What Would Jesus Drink

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What would Jesus drink? As every new generation arrives at the age of majority, the question is asked again. For the sincere follower of Jesus, the answer is not as easy to find as one might expect.

Was Jesus really the miraculous bartender by creating wine at a wedding, as some have said? Did Jesus really drink wine at the Last Supper? Was the wine in the Bible really grape juice? Is drinking wine, beer or liquor a sin, or just a personal preference? Should a Christian abstain anyway, even if it’s not a sin?

I decided to dig deeper, to find every verse in the Bible that touched on this topic, and figure it out. I set aside any sermons I might have heard, any personal history, any personal preference, and began a search for the truth, committed to following it wherever it might lead.

This book is a quick-read, a chronicle of that search and my conclusions. For those who also want to take the time to dig deeper, at the end of the book I include a list of all 247 verses in the Bible that refer to wine and strong drink so you can easily read them for yourself and go read them in context like I did. I also include a bibliography of other books on the topic, most of which disagree with my conclusions.

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Here’s what some of the folks who have read it said about it:

I can’t give Brad enough credit for all his hard work on finding the truth within this touchy subject matter. His research has been painstaking, and I’d encourage everyone to explore his work. –J. Wilson, Brewvana.WordPress.com, Author of Diary of a Part-Time Monk

The expert of all experts, Brad Whittington, a conservative Christian oenophile has made an astoundingly exhaustive study of every alcohol reference in Scripture. –A.J. Jacobs, AJJAcobs.com, Author of The Know-It-All, The Year of Living Biblically, and My Life as an Experiment

This comprehensive survey of the Biblical teaching on alcohol use is a must-have resource. Top notch. Distribute widely please. –Michael Spencer, InternetMonk.com, Author of Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality

Thorough, balanced and fair, this small book will serve as a reference for Christians who want to know exactly what the Bible says about wine and strong drink. By organizing and analyzing every scriptural mention of the topic, Brad Whittington equips and encourages believers to go beyond contemporary cultural influences to draw Biblically based conclusions. Highly recommended. -Kathy Tyers, Author of The Annotated Firebird, Shivering World and other novels

Brad Whittington sheds the bonds of legalism and enlightens his readers, not with his own thoughts, but with the scripture. Let’s all raise a glass in good conscience and celebrate one of God’s most misunderstood blessings! -Bryon Turner, founder of CTBeerTrail.net and HomeBrewBeer.net

It’s amazing to me how often Christians form their convictions about alcohol based on culture, family history, or in reaction to someone else’s position. Brad Whittington gets his conviction from somewhere else: a staggeringly thorough study of every verse in the Bible that mentions alcohol. His book is a must read for teetotalers and frat boys alike. – Noel Heikkinen, JustNoel.com, Pastor, Riverview Church

Very enlightening research with timely and balanced information concerning the way in which a Christian should handle the issue of alcohol use. On-target concerning this issue. –Matt Layton, OnceInAGreatWhile.BlogSpot.com

This is an article that you and all of your Christian friends should read. –Theological Persiflage, PersiflageThis.BlogSpot.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Introduction
    • Sobering Statistics
    • Mixed Messages
    • Digging Deeper
  2. Culture or Scripture?
    • Reading with an Agenda
    • Getting Down To It
  3. Analysis of Scriptural References to Alcohol
    • Summary of References to Wine in Scripture
    • Positive References to Wine in Scripture
    • Neutral References to Wine in Scripture
    • Negative References to Wine in Scripture
    • The Weaker Brother
    • Analysis of Scripture: Conclusions
  4. The Example of Jesus
    • Was It Really Wine?
    • What Happened at the Wedding at Cana?
    • Was Jesus a Drunkard?
    • What About the Lord’s Supper?
    • The Example of Jesus: Conclusion
  5. Alcohol and the Conservative Christian Sub-culture
    • Church History
    • But Things Are Different Now
    • Other Social Problems
  6. The Law of Love
    • The Alcoholic
    • Abstaining for the Sake of Others
    • The Pharisee
  7. Alcohol and the Bible: conclusion
  8. Postscript