If you haven't read the controversial article by Michael Gungor that everyone is sounding off about, here is the link...
http://gungormusic.com/#!/2011/11/zombies-wine-and-christian-music/#disqus_thread
I may be opening Pandora's box here, but this blog seems to be a little bit misguided in regards to the issue of alcohol. The Bible is quite clear on drunkenness ( Proverbs 23:31-32, Proverbs 20:1, Isaiah 5:11, 22, 1 Peter 4:3, Ephesians 5:18 ), but not so clear on "buzzed" drinking or "social" drinking. But the 2 issues I have are much bigger than this.
ONE...why are we encouraging people to drink alcohol? For some, 1 or 2 drinks gets them drunk. For some, 1 or 2 drinks is a slippery slope that leads to abuse of themselves and/or the people close to them. If we are to "glorify God in all that we do," I just struggle to see how drinking a beer at a bar pushes someone closer to God. If anything I would say it would confuse the unbeliever. We are to be "IN the world but not OF it"...we do not need to be as much like the world as possible in order to rope them into the kingdom of God!
TWO...say 1 or 2 drinks doesn't get someone drunk, just "buzzed"...why are we encouraging people to flirt with the edge of sin? Why dance on the edge of a cliff? What if we applied this principle to the issue of sex before marriage, another issue the Bible is quite clear on. Would we encourage soon-to-be-married couples to engage in sexual promiscuity that is not actual sex? No, that would simply be ill-advised. If a particular issue is not black and white, why not just avoid it all together! Being a leader in ministry is even more reason to be on the safe side, to set the tone for those around us.
Also, Gungor mentions a comparison with eating and gluttony. The main difference here is that eating is a necessity for sustaining human life. Alcohol has little or no value in the human body. If anything it dehydrates many internal systems. I am not condemning Gungor, or even mad or angry at him, I just believe there needs to be a higher standard, especially for those in ministry leading the church.
