If you're a Christian, are you a teetotaller, or do you enjoy a drink now and then?And if you're in the latter category, how does a tipple affect your sense of well-being?
Research out of America seems to suggest that the more religious you are, the more you're likely to turn nasty after a few wines or beers.
American Christians are admittedly a strange lot, with loopy evangelical sects parading as mainline, and huge numbers of true believers convinced that evolution is a Satanic lie. So maybe things are a bit different in more secular parts such as New Zealand and, well, almost everywhere else.
Or maybe not. Judge for yourself.
I drink occasionally. Generally, though, it makes me more affable, more sociable. Drinking never gave me anger management issues, but WCG theology certainly did, at one time in my life. There is an old saying, "In vino veritas." I wonder if some of the drinking Christians to which this post refers aren't simply giving vent to suppressed anger caused by their churches. Picture some of David Pack or Gerald Flurry's people a little too buzzed. Of course, I'm sure there could be other factors involved, as well.
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I drink on rare occasions, but I have vivid memories of what it was like to be part of the culture of the Worldwide Church of God relative to alcohol. As I entered Biloxi, Mississippi to attend the Feast of Tabernacles there one year, I remember seeing a large portable sign (complete with blinking lights) in front of one of the convenience stores. It read: "WELCOME WCOG, WE SELL LIQOUR HERE."
ReplyDeleteYes, the Feast of Booze.
ReplyDeleteThe WCG came from the CoG7D.
The CoG7D discourages alcohol consumption -- many of the old guard ministers are totally against it.
And who knows?
Maybe the REAL reason alcoholic Herbert Armstrong left was because of alcohol issues. We can't really know for sure. One thing is sure, he sure boozed it up and could not live without it. The entire WCG was rife with boozers. It was a society of boozers. People who were born alcoholics without alcohol until they joined up with the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia became full fledge drunks.
People can life without alcohol.
Many cannot live with it.
Christians are better off without it, especially if they are alcoholics to begin with, and especially if they have inherited the anger / warrior genes.
I was fortunate, in that I maintained friendships "in the world", and the result was that some of those friends were of great value in adding balance to my life. There was my fellow salesman, who told me that by the time you even feel high, let alone "drunk", you have already destroyed 10,000 brain cells, the problem being that brain cells do not replenish themselves, and you only have a fixed number to get you through your life. There was another friend who told me that there were very good reasons not to smoke cigarettes other than just the fact that my church forbade it. There was the friend who made me aware that permanent records were kept of each and every one of us, and that there were certain items that could not be expunged from those records, ever.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me today that apparently there were those who left Armstrongism, to whom it never occurred to seek normalcy, balance, or equilibrium. I've encountered some who believe that just because they, too, suffered under Armstrongism, we should allow them to seriously present racist views, antisemitism, bizarre conspiracy theories, and the like, and that this should be treated as if it were reasonable, rational, or normal. Usually, the blogmeisters detect them as kookaboos, and ban them or delete their posts, but I wonder if there is ever any repair for such people.
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Your comments helped to inspire this:
Deletehttp://godcannotbecontained.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-god-of-all-comfort.html
Thanks, Miller. All we can do is to attempt to stimulate introspection. There are always going to be individuals stuck in a rut, and unless something happens to extricate them from it, they are in it to the end of the ride. It's a shame, too. There is something so much better waiting for them, if they will only rise and take control!
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Yep, down at the old VFW club I religiously attended for years and years, there were a lot of old soldiers who had more of a religious problem than a drinking problem...mix the two and it was a volatile situation. You could always tell when it was time to make your exit because it was the same time as the old soldiers switched from 5% beer to 100 proof Wild Turkey. Definitely not a time for members of a biker gang to come strolling in...
ReplyDeleteI once talked to a man who was addicted to brake fluid. He said he could stop anytime he wanted to.
ReplyDeleteBut did too much brake fluid end up warping his rotors?
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