Theology of Alcohol: why one might not celebrate his 21st birthday at the bar.

“Wait. So you Mennonites don’t drink?”

“Well…” There was a pause. Then in a confidential tone: “Our parents wouldn’t.”

Ahh. Instantly his conversation partner’s eyes reflected understanding. All was made clear. It was just another one of the wonderful little quirks of historic Mennonitism, like driving horse-and-buggies and sewing quilts, relics of a quaint past that some (ahem) still held onto. Say no more.

Silly parents.

It’s considered the norm in America for someone turning 21 to celebrate by going out and buying some alcohol for the first time they legally can (as if almost everybody hasn’t before). I’d like to give a couple reasons why someone even in our modern day might refrain from celebrating in this manner.

1. The Bible forbids drunkenness and addiction to wine:

Ephesians 5:17-18 | So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit.

Isaiah 5:11, 22 | Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of beer, who linger into the evening, inflamed by wine … Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, who are fearless at mixing beer.

Titus 1:7-8 | For an overseer, as God’s administrator, must be blameless, not arrogant, not hot-tempered, not addicted to wine, not a bully, not greedy for money, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled.

1 Timothy 3:2-3 | An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher, not addicted to wine, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy.

2. Drunkenness is uncomfortably associated with, among other things, depraved sexual lust:

Romans 13:13 | Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy.

Galatians 5:19-21 | Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I tell you about these things in advance—as I told you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 5:11 | But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or verbally abusive, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 | Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or anyone practicing homosexuality, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Hosea 4:10-11 | They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have abandoned their devotion to the LORD. Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away one’s understanding.

3. Alcohol is unwise because it takes away your ability to act morally and responsibly:

Paul clarifies in 1 Corinthians 6:12: “’Everything is permissible for me,’ but not everything is helpful. ‘Everything is permissible for me,’ but I will not be brought under the control of anything.” Alcohol can bring you under its control. It can take over your physical and mental capacities.

Proverbs 20:1 | Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler, and whoever staggers because of them is not wise.

Proverbs 23:29-35 | Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has conflicts? Who has complaints? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has red eyes? Those who linger over wine, those who go looking for mixed wine. Don’t gaze at wine because it is red, when it gleams in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and you will say absurd things. You’ll be like someone sleeping out at sea or lying down on the top of a ship’s mast. “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I didn’t know it! When will I wake up? I’ll look for another drink.

Habakkuk 2:25 | Woe to him who gives his neighbors drink, pouring out your wrath and even making them drunk, in order to look at their nakedness!

Isaiah 28 starts off with this ironic peroration: “Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards, and to the fading flower of its beautiful splendor, which is on the summit above the rich valley. Woe to those overcome with wine.” It recalls the pathetic story of leaders of God’s people who succumbed to the influence of alcohol, culminating with:

Isaiah 28:7-8 | These also stagger because of wine and stumble under the influence of beer: priest and prophet stagger because of beer, they are confused by wine. They stumble because of beer, they are muddled in their visions, they stumble in their judgments. Indeed, all their tables are covered with vomit; there is no place without a stench.

Finally, to illustrate the lack of control alcohol brings, there is the awkward story of Lot’s daughters found in Genesis 19:

Genesis 19:30-38 | Lot departed from Zoar and lived in the mountains along with his two daughters, because he was afraid to live in Zoar. Instead, he and his two daughters lived in a cave. Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to sleep with us as is the custom of all the land. Come, let’s get our father to drink wine so that we can sleep with him and preserve our father’s line.” So they got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn came and slept with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
The next day the firstborn said to the younger, “Look, I slept with my father last night. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight so you can go sleep with him and we can preserve our father’s line.” That night they again got their father to drink wine, and the younger went and slept with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The firstborn gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites of today.

4. Alcohol is unwise because it brings apathy and weakness:

Proverbs 21:17 | The one who loves pleasure will become a poor man; whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich.

Proverbs 23:19-21 | Listen, my son, and be wise; keep your mind on the right course. Don’t associate with those who drink too much wine or with those who gorge themselves on meat. For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor, and grogginess will clothe them in rags.

5. In the Old Testament, God displayed a pattern of requiring abstinence from alcohol of those He set apart as His holy ones:

First, the Levitical Priests:

Leviticus 10:8-11 | The LORD spoke to Aaron: “You and your sons are not to drink wine or beer when you enter the tent of meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations. You must distinguish between the holy and the common, and the clean and the unclean, and teach the Israelites all the statutes that the LORD has given to them through Moses.

Ezekiel 44:21 | No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.

Again, we see this property inherent of the Nazirites, those who vowed to set themselves apart to God, among whom Samson, Samuel, and Paul belonged.

Numbers 6:1-4 | The LORD instructed Moses: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow, to consecrate himself to the LORD, he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during his vow.

God even told Manoah, Samson’s mother, not drink when she was pregnant with Samson:

Judges 13:3-7 | The Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are unable to conceive and have no children, but you will conceive and give birth to a son. Now please be careful not to drink wine or beer, or to eat anything unclean; for indeed, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You must never cut his hair, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth, and he will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.” Then the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the awe-inspiring Angel of God. I didn’t ask Him where He came from, and He didn’t tell me His name. He said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth until the day of his death.’”

Additionally, we see God holding up the Rechabites as an honorable, holy example for their obedience to their father Jonadab’s command in Jeremiah 35:

Jeremiah 35:1-14 | This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them to one of the chambers of the temple of the Lord to offer them a drink of wine.” So … I set jars filled with wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites and said to them, “Drink wine!” But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded: ‘You and your sons must never drink wine. You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you’ … We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, in all he commanded us. So we haven’t drunk wine our whole life—we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters. Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: … “The words of Jonadab, son of Rechab, have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk to this very day because they have obeyed their ancestor’s command. But I have spoken to you time and time again, and you have not obeyed Me!

Finally, we see Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah’s commitment to abstinence in the face of the temptation to luxury:

Daniel 1:5,8,12-15 | The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to serve in the king’s court … Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank … “Please test your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” He agreed with them about this and tested them for 10 days. At the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food.

6. Alcohol is medicine for the sick and weak, not the healthy and strong:

1 Timothy 5:23 | Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

Proverbs 31:4-9 | It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire beer. Otherwise, they will drink, forget what is decreed, and pervert justice for all the oppressed. Give beer to one who is dying and wine to one whose life is bitter. Let him drink so that he can forget his poverty and remember his trouble no more. Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed. Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy.

7. Social drinking may degrade other believer’s personal standards of holiness:

Paul says of certain rights, about which some feel freedom and others caution:

1 Corinthians 8:9 | But be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak.

Romans 14:20-22 | Do not tear down God’s work because of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong for a man to cause stumbling by what he eats. It is a noble thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother stumble. Do you have a conviction? Keep it to yourself before God. The man who does not condemn himself by what he approves is blessed.

8. Church guidelines, which members often give their word to adhere to, may teach against addictive substances:

As, in fact, do those of Dayton Mennonite Church, where I am a member.

Division X: Standards of Practice:

Section 16: Temperance | “We respect the human body as a temple of the Holy Spirit and teach against the use of alcohol, narcotics, tobacco, and all other forms of addiction.”

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These are reasons why a Mennonite might still abstain completely from the use of alcohol in the Bible even if complete abstinence is not what is required. However, I cannot be completely one-sided. To be fair, I should also present some reasons to the contrary:

1. Wine may be a sign of God’s blessing in certain circumstances:

Ecclesiastes 9:7 | Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works.

Psalm 104:14-15 | He causes grass to grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, producing food from the earth, wine that makes man’s heart glad—making his face shine with oil—and bread that sustains man’s heart.

Amos 9:14 | I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel. They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities, plant vineyards and drink their wine, make gardens and eat their produce.

Deuteronomy 14:26 | You may spend the money on anything you want: cattle, sheep, wine, beer, or anything you desire. You are to feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your family.

2. One might interpret the Bible to see Jesus drinking wine on customary, proper occasions:

Matthew 11:18-19 (and Luke 7:33-34) | For John did not come eating or drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

Matthew 26:26-29 | As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is My body.” Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. But I tell you, from this moment I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in My Father’s kingdom with you.

(See also John 2:1-11)

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And that, in a nutshell and without further commentary, is a very hurried theology of alcohol, what one might do with it, and the dangers it presents.