Wine or Water

In The Days of Jesus, Was The Water Pure?

            Most of us have heard it said at some point in our discussions with others that in the days of Jesus the water was not pure and healthy and for the sake of the people’s health during that time it was necessary that they drink wine in place of the water. Don’t be deceived by this explanation because there is a simple litmus test that will show that this explanation is just not true. And just a tiny bit of logical reasoning will show this idea is without merit.

            We know that in our day and age there is a lot to be said for being careful about the water in foreign countries where you might travel. And for that matter we need to be careful and use common sense about the water we drink anywhere. There has never been a time in history when all water from any source was considered drinkable. However, the pollution levels in creeks and streams is much higher today than it has been in the past. Even in many of our own lifetimes we have seen the contamination and pollution of many rivers and streams and even much of the air we breathe. But even in the foreign countries where we have to be so cautious about drinking the unfamiliar water, we find the locals drinking the very same water that we fear and they seem to be just fine. Of course we know that many of the very things in the water that would make us sick, they have built up an immunity to and they are not affected like us.

            But the litmus test I would like for you to consider is the condition of the Native American Indian when Columbus discovered North America. Have you considered that this was 1500 years after Jesus walked on the face of the earth? When Columbus discovered America in 1492 he found a thriving population of indigenous people that numbered into the millions. They were healthy and living a normal existence in a land where the process of making alcoholic wine had never been discovered. The indigenous American Indian had no knowledge of alcohol in their normal lives. And not only that, they had no culture of getting their drinking water from wells that they dug in the ground. The drinking water of the American Indian came from the local rivers, streams, and lakes. And it was not just the North American Indian that lived like this it also included the Carib Indians in the Caribbean Islands, the Amerindians in South America, and the Indigenous people of the Amazon and Central America.

            How in the world did these people stay alive, someone might ask, because they had no alcoholic wine? And the answer is very simple. Wine is not the “nectar of the gods” and it is not the “preferred drink of Jesus”. Wine is not “required to protect you from the water supply”. In fact, I don’t have to tell you what the introduction of alcoholic wine did to the North American Indian.

            Alcohol was introduced to the Indians soon after the European settlers arrived in America. You already know how it affected them and how the introduction of alcohol into their society destroyed many of their lives. I don’t have to tell you that it had a devastating affect on their society. No, wine is not “the nectar of the gods” it is the “liquor of the demons”.

            I have never met a person who claims to believe the Bible who would try to justify drunkenness as though the Bible did not condemn it and call it a sin. Oh yes, I have met many people who think drinking and drunkenness is a fun recreation and don’t condemn it themselves. In fact, many of them really don’t care what the Bible has to say about it, they choose to do it anyway. And as hard as it is to believe, some of these people are members of the church of Christ. There is a large number of religious people who drink alcohol, especially alcoholic wine. To many people the advertizing of alcohol has been very effective. Alcoholic wine today has the perceived personality of being “romantic and religious”.  But the truth is; it is deceptive, destructive and devastating to families that have it in their lives.

            Unfortunately, no matter what kind of statistics and proof is listed to try to show alcohol as not being approved by the Bible and by common sense, it will never be enough to rid the world and the church of the desire to drink. But for those who would like to know more about what the Bible has to say about wine, I would recommend my book, “Does God Drink Wine” as an easy book to read and understand. If you have a teenager or a friend who needs to know what the Bible teaches on this subject, use this book as a handout. Any teenager can read and understand the simple format of this book.

Carl O. Cooper