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Alcohol Today, Alcohol Tomorrow: Are Southern Baptists any closer to agreement?

Six weeks ago, Nicole Kalil wrote an article for the Florida Baptist Witness entitled "Tallahassee pastor tolerant when it comes to alcohol." Kalil profiled Tallahassee's City Church lead pastor, Dean Inserra, concerning his views on alcohol consumption. Kalil framed Inserra's view as him deciding to not make "moderate consumption of alcohol a big deal" leading him to reportedly affirm the Convention's position as unnecessary. "We lose credibility when we force culture issues as absolutes," Inserra reportedly concluded. Since moderately imbibing intoxicating beverages constitutes a "gray area of Scripture," Inserra desires... Read more →

Latest statistics for usage of alcohol, illicit drugs and tobacco

Read but do not enjoy: Alcohol Use among Persons Aged 12 or Older Slightly more than half (52.1 percent) of Americans aged 12 or older reported being current drinkers of alcohol in the 2012 survey, which was similar to the rate in 2011 (51.8 percent). This translates to an estimated 135.5 million current drinkers in 2012. Nearly one quarter (23.0 percent) of persons aged 12 or older in 2012 were binge alcohol users in the 30 days prior to the survey. This translates to about 59.7 million people. The rate... Read more →

English Baptist Charles Spurgeon on Wine at the Lord's Table--'We use unfermented wine at the Tabernacle'

I was looking for something else and stumbled across the little gem below I first posted in 2008. At that time, a lot of guys were ridiculing my moral reluctance toward imbibing intoxicating beverages for either recreation or worship, a reluctance based on moral principles derived from my understanding of biblical teaching and sound moral reasoning. After I posted several pieces on wine and the Bible amongst Southern Baptists I was pointed to a piece written by Trevin Wax on Spurgeon's practice as well as others who claimed Spurgeon loved... Read more →

A Conversation on Gluttony: Part I by Mary England

So here we are at your (fill in state name) convention and as sure as the sun sets in the west someone is going to really show deem ol persnickety teatotelers a thing or two about a thing or two! They are going to go the floor and present a motion on gluttony. Take that you old dudes, you! “If we can’t have our alcohol you can’t have your Golden Corral!” They are gonna pull out the scales and the measuring tapes to show just who the real sinners are... Read more →

John MacArthur takes on evangelical boozers in his latest blog post by Peter Lumpkins

Dr. John MacArthur is not known for literary vagaries or indecisive language. He sports few, if any, words which meet the characteristics of what some dub "weasel words"—slippery little fellows which suck the significance out of a word leaving but an empty hull behind. MacArthur's latest online contribution entitled "Beer, Bohemianism, and True Christian Liberty" does not disappoint >>> With moral courage ablaze, he looks the boozing bunch among the young, restless, and reformed right in the eye and tells them in John-the-Baptist-style, "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance"... Read more →

Jesus and Gin: Evangelicalism, The Roaring Twenties, and Today’s Culture Wars by Barry Hankins: A Brief Booklook by Peter Lumpkins

Dr. Barry Hankins is Professor of History and Church-State Studies and Director of Graduate Studies at Baylor University. His latest book entitled, Jesus and Gin: Evangelicals, the Roaring Twenties, and Today's Culture Wars (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, $26.00) focuses on a single decade of the American experiment, the turbulent 1920s. Or, as the brief period is usually dubbed, “The Roaring 20s.” Quite candidly, I had no idea what to expect when I began reading; before I was finished with chapter one, however, I knew Hankins’ book (heretofore identified as... Read more →

Yoga: A Fatal Flaw for Theological Triage by Peter Lumpkins

Five years ago, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president, Al Mohler, put up a short piece on his blog entitled “A Call for Theological Triage and Christian Maturity,” a piece he probably did not realize at the time would become a hermeneutical shibboleth for some in Southern Baptist circles >>> In the short essay, he suggested doing community theology was like doing emergency room triage: “In recent years, emergency medical personnel have practiced a discipline known as triage–a process that allows trained personnel to make a quick evaluation of relative medical... Read more →

Fat Studies and the Southern Baptist Convention by Peter Lumpkins

Yale University senior, Eve Binder, in an interesting article entitled “Fat Studies Goes to College” writes, “A handful of colleges now offer classes entirely devoted to the overweight and obese.” George Washington University, University of California, Oregon State, and Rutgers are among schools getting in on America’s obesity problem by offering students academic opportunities to study the world’s largest population of fatsos >>> According to Binder, the "sociological study of obesity has been creeping into academia for over a decade, often as a subtopic of Women's Studies or Health Sciences.”... Read more →

Alcohol Today: Abstinence in an Age of Indulgence by Peter Lumpkins

The publication of my book is now complete. Even though the official release date is still June 1st, it is already available online at Barnes & Nobles, Amazon.com, and several Christian bookstores. Soon Hannibal Books will have it up. Also, if one is interested, I have some copies available. You may order here if you like. For those going to the Southern Baptist Convention, I have a scheduled book-signing Monday, June 22, 2009, from 11:00 am until noon at the convention Lifeway store. Dr. Jerry Vines will accompany me. I... Read more →

On Making Water into Wine: Liberating Jesus as The Moderationist Model: Part I

Little doubt exists that the most oft recited reason moderationists offer as evidence that consuming alcoholic beverages in moderate amounts for pleasurable purposes is morally acceptable, lays squarely at the feet of the Founder of Christianity Himself, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, God in human flesh, Jesus Christ. His practice, they say, unmistakably included partaking of alcoholic beverages Himself >>> That the alleged practice of which they speak has a long rich history no one can deny. Even Jesus' own contemporaries uttered a similar observation: "For John the... Read more →

Wine, The Bible & The Believer: Tying Up Loose Ends

I began a series of posts on Wine, The Bible & The Believer in January of this year. For a period of approximately a month and a half, I published nineteen short essays dealing specifically with this issue, mostly because I desired to inject another view that not only dissented from many of the high profile Baptist blogs (so many of which are vocally moderationists), but also represented what I believe to be the majority of grassroots Southern Baptists >>> Admittedly, Nathan Finn nudged me toward cranking out the remainder... Read more →

Wisdom & Drinking Wine: A Brief Exposition of Solomon's Proverbs: Part 4: An Extended Metaphor Based on Proverbs 9: 1-6

Village streets fill with Wisdom's Virgins. Joyously go they forth with Wisdom's purpose, fully armed with Wisdom's plea. Scattered throughout the city, crowds appear. Curious minds inquire what the commotion must be. It is rumored an invitation is offered >>> From each direction young women hail to those far and hail to those near. Calling to the highest place but even to the lowest, the Virgins' voice, as one heavenly chorus, is direct yet clear: "Come to the house of seven pillars, come you to dine and drink, Come to... Read more →

Wisdom & Drinking Wine: A Brief Exposition of Solomon's Proverbs: Part 3

Perhaps the most familiar text concerning wine in the Old Testament, at least in the Wisdom literature, is Proverbs 23.29-35. Following is the entire passage in the NASB: >>> "29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? 30Those who linger long over wine [yayin], Those who go to taste mixed wine [mimsak]. 31Do not look on the wine [yayin] when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly; 32At the... Read more →

Wisdom & Drinking Wine: A Brief Exposition of Solomon's Proverbs: Part 2

In part one of this exposition of Solomon's Proverbs pertaining to wine, we noted two Hebrew words unevenly employed: tiros, used one time only in Proverbs (3.10), which, after an extended survey of its possible roots in other Semitic languages in cultures surrounding ancient Israel, Dr. Teachout concludes that "its sole usage [elsewhere] fits very well with the uniform Hebrew usage of tiros as a harvest commodity." (Teachout, p146). His analysis moves him to summarize: >>> 1) Tiros uniformly refers to fresh, pure grape juice 2) Tiros is the one... Read more →

Wisdom & Drinking Wine: A Brief Exposition of Solomon's Proverbs: Part One

The series on Wine, the Bible and the Believer has very honestly been a satisfying piece of work. Not that I’m speaking of my own personal contribution. Instead, I’m satisfied with the engagement it has solicited both here and elsewhere >>> I spent a little time at one site where a snippet of what I posted here became fodder for their own engine to run. And, run it did--unfortunately, on a few missing cylinders. Their meager attempt at being ’philosophical’ rather than dealing in a straight-forward manner with the issue... Read more →

Eliaphet Nott's First Shot: Wine in the Hebrew Bible

Eliphalet Nott, whom I introduced earlier in this series, offered in his major contribution to a theology of wine, an extended discussion on a Biblical understanding of wine. And, while Mr. Nott dealt with wine in both Old and New Testaments as well as what he dubbed "An Inquiry Extended to Profane Writers" (Lecture IV), we must be content to take in only sections, so to speak, in order to avoid information overload. A note about the documentation for this essay on Nott's theology of wine is surely in order.... Read more →

A Baptist's View of Wine: Laying a Foundation

Eliphalet Nott was born June 25, 1773 in Ashford, CT to a farming family. Not content to work by the sweat of his brow, the young Nott excelled in studies beyond anyone's wildest dreams. In 1795, he enrolled at Brown University (known then as Rhode Island College). He impressed the faculty so much on the entrance exam, he actually qualified for the B.A. degree. Due to policy strictures, he could not receive the honors, however. Working around the policy, the faculty prepared yet another exam which he passed. Consequently, the... Read more →

Wine, the Bible and Baptist Bloggers: Old Views in New Skins

Between now and the 2008 Southern Baptist Convention in June, I am assembling resources for a series I offer on an alternative view of alcoholic beverages. The view I propose is surely not unique to me. Admittedly, it may be the minority view among blogging Baptists. I want also to say that I offer this series not as a rallying point nor even less a point over which we must fuss and fight. I said elsewhere I honestly did not think I'd live long enough to see Southern Baptists arguing... Read more →

Spurgeon on Wine in the Lord's Supper: Take Two

Below is another letter by the deinfatigable Spurgeon (source same as prior post, p. 135): A question having been raised, in The Christian Commonwealth, as to the wine used at the communion services at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Mr. Spurgeon wrote to the Editor as follows: Westwood, June 20, 1887. Dear Sir, We use Frank Wright’s unfermented wine at the Tabernacle, and have never used any other unfermented wine. I am given to understand that some of the so-called unfermented wine has in it a considerable amount of alcohol; but Mr.... Read more →