Burn of the Day
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
“One is good…. Two is too many.. Three is only half enough. “
A pint of good beer for me, not trans fluid.
Tell that to the drunk birds we watched after eating fermented fruit.
I guess we have to stick w mushrooms and marijuana then?
Paul also tells Timothy to drink some wine for his stomach troubles.
There is a certain Christian group that has convinced themselves that the alcohol in Bible is/was just juice. Even when evidence (word meaning) doesn’t support it.
I find it more compelling if they want to be like John the Baptist and drink no strong drink. You can respect that.
But you can’t fool everyone that alcohol wasn’t used by Jesus or that he didn’t approve it.
Of course, the monks were some of the first brewers.
But we are evil to some.
Some years ago, I somehow ended up in charge of a hospitality suite sponsored by my employer during the Missouri Bar annual meeting. It was an interesting experience, but the most interesting thing was a discussion I had with the hotel’s catering manager while ordering the various types of liquor for the hospitality bar. I made some passing joke about how much booze a couple of thousand lawyers would go through in three days, and he told me “You guys are pikers compared to the _______ ________”, naming a certain very large Christian denomination known for its preaching hellfire and brimstone against alcohol consumption. He explained that when that group met at one of his company’s hotels, management normally laid in three or four times the normal room service alcohol supply for the duration of the meeting. We had a good chuckle over that.
Mrsopey, yep. As an Evangelical I had that argument many times. That was often the official retort: it wasn’t wine, it was grape juice. The John the Baptist standard was often cited as well. And one Baptist minister argued that since we know drinking wine when pregnant can cause harm to the unborn, why would it be sanctioned without apparent qualifiers by Jesus? To be honest, that last one was probably the best argument of the bunch.
And one Baptist minister argued that since we know drinking wine when pregnant can cause harm to the unborn, why would it be sanctioned without apparent qualifiers by Jesus?
Because He is God and knows better than we do. Also it betrays complete ignorance as to how universal wine drinking was in the time of Christ. John the Baptist stood out for that reason because he did not drink wine as a Nazirite, or someone conforming to the traditional Nazirite abstention from wine.
My brethren and sistren of the bar Frank often expressed surprised when they found out I am a tee totaler! Catholic Irish and a lawyer is usually not the standard description for an abstainer!
My bankruptcy clients sometimes ask me what should they do if they see someone they know in bankruptcy court. I tell them that there are only two types of people in general at bankruptcy hearings: attorneys, who could care less, and other people going through bankruptcy. If they see anyone they know in the latter category they will be like two baptists meeting unexpectedly in a bar: they will each pretend not to see the other person!
These men are not drunk as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! – Acts 2:15
Frank, I bet the airlines coming out of Saudi and Arab countries have them beat in profit from alcohol sold.
But they get ugly when drunk. And it doesn’t take much
What’s the difference between Catholics and Baptists?
Catholics will say Hi to each other in the liquor store.
Oldie but a goodie.
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
~ Luke 7:34
I got the following text from a web site discussiing modern vs ancient wine. I also discovered in other research that Greeks and Romans would often dilute wine with water, thereby lowering alcohol content. Ancient wine is very unlike modern wine. PS, being a recovering alcoholic, I don’t drink alcohol (at least for today – one day at a time). Nevertheless, there is nothing wrong with drinking alcohol assuming you’re not a drug addict or alcoholic like me. Just do it in moderation. Same thing with eating: don’t be a glutton. Now for the article:
Have you ever wondered if modern wine is different from biblical wine or ancient wine? Most wines that are produced today are manufactured on a large scale and contain high levels of alcohol, sugars, and additives. Biblical wine was grown and produced in the most natural way possible. Therefore, it was composed of low levels of both alcohol and sugar. It also did not include any of the modern additives that are often used today. Quite a few differences can be found when comparing biblical wine vs. modern wine.
Scott Shifferd’s article, “What Kind of Wine Did Jesus Drink?” provides an excellent explanation as to why the alcohol content of biblical wine differs so much from the wine most producers make today. The article also provides interesting details on biblical wine vs. modern wine.
“The sugar of grape juice can only ferment to 3 or 4% alcohol with wild yeast — airborne yeast. For grape juice to exceed 4% alcohol, then the winemaker must add yeast. The yeast added to ancient wines produced between 4–11% alcohol. Alcohol kills these yeast cells and prevents levels of alcohol from exceeding ~10%. Today, wines average 12–20% alcohol due to modern fermentation by adding sulfur dioxide and Saccharomyces (a cultured GMO yeast) to a late harvest of ripened grapes with higher fructose (Winemaker Magazine, Wines & Vines, UC Davis, International Biblical Encyclopedia, “Alcohol in the Church,” Bible Wine).”
It is important to mention when the Bible mentions “wine” it is not referencing the wine most of us enjoy today. It may not even be referring to an alcoholic beverage at all. Wine in the bible can refer to just simple grape juice or wine that does not exceed an alcoholic content of about 10%. Understanding the context in which the word was used is often a clue as to which of the two versions of “wine” is being referred to.
LQC, good comments on modern wine fermentation w/ yeast strains of today. There is a difference. For me a 5% pint English ale is fine and satisfying. With wine & hard liquor it’s way too easy to get to “three is only half enough”. (At least for me.)
But Jesus’ winemaking was the “best”. I was told that referred to giving the most alcoholic first so they would know it’s practically water by end of party.
I can’t imagine grape juice lifting my spirits.
Being of Slavic descent, my ancestprs favored grain alcohol…or that derived from potatoes, rather than wine. The Slavic liver is a powerful thing, indeed.