Posts tagged booze
life is tiring
Nov 10th
My schedule for the next month is full. Every day. This makes me sad.
My man-steak sent me a link that is awesome. Stuff like this is why the internet is so great. It’s awesome because it combines two of my favorite things, the scientific experiment and vodka (especially Ketel One).
It’s something I’m going to try. I’ve done a blind vodka taste test with 6 different vodkas before. I’ve done a milk taste test, a scotch taste test with about 6 different scotches, a whiskey taste test, and lots of wine tastings. I’ve always wondered how filtering really affects the taste of vodkas and this seems like a great experiment.
On a sad note, a firefighter / paramedic friend of mine in CA, who was one of my teachers for my fire science / EMT classes and a great christian, recently had brain surgery to remove a tumor on his brain. Unfortunately it is malignant and they found more tumors on his lungs. If it pleases you, say a prayer for him and his family.
Even if it doesn’t please you, say one anyway.
More Boozin
Mar 19th
Ahh! A spirited discussion!
First off, I’m not here to try and change anyone’s mind. Heck, I’m surprised anyone still reads this site at all. I’m just looking for discussion because this is something that has been on my mind lately. And if I’m wrong on any points, I want to be corrected so I can learn. I quoted your reply at the bottom of this so it doesn’t get lost.
Also, this was definitely not intended as being directed at you BobaFett, but I am glad you replied. One sided conversations tend to get fairly boring and I only win them sometimes.
“Wine is a mocker.”
True. If you drink too much wine, or any liquor for that matter, you will make a fool of yourself. But I think drinking a glass of wine has the same depressant effect on the body that a class of coffee will have as a stimulate on the body. Both are naturally occurring body altering chemicals.
“Any health benefits achieved from wine can also be achieved from grape juice, so why put something in my body that is going to make me look and act foolish.”
Look and act foolish, only if you become drunk or you are naturally that way, which, as I’ve stated before, is something the Bible clearly speaks against so I agree with. However, many studies show that alcohol is precisely what leads to a lower chance of arteriosclerosis as you grow older and not the specific acids / proteins / vitamins of grapes as previously speculated.
“In short, the Bible clearly says that drinking alcohol is not wise;…”
This I don’t agree with. Genesis 14:18 refers to Melchizedek, a type of Christ, as offering wine to Abram; Nehemiah 2:1 refers to the king drinking wine (Nehemiah was required to taste it first to make sure it was not poisoned); Esther 5:6; 7:1-2 speaks of wine that Esther (the godly Jewess) drank with the king; Job 1:13 refers to righteous Job’s family drinking wine; Daniel 10:3 speaks of drinking wine as a blessing after a time of fasting. Some of Jesus’ parables are about wine, wineskins and vineyards (Matt 9:17; 21:33; even John 15 speaks of God the Father as the vinedresser!). Paul tells Timothy to drink some wine for his stomach’s sake and not just water (1 Tim 5:23). The same Greek and Hebrew terms that were used to speak of the abuses of wine are used in these passages.
There are, as well, positive statements about alcoholic beverages: Deut 14:26 implies that it is a good thing to drink wine and strong drink to the Lord: “And you may spend the money for whatever your heart desires, for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household”. Psalm 4:7 compares joy in the Lord to the abundance of wine; Psalm 104:14-15 credits God as the creator of wine that “makes a man’s heart glad” (also Hos 2:8); honoring the Lord with one’s wealth is rewarded with the blessings of abundant stores of wine (Prov 3:10); love is compared to wine repeatedly in the Song of Songs, as though good wine were similarly sweet (1:2, 4; 4:10; 7:9). The Lord prepares a banquet with “well-aged wines… and fine, well-aged wines” for his people (Isa 25:6).
The lack of wine is viewed as a judgment from God (Jer 48:33; Lam 2:12; Hos 2:9; Joel 1:10; Hag 2:16); and, conversely, its provision is viewed as a blessing from the Lord (Gen 27:28; Deut 7:13; 11:14; Joel 2:19, 24; 3:18; Amos 9:13-14).
I’ve read the verses you’ve quoted many times and they do not say to me that “drinking alcohol is not wise”, but rather, “drinking too much alcohol is not wise / becoming addicted to alcohol is not wise / letting alcohol control your life is not wise”. Romans 14:21 tells me that I should not do anything that causes my brother to stumble or to be made weak no matter what it is (eating meat, drinking wine, dancing, smoking, etc.), which as I’ve said before, I agree with. If my drinking or eating a fine succulent prime rib is going to cause a brother to stumble, then I am not going to do it. And believe me, passing up on a nice prime rib would truly be a sacrifice of love for me.
“… and today, it is certainly not necessary.”
Whether it is necessary or not is much more of a matter of personal opinion.
“Do not be drunk with wine…but be filled with the Spirit.”
Again, do not be DRUNK with wine. I think you are misunderstanding my desire to drink wine as a desire to become drunk off of wine. As far as I and most states are concerned you are under the influence of alcohol when your liver is at the point when it can no longer process the alcohol it receives and the alcohol starts to back up into the blood stream. The average person can process about 1 ounce of 80 proof (wine is typically anywhere from 8-15 proof), liquor per hour, which equates to 1-2 5 ounce glasses of wine per hour. You are legally intoxicated when there is enough of a backup in your blood that the alcohol reaches a certain percentage of your blood composition (different per state). Some people process alcohol quite effectively and can drink more and some people get drunk off of a Zima. It is up to an individual person to learn their limits and know when to stop drinking.
“In our culture, alcohol is abused and leads to so much heartache.”
I totally agree that alcohol causes problems. I totally agree that there is a LOT of people who are irresponsible and stupid and cannot control their drinking. But why does this mean that responsible Christians should not be able to enjoy a drink? I would go so far as to say that ANYTHING that is abused causes heartache. Overeating, smoking, guns, money, etc.
Why is all alcohol given such a bad wrap? Why is it this way in the south much more so than other parts of the U.S. Why do most Christians not place things like smoking on the same level as drinking (which is easily arguable much worse for you). Why are most willfully addicted to other things (food (have you seen the size of a super-sized fast food meal now?), T.V., movies) and yet condemn all drinking of alcohol?
I am glad that you mentioned Romans 14, because I went back to read it again. I think it indicates exactly how we should conduct ourselves in relation to each other on the issue: weaker brothers should not judge those whose freedom in Christ allows them to enjoy alcoholic beverages; stronger brothers ought not to disdain weaker brothers for their stance. Paul states it perfectly in 1 Corin (10:31), “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God”.
My thought is that wine is a blessing from the Lord, something to be enjoyed. But like any good gift from God, it can be abused: in this case, abuse involves addiction and drunkenness. But whenever Christians condemn other Christians who are able to enjoy God’s good gifts in moderation as though they were abusers, I think that is misrepresenting Biblical Christianity (which has a much difference face than modern Christianity wears nowadays. that’s another rant, though).
Luke 7:33-34 provides a great example of balance on the issue: John the Baptist abstained from drinking wine; Jesus did not abstain. Both respected one another and both recognized that their individual lifestyles were not universal principles. One man may choose not to drink; another may choose to drink. We should not condemn another servant of the Lord for his choice.
Original:
The following statement was not written by me, but certainly summarizes my viewpoints regarding Christians and alcohol in our culture…The Bible says, “Wine is a mocker, intoxicating drink arouses brawling, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1). The Apostle Paul also says, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:17-18). Finally, in Romans 14:21, Paul says, “It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.”
From these passages, I would argue these points:
1. Wine is a mocker. Any health benefits achieved from wine can also be achieved from grape juice, so why put something in my body that is going to make me look and act foolish. Alcohol will only lead us astray by clouding our judgment and rational thinking. In short, the Bible clearly says that drinking alcohol is not wise; and today, it is certainly not necessary.
2. Do not be drunk with wine…but be filled with the Spirit. Paul presents this as an either-or scenario. Those who drink alcohol limit the Holy Spirit’s ability to speak to them and work through them. We are either under the influence of alcohol or under the influence of the Spirit. Which would he choose?
3. If drinking alcohol causes my brother to stumble, I should not do it. I would admit that drinking one glass of wine-in and of itself-is not an overt sin. However, if I’m drinking a glass of wine in a restaurant and you see me do it and it cause you to question my witness, then I should not do it.
The mature Christian-like Paul-knew that just because something was permissible does not mean it is beneficial or appropriate (Read all of Romans 14:14-15:6). There is a higher law than the law of rights or the law of personal privilege and that is the LAW OF LOVE! Love sacrifices for the good of others. Love sacrifices to further the witness and cause of Christ.
Love sacrifices to edify others and build them up in the faith. I would never want to do anything that would cause another brother to stumble or doubt. In our culture, alcohol is abused and leads to so much heartache.
In the U.S., there are at least 20 million problem drinkers, and millions of others who use alcohol to excess. Even one ounce of liquor can bring on intoxication. Two or three ounces can make a person legally drunk. Half of all traffic fatalities in the U.S. are caused by people who have had at least one drink prior to driving. For the Christian to argue that he can drink “just because the Bible does not say one drink is a sin” is immature, selfish and petty. Christians are to be conformed to the image of Christ.
I don’t think Christ would argue for his right to drink alcohol. I believe Christ would lay down His “rights” and His life for others.So, in summary, I will drink less Coke and more water (and will try to eat healthier foods as well), but I will continue my personal abstinence from alcohol. You can call me simple-minded or say I have an “altered view…that is not Biblically accurate” if you want, but I stand by my convictions…
Boozin’ it up
Mar 14th
I’ve got a bit of a rant today and a small Journal of Death entry.
When I was growing up, I never drank alcohol. I was very opposed to drinking during college and was the type of person I’m writing the rest of this article about. But my attitude has changed over the last several years and I’m on the other end of the stick often defending my beliefs about alcohol.
And what, exactly, is so wrong with the moderate consumption of alcohol? There are many studies that show several health benefits to moderate alcohol consumption including wine, liquor and beer. It can be argued that a glass of wine is much healthier for you than a simple Coke, which plenty of people have no problem drinking multiple twelve ounce cans a day. Coke also has no nutritional value whatsoever and is loaded with a whopping 40 grams of sugar (not natural sugar (sucrose), mind you, but high-fructose corn syrup) and 150 calories.
There are some other great chemicals in soft drinks, too, such as ethylene glycol, an anti-freezing compound that lowers the drinks freezing point and phosphoric acid to give it a bit of a bite. Not to mention that artificial colors and flavorings we consume in every drink whose long term health benefits have questionable status.
These soft drinks help contribute to the 60% of the U.S. population that is classified as obese and the estimated 300,000 obesity related deaths each year. Yes, I know there are an equal number or alcohol related deaths, but my argument is not that drinking is not a problem in society. Heck, some people should not be within 200 yards of an alcoholic drink because they do not do it responsibly whether it is hereditary of just a lack or willpower or stupidity (most likely). My argument is that most Christians have misplaced and misguided concepts about alcohol. They will usually take the “treat your body as a temple” scripture from the Bible (out of context, mind you) and apply it to alcohol, while completely ignoring the toxic artificially mass produced garbage they are pumping into their bodies every day.
If you ignore or concede that point, the next argument I typically hear is that Coke does not have the ability to alter your state of mind like alcohol (being a depressant) does. Bollocks I say! Caffeine is a powerful stimulate that has the ability to alter your state of mind. Nicotine in cigarettes is a depressant that alters your state of mind and yet does not have as bad a stigma in Christian thinking as alcohol does.
The Bible has plenty of easy to find references about drinking. But all of them that I have found that speak negatively about alcohol speak out against excessive or heavy drinking and drunkenness, which I completely agree with. There are plenty of scriptures that are either neutral or have positive alcoholic references.
There are Christian people who are so violently opposed to drinking and they don’t even know why. They have been told all of their lives by Christian culture that any form of alcohol is a sin and should be avoided and they are so set in those beliefs that they completely shut out any thought or argument to the contrary. They have set up a mental wall and are afraid to be challenged on their beliefs because they have been conditioned by the prevalent culture. It is interesting to note that many other countries, God-fearing Christians see no problem with alcoholic beverages.
Anyway, I suppose I should wrap this up. In short, I do not think that the Bible prohibits drinking in moderation. I do not think that drinking is for everyone and I think that most Christians have an altered view of alcohol that is not Biblically accurate.
Sunday Feb 14, 2004
Journal of Death
The only death I ran across today was when I was reading on CNN about the mass-transit bombing in Spain where a couple of hundred people died and 10 times more were injured. Then I read an article about the psycho in California that killed the 7 or 9 children in his house. Ever notice how all the phychos come from California?
Merry Christmas!
Dec 26th
Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and received what they wanted and not what they deserved.
It’s been busy around here lately, hence the lack of updates, but hey… it’s my website and I’m generally a lazy person, so that’s just not a good combination for frequent updates.
What did Santa bring to the Bell household? Well, not too much this year, mainly because Santa is poor and has a low-paying part time job and is going to school. But he did manage to bring Gwyn a new watch, and some new violin strings as well as a violin book to brush up on her l33t violin playin’ sk1llz.
He brought me more than he should have, but it is all appreciated, mainly because it all has to do with alcohol in one form or another.
I got a nice bottle of V.S.O.P Courvoisier Cognac , a new Vodka from the Netherlands, I wanted to try out called Vox. Speaking of which, the Netherlands is also where my #1 favorite Vodka is produced, Ketel One.
I also got a couple bottles of wine, from Charles Krug and Gundlach Bundschu and some nice oversized crystal red wine glasses with a decanter from some company whose name I can’t remember.
So as you can see, people think I’m a boozer. Which is fine, because I like to try the quality stuff, that is harder to come by. And it makes buying presents for me that much easier!
cVolz sent me the bottle of Charles Krug, a red flashy siren light to stick on top of my car so I can practice being a firefighter and a plastic commando knife for Gwyn so she can practice stabbing him. Which was all very thoughtful, but now we have to send him something, according to my wife. Which really doesn’t make any sense to me, mainly because I’m a guy, I suppose, but I think it’ll be something really cheap. Like tic-tacs.
My classes start in a few more weeks (January 12th), so I’ll officially be a student… again. I really hope this will be the last time.
I got to play through Planescape: Torment (old school!), and Max Payne 2 (meh), and now I’m going through Star Wars: Knights of the old Republic and the C&C Generals expansion, Ground Zero.
Off to work!
So busy…
Nov 21st
I’ve been remodeling my grandmother’s house and trying to get it done before Thanksgiving. So far, I’ve stripped off her old wallpaper, removed the ceramic tile and thin-set mortar from the floor, patched the floor with quick-set cement, patched and sanded the sheet rock with mud and applied the first coat of paint to the walls.
The walls still need a second coat, the trimming and doors need to be painted and touch up work needs to be performed. I also need to lay the new ceramic tile and grout and seal them.
And this is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this so it’s a bit of a learning experience.
I’m also trying to get it done before Thanksgiving so I’m running out of time.
On another note, I picked up an external firewire / USB 2.0 hard drive from Maxtor to back up my files and transfer between computers. It’s come in real handy.
What else is going on? My man-steak cdawg hopped back over the pond again and is back to the land of fruits and nuts with Arnie as govna’. Good luck with that.
Apparently he’s all upset about politics and what-not. Good thing I have no opinions.
My other pal… well… I’ll call him my limp biscuit is going to Australia soon… which is cool, cause it’s a place that I’ve always wanted to go. And at least you have to admire his dedication to the art of mocking public works.
Ooohh… And I almost forgot. I found a pretty good bar here in town that is 1) well stocked 2) has $3 Ketel One martinis and 3) has Guiness on tap. The only downside is their Guinness is like $6.50 a pint! WOWZA.
The answer to the meaning of life?
Oct 14th
Well, since everyone cares (and I know you do!), here is what my schedule looks like lately:
Monday:
7am-9am Class (PE – Firefighter Agility)
9am-6pm Work (bleh)
Tuesday:
8:30am-5pm Work
7pm-10pm Class (Fire Chemistry and Physics)
Wednesday:
7am-9am Class (PE – Firefighter Agility)
9am-5:30pm Work
7pm-10pm Class (Fire Protection Organization)
Thursday:
8am-5pm Work
8pm-10pm Study-Group (Espanol!)
Friday:
7am-9am Class (PE – Firefighter Agility)
9am-5:30pm Work
Sat:
9am-3pm Class (Fire Suppression)
Sun:
10am-12pm Church
So. Yeah. There. I know some people have been having a hard time getting in touch with me and that’s pretty much why. I try and reserve Fri. and Sat. night for the wifey and Sun after church is time to do all of the homework for the week. Oh well, the semester is halfway over and it’s all down hill from here.
I have learned one good bit of information from all of this, though. Do all of this crap when you’re young. O.K., so I’m not “old” yet, but man, I just can’t keep the school pace that I could even 4-5 years ago.
On the bright side, I enjoy most of my classes and the PE class will kick your a$$ into shape whether you want it to or not. I’m down to 195lbs @ 17% body fat from my all time high of 225 @ 31%.
And I have to mention this. A couple of weeks ago we went out to a pretty fancy steak house called Sundance (here or here) and I had a glass of Charles Krug Merlot and it was just about the best Merlot I’ve ever tasted. It has now taken over my previous #1 Merlot spot (just barely) of Gundlach Bundschu’s Merlot. Well, maybe not the ’97, but definately 98 and up.
And the weird part is Charles Krug is part of the Mondavi family, whom I really can’t stand, not only their highly overrated and overpriced wine, but just on general principles as well. But all of the suckiness that is Mondavi, is not Krug.
If anyone else knows of any good wines to try out, I’m always open to suggestions!
At any rate, I’ve got some mid-terms I should probably study for.
