Consumption of intoxicating alcohol is sinful in Christianity. In this regard, it is important to note that although wine has been mentioned severally in the bible, it is not the intoxicated one. It is non-alcoholic (grape juice), which cannot make somebody to be drunk. For instance, in the Galilee case where Jesus changed water into wine, it is believed that the drink was commonly used as part of the meal and could not cause drunkenness. In fact, during the marriage feast nobody got drunk to result in weird scenes, as experienced in common drinking points (John 2:1-10). Moreover, in Timothy 5:23, such kind of wine could be used to quench one’s stomach to avoid dysentery due to water contamination.
For intoxicating wine, it has been noted that it is always associated with evil and therefore, it mocks and deceives human being (1 Proverb 20:1). In Proverbs 23:31-32 God likens it to a serpent that bites and to an adder that stings. In Leviticus 10:9-10, a priest was awarded death penalty after he had drunk a lot of it before he entered the Tabernacle. Moreover, some priests erred in judging and envisioning because of intoxicating wine (McPherson, 2014). In these few cases, one can note that it is alcohol itself that is condemned, regardless of the amount.
Tobacco smoking has been established emphatically to be sinful. Although the bible does not address directly the question of cigarette smoking, it can be answered from general explanations from its verses. Firstly, by First Corinthians 6:19-20, God says that nobody should misuse his body because it is the temple of the Holy Spirit and does not belong to him. Tobacco has been noted to cause many harmful conditions including cancer due to harmful nicotine. Tobacco smoking normally spread due to individuals’ lusts of their bodies. According to Roman (8:13-14), an individual should be prepared to tell lusts of his body, without flipping. Therefore, smoking tobacco constitute one promoting himself to the status of faithlessness (Wils, 2014).
References
McPherson, I. (2014).Did Jesus Make Alcoholic Wine?. Church of Christ. Retrieved on 16 June
2014 from http://www.churchofchrist.com.au/Tracts/Jesus%20Wine.htm
Wils, D. (2014).Why Cigarette Smoking is Not a Sin for Others. Just a Sin for You.
Dougwils.com. Retrieved on 16 June 2014 from http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/why-cigarette-smoking-is-not-a-sin-for-others-just-a-sin-for-you.html
