by JimmyPage 9 Replies latest jw friends
I know a lot of non-JWs who try to be good Christians, and for them, part of that means staying clear of alcohol- period.
So how did this "alcohol is OK" come about for JWs? I have to wonder if it wasn't originally because Rutherford was constantly blitzed out of his gourd.
No, actually the bible sanctions the use of alcohol in moderation.
*** w07 4/1 p. 4 Answers That Work! ***The Bible does not condemn the moderate use of alcohol. The apostle Paul pointed to the medicinal benefits of wine when he advised young Timothy: "Use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent cases of sickness." (1 Timothy 5:23) Other Bible passages show that God intended wine to be more than just medicine. Wine is described as making "the heart of mortal man rejoice." (Psalm 104:15) However, the Bible warns against becoming "enslaved to a lot of wine." (Titus 2:3)
No, instead what Rutherford taught is that drinking in excess is not a serious sin.
It would be hard to explain a ban on alcohol when Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine.
Rub a Dub
My JW experience was overwhelmingly pro-alcohol. Precious few individuals didn't partake. None of them promoted the idea that not partaking was somehow a better or more Christian course.
Brooklyn Bethel, during my years there, was very pro-alcohol. (Not in official Bethel literature, but within the culture.)
Didn't Rutherford introduce anti-prohibition rhetoric into the literature of the 1920s?
It would be hard to explain a ban on alcohol when Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine.
Still doesn't stop fundies from considering any kind of alcohol as a sin. I got into an arguement with a born-again nut who claimed that the water was turned into grape juice...as was the wine that Jesus and the apostles drank on the last passover.
Mormons are a no alcohol brand of religion as well. Don't know what their beef is with it though. I had some Mormon friends who would get all offended when I orderd a beer/wine at dinner. It wasn't like they were alchoholics and I was unsensitive to their addiction. It's your privilege and right to not order alcohol just as it is my privilege and right to order it. Dumb religions...
But then Mormons are like some Muslims I know who drink alcohol behind the scenes.
Rutherford definitely was no "fundie" and he did say that prohibition was from Satan.
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/history/e1920/rutherford1.htm
But then Mormons are like some Muslims I know who drink alcohol behind the scenes.
The publicly tetolaling Dallas Southern Baptists do this as well. Most of their churches have a division of "drinking" and "non-drinking" members. It has been cynically said that even the non-drinkers have a medicinal bottle or two of whisky under the kitchen sink.
Yes, Blondie, I'm fully aware that the Bible agrees with alcohol in moderation. What I'm getting at is another possible motivation as to why JWs originally agreed with this.
