Faithbridge on Alcohol

FYI...
Faithbridge on Alcohol:
1. Scripture never condemns the non-intoxicating consumption of alcohol.
2. The characters of Scripture, including Jesus, partook of alcohol.
3. Scripture does condemn drunkenness (see Luke 21:34; Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:18; 1 Peter 4:3).
4. Alcohol, inappropriately used, can prove damaging to one’s health, one’s safety, one’s job, and one’s family functionality.
5. As followers of Christ, we must ensure that the exercise of our freedom to consume alcohol never becomes “a stumbling block to the weak”. (1 Corinthians 8:9).
6. “The weak” in our cultural context could include:
v Those with a history of or propensity towards intoxication;
v Victims of alcohol-related accidents;
v Relatives of alcoholics;
v Children and under-aged students;
v Bible-belt teetotalers;
v Pre-Christian skeptics who assume alcohol is forbidden and seek to find faults in Christians.
7. Our personal preferences are always of secondary concern to the reputation of Christ, since we have been crucified with Christ and thus no longer live, but rather live by and through Christ indwelling us (Gal. 2:20).
8. Faithbridge, its leaders and Pastor must do everything possible so as to create a safe place for “weak” people, while also preventing any and all potential legal and reputation controversies in a world thick with lawsuits and tabloids.
9. Therefore, we choose to abstain from serving or consuming alcohol at all Faithbridge-related functions, acquiescing to the spirit of the law over the letter of the law, when in doubt.
10. We find no Scriptural basis to prohibit the temperate consumption of alcohol in non-Faithbridge contexts--where circumstances preclude a weak person from stumbling and a Christian from compromising his or her witness for Christ.