i have to wonder what the world would look like if we as Christians got this riled up over something that actually matters

The passage is about the relationship of Christians, and other (notice I did not use the term trendy term “non-believers” because to do so is a clear jab at someone who, even if they believe in nothing, has a belief system in place…

So I feel that what we are really talking about is how we relate to those who are not walking with Christ. How through acts of fellowship with them we can bring that subtle message of Jesus into their lives…. (Someone will notice my having read McLaren’s “Secret Message of Jesus” in that comment) We as Christians are constantly judged by our actions - our perpetration of the hippocratic school of thought that has us in the position we are in today. Too often we think that OUR Christian community is the only community - which is equally as dangerous or more dangerous than the whole “its just about God and me” thinking.

This passage reminds me of a gym that I was a part of years ago that had a sign at the entrance that said ” We exist for the benefit of our member’s”….

Just think that God, Heaven is an organization that exists for the sheer benefit of its Non-Members…..For those who don’t belong.

I do not think it is wrong for someone to drink a beer. I have sat with Christian friends while all had a beer and I did not. Many of them were very Godly brothers.

For me personally, it is a lot of other things that cause me to avoid it. It is the story of Micheal above and countless friends of mine who have had their lives turned around by drunk drivers. It is watching alchohol destroy many families and children in my community. It is about the social context of our culture that sees it as living on the edge, much different than many other places in the world. For many, drinking even socially comes with a spirit of rebellion that is wrong even though the drinking itself is not.

I choose to refrain personally to avoid any appearance of evil. I choose to refrain personally to not send mixed messages to my children who see how alchohol is destroying people around them. I choose to refrain personally because from a practical standpoint financially alchohol always costs more than other drinks. I choose to refrain personally because although everything is permissable, not everything is beneficial and for me there would be no benefit.

So for some of us, choosing to refrain is not a judgement on the rightness or wrongness of it, but a practical personal choice.

K

If they offer you a tasty Belgian import… then Certainly it would be sinful not to drink it…

especially if it is an Abbey Ale… that is like Belgian for Holy Water…