Anything good from alcohol?

[webdog]

I wanted to go in another direction in our weekly pro / con alcohol threads. The following was asked on a now closed thread, that would make for a good topic...

Can anyone give testimony of "good" coming out of drinking anything acoholic?

I would like to hear others' stories or experiences. I stated an experience I had, and I'm sure there are other stories that may have taken place at weddings, picnics, etc.
I posted...

My wife and I were invited over my neighbor's house a couple summers ago for a cookout. He served beer, wine and mixed frozen drinks. Now, my neighbor is real up front and on edge kind of person. He's an Italian catholic, with a confrontative demeanor. After dinner and a couple of drinks, we were all sitting around talking, and he begins to talk about his brother in law...one of those "born againers"

This was the perfect opportunity to share our faith with him...as he was calm and laid back. God used this situation perfectly. Turns out that his brother in law is one of the most legalistic, KJVO people you can meet, and we were able to present a different take on what God's children look like...non demeaning, regular people...who have been forgiven and put their trust in Christ.

I can imagine this situation in the same light as the Pharisees looking down on Jesus eating (and drinking...wine, yes, real wine) with "sinners".

Please, the regular "alcohol is devil's juice" folks, don't turn this thread into the same old 30 page thread condemning believers who don't hold to your convictions.

 

[Diggin in da Word]

Please, the regular "alcohol is devil's juice" folks, don't turn this thread into the same old 30 page thread condemning believers who don't hold to your convictions.

Are God's people supposed to sit around and agree with the lies about how 'alcohol is good' and, 'My neighbor would not have listened to my testimony had I not drank a couple of alcoholic drinks with him'?

The testimony is more than words, it is also in the walk. He saw a god who allows that which tears down families, that which destroys jobs, that which kills in the life of a so-called believer.

Our liberty in Christ is not liberty to continue in sin. Romans 6:1,2

 

[reformedbeliever]

Greetings webdog. The only good thing I can say about alcohol is the medicinal purposes. I beleive the relaxing effect of alcohol is medicinal, among many other medicinal purposes. There is alcohol in many medical preparations. As with any drug, it needs to be used with reason and care.
Now the bad side. As a medic, i've been witness to the horrible cases of misused alcohol. I've witnessed the effects of its abuse in about every imaginable way, and some unimaginable ways. I will not go into the gory details... but domestic violence, suicide, murder, infidelity, all kinds of accidents, are the norm for alcohol abuse. I wish there were a balance of the lists of good versus bad for alcolhol. I will season this with this thought. All of the good that God has given us is abused by mankind. What is there that is not abused? Alcohol is just one that many self righteous people choose to use to say "see, I'm better than you". If it makes them feel better about themselves.... go for it. :laugh: Just be sure and remove that log from your eyes first. Grace and peace

 

[Helen]

Understanding that there is no excuse for being drunk, that those allergic to alcohol and all alcoholics should abstain completely, and that alcoholic drinks should not be consumed before the brain is finished developing at around 18-20 years old, I offer the following:

1. alcohol was the only anesthetic available in the Old West for tooth extractions, etc.

2. alcohol was often the only anesthetic available for war field injuries, including necessary amputations. (in both items one and two, please note that the alcohol helped keep the patient from going into shock, which can kill).

3. a cough syrup made of 1/3 honey, 1/3 lemon juice and 1/3 brandy, or vodka or even whiskey is the most effective cough syrup you can get. The honey coats the throat, the lemon juice cuts the mucous and the liquor relaxes the spasming of the cough. One tsp. for a young child, a tbs. for an older child or adult is usually enough.

4. when birds fly into our windows and end up being cat bait, gasping on the ground, a drop of liquor in their beaks will bring them out of shock and enable them to fly away more quickly. (Note: our youngest daughter knew this and did not realize one drop meant one drop. She got some poor bird drunk to the peak and he died in her hands. It was a hard lesson.)

5. alcohol is a muscle relaxer -- which is often why drunk drivers are not injured when others are. That being the negative side, the positive side is that muscle spasms can usually be usually be taken care of by a few ounces of wine and a hot shower -- whether the spasms be from a back injury, false labor, or strained shoulders or wherever.

6. alcohol is a disinfectant and, when nothing else is available, is effective in treating a wound to prevent infection. Because alcohol evaporates so rapidly, however, it is definitely second-best to other disinfectants which will not sting so much.

7. It makes great beef stew!

8. For me, and for others like me with paradoxic drug reactions, it is one of the safest medicines on the market for things like coughs and spasms.

9. I enjoy a glass of wine occasionally with dinner. It is enjoyable.

10. It is a blessing from God, medicinally and personally. Like almost everything else He has given us, though*, its misuse can lead to disasterous consequences.

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* think music, art, salt, water, food, animals, our brains.....computers....

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was going to add something and then changed my mind....no edit....LOL

 

[reformedbeliever]

Understanding that there is no excuse for being drunk, that those allergic to alcohol and all alcoholics should abstain completely, and that alcoholic drinks should not be consumed before the brain is finished developing at around 18-20 years old, I offer the following:

1. alcohol was the only anesthetic available in the Old West for tooth extractions, etc.

2. alcohol was often the only anesthetic available for war field injuries, including necessary amputations. (in both items one and two, please note that the alcohol helped keep the patient from going into shock, which can kill).

3. a cough syrup made of 1/3 honey, 1/3 lemon juice and 1/3 brandy, or vodka or even whiskey is the most effective cough syrup you can get. The honey coats the throat, the lemon juice cuts the mucous and the liquor relaxes the spasming of the cough. One tsp. for a young child, a tbs. for an older child or adult is usually enough.

4. when birds fly into our windows and end up being cat bait, gasping on the ground, a drop of liquor in their beaks will bring them out of shock and enable them to fly away more quickly. (Note: our youngest daughter knew this and did not realize one drop meant one drop. She got some poor bird drunk to the peak and he died in her hands. It was a hard lesson.)

5. alcohol is a muscle relaxer -- which is often why drunk drivers are not injured when others are. That being the negative side, the positive side is that muscle spasms can usually be usually be taken care of by a few ounces of wine and a hot shower -- whether the spasms be from a back injury, false labor, or strained shoulders or wherever.

6. alcohol is a disinfectant and, when nothing else is available, is effective in treating a wound to prevent infection. Because alcohol evaporates so rapidly, however, it is definitely second-best to other disinfectants which will not sting so much.

7. It makes great beef stew!

8. For me, and for others like me with paradoxic drug reactions, it is one of the safest medicines on the market for things like coughs and spasms.

9. I enjoy a glass of wine occasionally with dinner. It is enjoyable.

10. It is a blessing from God, medicinally and personally. Like almost everything else He has given us, though*, its misuse can lead to disasterous consequences.

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* think music, art, salt, water, food, animals, our brains.....computers....

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was going to add something and then changed my mind....no edit....LOL

Oh my! And Helen, you told me you do not purposely sin anymore! :laugh: I'm just kidding. :laugh: My wife enjoys a glass of wine on occasion, and If I were not a pastor, I may enjoy one also. In the Southern Baptist convention, a pastor may not enjoy a glass of wine... God forbid! Grace and peace

 

[menageriekeeper]

I use #3 every winter, Helen, though I usually mix my honey and whiskey with hot tea. Works better than any cough syrup I've found.

I wish I had known about #5 Wednesday night when I seized up. I was still still pulling having muscle spasms the next morning and I'm still sore from them today.

Back to the OP, T makes a wonderful bread pudding w/ whiskey sauce (cooked of course) and whiskey is also part of the rub we use when baking a ham(along with brown mustard, brown sugar and crushed gingersnaps). Makes me wish it were a holiday!

 

[reformedbeliever]

I use #3 every winter, Helen, though I usually mix my honey and whiskey with hot tea. Works better than any cough syrup I've found.

I wish I had known about #5 Wednesday night when I seized up. I was still still pulling having muscle spasms the next morning and I'm still sore from them today.

Back to the OP, T makes a wonderful bread pudding w/ whiskey sauce (cooked of course) and whiskey is also part of the rub we use when baking a ham(along with brown mustard, brown sugar and crushed gingersnaps). Makes me wish it were a holiday!

Where is the little smiley with the wide open mouth? I can't believe there are so many sinners in the Baptist Board... :laugh:

 

[bapmom]

webdog,

I saw your testimony as being the result of the life you had lived in front of your neighbor, not a result of the alcohol. God's Holy Spirit conviction can calm a normally confrontative person as well. Why give that credit to any drink, alcoholic or not?

Also, to say that alcohol is useful as a medication is moot. "Teetotalers" use alcoholic medication all the time. Nyquil has more alcohol in it than beer or wine put together. MANY of our medications have alcohol in them. This is not a conflict, as they are not in the form of a recreational drink.

I believe the OP is trying to find something good from recreational alcohol......like beer or wine. And to say that it makes a great beef stew.......ok, is that the only way you can make beef stew taste good? Nah, we both know better than that. On that point, I personally would not use alcohol to cook with, but neither would I turn something down if it had been cooked with alcohol UNLESS it would cause someone watching me to stumble. (the whole 'eat no meat offered to idols for your brother's sake' issue.)

See, from this thread the only thing useful Im seeing so far is it's medicinal purposes. Yet alcohol is a well-established form of our medications already.......no one is arguing that point. But you don't have to have a glass of wine in order to get the medicinal benefits. Oh, and btw, people use that as if wine is the ONLY way to obtain that specific medicinal benefit. It is not. Some of you act as if "take a little wine for your stomach's sake" is a command. Especially nowadays, we have many alternatives.

I live in a city addicted to alcohol. We are struggling every day with its effects on people's lives. And for Christians to start trying to find a way to include it as "ok" is only adding to this struggle.

 

[Diggin in da Word]

Oh my! And Helen, you told me you do not purposely sin anymore! :laugh: I'm just kidding. :laugh: My wife enjoys a glass of wine on occasion, and If I were not a pastor, I may enjoy one also. In the Southern Baptist convention, a pastor may not enjoy a glass of wine... God forbid! Grace and peace

It won't be long before that ban is lifted. Keep pushing for it. They are getting more and more complacent in things that are clearly forbidden.

Why, I just talked with my sister last night and she was at her SB church most of the day yesterday, will be there a lengthy time today and tomorrow. Guess what they were doing? Sorting through items brought to the church for a consignment sale tomorrow! A consignment sale in the house of God?

Matthew 21:13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

So, go ahead and push for the alcohol, I am sure you will one day see it happen.

 

[EdSutton]

Anything good from alcohol? Yeah, - oh- (high-pitched nasal voice, here) "Nevermind!"

Ed

 

[reformedbeliever]

It won't be long before that ban is lifted. Keep pushing for it. They are getting more and more complacent in things that are clearly forbidden.

Why, I just talked with my sister last night and she was at her SB church most of the day yesterday, will be there a lengthy time today and tomorrow. Guess what they were doing? Sorting through items brought to the church for a consignment sale tomorrow! A consignment sale in the house of God?

Matthew 21:13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

So, go ahead and push for the alcohol, I am sure you will one day see it happen.

I'm not pushing anything except that we would be biblical. I'm tired of the legalistic unbiblical pharasaical agenda that does not consider the log in their own eye before pointing out the speck in anothers eye. If one chooses to drink responsibly and not get drunk... that is their choice and they are free to do so. I have not been convinced that alcohol consumption is sinful when done so without drunkeness.... but i've been convinced that many who scream "sinners" are themselves sinners.... just look in the mirror. Is there anything in your life that you may see as sin? Do you practice it? I've read your judgemental posts and if you can't find any sin I could point some out. Get the log out of your eye first. I hope you are not one of the gluttons who are screaming about the evils of alcohol. Grace and peace

 

[Charles Meadows]

The testimony is more than words, it is also in the walk. He saw a god who allows that which tears down families, that which destroys jobs, that which kills in the life of a so-called believer.

Very true. This is why believers should (in my opinion) abstain from alcohol. I would never argue in favor of aocohol - but yet because the Bible stops short of prohibiting it I must also do so.

Unlike in biblical times when only drinks with small amounts of alcohol could be guaranteed to be germ free there is no benefit from alcohol drinking today. I think believers drinking poses a, in many cases, a severe stumbling block to others.

 

[Diggin in da Word]

Glutton?

If one meal a day consisting of one plate of food is gluttonous, then I am guilty of same. :laugh:

 

[reformedbeliever]

The testimony is more than words, it is also in the walk. He saw a god who allows that which tears down families, that which destroys jobs, that which kills in the life of a so-called believer.

Very true. This is why believers should (in my opinion) abstain from alcohol. I would never argue in favor of aocohol - but yet because the Bible stops short of prohibiting it I must also do so.

Unlike in biblical times when only drinks with small amounts of alcohol could be guaranteed to be germ free there is no benefit from alcohol drinking today. I think believers drinking poses a, in many cases, a severe stumbling block to others.

Very true?!!! This guy just called webdog a "so called believer" and you say "very true"? :tear: Colossians 3:12. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Of all the things I see on the Baptist Board, what the Bible says of the elect is missing too many times. I hear "professing christians" accusing so many brothers and sisters in Christ of being "professing christians". I am doing the same now. It makes me want to throw up! I pray that the Spirit of God who makes me sick of my sin does the same to you. I forgive you. Grace and peace

 

[reformedbeliever]

Glutton?

If one meal a day consisting of one plate of food is gluttonous, then I am guilty of same. :laugh:

Very good for you! You are not a glutton. But I'll be quick to point out.... after I dig this log out of my eye...... that you have called a fellow saint a "so-called" believer. Give me a break......... you have sinned. I'll just bet you continue in such behavior.

 

[webdog]

I saw your testimony as being the result of the life you had lived in front of your neighbor, not a result of the alcohol. God's Holy Spirit conviction can calm a normally confrontative person as well. Why give that credit to any drink, alcoholic or not?

I don't believe I gave credit to the alcohol, nor claimed to. God had the entire situation planned.

I believe the OP is trying to find something good from recreational alcohol......like beer or wine.

...then you believe wrong. If the Bible says it's good, I don't have to "try" to find anything.

I live in a city addicted to alcohol. We are struggling every day with its effects on people's lives. And for Christians to start trying to find a way to include it as "ok" is only adding to this struggle.

Let the Bible say what's ok, bapmom, not other Christians. I specifically asked for those who are only looking to condemn other Christians to NOT post on this thread. Please respect my wishes.

 

[webdog]

Very true?!!! This guy just called webdog a "so called believer" and you say "very true"?

That's come to be expected, and I just let it roll of my shoulders. It's sad that other Christians can think that whoever doesn't agree with them is lost.

 

[hawg_427]

Alcohol in moderation

Well, I am a new christian and I do not see anythink wrong with having a drink or two with a meal or a cookout. My wife and I have 1-2 lite beers with our pizza about once or twice a month. Now there is no excuse for drunkeness. I am a Firefighter/Paramedic and I see the bad side of alcohol all the time in my job. You commit a sin if you eat too much also. Moderation is the key word.

 

[reformedbeliever]

Well, I am a new christian and I do not see anythink wrong with having a drink or two with a meal or a cookout. My wife and I have 1-2 lite beers with our pizza about once or twice a month. Now there is no excuse for drunkeness. I am a Firefighter/Paramedic and I see the bad side of alcohol all the time in my job. You commit a sin if you eat too much also. Moderation is the key word.

Hey!!!! A brother in Christ, and a brother in the Fire suppression business. I'm a retired professional firefighter and Medic. I also volunteered many years in a local recreational - retirement community. I was fire cheif for a year and quit that.... it was full time, and didn't pay a thing, other than the reward of helping people.... and being a witness for Christ. I got to share Jesus with many people who were in their last moments on this earth. God got ahold of me and would not let go, so now I'm teaching - preaching His Word. God bless you brother, or sister. Grace and peace

 

[Diggin in da Word]

Very good for you! You are not a glutton. But I'll be quick to point out.... after I dig this log out of my eye...... that you have called a fellow saint a "so-called" believer. Give me a break......... you have sinned. I'll just bet you continue in such behavior.

Jesus said 'the tree is known by his fruit'. I see no difference than the world when I see people say they can go into bars and drink and witness, they can drink with friends and witness,

What happened to 'Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord, and I will receive you?

People want to explain away sin this day and age just as Scripture foretold. They call good evil, and evil good.

I stand by the Word of God, you cannot drink of the cup of devils and sit at the table of the Lord.