Baptist dogma: Avoid alcohol

Some Baptists find no biblical basis

True, the Bible says Jesus turned water into wine. His disciples most certainly drank it.

The Apostle Paul tells Timothy, "Stop drinking only water and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses."

But Southern Baptists like to invoke another admonition by Paul: "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak."

At their annual meeting this week in Greensboro, Southern Baptists again took a stand against alcohol. A resolution talks of "total opposition to the manufacturing, advertising, distributing and consuming of alcoholic beverages."

An amendment to the resolution goes further. It urges anyone serving on a Southern Baptist committee or as a trustee to abstain from alcohol.

Some Southern Baptists say a glass of wine with dinner may diminish the credibility of a Christian, particularly in the eyes of those recovering from addiction or new to the faith.

"As a mentor or leader, my people are watching me," said the Rev. Ralph Thompson, pastor of administration at Bethesda Baptist Church in Durham. "Alcohol is a corruption of your testimony."

In many Southern Baptist churches, abstinence from alcohol is expected of all church leaders, whether they be pastors, deacons or Sunday school leaders. In some congregations, it is spelled out in the church's constitution or covenant.

So why draft a resolution?

"I think there's a new movement in our midst toward a lax policy on this," said Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest. "We felt it was time to reaffirm it."

Indeed, Southern Baptists have a tradition of reaffirming their opposition to alcohol. In the denomination's 161-year history, it has done so in 57 resolutions, most recently in 1991.

That is not to say members are unanimous on the subject. At least a handful of delegates to the Greensboro convention spoke out against the resolution, saying it had no basis in the Bible.

The Rev. Andrew Davis, pastor of First Baptist Church in Durham, said Thursday that he, too, had concerns about it.

"It's embarrassing to get into a position where we're forbidding what Jesus did," said Davis, who has not touched alcohol since he became a Christian at age 19.

Davis said that while abstaining is a good policy, making it law goes beyond Scripture.

Other Southern Baptists are worried about the erosion of their traditions and the influx of new members brought up in religious traditions where alcohol is allowed, or even required.

For these Southern Baptists, reaffirming the ills of alcohol is a good thing.

"It may be permissible," said the Rev. David Edgell, minister of education and administration at Hephzibah Baptist Church in Wendell. "But is it beneficial?"