Alcohol comes in four different forms: methyl, propyl, butyl, and ethyl. The first three forms can cause death even in small doses. The latter, ethyl or ethanol, is found in alcoholic beverages and is distilled from fermenting grain and fruits. Whether it’s wine, beer, or spirits, alcohol is the most accepted and abused drug in the world. It affects millions of people, young and old alike. Eight teens die daily in DUI crashes and more people were killed by alcohol consumption last year than from overdoses of heroin and prescription painkillers combined.
Alcohol has been part of secular society for thousands of years. Many countries still prohibit the use and sale of alcohol on certain days or altogether. But in most westernized cultures, alcohol is glamorized as being a sign of wealth, class, and success. Even scientific circles endorse an occasional glass of wine for health. Thus alcohol has sparked debate among many Christians. Many Christians, who are against the use of tobacco and marijuana use, wink at the moderate consumption of alcohol and accept it as being traditional and healthy. But does the Bible endorse the use of alcohol?
The main ingredient in alcoholic beverages is Ethanol (C2H5OH). It is a psychoactive drug that affects your brain and alters your thoughts, words, and actions. It then has to be metabolized by your liver and excreted through your kidneys; otherwise, ethanol would continue to accumulate and lead to cell destruction and death.
From the moment it is ingested, alcohol enters your stomach and is absorbed into the blood through the small intestine. The heart then pumps ethanol to your brain, where it acts as a depressant. It slows brain activity and reaction time by amplifying GABA(a neurotransmitter) and reducing glutamate. It then attaches to Dopamine receptors to give a sense of euphoria, similar to heroin and morphine. Slurred speech is a tell-tell sign that one has had too much to drink, but even one drink impairs reaction time by 10 percent, hinders muscular reaction by 17 percent and increases errors due to lack of attention by 35 percent.
But can moderate alcohol use be good for you? Since the discovery of resveratrol in red wine, many scientists and doctors endorse the use of moderate alcohol use. Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancerous phytochemical. But did you know it can also be found in Welch’s red grape juice, peanuts, cranberries, and blueberries? Aside from obtaining too much sugar, one may drink as many cups of Welch’s grape juice as desired without any adverse effects. On the contrary, it would take 111 glasses of fermented wine to reach effective blood concentrations of resveratrol. This amount of alcoholic wine is obviously problematic. Furthermore, studies have shown that low alcohol intake provides an ineffective amount of phytochemicals to protect against cancer, and high alcohol intake increases the risk of oral, throat, intestinal, breast, skin, and liver cancer. Just like tobacco and other drugs, alcohol is a recipe for slow and sometimes rapid suicide. Even the strongest supporter of alcohol has to admit there are safer and healthier lifestyle choices that can help prevent heart disease and cancer: such as eating well, exercising, and getting adequate amounts of rest.
Does the Bible endorse the use of alcohol?
The first miracle performed by Jesus was to transform water into wine and the Last Supper involved serving wine to His disciples. Can these two accounts fortify one’s support of social alcohol use? The Bible overwhelmingly speaks about the toxic effects of alcohol in the Old and New Testament:
“Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may follow intoxicating drink; who continue until night, till wine inflames them!" (Isaiah 5:11).
"Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who hath complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine" (Proverbs 23:29-30).
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18)
So, could Jesus’ life contradict his own Word? We know that Jesus came not to destroy the law and the prophets but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). Although the Pharisees often accused Jesus of being a winebibber and glutton, Christ’s forty-day fast showed quite the contrary, that He was self-denying and self-controlled. Even while dying on the cross, he refused to drink the fermented drink offered to him for anesthetic purposes. By precept and example, Christ would never produce toxic amounts of wine which could lead to poisoning and death. Furthermore, since the Passover bread was to be unleavened, for leaven represented sin, the wine served had to be unleavened or unfermented. “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom” (Matthew 26:28–29).
Many believe Paul’s advice to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23 is a license to drink alcohol. But the Greek word for wine “oinos” could mean either new wine or fermented wine. From the weight of Scripture, we can deduce that Paul was referring to unfermented new wine. We also can refer to other contemporary writers such as Pliney (A.D. 27), Athenaeus (the grammarian A.D. 280), and Aristotle (Greek philosopher, 322 B.C.) who specifically counsel on the use of grape juice for medicinal purposes.
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). We should not be swayed by studies that are stretched to promote the illusion of alcohol's health benefits, which show great wonders and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:24). Rather, we should be sober and vigilant, guarding the avenues of our soul, and be renewed in the spirit of our mind (1 Peter 5:8) (Ephesians 4:23). This means avoiding all mind and mood altering substances. Alcohol included.