In\u00a0attempts to discuss my beliefs\u00a0with some people in the denominations,\u00a0the issue of alcohol came up (the person I was speaking to brews her own beer).<\/p>\n
Their claim was that Acts 2:13 proves that the new wine was alcoholic, even though I tried to point out that, instead, it was being used as an insult by the mockers.\u00a0 From that belief, they argue that all new wine must be alcoholic, and thus Jesus himself drank.\u00a0 Their other claim was that there was no way that fruit juice would not ferment between harvest and the Passover meal.\u00a0 I know that this is false teaching, but I am not sufficiently versed on this topic to be able to refute such claims.<\/p>\n
I know that as a Christian, our duty is to warn against such topics, but in this specific instance, what information do you have that would refute their claims?<\/p>\n\t
The arguments you mentioned are covered in these two articles.<\/p>\n
You won’t be able to convince a person who refuses truth (II Thessalonians 2:9-12). The argument that new wine means alcoholic is so poor, it is hard to know where to begin. Here is what Albert Barnes said,<\/p>\n
“This word properly means the juice of the grape which distills before a pressure is applied, and called must. It was sweet wine; and hence the word in Greek meaning sweet was given to it. The ancients, it is said, had the art of preserving their new wine with the peculiar flavor before fermentation for a considerable time, and were in the habit of drinking it in the morning. See Horace, Sat. b. ii. iv. Sweet wine, which was probably the same as that mentioned here, is also mentioned in the Old Testament, Isaiah 49:26; Amos 9:13.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: In\u00a0attempts to discuss my beliefs\u00a0with some people in the denominations,\u00a0the issue of alcohol came up (the person I was speaking to brews her own beer). Their claim was that Acts 2:13 proves that the new wine was alcoholic, even though I tried to point out that, instead, it was being used as an insult…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[144,371],"class_list":["post-24157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-acts","tag-alcohol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2687,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-acts-213-15-infer-that-christians-drank-fermented-wine\/","url_meta":{"origin":24157,"position":0},"title":"Does Acts 2:13-15 infer that Christians drank fermented wine?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 26, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There are lots of inferences in the Bible that Christians used fermented wine.\u00a0Acts 2:13-15\u00a0is a case in point. Answer: \"Others mocking said, \"They are full of new wine.\" But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, \"Men of Judea and all who dwell\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20514,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-about-deacons-not-being-given-to-much-wine-doesnt-this-allow-for-a-casual-drink\/","url_meta":{"origin":24157,"position":1},"title":"What about deacons not being given to much wine, doesn’t this allow for a casual drink?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 19, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I really appreciated your \"New Testament Beverages.\" However, how does one answer the question relating to deacons must not be given to much wine? This seems to allow for a casual drink. If this was merely grape juice, should we not ask prospective deacons how much grape juice they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2598,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-the-bible-indicate-that-god-accepts-alcohol\/","url_meta":{"origin":24157,"position":2},"title":"Doesn’t the Bible indicate that God accepts alcohol?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 26, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Doesn't the Scriptures say that God accepts alcohol? It was used for blessings (Genesis 14:18;\u00a027:28;\u00a0Proverbs 3:10). He gave permission to use strong drink (Deuteronomy 14:26). It was used in the drink offering (Exodus 29:41). God made the grape, which would make the wine, which makes man's hearts glad (Psalm\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8408,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-blessing-of-wine-outweigh-its-dangers\/","url_meta":{"origin":24157,"position":3},"title":"Does the blessing of wine outweigh its dangers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 9, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Generally, the Bible condemns drunkenness (in a variety of places) but nowhere condemns wine or alcoholic beverages in total. In fact, the mild exhilaration that comes from moderate imbibing of wine is seen as a blessing of God in several Old Testament passages. Health advisor says alcohol impairs the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1670,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-wrong-with-drinking-so-long-as-it-is-done-in-moderation\/","url_meta":{"origin":24157,"position":4},"title":"What is wrong with drinking, so long as it is done in moderation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 4, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What's wrong with drinking, so long as it is done in moderation? After all Jesus turned water into wine in John 2. The disciples were accused of being drunk in Acts 2, so alcohol must have been in use. Older women were only told not to be given to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55927,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-gospel-sanction-the-use-of-beverage-alcohol-in-different-countries-according-to-local-customs\/","url_meta":{"origin":24157,"position":5},"title":"Does the Gospel Sanction the Use of Beverage Alcohol in Different Countries According to Local Customs?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jim E. Waldron In our approach to the word of God, we must not assume that modern definitions of words are those which are found in the word of God. Words in the Scriptures must be used in the context in which they were used at the time they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24157\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}