Posted on 06/12/2012 5:13:18 PM PDT by LouAvul
Today we have blood alcohol content. In California for example, if you drive a big rig, weigh 185 pounds, and have two beers, you're considered legally drunk.
But in Bible times, what, you wreck your donkey?
Noah drank. On one occasion (that we know of) he passed out on the floor of his tent. On at least that occasion he was drunk even though he was the most righteous man on earth.
Solomon talks about drunk in Proverbs 23. Seeing visions. Staying near wine. He's truly describing someone with a real problem.
But we know they drank. We know God recommended alcohol as a relaxant. (Proverbs 31) Yet both the old and new testaments condemn "drunkenness."
I just wonder how they defined it.
I would guess the way they defined it decades ago before we had a means of giving a number to blood alcohol levels: if you have had too much alcohol to function capably at whatever you need to do, then you are drunk.
If you are chronically too intoxicated to hold a job or otherwise support yourself and perform your duties, then you are a drunkard.
God prohibited gluttony too, but nobody condemns eating.
Same idea, same intent.
It took me a several decades to find tequila pleasing — after having my feelings on the subject skewed by a couple nasty experiences in college. Going down, it didn’t make a huge impression on me, but coming up was a sensory experience that stayed with me for over 30 years. But, now that I’m over 50, I find that tequila in moderation is a fine beverage.
No, I saw the smiley. If he had been posting tongue-in-cheek, he would have included ;)
What?
No beer for breakfast??!! When did they change that?
Many times when the bible mentions going through life drunk, it’s talking about going through life without giving regard to the Word and not studying it.
“Thou shalt not slureth thou words” comes to mind.
>>Ah, another Pharisee. Careful you don’t look down. You might fall off your pedestal.<<
Hey, you are the one with the potential drinking problem ;)
“Thou shalt not slureth thou words” comes to mind.
Even cocktails were for the morning meal, hence the name cocktail, relates to the rooster crowing.
The state of drunkenness varied from one individual to the next, then as now. The condemnation regards losing one’s better judgment, becoming much more prone to sin. Being “merry” due to the influence of alcohol is not condemned, it could even be said that it was encouraged.
So, where’s the line, between merely merry and drunk? It’s the behavior. Acting out of character, making a total fool of oneself, behaving immorally.
Anyone who has been at least a social drinker knows when he or she has had too much. Slurring, problems with motor skills, speaking inappropriately, etc. so it’s really not such a mystery. Stop before you begin to lose control of yourself. An elevated mood is not losing control.
Some determine that any amount of alcohol is too much, and if they want to abstain out of a desire to do the Lord’s will then so be it and I support them. But, I do drink on occasion. I limit myself now. There have been times in my life when I didn’t. I would have been better off if I had.
But expect some raised eyebrows. :)
/johnny
>>“Thou shalt not slureth thou words” comes to mind.<<
Hmm, I akways recall it as “thou shalt not worreth thy slurds...”
God is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
“BEER” is proof....
Ephesians 5:18
...be ye not drunk with wine wherein is dissipation...
If one is not meeting obligations that would probably fit as drunkenness.
Beer is food!
Bourbon is American nector of the gods!
Tipple is tipple...
Cheers
God in his goodness, sent the grape,
To cheer both great and small,
Little fools sometimes drink too much,
and great fools not at all.
Our ridiculous 21-year old drinking age combined with draconian punishments for "underage" drinking (applied to both the drinker and the adult who provided them alcohol) have prevented parents from teaching responsible drinking habits to their children. As such, far too many young people today learn irresponsible drinking habits from their friends and peers when they move away from home.
When people tell you you’re drunk, you’re drunk.
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