Puritan Pub

IN THE NEWS:

Here’s another example of the wicked results of alcohol consumption.

People who drink alcohol are less prone to the sometimes crippling disease called rheumatoid arthritis compared with non-drinkers, according to a Scandinavian study published on Wednesday.

Read the rest here.

In our post 9/11 world, fear has overcome common sense, and hysteria is preferred over Biblical reasoning.  I know our Christian readers already realize this, and are in no need of another example.  However, for the sheer stupidity and tyranny of it, I offer you this news:

A London man was stopped at the airport because his t-shirt, featuring a cartoon robot holding a cartoon gun, was considered a security risk .

Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Here in The Puritan Pub we believe, when it comes to alcohol, that abstinence should be practiced in moderation. Alcohol is a means of grace by which God expresses his love in a drinkable gift. I’m grateful for wine and beer. I’m not as eager to indulge in stronger drink because it shortens the time I may enjoy it. Strong drink is like a chain saw, it’s quick, exciting and if you lose respect for it, it could put you in great danger.

This brings up the topic of how much is too much. Drunkenness is a sin but what about that feeling that is something far less than drunk but certainly has put a thin shield of liquid protection around your perspective - we call this, the buzz.

Is a buzz ok? At first it doesn’t sound nice at all; it’s a colloquialism that implies a party spirit but if you stop and take apart ‘the buzz’ then it’s not as odious as it sounds. What happens in a ‘buzz’? There is an aura of cheer and elation that surrounds you, you become warm and relaxed and touched with joy and pleasure - in a word, you feel glad.

The oft quoted Psalm 104 praises the Creator in verses 14 and 15 saying:

14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

There it is - a wine induced gladness, or we could say in the modern vernacular, ‘wine to help us get a buzz’. It is never ok to avoid our responsibilities but there are times when we just need a little gladness to offset the many matters of consequence.

What is ‘too much’? The measure that I use is an imagined scenario that is something like this: Should there be an emergency, would I be able to safely drive myself or my loved ones to the hospital without a hindrance to my perception. Obviously the effects of alcohol are conditioned by one’s weight and tolerance and how much one has eaten.

The bottom line is, don’t be afraid to feel glad when having a drink, the gladness is the whole point of the potation.

Quaff wisely.

Dr. Luther comments on this article:

“It is possible to tolerate a little elevation, when a man takes a drink or two too much after working hard and when he is feeling low. This must be called a frolic. But to sit day and night, pouring it in and pouring it out again, is piggish… all food is a matter of freedom, even a modest drink for one’s pleasure. If you do not wish to conduct yourself this way, if you are going to go beyond this and be a born pig and guzzle beer and wine, then, if this cannot be stopped by the rulers, you must know that you cannot be saved. For God will not admit such piggish drinkers into the kingdom of heaven [cf. Gal. 5:19-21]… If you are tired and downhearted, take a drink; but this does not mean being a pig and doing nothing but gorging and swilling… You should be moderate and sober; this means that we should not be drunken, though we may be exhilarated.”