Non-Alcoholic Beer

[Cosmin M.]

Is there a problem with that kind of beer as Adventists? I just want to know yalls opinion.

[GreatLakesGramma]

If it tastes like real beer, why on earth would anyone WANT to drink it?

[Bravus]

You mean, in that it's like veggie meat - evidence that tends to suggest the Christian life is a pale imitation of the real thing?

(read carefully and comprehend before flaming, please)

[Dr. Shane]

I don't see any problem with non-alcoholic beer - and I am a recovered alcoholic. In fact, as a member of the American Legion, I normally drink non-alcoholic beer when at the Legion.

Beer is an acquired taste. Once a person acquires the taste they enjoy drinking it. Many normal social drinkers do not drink to get drunk. In fact, many will stop off at the bar and drink one beer over the course of 45 minutes to an hour. That is about the same rate the body burns the amount of alcohol in a normal beer. So they are not drinking enough to even feel the effects of the alcohol. Of course, to my alcoholic mind, that is what I call foolish drinking. I mean, when I drank I drank to get drunk. To me social drinking is like making love but not arriving to climax. What is the point of that? But drinking non-alcoholic beer is just to relax and enjoy the beverage. I have no problem with that.

Now if we want to talk about veggie meat - now I have a problem with a lot of those things.

[phkrause]

I do agree with you dgrimm. But in saying that I believe that its not wrong to drink them. I personally don't care for beer so I would not look for something like non-alcoholic beverages. I much more prefer water over all other drinks.

pk

[Cosmin M.]

Well what if the person, like Shane, is new to the religion and he has been drinking beer all his life? It is not going to be easy to stop. So what if he just starts to drink non-alcoholic beer instead? Would that be okay?

[Cosmin M.]

One question, Didn't Jesus drink wine? I don't mean this as 'He drank it daily'.

[phkrause]

And besides dgrimm there are many weak christians.

pk

[guibox]

The whole issue with 'beer' and other drinks is the ALCOHOL.

THAT and not the barley, hops, yeast or taste is the moral issue if there is to be one.

If you take away the alcohol, you are left with another beverage to drink.

Plain and simple.

There is no 'evil' to abstain from.

If there is a problem with non-alcoholic beer then there should be a problem with meat substitutes like grillers, fri-chik and stripples.

Come on people. Let's follow Paul's advice in Romans 14 and that the kingdom of God isn't about quibbling over meat and drink.

[guibox]

HEY GUIBOX

why did GOD list certain animals---birds---sea creature---

in LEV Chap 11 vers 3 through ver 20

why would GOD say not to eat these animals---birds---sea

creatures.... also we are not to touch the carcasses and the

carcasses are an abomination to us.....

also the text in 1 THESS chap 5 ver 22 which says

" Abstain from all forms of evil"

[John317]

One question, Didn't Jesus drink wine? I don't mean this as 'He drank it daily'.

In Jesus' day "wine" could be alcoholic or non-alcoholic. I believe the evidence is that he drank unfermented wine, which today we call grape juice, etc.

He said he would drink it again in His Father's kingdom after the Second Coming (Matt. 26: 29). That certainly would not be the kind of wine that would make people drunk.

John 2: 6 says Jesus made about 130 gallons of wine. If that was alcoholic, that would mean Jesus helped people get high and even get drunk. I have a problem with the sinless Son of God drinking alcohol and encouraging others to drink it, because the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the Bible to counsel against getting drunk.

I used to drink not too many years ago, and I found that I got "high" and then was drunk before I knew it because I didn't always stop when I should have.

There's a good book called Wine In the Bible which can be read online: http://www.scribd.com/doc/7818027/Wine-in-the-Bible-unabridged-by-Samuele-Bacchiocchi

It's written by a wonderful Bible scholar from Italy (land of wine!) and he looks carefully at every Bible verse dealing with the topic.

[Woody]

I'm sorry dgrimm ... but I must disagree with you. If something like this would cause someone to stumble ... then they were a disaster waiting to happen and would stumble no matter what you did. We are not suppose to look at others ... we are to look at Christ.

[GreatLakesGramma]

You mean, in that it's like veggie meat - evidence that tends to suggest the Christian life is a pale imitation of the real thing?

(read carefully and comprehend before flaming, please)

Good point, Bravus, though that wasn't what I had in mind when I said that. Beer tastes nasty. So if you aren't going to drink it for the intoxication, why would you want to drink it at all? The only reason anyone would think it tastes good is because they've acquired the taste.

And aside from the very valid point you've made regarding veggie meats, there is another problem with veggie meat - most of them are made of chemically altered proteins, which is not a bit healthy. Instead of making substitutions for harmful foods, and eating just like the world, we should train our palates to enjoy natural, healthy, whole foods, as God made them for our enjoyment.

[Cosmin M.]

@GreatLakesGramma

EXACTLY.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

dgrimm60 said:

Quote:

even if you are drinking non alcoholic drinks in a bottle

that looks like a alcoholic bottle non S.D.A. and even S.D.A.

people may wonder what you are doing??? making it a

possible stumbling block....

I gotta agree with you here, dgrimm60

[Cosmin M.]

Then take the non-alc. beer and put it ina water bottle or something!

[Cosmin M.]

*then it would look like pee* lol.

[GreatLakesGramma]

I don't agree with you, Redwood. When someone comes into the church and wants to know and do God's will, they may not know how to study the Bible and find out for themselves. They are just baby Christians. They will look at church members to learn how it's done. And if they see church members regularly doing things that they were told, when studying with the pastor before baptism, that Christians should not do, it can be very confusing.

[Cosmin M.]

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I don't agree with you, Redwood. When someone comes into the church and wants to know and do God's will, they may not know how to study the Bible and find out for themselves. They are just baby Christians. They will look at church members to learn how it's done. And if they see church members regularly doing things that they were told, when studying with the pastor before baptism, that Christians should not do, it can be very confusing.

Thank you for stating that so succinctly, Catherine. It's what I wanted to say, but didn't know how to say it.

[Cosmin M.]

[GreatLakesGramma]

Also, people who become sincerely interested in our teachings, by acquaintance with a church member, if they learn that our doctrines prohibit certain things, and the person that caused them to become interested is doing questionable things, that could kill their interest before it has a chance to bring them to the point where they would learn to follow Jesus instead of man. If they really want their lives to be different, and they find that professing Adventists seem to be no different than everyone else around them, they will look elsewhere for the answer they are seeking.

[Cosmin M.]

Or.... they could be introduced to Jesus and gradually over time be able to quit his worldy habits.

[GreatLakesGramma]

Pam, I said that because I did come into the church not knowing how to study the Bible for myself. The only studying I had done was through prepared lessons. And I did look to those already in the church for an example of how it was done. And I was confused. And it did cause problems for me.

Thank God, I didn't leave, because I was totally convinced that the Adventist doctrines were truth. But I did not trust that my fellow Adventists were genuine Christians.

[Neil D]

You're not.....