It condemns drunkenness and being enslaved to wine (Ephesians 5:18 Titus 2:3), but it never says that tee-totaling is the better way to obey God. But what was once considered the nectar of heaven was later condemned as the devil’s libation.Įven though some Christians advocate for the total abstinence of alcohol as a moral mandate for all believers, the Bible never requires all believers to abstain from alcohol. From Bordeaux to Berlin, wine and beer have always been part of church tradition. And the Guinness family created their renowned Irish Stout as an act of worship to Jesus. Martin Luther’s wife was a famed brewer of beer, which certainly won Martin’s heart.

John Calvin had a stipend of 250 gallons of wine per year written into his church contract. Throughout Christian history, alcohol was rarely a taboo as it is in some circles today. student studying the Scriptures in a malted sanctuary where late medieval Bible college students once clapped mugs together in an act of worship.

And here I was, a post-fundamentalist Ph.D. In the brewery, monks brewed vast quantities of Scottish ale, which was served by the liter at mealtimes. Aberdeen was founded in the 15th century and used to train monks for ministry. Intrigued by the name, I later found out that it reflected the building’s original function. “It looks like you’re in The Old Brewery.” “Here are your keys,” muttered the secretary when I arrived to pick up the keys to my office at Aberdeen University, where I would be studying for my doctorate in theology.

Truth or drink sin