Adventists and Alcohol—Do They Mix?
Why an Adventists Affirm issue devoted to temperance, and to alcohol in particular?
"This is completely unnecessary," some may say. "Adventists are rock-solid against alcohol. Who of our people would want to get involved in that 'dead-end' pursuit?"
Others may hold a different position: "Adventists realize now that we can't defend our historic position from Scripture, and temperance has already died away as any kind of vital, prominent emphasis in the Church. You can't turn back the clock. Why make a big deal of this now?"
Both positions are wrong.
Problem
First, we do have a problem with alcohol.
It once was a policy in our schools that alcohol use would result in expulsion. But today most of our North American colleges have some kind of low-profile counseling program for dealing with alcohol use by students. While we welcome an approach that offers help, its existence testifies to the need for it. Policies cover exceptions, but programs are aimed at more pervasive problems. Alcohol use in our colleges has graduated from rare exception to problem.
The problem reaches beyond the college campus. The Adventist Review (June 1, 1989) reported the results of an extensive survey of North American Adventist adults. One in four young adults (18-29) were listed as using wine, as were one in five "baby boomers" (30-43). Even among those 44-65, wine use approached ten percent.
The survey asked for response to the statement, "In my congregation, using alcohol is socially acceptable." Fourteen percent agreed, with another 4.6% undecided. Comprising nearly twenty percent of the respondents, that is a substantial Adventist window open to alcohol use.
We have not only drinking, but alcoholism. Some of its victims have faces I know well. An older pastor friend of mine was dropped from the ministry when his alcoholism was discovered. A relative endured marriage to an alcoholic longer than many would have. I know others, too. Do Adventists have no problem with alcohol? I've seen too much misery to believe that.
Alive
But neither can we write the epitaph yet for Adventist temperance with its opposition to alcohol. Mark Twain once observed, "Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." So it is with temperance and its Biblical base in the Adventist Church. Undernourished? Yes. A bit weak and listless of late? Apparently. But dead? Outmoded? Museum relic? Far from it!
We believe the articles in this issue of Adventists Affirm will testify both to the need for our temperance emphasis and to its sound basis in Scripture.
Some important questions remain. How did we get into our present condition? And what can we do about it?
Declining Conviction
The increase in Adventist alcohol use correlates, I believe, with a declining conviction that the Bible forbids drinking alcoholic beverages. Where does one hear this Biblical aspect today? From the pulpits? Well, not from some. A student I taught in academy subsequently left his home and the church, becoming both successful in business and an alcoholic. When he "came to himself" and returned, he heard the pastor preach that the Bible did not forbid drinking, but for medical and social reasons it was better not to drink!
The Adventist Review has denounced the scourge of alcohol, supported abstinence, and published helpful articles about recovery from chemical dependency. These are good. But where do we read that the Bible forbids drinking alcohol? Is the church proclaiming that message any more?
If it does not, the results are predictable. In the survey mentioned above, nearly one-third of the respondents did not agree that the Bible forbids all alcohol and drug use. If, as some reason, the Bible has room for moderate drinking, why not find out what I've been missing, just so I don't go overboard on it?
Is it really fun? debonair? chic? Why not have just one or two drinks to be sociable every so often, so I won't feel awkward when the people at the office (or shop, or PTA, or even dorm) invite me along? Warnings about health effects will not be effective here. Without moral conviction, one has no barrier against social pressure, or even ordinary curiosity.
Reasons
Why is conviction lacking? For some, it may simply be lack of instruction or an ongoing struggle with a pre-Adventist practice. But such failings are not new. Why is our problem greater now? If we are not instructing as we once did, why not? Why are we no longer sure about something that Adventists taught and believed strongly for more than a century? We are reading the same Bible (though perhaps not as much today as in years past). Don't the texts say the same thing now as they did then?
Yes, but our method for understanding the Bible has been shifting.
Unity
Adventist principles of interpretation ("hermeneutics" to the theologians) long have included a belief in the unity of Scripture. That is, since all Scripture is inspired by God, one would find an underlying harmony in its various parts. To understand the Bible's teaching on a topic, a person gathered the relevant passages to see what the whole Bible said about the subject. Clear passages (sometimes called "proof texts") were indicative of the teaching of the Bible. Unclear passages often could be clarified in the light of other passages. If there appeared to be conflict, one studied the matter more deeply until the underlying harmony became evident.
So for previous generations of Adventists, Bible statements like "Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler; and whoever is led astray by it is not wise" (Prov 20:1 RSV) were convincing and definitive. If the Bible said, "Do not look at wine when it is red.... At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder" (Prov 23:31-32 RSV), that meant that the Bible prohibited the drinking of alcoholic beverages.
Diversity
But today other hermeneutics are making their way in the church. These often include a belief in the diversity of Scripture. According to this view, the teachings of Scripture reflect the various beliefs and cultural practices of the Bible writers in their own times. While few today would deny that diversity does appear in Scripture, the problem arises when we use the diversity to claim that Scripture, therefore, cannot be clear on the subject in question, that it does not have a unified teaching on the matter. (For a larger discussion of such hermeneutics, see C. Raymond Holmes's review of Slavery, Sabbath, War and Women in the Fall 1989 issue of Adventists Affirm.) Further, a belief in the Bible's supposed fundamental diversity keeps us from probing for unity that may have eluded us at first reading.
So, many Adventists today seem content to say that the Bible's teaching against alcohol is neither consistent nor clear, and they conclude that we cannot defend our abstinence position from the Bible.
Ellen White had no such doubts. "The Lord has given special instructions in His word in reference to the use of wine and strong drink. He has forbidden their use, and enforced His prohibitions with strong warnings and threatenings" (Temperance, p. 42). We as a church need to look again at what Scripture says on this subject. Only thus will we recapture our conviction.
When we can teach with conviction and authority that the Bible calls on us to abstain from any use of intoxicating beverages, and when we understand the moral (not just physical) reasons for abstaining, especially in the earth's last days, we will be able to present our position with courage and convincing passion. Our young people, and the older ones too, will see that responding to "the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philip 3:14) is joyous, uplifting, inspiring! And we will feel anew the conviction that we have a message, and a lifestyle, the world needs.
This is what motivates the issue of Adventists Affirm that you are reading.
The Articles
Our keynote article is by Ernest H. J. Steed, whose leadership and promotion of the temperance cause in the Adventist Church has been unflagging, even during recent lean times. Dr. Steed has served the church in world temperance leadership for 32 years and continues to be active in temperance work in a vigorous retirement. His latest book, Winds of Change (Pacific Press, 1987), is filled with helpful, thought-provoking information and with inspiring reports on the progress and effect of the temperance work in opening doors for the church around the world. His article here sets temperance in its true setting and meaning, often overlooked in the church today.
Because conviction about abstinence from alcohol has been weakening among Adventists lately, we felt we should address the question head-on. To do so, we have drawn from the most thorough study ever done in the Adventist Church (and perhaps, in the modern world) on the question of the Bible's position on alcoholic beverages. Our editorial staff obtained permission from our colleague Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi to excerpt and condense material from his book, Wine in the Bible. Condensation was difficult, because though our pages bulged, the material begged to be left in! We hope we have included enough to convey something of the power and scope of this study. His articles cover the major Biblical material and Ellen White's views on the issue. We feel that the book has such a positive potential, that we have asked Dr. Bacchiocchi to let us offer it to our readers. For details, see p. 66.
Dr. Mercedes Dyer, a frequent contributor to Adventists Affirm, looks at the alcohol problem from her perspective as a counselor and a trainer of counselors. Sometimes people with the clearest convictions and highest principles need to learn how they may cope with specific situations that come their way. Dr. Dyer's article will offer concrete help in learning to deal with the temptations that come from peer pressure.
We also are fulfilling a promise made in the previous issue of Adventists Affirm, to include articles we were unable to fit into that issue. Two of these deal with areas where feminism in our culture has made an impact on the home. Melissa Wallace, no stranger to our readers, asks, "Where Have All the Mothers Gone?" Jerry Wernick looks at the question from the perspective of children and their particular needs. Who can substitute for the absentee parent? Jerry and his wife Linda are experienced Adventist educators who own and operate Tamarack Springs, a private boarding school near Glacier National Park in Montana. Jerry says their work is "an equal partnership." Their experience with young people has given them a keen insight into home needs today.
Our Spring 1989 issue focused on Adventist education. We had hoped to include an article from our world education director, Dr. George Akers, but the article did not reach us in time. We are delighted to publish an updated version now, a penetrating look at the issue of off-campus sports in Adventist schools. The Annual Council took action on this matter last fall, declaring that league play is not compatible with the Adventist philosophy of education. It remains to be seen whether the school administrators will abide by the decision of the world church. We hope they will.
We trust these articles will stimulate you to deeper thought and commitment on these important issues for the church today. May Adventists Affirm their loyalty to their Lord's revealed will!