Is Getting Drunk A Sin?

Is Getting Drunk a Sin?

“Mostly everybody in the Bible seemed to love wine except ascetics and Nazarites. The Bible portrays Noah as the first winemaker who not only made wine but drunk it until he was inebriated. The Bible portrayed Solomon and Lady Wisdom as championing wisdom in part by choosing and mixing wines. Isaiah the Prophet and his disciples who add to his words repeatedly use imagery of wine. Jesus seems to have loved wine and had a reputation for drinking wine. The Synoptic Gospels repeat, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a wino, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”[1]

Maybe it’s my inner youth pastor that’s motivating me to write this…

But, speaking of which, when I was youth pastoring in the Southern California area I began to venture out and befriend other youth pastors – what made it easier was that my roommate (whom I randomly met via craigslist while shopping around for a cheap room to rent) was also a youth pastor. But, he and I would go out on Wednesday night’s and hang out having what we called “Beers and Bibles.”

We befriended the bouncer at this local bar and found that he went to Saddleback.

We’d talk about theology, life, girls, and ministry…

But, I bring this up because, it’s not something evangelical youth pastors publicize – that is, having beers at a bar and associating that with the Bible.

I just remember during that time being deathly afraid of being seen and then “outed” by a fellow congregant. It’s not like we were uncontrollably wasted… every Wednesday night during “beers and bibles” – it was only every other week… (joking)

It wasn’t until later on that I recognized all this could sound insane to others reading this right now for two very different reasons: (1) as some might think it’s insane that two youth pastors could be so “irresponsible” by drinking in public at a local southern California bar; while, (2) on the other hand others outside of this evangelical Church culture might think that it’s insane youth pastors would be so easily condemned for simply having a few beers in public…

But, the two primary camps I’m referencing here are:

The conservative camp and then…
The “liberal” camp.

But, very briefly, here’s where each one of these two primary camps stand…