Disclosure: I’m not a drunk. I never have been one and don’t intend on ever becoming one.

Confession: I like single malt scotch whiskey from the lowlands when it is cold. I like Brooklyn Lager when it is hot. And I love the entire wine process from grape harvesting to desert sampling. I don’t drink to get drunk. I don’t drink and drive. I don’t condone drunkedness. But I don’t live in a glass house either.

Challenge: Next time you’re in a church service, fold a paper airplane out of the bulletin, chuck it forwards, and chances are you’ll hit someone who thinks at least one of the activities above are sinful.

Problem: None of them are expressly prohibited by anything in the Bible, unless spoken out of context or with grammatical trickery. That’s one of the big struggles with being a Christian in a society two millennia removed from the time the last of our scriptures were written—all the gray areas.

I have a degree from seminary and I just don’t remember studying the verses where Jesus said, “Disciples, don’t drink alcohol.” He never told any parables about the effects of sexually suggestive lyrics on his followers. He never chastised the Pharisees for spending too much time playing Wii bowling. He was, however, quite clear on things like adultery and divorce. And he really got pretty ticked off when the religious chosen folk passed judgment on those who didn’t live up to their societal and religious rules.

When Jesus walked the earth, the people who most upset him were the Pharisees because they focused on their petty, pseudo-religious rules while losing sight of loving God and loving people. We are pretty guilty of the same thing even today. Lots of the “rules” of our comfortable Christian subculture are based more on tradition than the Bible. They have more to do with the notion of separating ourselves from the world than being made in the image of Christ. And how significant is it that this attitude of separation places great emphasis on issues of outward appearance (alcohol, smoking, tattoos, media) and not others (consumerism, gluttony, greed)?

Which brings it all back around. Why all the whining about wining? If you are like me (raised Southern Baptist) we are taught that the Bible is clear in its prohibition of alcoholic beverages. Yet others believe Scripture doesn’t disallow it, but feel it’s best in today’s society to abstain. And still there are others who think there is absolutely nothing wrong with drinking, while recognizing that drunkenness is very much a sinful act. Which is right though?

So what is your initial thought on this? I have some more ideas including the popular “wine in Jesus’ day was more like grape water” to the nearly 50 times wine is mentioned in the Bible. I want to continue on that in future days but I am really interested to see where we all stand right now on the issue.