Great response ! I just wanted to add a couple of things. Luke records Jesus’ words when speaking to a crowd in Nain after being approached and questioned by the disciples of John the Baptist. Jesus tells the crowd “For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’” The word used for wine here is the greek οἶνος which means wine, not juice, and in even born out in the context of what was said.
Paul admonished the Ephesians to not get drunk on wine, not to abstain from it altogether (Eph 5:18). His instructions for Deacons and church leaders require them to be νηφάλιον which means not intoxicated on wine - it does not prohibit the drinking thereof.
People have also pointed out that rabbinical texts recommend that wine be watered down. Even if we assume that this was done 100% of the time, you are diluting the alcohol content down to that of beer, you are still consuming alcohol.
That being said, for some people, like myself, it is not a wise idea to get into the habit of drinking. Alcoholism and addictive personalities run in my family and it would be real easy for be to go from drinking now and again to drinking all the time.
Addiction to drugs and alcohol runs way back in my family as well. It does tend to color your perception when you are honest enough to realize your own predilection fir certain sins. Sadly, our enemy knows them too and works overtime to put those temptations before us.
I appreciated reading the back and forth on alcohol. My wife grew up in the 7th Day Adventist Church. In the end, it wasn’t for her.
I’d like to think that Christianity is ok with alcohol in moderation. Just like eating food is fine in moderation but there is the danger of gluttony. Lots of things are like that; alcohol, food, sex, gambling, perhaps even some drugs (I don’t know, I don’t take any drugs).
Wrath tends to be my biggest sin- when someone hurts me, I tend to get revenge, 100 fold. More than what was warranted.
And I’m starting to have an issue with lust, which I never thought I’d struggle with because I thought I was asexual.
Of more minor sins, this one might go with the first point- I find it difficult to forgive. If someone has transgressed me, I will remember it forever, and it will affect me for a long time.
Then there’s the self-harm/suicide ideation, which God frowns upon because we are created in His image. At Chapel one time, just after I had hinted I needed help at a mental health fair at my college, President Wilson stated that suicide is the ultimate rebellion against God.
I should probably go say some “Our Father” prayers now. As well as some "Hail Mary"s for the self-harm. But I need to confess those sins first.
We most definitely need redemption through Christ. We all have things we struggle with and sometimes give into. That’s when the accuser pounds us into the dirt and makes us doubt Christs love and forgiveness. And believe me, I’m talking about myself more than anyone right now…
