significantly higher rates in the GLBT community than in the general population" (glbthealth.org). Eberstadt points out that gay Alcoholics Anonymous chapters flourish in "many localities—an interesting detail, given the numerically small proportion represented by the gay population." Depression: Depressions and phobias of a variety of types appear disproportionately in the homosexual world. Eberstadt quotes the Archives of Sexual Behavior, which she points out is "no socially conservative rag": "The levels of depression and anxiety in our homosexual subjects, whether HIV positive or HIV negative, are substantially higher than those found in representative general population samples." Attempted Suicide: The findings of a highly-respected 1978 study by Alan Bell and Martin Weinberg contradict the authors' song of tolerance for homosexuals. They note that the incidence of attempted suicide by white homosexual males is no less than six times higher than that of their heterosexual counterparts. Newer evidence suggests that the attempted suicide rate of gay and lesbian teenagers is three times higher than that of their heterosexual peers. Educational Dropouts: Eberstadt points to evidence that "[n]early one-third of gay teens drop out of school annually, three times the national average." Bottom line: Members of the homosexual community are not statistically normal. On a number of measures, they manifest behavioral problems in far greater numbers than the general (heterosexual) population. Homosexuality is not normal, any more than it is free. Rather, it is costly to the individual, who, even in these days of "tolerance" and legal protections, is racked by the guilt, fear, and disease his sin exacts from him. In addition, it is costly to society at large, which must fund disease-control centers, psychotherapy facilities, detoxification programs—all these and more to fill the gap left by an individual who is psychologically, educationally, and socially "wasted," not performing to his potential. Do not fall for the media's preachments. The homosexual "preference" is everything but normal. It is a highly self-destructive sin. Charles Whitaker How Normal Is Deviance? Related Topics: Alcoholism | Attempted Suicide | Cult of Death | Depression | Drug Abuse | Homosexuality | Sexually Transmitted Diseases | Suicide | Tolerance | Tolerance for Evil | Tolerance for Sin

 

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