Results 1 - 5 of 5
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | What is 'the fruit of the vine'? | Matt 26:29 | Hank | 34659 | ||
Good post, Raven! No one yet has even been able to define what they really mean by the word "moderation" when they apply it to the volume of alcohol that is "safe" to consume. I have known many people who said they were moderate drinkers, and I have seen many of these same people get as drunk as fiddlers on a regular basis. There is a wide amount of pretense, denial, and refusal to look squarely at the facts to be found among drinkers and proponents of drinking. They are either ignorant of or simply choose to ignore the darker sides of alcohol consumption: the carnage on our highways, the broken homes and orphaned children, the serious health damage, the economic losses, the pain and misery inflicted upon both the user of alcohol and his friends and family. The pat answer always is, "Oh, but you are talking about the abuse of alcohol, not the use of it." But those who take this position are at a loss to define the line at which use becomes abuse. And perhaps the crucial question we should ask (and especially Christians) is not, "How much alcohol consumption is moderate and "safe"? but "Why do I feel I want to drink, or indeed need to drink, in the first place? For Christians in particular, is there truly a void in our lives that we need to fill with alcohol? If there is, that Christian had better get alone with God and do serious business with Him! --Hank | ||||||
2 | What is 'the fruit of the vine'? | Matt 26:29 | Brian.g | 34668 | ||
Hank I'm going to have to disagree with you a bit on this one. Anything done or consumed to an excess is dangerous. But, most men have common sense and they are able to reason. Because something has the potential to be dangerous doesn't justify staying away from it - even food in excess can be dangerous, driving a car in excess of safe speeds and so on. There are always exceptions to everything. There are people who abuse all things. But, that doesn't mean we lock up the world. We teach our children, the best we can, to be responsible. As with all things involving people, sometimes they learn and sometimes they don't. Very simply, Jesus would not have made wine if it was wrong, because Jesus did not do wrong things - wrong for Himself or wrong for others. By making the wine, Jesus encouraged/accepted/approved the use of it, not the abuse of it. Jesus recognized that man does have free will to decide. (John 2:1-10) Brian |
||||||
3 | What is 'the fruit of the vine'? | Matt 26:29 | Hank | 34684 | ||
My dear Brian, to disagree with me makes you neither a hopeless degenerate nor places your name on my hit list! You say that "most men have common sense, and they are able to reason." You may find that to be true in your area, but in my neck of the woods common sense is not so common, and reason is all too frequently overshadowed by whim, caprice, passion, appetite, and political correctness. In your last statement, citing John 2:1-10, you said, "Jesus recognized that man does have free will to decide." Brian, not trying to be contentious, I don't see the link between your statement and the Scripture passage you referenced. While I don't necessarily refute your statement, as you used it in this context, that Jesus recognizes that man does have free will to decide, try telling that to the five-point Calvinists! --Hank | ||||||
4 | What is 'the fruit of the vine'? | Matt 26:29 | Brian.g | 34692 | ||
Hank I was hoping the common sense people were in your area, some days I have trouble finding them out by me. I put the John 2 in the wrong area (I edited wrong), it should have been put in the paragraph about Jesus making wine. Sorry. As far as free will and Calvinist, not today - I don't have the energy, I'm tired. By the way, I have also seen many lives destroyed by the bottle. There are no words to describe the human destruction and pain it causes. I have to tell you something. When I was growing up, our neighbor was a Baptist minister. He and I spent quite a bit of time talking. He was a good man, I had a great deal of respect for him, and I wish my children could have known him. I see a lot of him, in your posts. Brian |
||||||
5 | What is 'the fruit of the vine'? | Matt 26:29 | Hank | 34694 | ||
Brian, your exceeding kindness is eclipsed only by your extravagant flattery! Truth to tell, there is no one besides you with whom I enjoy more the civil exchange of ideas and viewpoints. You are truly a fine example of gentleness and grace and I commend your posts to the attention of some of our less tactful brothers and sisters, including myself, who would do well to follow in the good pattern that you so many times have illustrated amply to this forum. --Hank | ||||||