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An alcoholic beverage may work wonders for your attitude!
I think that many Christians are missing out on a big blessing when it comes down to the alcoholic beverage. Sometimes when I am sitting with one of my uptight, self-righteous, judgmental, hypocritical, bible-thumping, Christian zealot friends, I often think to myself, "Jesus! This dude needs a drink or something to take that edge off". Honestly, I think sometimes to myself, "This person may give themself a heart attack if they don't learn some practical ways to manage all that stress". And I know that prayer is the ultimate answer to all that ails you, but I think there are also natural quick fixes and remedies that the Lord God hath provided and blessed us with!
I already know that I'm going to get in trouble with some folks for even mentioning the word "alcohol" in a liberal way and in a non-condemning tone. Well, you can find alcohol fear mongering anywhere, can't you? I mean, alcohol-bashing messages come a dime a dozen. How about we look at the same subject from a different perspective for just a moment and then you can immediately run back over to that fear and bondage. And I can guarantee (for the closed-minded folks out there reading this) that your chains will be unscathed in this writing and will be right where you left them - polished and waiting for your return.
God loves the sippin' saint! That's right! GOD LOVES THE SIPPIN' SAINT!!! And if you are the kind of saint that likes to sip, this message is for you! First, you must understand that God is not offended at the fact that you like to drink alcohol! God is not angry, befuddled or disturbed by your desire to pop open and pour yourself a delicious alcoholic beverage. IT'S NOT A SIN! And anyone who tells you that it is, is a moron! Nowhere in scripture does it say that "the sippin' saints will have their part in the lake of fire!" Nowhere! And dare I say it? Yes, I dare! Jesus was a sippin' saint too! So if you go to "HELL" for sippin', you will be in good company! Because Jesus Christ Himself and ALL (yes ALL) of the Apostles of the new testament (including our beloved brother, Paul) were sippin' saints!
This is where the religious hypocrites want to alter the bible and try to justify their self-righteous agendas and judgmental attitudes! Don't you dare mention to one of these "holier than thou" Christians that the very first miracle that Jesus performed in scripture was changing water to wine! Like I've heard several secular comedians say, "Jesus kept the party going!" He literally did! And unless you want to get thrown out of the "church" on your ear, don't dare bring up the question in your Sunday school class as to why the party ran out of liquor only after Jesus and His boys got there. Wooohooo!!!....It's a celebration bitches!
Religious folks throw out some rubbish saying that the wine in the Bible was just grape juice! Well isn't that a load of crap! So what they are saying is, at the wedding celebration of Cana, Jesus saved the best "grape juice" for last? Poppycock! They weren't Welch's grape juice connoisseurs! Wine is Wine is Wine is Wine baby! Don't shift it, alter it or turn it around! These were some heavy drinkers! The Bible warns us regarding 'excessive' drinking and 'habitual drunkenness' as it pertains to wine and strong drink! You can't get drunk off of grape juice! So what was the scripture talking about? Someone even said, "They didn't have a good water supply, so they drank wine instead of water". That is just crazy! And, if that were true, that only further proves that they were drinkers! Some of the arguments these hypocrites use to try and justify fear and demonize drinking using the scriptures (as an old pastor friend of mine used to say) is enough to gag a maggot off of a gut truck!
The scripture says that the law strengthens sin! Many of the people that are addicted to alcohol are compelled by the fear of alcohol and (even greater than that) the fear of God! They have so much anxiety from religion that it inordinately pushes them further than they would ordinarily go. A lot of alcoholism is a religious disease rather than a biological disease. It is a psychological disorder that stems from religious fear. Like Tourrette syndrome wherein people are compelled to say the most vulgar and vile things that they can think of. Victims of Tourrette's use profanity and expletives habitually. But I ask you, can this kind of disease be biological or inborn when a child doesn't even know a single word of English when they are born? Why are they only habitually compelled to say what is socially considered profane? Why don't they say profane things in languages that they don't understand or have never heard? Why is it only profane things that they habitually say? Why don't they habitually yell out things that aren't deemed as profane like "PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICHES!" or "THE SKY IS BLUE!" or "I LIKE MY FEET!"? Who told them what profane was? Religion and so-called "church folks"! That is why I say it is a religious disorder empowered by the fear that has poisoned their soul. And the only real cure is the message of God's unconditional love and acceptance! When those profane things are no longer profane because there is no longer a law that is judging them and deeming them profane, there is no more fear that can keep them in bondage and those words become like every other word in their mind and can hold no more power over them.
On a side note: There is also a kind of Tourrette's that is common among "holiness" Christian circles where persons habitually and compulsively say prayers and religious epithets and they can't stop regardless of their surroundings or the appropriateness of the time. This goes medically uncharted because the words that are being said are not as socially taboo as are those of the victims of the ordinary Tourrette syndrome.
ALCOHOL IS HOLY FOR EVERYONE WHO RECEIVES IT IN FAITH WITH THANKSGIVING! IT IS SANCTIFIED LIKE ALL OTHER THINGS THAT WE CONSUME! AND ANY DOCTRINE THAT SAYS OTHERWISE IS STRAIGHT FROM THE PIT OF HELL! GOD MADE ALCOHOL; NOT THE DEVIL! AS THE SCRIPTURE SAYS, "ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM!"
God knows a little secret! Alcohol simulates the presence of God. The fearlessness and euphoric feelings that one feels while being plastered is a taste of heaven on earth. God's love is so much better than wine, but throughout the scripture it is compared to wine in many places. Even in our most holy tradition of the Eucharist (what some people would call "communion" or "the Lord's supper"), wine is paired with unleavened bread to illustrate the love of God demonstrated in and through the blood of Jesus as it was the price paid for our redemption. But in the original love feasts spoken of in the scripture, communion wasn't a ceremony; it was a feast. And believe you me, they didn't serve the wine in those little church sippy cups. The wine was served in adult sized containers! Goblets! Chalices, even! People drank and drink alcohol to simulate the feelings that are only perfect in God's presence whether they know what the are doing or not! That's why God loves alcoholics! They are like the rest of us and are only desiring Him! That is all their alcoholism is saying to me. Open your ears, you stiffneck, and hear their hearts. They are saying, "We want Jesus!"
God isn't personally harmed by you getting drunk! He isn't angry, disturbed, perturbed, or bothered. Your drinking won't affect God either way. Even God's warnings are for us; not against us - for our own protection, comfort and joy. Excessive drinking won't hurt or offend God, but it may affect you and your family and your relationships and your job just like the excessive abuses of any other God-given thing that God has made to be received with joy and moderation. We have heard so many stories of lives being destroyed by alcohol abuse. But we don't hear of the many more people whose lives aren't destroyed by alcohol. We don't hear of the hundreds of millions of people who drink responsibly and use moderation all over the world. This is because the media is fueled by fear and gullible people believe anything they see on TV or read in the newspaper and they don't know how to balance the judgments in their mind. Likewise, gullible, simple-minded preachers do the same and then preach that damnable fear across their pulpits to their trusting congregations as if it were the judgment of God.
Have you ever seen an airplane crash on the news? Many people become so very fearful of riding in airplanes after seeing certain accidents televised. Drama is what gets peoples' attention! Then the airline companies begin to battle the fear promulgating the airwaves by bringing balance to the judgments. Their strategy for countering the fear is with the argument that the percentages of safe flights are so much higher than the few televised accidents and that you are far more likely to get into a car accident on your way to the airport than you are to actually get into an accident on the plane. This reasoning helps put many of the reasonable people at ease, but for some, there is no reasoning with them. Some folks will fear regardless of the logic supporting or facts behind any argument.
I am still talking about alcohol! I grew up so ignorant and afraid of alcohol that I couldn't tell you the difference between a glass of white Zinfandel, a bottle of vodka, and a Bud Light! I knew nothing about the alcohol content listed on the label of a beverage! I thought any quantity of alcohol could make me drunk. Even simply tasting it! I didn't know any better. I didn't need to educate myself regarding it! It was all the devil and all alcohol was the same to me: EVIL! And, in spite of my short-sightedness regarding liquor, I'd preach the fires of hell down upon you if you drank any amount of those devil elixirs! My fear was like most fear in the so-called "church"; rooted in ignorance and strengthened by a deep misunderstanding of the Spirit and nature of God. The same fear that fuels homophobia, prejudice, bigotry, and racism is the same fear that fuels Alcoholaphobia!
Certainly you should be wise, get an understanding, make good judgments, use discretion, and not be dimwitted when it comes to drinking. No one here is advising you not to use your brain! If you are so ignorant as to the potential harms that alcohol ABUSE can cause to you, then I don't know what planet you're from! You shouldn't even be reading this! You can't be helped!
We at the Embassy don't believe that drinking will make you better, holier, or closer to God. But we do believe it may make you closer to people because they won't see you so much as a self-righteous asshole. And if you don't ever want to touch alcohol again for whatever reasons you may have conjured up in that little head of yours, that is fine with me! You say you don't like the taste? Well neither do I for the most part, but that has nothing to do with anything! Some people do and others simply like the effects. Who cares! God doesn't! And you are not going to get some special trophy on the day of judgment called the gold plated alcohol abstinence trophy! Either way, who are you to judge people and condemn someone over something that they have a right by God to participate in and enjoy? This is why the body is so divided! We are judging instead of loving! Finding ways to put others down so that we can feel more righteous in our own selves and by our own standards.
The truth is we all need God's mercy and grace every day. If you drink, drink unto the Lord who has blessed you with the ability to drink freely without fear, shame or condemnation. And if you don't drink, don't drink unto the Lord that has given you, a sinner, the same mercy as the drinker. But, most importantly, don't judge one another. Just love one another and let the Father be the judge of His children.
Now I want to make something clear to those who have been asking me why I am so angry and hard on religious, spiritual sin above what would be considered carnal sins of the flesh. Well, to start, it is because Jesus was harder on the religious hypocrites than anyone else! And Jesus was that way because religious pride, self-righteous judgments, and hypocrisy are the worst sins. Jesus said that these religious leaders not only shun the entrance to the kingdom of God and don't enter themselves, but they block the way and obstruct those who would ordinarily receive the message and enter into God's liberty and freedom. They redirect these poor, unsuspecting souls right back into bondage! Not only that, these bastards will search high and low to make more disciples of death that will go out preaching bondage and fear with even more fervor! In Jesus' name they preach this anti-Christ legalistic perversion of the good news. A message of self-righteousness. A message where salvation isn't completely free and pleasing God is not based on the work of Christ ALONE. Their message is a conglomeration and a mixture of His holy sacrifice and our own sacrifices, abstinence and good deeds. They are an affront to the cross! They are enemies of Jesus! They will not keep the party going! They will take the wine out of our love feast and replace it with Welch's grape juice in a sippy cup! Don't let the devil steal your goblet! Eat, drink and be merry! For the Lamb was slain and tomorrow we live in Him; free and without fear! Be free my children! Be free!
Love and Peace,
Dr. Nathaniel Duffey III
