What-holic?

I like cats - I had several as pets growing up. Mind you, that didn't make me a cat-holic - though I could be called a "small-c catholic" as someone who is part of the one Christian church - divided though it be.

There's one particular division among Christians I've hinted at in a few chapters/blogs that I think it's time to address: alcoholic beverages.

Now, it's true that all parts of Christianity look upon drunkenness as an unvirtuous behaviour not to be expected from a perfect Christian. However, some parts of Christianity have looked down on anything to do with alcohol ever since the mid-19th century, when the temperance movement and Welch's non-alcoholic grape juice both emerged.

An avoidance of alcoholic beverages has Biblical precedent, from Nazirites (including Samson, Samuel and John the Baptist) to the story of the Rechabites in Jeremiah 35:1-11 to various verses in the book of Proverbs that warn against drunkenness, as do Luke 21:34, Romans 13:13 and Galatians 5:20-21.

Certainly, there's no denying the virtuous nature exhibited by those communities that eschew alcoholic beverages. My grandmother belongs to such a community, and to a church where she signed a pledge to abstain from them. My kids also attend a university whose campus is officially dry, and I'm very pleased with the quality of education, culture and social development I see there.

However, the use of wine also has Biblical mandate, from the Passover, to Psalm 104:15 (ESV) that speaks of "wine to gladden the heart of man," to Ecclesiastes 9:7 (ESV) which says, "Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do." Even the Apostle Paul counseled Timothy to "use a little wine for the sake of your stomach." (1 Tim. 5:23 ESV) And, of course, there's the Last Supper, based on the Passover.

Remember: until the invention of pasteurized, non-alcoholic Welch's grape juice, all wine had alcohol in it.

But here's what I consider the most interesting part: in every church that has communion and hasn't switched to using non-alcoholic grape juice, an alcoholic beverage is what becomes (or, for some, symbolizes) the blood of Christ.

Why would God choose an alcoholic beverage to become the very blood of His son? I'm sure one could spend many books conjecturing and drilling down to reasons and historical precedents, but for me, at the end of the day, it's a mystery.

The reason I bring this topic up is that there are many Protestants whom I care about and respect, who reject alcoholic beverages as simply wrong. From what I can tell, it makes more sense to take the journey of learning to treat them with respect, and if in the lives of some that means abstaining, that's fine, as long as it's not accompanied by a judgmental attitude to those who don't abstain.

By taking this conscientious attitude, my tee-totalling Protestant friends and family can be relieved of an important roadblock to accepting those fellow Christians, including most Catholics, who choose to include alcoholic beverages as part of their Christian life journeys.

(Copyright (c) 2011, Reg Harbeck, all rights reserved)