It is not for kings, O Lemuel – not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer… Proverbs 31:4, New International Version

I currently reside in Quincy, Illinois, a small city which comedian Jeff Foxworthy described as having a “bar and a church on every corner.” Foxworthy wasn’t joking. And it is not uncommon for people to leave one and immediately head for the other.

When it comes to Christians and their attitudes towards alcohol, it would seem that teetotalers are in the minority. Drinking is an accepted and widely practiced part of American culture, even in Christian circles. But regardless of what is culturally acceptable, the Bible is the final authority on the matter. However, uncovering what the Bible says about alcohol consumption by Christians may take more than a cursory review.

One fact must be established up front: God absolutely condemns drunkenness in the strongest terms. Paul listed those who would not “inherit the Kingdom of God,” and among those were “idolaters,” “adulterers,” “homosexual offenders,” “thieves” and “drunkards” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). That definitely is not a club you want to be in. The Apostle also warned the members of the church at Ephesus, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery” (5:18). To Roman believers he wrote, “Let us behave decently … not in orgies and drunkenness” (13:13).

The Old Testament writers share several sobering stories that illustrate the dangers of getting drunk. The Bible first mentions alcohol in Genesis 9, where Noah got drunk and naked. One of Noah’s sons sinned against his father in connection with this incident, and consequently received God’s curse on his life. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, committed incest with his daughters while in a drunken fog (Genesis 19), and Nabal, whose name means “fool,” was described in 1 Samuel 25:36 as being “very drunk.” Not long after, “the LORD struck Nabal and he died” (25:38).

Despite these awful examples, the question still remains: does the Bible condemn drinking in moderation, provided you don’t get hammered?

One often cited passage in support of drinking is the account of how Christ turned water into wine at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-11). Some have assumed that, considering the evaluation of the banquet master in verse 10 (“you have saved the best till now”), Jesus must have turned that water into the first-century equivalent of Dom Perignon.

But those who do make this assumption are guilty of interpreting Scripture through a 21st century lens. While some modern wine enthusiasts may prefer the hard stuff, there is no reason to assume that the wedding guests in Cana would have agreed. Respected Bible commentator Albert Barnes cites several examples of respected ancient writers who equate “good” wine with that which was “innocent,” or had little intoxicating power.

Furthermore, it should be noted that oinos, the Greek word scholars most commonly translated as “wine” in the New Testament, including in John 2, includes every sort of wine, both fresh and fermented. The context of the chapter does not reveal which meaning is intended.

There are other New Testament passages where early Christians drank oinos, and in some cases it is very probable that the word signifies wine with a certain degree of, shall we say, potency. After all, we are discussing a historical period in which modern methods of preservation and refrigeration were unknown. It also should be noted that the Biblical narrative plays out mostly in a Mediterranean climate, where days can be quite warm. Leave fruit juice sitting around too long, and a little fermentation is bound to take place.

The people of Christ’s day weren’t stupid, however. They understood how the fermentation process works, and they had a remedy: the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says societies influenced by Greek culture (included first-century Palestine) had a practice of diluting fermented wine with water to eliminate its intoxicating effects.

This diluted wine was included in the celebration of the Jewish feast of Passover. Ungers Bible Dictionary says that during Passover, “water was also mixed with wine, because it was considered too strong to be drunk alone.” Ungers cites one Jewish source as instructing, “The cup of blessing is not to be blessed, until it is mixed with water.”

Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover, and Christ eventually transformed the feast into the Christian observance of communion, which recalls His broken body and shed blood to atone for the sins of the world. Ungers notes that, as with the celebration of Passover, “in the early Christian church it was usual to mix the sacramental wine with water.” Paul rebuked Corinthian believers who apparently failed to mix enough water with their wine, and were using the communion celebration as an excuse to get drunk (1 Corinthians 11:21).

Some modern-day believers with a conservative bent might be appalled by the notion that Christ or His followers drank any beverage that might have been even slightly alcoholic. But they too are viewing the first-century with a modern mindset.

In the modern world – at least in the West – if you are thirsty, all you have to do is turn on the tap at the kitchen sink and you have access to a practically endless supply of cold, fresh water. Our grocery store shelves overflow with an abundant variety of non-alcoholic drinks. Most of us never will encounter the need to drink anything questionable.

In days of antiquity, this was not the case. A clean, fresh water supply was a valuable resource that was not always readily available. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia notes that some areas of Palestine had to rely on cisterns to collect rainfall. During hot, dry periods, these cisterns would become “so stagnant and filthy that it is not fit to drink.” That left first-century Jews with two beverage choices: water that was a bit iffy, and oinos. It’s not hard to imagine them choosing the latter.

Considering the possibility that early Christians may have consumed alcoholic beverages prompts the question, “Is it okay for 21st century Western believers to add a six-pack to the grocery list?”

If He walked the streets of North America in bodily form today, it is difficult for me to imagine Jesus swinging by the liquor store on His way home from the carpenter shop. For starters, in American culture, drinking and drunkenness are Siamese twins. The vast majority of Americans drinkers are tipping them back for one purpose: they want to get slammed. All those people crowding around the bar on Friday night aren’t there because they love the taste. Country singer Toby Keith expressed their agenda when he sang, “Get Drunk and Be Somebody.”

The bottom line: drinking booze is, for all practical purposes, completely unnecessary in North America. There are plenty of other options with which to hydrate ourselves. Choosing to drink alcohol is the equivalent of playing with fire. Do it long enough, and you’re bound to get burned.

“Refrain from drink which is the source of all evil, and the ruin of half the workmen in this Country…” George Washington