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very now and then I tune in to Jimmy Swaggart's network in the interest of seeing what all they have to say. It's usually a waste of my time, but I find it fascinating how many religious organizations teach the exact opposite of what Yahweh's Word says, and since Jimmy Swaggart's ministry is one such example, I occasionally check out what they come up with. So about a month ago I accessed Swaggart's SBN channel[1] and listened to "Frances & Friends."[2] One of the topics Frances and her panel addressed was the issue of whether or not it's okay to consume alcoholic beverages. I hadn't really delved in to that topic for several years, plus I had never composed a study on the topic, but I knew in advance where Jimmy Swaggart Ministries stands: They're vehemently opposed to consuming even a drop of alcohol.

     As I listened with great consternation to their discussion about alcohol, I felt compelled to undertake that topic in this newsletter. It's something I had never written about in over 30 years of addressing various religious topics, so here goes.

     I remember hearing this same abstentious message from a believer named Kent Hovind, who, in one of his pro-creationist presentations, stated, "Blaming guns for killing people is like blaming spoons for Rosie O'Donnell being fat." I don't agree with singling out overweight people with this quote, but it is nevertheless accurate for any overweight person–it's certainly not the spoon's fault we're overweight! It's our inability to control our appetite for food. Nevertheless, if obesity is a problem, some individuals might suggest imposing a ban on spoons. Hovind doesn't understand that this same logic also applies to alcoholic beverages, such as wine. The same quote could be used, but this time substituting "guns" with "wine." Thus, it's a true saying that blaming alcohol for killing people is like blaming spoons for Rosie O'Donnell being fat. And that's precisely the teaching found within the scope of Scripture.

     Anyway, while watching the Jimmy Swaggart network's roundtable talk show "Frances & Friends," a viewer called in asking if it's okay to drink socially because some of her Christian friends had invited her to join them for drinks, which mortified her. She was stunned that there are actually believers who think it's okay to drink alcoholic beverages, and she promptly turned her friends down. A member of the panel, Dr. Don Paul Gray, took the lead on answering the question. He emphatically gave the caller a long-distance pat on the back for turning down the invitation, while emphasizing his conviction that drinking is wrong, and that those who drink alcohol in any form are actually guilty of sin. He didn't cite any specific Bible texts validating his claim; instead, he referred the caller to an article he had written for the network's magazine The Evangelist for more in-depth information about the evil pitfalls of wine.

     Of course, if those who, like me, enjoy an occasional glass of wine, are told to repent from this "sin," Dr. Gray needs to cite a verse of Scripture stating something akin to "Thou shalt not partake of wine or strong drink." As I will demonstrate, the reason he stops short is because there is no verse of Scripture forbidding the consumption of alcoholic beverages. I personally recommend labeling as "sin" that which the Almighty labels as "sin," not what some man with a doctorate affixed to his name says is "sin."

     In life, I have found that balance is an important key to living right. Most of us know that too much of anything is unhealthy. I remember an old friend telling us about an acquaintance who had resolved to only consume carrot juice. His supposedly healthy diet didn't last very long because he eventually died of malnutrition. Carrot juice is very nutritious, but its nutritional value is limited. Our bodies need more than the benefits offered by carrot juice. I mention this fact because I need to lay a foundation that too much wine or any alcoholic beverage is indeed dangerous, especially if you're behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. Wine is vastly different from carrot juice because drinking too much carrot juice might make you sick, but it won't make you drunk.

     And that's the basic message presented within the scope of the Bible, but unjustly distorted by many within Christianity. The fact is, as even the alcoholic beverage manufacturers recommend on their labels, we should all drink responsibly.

     Anyway, I decided to check out Dr. Don Paul Gray's article about drinking alcohol. I found it as a 2-part article in the August and September 2023 issues of The Evangelist. In Part 1, Dr. Gray does the same thing other Christian believers do: He lays out all the negative aspects of alcohol, supplies a laundry list of all the negative Bible verses, then concludes, "The safest way to deal with this is to not drink wine at all."

     With such unbalanced reporting, the average reader would be persuaded that alcohol is downright evil. However, the Apostle Paul disagreed with Dr. Gray, and thus exposed Gray's extreme and unfounded bias. In 1 Timothy 5:23, Paul writes:

23 No longer drink only water, but take a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

     Did Paul counsel against drinking wine? No, he did not. Did he say to drink all you want? Again, no, he did not. Dr. Gray addresses the above verse, but chose to distort Paul's counsel, concluding, "Paul stipulates a little wine for a stomach problem. He is not encouraging social drinking."[3] Whether deliberate or not, Dr. Gray twisted the Apostle Paul's words, stating that Paul suggested the wine for a stomach problem, which is not true. The wine was prescribed for the sake of Timothy's stomach AND his frequent ailments. Paul did not say Timothy had a stomach problem! The wine was recommended as a means of preventing a stomach problem, as well as a means of treating his frequent ailments.

     I would say Dr. Gray jumps to conclusions. Maybe Paul didn't encourage social drinking, but he certainly didn't speak against it. Neither did Yeshua, who stated:

 

19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

 

    

     If you read the above passage in context, you will understand that when Yeshua mentioned "drinking," He wasn't referring to water, He was referring to wine, which is precisely why He was called a "winebibber." Obviously, His opponents were calling Him a winebibber in a smear campaign to maliciously portray Him as a drunkard. He didn't deny drinking, but I'm certain He wasn't a drunkard!

     If Dr. Gray is interested in balance, shouldn't he at least point out that drinking in moderation is Scripturally acceptable? Here's Dr. Gray's concluding advice:

Dear reader, if you partake of alcohol, wine, vodka, or any form of strong drink, then I urge you to turn to God in prayer and sincerely repent. It is wrong, and it will lead to a life of shame, bad health, and regret. Please, turn to God, repent of this sin, and ask God to deliver you from the desire of wine and alcohol. As the great Holy Spirit helped my father years ago, He is ready to help you, and set you free. Dad always clarified, “You have got to hate your sin.” Ask God to cause you to hate the taste of alcohol and wine. By truly repenting and centering your faith totally on the cross and what Jesus did for you there, you can be delivered, saved, and set free to the glory of God and stay free from alcohol and wine.[4]

     The fact of the matter is, nowhere in Scripture do we read that consuming alcohol is a sin. Moreover, nowhere in his article does Dr. Gray present a Scriptural mandate against consuming alcoholic beverages. Instead, he cherry picks the negative verses and ignores the positive ones. For example, he ignores this prophecy from the book of Isaiah:

6 On this mountain Yahweh of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. -- Isaiah 25:6, New Revised Standard Version

     Why would Yahweh make for His people a feast that includes well-aged wines if, in fact, it's a sin to drink wine?

     Certainly, if our lives revolve around getting our next glass of wine, and especially if it leads to drunkenness, there's a problem. So the problem isn't the alcoholic beverage—it's the individual's control, or the lack thereof. But controlling our impulses is a separate issue, which Dr. Gray nevertheless focuses on in the long list of verses he cherry-picked (Leviticus 10:8, Proverbs 20:1, Numbers 6:3, Judges 13:3-5, Proverbs 21:17, Proverbs 23:29-30, Proverbs 31:4-5, Isaiah 28:7, Daniel 1:8, Habakkuk 2:15, Mark 15:23, Luke 1:15, Luke 21:34, Romans 14:21, 1 Corinthians 5:11, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 3:3 and Titus 1:7). I was surprised he glossed over Ephesians 5:18, where Paul counsels believers, "And be not drunk on wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit". None of the verses cited by Dr. Gray, including the above verse from Ephesians, teaches against consuming wine or any alcoholic beverages; some of the verses on which he expounds are actually specified for priests, one is in reference to Samson's mother, one refers to Daniel, another refers to John the Baptist, and one specifically refers to Yeshua while He was on the cross. In summary, Dr. Gray's witch hunt against consuming alcoholic beverages amounts to a case of eisegesis on steroids. My counsel to him is to please don't accuse moderate drinkers of sin when Scripture says no such thing!

     Intriguingly, the very first "proof text" offered by Dr. Gray, Leviticus 10:8, proves the exact opposite of his premise:

8 And Yahweh spake unto Aaron, saying,
9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which Yahweh hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.

     Let's ponder the instructions as presented in the above text. It doesn't say that Aaron and his sons (the priests) weren't to ever drink wine; rather, they weren't to drink wine when they entered into the tabernacle. In other words, in the privacy of their dwellings, they were certainly free to drink wine! What's more, since this command was specifically directed at the priesthood, this means the laity, i.e., non-priests, were exempt from this mandate. That's right, non-priests were free to drink wine at any time. Since they weren't permitted to enter into the tabernacle, they had no restrictions on when to consume wine. They only had cautions about the pitfalls of over-consumption—cautions that are still in place today, e.g., "drink responsibly."

     In his own brief commentary on this passage, Dr. Gray writes, "Isn’t it obvious that God did not want his priests to be intoxicated while fulfilling priestly duties?"[5]

     I would answer yes, it's obvious the Almighty did not want His priests to be intoxicated while fulfilling priestly duties; in fact, I don't think He wants any of us to ever be intoxicated, period. But there's a difference between being intoxicated and having a glass of wine, i.e., not drinking to excess, and that's what everyone, including priests, was permitted to do, so long as they didn't enter the tabernacle. Dr. Gray's interpretation begs the question, "Why didn't Yahweh simply forbid any and all alcohol consumption instead of merely limiting it to when the priests entered the tabernacle?"

     Dr. Gray goes off the rails in Part 2. This is where he offers his private interpretation of John chapter 2, where Yeshua changed the water to wine. Frankly, I think the best example of Yeshua the Messiah's approval of drinking wine is found in this very passage, but, as I suspected he might, Dr. Gray found a way to wrest the plain meaning. The story goes like this: At a wedding feast held in Cana, Yeshua's mother informed Him that they had run out of wine. The ensuing miracle was significant enough that the Apostle John felt was worth the time it took to describe it for us. One might ask, "What is a feast without wine?" I understand some teetotalers will claim the best feasts are non-alcoholic, but that's certainly not the ancient understanding. Discouraging and forbidding alcohol consumption is a modern innovation concocted by prohibition-era church denominations. But back to the story.

     It should be noted that Yeshua instructed the servants to fill six jars with water. These weren't your ordinary jars. Each jar held at least 20 gallons of liquid. That was quite a party! They ran out of wine, but they were soon gifted with 120 or more gallons!

     But the real "kicker," as they say, was when the master of the banquet tasted the newly-created wine. He called the bridegroom aside and commended, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now!" The reason someone throwing a party would choose to serve a superior, high quality wine first, while saving a lesser-quality wine for later, is because the inebriated guests will be too buzzed to notice the difference when they get to round two. But the master of the banquet, who most likely served as a "taste tester" for round one, observed that round two had even better quality than the first.

     Incredibly, I have read commentaries on this miracle wherein the author flat-out teaches that the "wine" could only have been grape juice! They, much like Dr. Gray, expect us to believe the torah-observant Jews would never have allowed alcoholic beverages to touch their lips. Back in the 90's, I had a pleasant letter exchange with late Seventh-Day Adventist scholar, Samuele Bacchiocchi. He was such a sincere and polite man, yet he insisted that the "wine" at the Cana wedding was unfermented grape juice. In his book Wine in the Bible, he concluded, "Scriptural and moral consistency requires that 'the good wine' produced by Christ was fresh, unfermented grape juice."[6]

     If drinking wine is immoral, then that means it's a sin, which in turn means there must be a Torah command against drinking wine. But, as we have already seen, there isn't. And since there is no command to not drink wine, this in turn means its consumption cannot be construed as "unscriptural." Scriptural consistency requires believing that responsible wine consumption is permitted, and even encouraged.

     When it comes to Christian authors' attempts at maligning wine consumption, Part 2 of Dr. Gray's article is the most colorful, yet bizarre, that I have ever read. Here's what he wrote:

Why was the second serving of wine better than the first serving? I believe Christ prayed a prayer that is not recorded in Scripture where He asked His Father to turn the Galilean water into wine. I believe the last serving of wine was not fermented but rather heavenly wine made supernaturally by the HolySpirit to manifest the glory and divinity of Christ. So the attendees and the governor of the feast did not drink oinos (fermented wine) at the second serving, but because of a supernatural miracle from God, they were all drinking heavenly wine produced by the Spirit of God. The new wine in this story was not fermented wine but wine straight from heaven. No Christian should ever use this Scripture to justify their desire to drink wine or strong drink. If you do, you are twisting Scripture to satisfy the lusts of the flesh.[7]

     There's a term for what is going on when someone twists Scripture, then concludes that anyone who disagrees is the one doing the twisting. I think it's called "theological gaslighting." If we choose the balanced approach, we should be able to understand that the reason the master of the wedding feast was so impressed with the second round of wine is because its quality, including its inebriating effects, was better than that of round one.

     It is true that scholars offer mixed interpretations of whether or not the wine from Yeshua's miracle was fermented; it's up to us to filter out the unreasonable in order to determine the reasonable. I appreciate the understanding presented by such scholars as Jamieson, Fausset & Brown's Commentary, the Pulpit Commentary, and Word Studies in the New Testament by Marvin R. Vincent. Here's the conclusion Vincent offers in Volume II of his work:

10. Have well drunk (μεθυσθώσι)
Wyc., be filled. Tynd., be drunk. The A.V. and Tynd. are better than the Rev., when men have drunk freely. The ruler of the feast means that when the palates of the guests have become less sensitive through indulgence, an inferior quality of wine is offered. In every instance of its use in the New Testament the word means intoxication. The attempt of the advocates of the unfermented-wine theory to deny or weaken this sense by citing the well-watered garden (Isa. lviii. 11; Jer. xxxi. 12) scarcely requires comment.[8]

     Anyone familiar with Jewish tradition and history knows that wine forms an integral part of the marriage ceremony. Hayim Halevy Donin, in his book To Be a Jew, writes:

The blessings appropriate for these two parts of the ceremony (kiddushin, [betrothal or sanctification] and nisuin [the marriage]) are said over a cup of wine by those officiating. The bride and the groom drink from the wine.[9]

     Professor Bart Ehrman, though an agnostic atheist, nevertheless offered a cynical, albeit insightful, anecdote about whether or not the wine at the Cana wedding was actually grape juice. In response to the quora.com question "What is the Greek word for the wine Jesus made at the wedding in Cana?" he wrote the following:

It’s OINOS, the regular Greek word for wine. I have a funny story about that. I once was talking to a sincere Christian woman who was certain that Jesus would never sponsor the consumption of alcoholic beverages (he *must* have been a tee-totaler!), and so she told me that the word in John 2 literally meant “new wine,” that is, unfermented wine. Apart from the fact that this is NOT what John says, I’ve always thought that this would make a very peculiar story line. They are at a wedding. Everyone is having a good time. Drinking up a storm. They run out of wine. Jesus takes some jars of water and turns the water into unfermented wine. And the steward then praises the bridegroom for improving the quality of what was on offer: “Most people serve the best wine first, but then when everyone is drunk, they bring out the bad. But you, you’ve saved the best for last. Grape juice! Fantastic!!”

     Ehrman is quite cynical, but his point is well made! Just to be clear: Those who insist that the wine (oinos) served at the Cana wedding celebration was grape juice are either in denial or woefully ignorant of history and Jewish tradition. Their reasoning ability also leaves much to be desired.

     I was raised in a home in which I was taught that drinking alcohol in any form is sinful. I carried this teaching with me through my college days and even into my early 30's. While in college, a Lutheran friend invited me to spend a weekend with him up in the Chicago area. That Sunday, I accompanied him and his parents to their local church, where communion was offered. I drank from the tiny cup and immediately knew this was not grape juice. I remember being angry at my friend because he had made me sin, or so I reasoned at the time. I share this because I am 100% certain I would have argued that Yeshua would NEVER have changed that water into fermented wine! It's super easy to reinterpret the Bible so as to align with previously-indoctrinated beliefs. For me, that indoctrination included believing that drinking alcoholic beverages is wrong, evil and sinful.

     So getting back to Dr. Gray's elaborate concoction that Yeshua prayed to the Father, who converted the water into "heavenly wine straight from heaven": not only is he reading his extreme bias into the text, but he needs to explain why Yeshua needed to pray to the Father for the miracle instead of just doing it on His own. Did Yeshua pray before performing each and every miracle? Did He pray before calming the storm? No. Did He pray before healing the blind and the lame? No. Did He pray before feeding the throng of five thousand with only five loaves of bread and two fish? Yes, but it was for the purpose of giving thanks. Yeshua told His disciples that if they had faith as small as a mustard seed, they could say to a mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would be done. My faith is apparently considerably smaller than a mustard seed, but I'm working on it! So no, Yeshua did not need to pray to His Father to perform any of His miracles, including changing the water into wine.

     There are a couple of verses that Christian commentators frequently omit when expounding on their aversion to fermented wine. The first one is straight from Torah, where believers are plainly given the green light to partake of strong drink at the annual festivals.:

26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before Yahweh thy Elohim, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household ....

     No commentary needs to be added to this verse; wine and any strong drink were, and are, permitted at Yahweh's feasts.

     Whenever a Scriptural controversy arises, I always try to check out the record of history to see how the ancients understood things. It's always gratifying when I find out the ancients had the same understanding of Scripture that I have when I read from the Word. First-century Jewish historian Josephus commented that wine puts an end to quarrels, takes away passion and grief, and makes those who drink it cheerful. Here's what he wrote in his work Antiquities of the Jews:

For he let him know, that the Almighty bestows the fruit of the vine upon men for good: which wine is poured out to him: and is the pledge of fidelity, and mutual confidence among men: and puts an end to their quarrels, takes away passion and grief out of the minds of them that use it; and makes them cheerful.[10]

     When we think of a drink that puts an end to quarrels, takes away passion and grief, and makes those who drink it cheerful, do we think of grape juice or wine? I think we all know the answer by now!

     Another ancient scholar whose writings I often consult is Philo, a first-century Jew who resided in Alexandria, Egypt. Unless I overlooked something pertinent in his writings, Philo has nothing positive to say about wine, only elaborate commentary on its pitfalls. In fact, he devoted an entire treatise to the perils of drinking wine. Nevertheless, I think he, like Dr. Don Paul Gray, unwittingly supplied proof that drinking wine is not sinful, at least not for the lay person or priests in their own dwellings. In his treatise "On Drunkenness," he cited Leviticus 10:8-9, which I have already quoted.[11] It says:

8 And Yahweh spoke to Aaron:
9 Drink no wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons, when you enter the tent of meeting, that you may not die; it is a statute forever throughout your generations.

     I will here reinforce the fact that only the priests who entered the Tabernacle or the Temple were forbidden to drink wine. Moreover, they were only forbidden to drink wine at those times, which, conversely, means they could drink wine on other occasions. And of course, since the lay people did not minister in the Tabernacle or Temple, they had no restrictions on drinking wine—only cautions.

     In my personal life, I enjoy a glass of wine before going to bed. I also enjoy wine on the Sabbath, but not before our Bible studies—always afterwards. From experience, I know many believers who were raised to believe alcohol consumption is a sin will look down their noses at those who share my practice and belief. Thus far, every study I've read from teetotalers is unbalanced—focusing on the pitfalls of over-indulgence, while ignoring the pertinent verses that prove responsible alcohol consumption is not sinful.

 

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[1] SonLife Broadcasting Network (SBN) is an international Christian television network that is owned an operated by Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

[2] "Frances & Friends" is hosted by Frances Swaggart, who is joined by various Bible teachers in a roundtable-type format as they discuss doctrinal questions, current events, etc. They often take live telephone calls from listeners with Bible-related questions.

[3] From The Evangelist magazine, article "Wine Is a Mocker, Strong Drink Is Raging," Part 2, by Dr. Don Paul Gray, September 2023, p. 37.

[4] Ibid.

[5] From The Evangelist magazine, article "Wine Is a Mocker, Strong Drink Is Raging," Part 1, by Dr. Don Paul Gray, August 2023, pp. 36-37.

[6] Samuele Bacchiocchi, Wine in the Bible, Biblical Perspectives, Berrien Springs, MI, 1989, p. 141.

[7] From The Evangelist magazine, article "Wine Is a Mocker, Strong Drink Is Raging," Part 2, by Dr. Don Paul Gray, September 2023, p. 36.

[8] Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. II, by Marvin R. Vincent, D.D., Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, NY, 1902, p. 82.

[9] Hayim Halevy Donin, To Be a Jew, Basic Books, Inc., Publishers, New York, NY, 1972, p. 288.

[10] Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book II, ch 5, § 2.

[11] Cf., Philo of Alexandria, The Works of Philo, "On Drunkenness," ch. XXXII (127), translated by C. D. Yonge, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1993, p. 218,