For example, take an extreme liberal.  Liberals generally believe in large government to solve social issues.  They will endorse government regulations and increased government power.  They will do this for a number of reasons, but one common one I hear is regulation of large corporations to prevent exploitation of workers, the community, the environment, consumers and so forth.  Government then is considered a tool by the people to prevent wealth and powerful corporations from becoming too powerful and corrupt.  Powerful corporations are considered “bad” by extreme liberals because they can then use that power to exploit the people in various ways such as paying unlivable wages or dumping toxic waste near a residential area.   Corporations are also very bureaucratic and deceitful and therefore will not hear the complaints of their various stakeholders–employees, shareholders, consumers and so forth.  They will be slow to take corrections in matters such as public health or welfare until it is deemed profitable or legally necessary.

There is definitely some truth to this but there is a core problem with this philosophy.  Namely by expanding government power to “check” large corporations and their corruption, bureaucracy and deceit, they create a government that in fact acts just like a large corporation.  Government and politicians are incredibly bureaucratic, much like large private businesses.  They practice a fair amount of spin and ideological manipulation just as corporations do and are just as susceptivle corruption.  Worse, they do not have financial incentives the way a business does to become more efficient.  Where a corporation must make money at some point in order to survive, the american government can literally print its own money or increase taxes and borrowing against the future from foreign lenders.

Ironically, conservatives have a similar problem.  They are generally anti-government for exactly the above reasons, and are often pro-business to the extreme.  The problem with their view is that without SOME sort of government regulation, corporations take over, eliminate competition and fair trade through monopoly and aggressive tactics with vendors and partners  and actually use the government itself through lobbying to protect their interests.   While corporations have some monetary incentive to be efficient in a way the government doesn’t, they are not necessarily beholden directly to the public, because their leaders are not elected by the citizens, but by shareholders.  They also can practice exactly the same level of deceipt through advertising and media relations as the government.  They don’t even have to produce good products in order to survive–merely profitable ones that may be cheaply made, over-hyped or even unsafe.

Similarly, both groups will claim to be defenders of liberty.  Ironically, both fail here as well, just in different ways.  Liberals will strive for personal liberty, such as on issues of private drug use, abortion, religion in public schools, and so forth.  However, they will often vote in ways that gives the government more power to control people’s personal lives, so that it can solve problems such as poverty and health issues.  Liberalism also tends to dampen business interests through higher taxes and regulation, which doesn’t just affect large corporations  but small businesses and individual entrepreneurs as well.

Similarly, conservatives will vote to defend things like family values and strong defense, but in doing so they will curtail individual freedoms.  Allowing the government to define marriage, imprison people through the patriot act and control medical practices by outlawing abortion or medical marijuana also gives the government more interference in businesses and individual choices.

It seems that any level of extremism tends to be self-contradictory.

One of my biggest problems with many organized religions is that they love to take scripture out of context, or twist it to something that suits their own personal beliefs or values, regardless of what the scripture actually says.

One argument you hear a lot from Church of Christ preachers is “Jesus did NOT turn water into WINE.  He turned it into GRAPE JUICE.”  In other words, it is a translation error.  Now remember, these are the same people who will argue with you that the Bible has no errors.

So this guy, Don Blackwell decided to take a similar, but just as illogical approach, by saying that the word “drunk” in the bible actually means “starting to drink”.  He even quotes translations of the Hebrew words original meanings.  Now, I for one will tell you, the Bible is a difficult book to translate, because Hebrew words generally have many meanings for the same word.  For example, Heaven, Sky and Cloud are all the same word in Hebrew.  When the Bible says “We will meet him in the heavens.”  It could actually mean meet on earth, meet in the stars, meet in literal heaven, or meet in the clouds/sky.”  Which one do you think it means?  The good news is that this man can not possibly be correct on his translations from Hebrew, as the same word that describes Noah being drunk is the same word that is used when Jesus is drinking wine.  You do the math.

Now, let’s give him that one and say for the sake of argument he has a point.  If you’ve watched his videos then by now you know that he chose only to cover the verses he could twist.  He chose not to cover, or even mention to you or I that there are verses that are much more direct and much less prone to the spin doctor.  Let us examine those.

Luke 7:33-35 points out that Jesus drank as the Bible describes him as hanging out with prostitutes and other evil doers.  Now, the point of this verse wouldn’t make any sense if the Bible was referring to GRAPE JUICE would it?  What if the Bible had said “Jesus eats strawberries while hanging with prostitutes.”

For John the Baptist didn’t spend his time eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ ³⁵ But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it.”

1 Timothy 4:3 seems to be highly appropriate, as it is a warning about false teaching.

They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth. ⁴ Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. ⁵ For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.

Ecclesiastes 9:7 says we should drink and be merry!

So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!

Psalms 104 says that God sent us wine to make us glad.

You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home,
and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.
¹⁴ You cause grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for people to use.
You allow them to produce food from the earth—
¹⁵ wine to make them glad,
olive oil to soothe their skin,
and bread to give them strength.

Judges 9:13 says that wine even makes GOD happy!

But the grapevine also refused, saying,
‘Should I quit producing the wine
that cheers both God and people,
just to wave back and forth over the trees?’

And finally, Mathew 15:11:

“It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”

I could go on and on…  but I’m running out of time for this post.  There are other scriptures that refer to Jesus abstaining from drinking in the days/hours before his death, and there was a prophecy in Genesis where the Bible says the Messiah will drink wine and be merry.  Look them up if you don’t believe me.

What we need to understand, is that nothing is inherently evil! 1 Timothy 4:4 tells us this is the case!  Everything God created is good!  The problem all boils down to one thing:  The trap that has been laid for us.  That trap is the temptation of using God created things in God forbidden ways.  And people, this isn’t just for drinking!  It’s a world wide problem!  Think about over-eating, over-spending, sexual promiscuity, or others!

Sex is not a sin!  It was created by God!  We are to enjoy it!  He WANTS you to enjoy it.  Within his boundaries (marriage for example).

Eating is not a sin!  God made all this food and he made it taste good!  He could have made it mechanical, where you just put it in and swallow it.  But he gave you the ability to taste and enjoy your food!  But he told us not to over-eat.  Proverbs 23:20-21 warns us not to eat or drink to much (funny, weren’t we just talking about wine?  If wine weren’t alcoholic, would there be a need to warn us to use it in moderation?).

By now I think you get the point.  Now go, eat, drink and be merry, within the boundaries that your creator has laid out for you.  But do not drink around people who can not follow those same rules, as the Bible warns us not to cause our neighbor to stumble.