When Jesus made that wine it was AFTER everyone had drank all the other wine and people said it was the best and the host was saving the best for last instead of serving it first which implies it was fantastic wine. Red wine is almost always 12% to 15% ABV. That hasn't changed. You can bet that the wine that Jesus made was the finest wine that ever existed.
Being intoxicated isn't being a drunkard. The Bible speaks favorably about the joy and pleasure of drinking wine in a few verses.
Alcohol was and is a positive thing unless you turn it into idolatry and abuse it. That's the position that is consistent with scripture.
I'd challenge someone to make wine using classical methods and no preservatives with an ABV of under 10%.
Jesus turned water into wine. Not water into water and water. This was a party, not a battlefield or a march where your example would be the norm. Scripture is clear.
You've just shown an example of why literal interpretation of the bible is often the wrong interpretation. Historical context matters. Remember - these books were written by men, not by God or Jesus.
At the time of writing, it would have been considered unnecessary to mention that the table wine was actually a mixture of fermented grape juice and water. That would be like saying "I poured a glass of cola with carbonation."
WRONG. They were written by me "as carried along by the Holy Spirit" aka God.
Saying the Bible isn't divinely inspired goes against the position of Christianity. That's an atheistic / agnostic position since it disagrees with scripture.
You are ignoring what scripture says to support your position, also common from atheists and agnostics.
Is God sovereign or not? That determines alot. If He is, then He can use men to carry forth His Word as He wishes and as the Bible tells us. If He's not then why would anyone even bother?
The God I worship is sovereign. How about yours?
Throughout John 2, the Greek word translated "wine" is oinos, which was the common Greek word for normal wine, wine that was fermented/alcoholic. The Greek word for the wine Jesus created is the same word for the wine the wedding feast ran out of. The Greek word for the wine Jesus created is also the same word that is used in Ephesians 5:18, "...do not get drunk on wine..." Obviously, getting drunk from drinking wine requires the presence of alcohol. Everything, from the context of a wedding feast, to the usage of oinos in 1st century Greek literature (in the New Testament and outside the New Testament), argues for the wine that Jesus created to be normal, ordinary wine, containing alcohol.
Ecclesiastes 9:7 instructs, “Drink your wine with a merry heart.” Psalm 104:14-15 states that God gives wine “that makes glad the heart of men.” Amos 9:14 discusses drinking wine from your own vineyard as a sign of God’s blessing. Isaiah 55:1 encourages, “Yes, come buy wine and milk…” From these and other Scriptures, it is clear that alcohol itself is not inherently sinful. Rather, it is the abuse of alcohol, drunkenness and/or addiction, that is sinful (Ephesians 5:18; Proverbs 23:29-35; 1 Corinthians 6:12; 2 Peter 2:19).
Here's a slightly lengthy historical answer to the question, but the Greeks and Romans of the time generally drank diluted wine that would come out to around 3-6% alcohol content. So while the wine itself certainly stayed in the 12-16% range, they would dilute it with a ratio of water. This article says there's written evidence from the time that they would use two parts wine and three parts water to get a good mixture, while half and half was too strong for their liking.
Jesus turned water into wine. Not water into water and water. This was a party, not an environment or situation where the point of drinking was hydration with liquid that alcohol would help sterilize water like a battlefield or a march where your example would be the norm. Scripture is clear.
When Jesus made that wine it was AFTER everyone had drank all the other wine and people said it was the best and the host was saving the best for last instead of serving it first which implies it was fantastic wine. Red wine is almost always 12% to 15% ABV. That hasn't changed. You can bet that the wine that Jesus made was the finest wine that ever existed.
Being intoxicated isn't being a drunkard. The Bible speaks favorably about the joy and pleasure of drinking wine in a few verses.
Alcohol was and is a positive thing unless you turn it into idolatry and abuse it. That's the position that is consistent with scripture.
I'd challenge someone to make wine using classical methods and no preservatives with an ABV of under 10%.
done that, have the recipe using classical methods and no preservatives but not measured ABV so that part is ... murky :)
As someone else pointed out, you are correct except for the fact that wine was typically diluted with water before consumption.
Jesus turned water into wine. Not water into water and water. This was a party, not a battlefield or a march where your example would be the norm. Scripture is clear.
You've just shown an example of why literal interpretation of the bible is often the wrong interpretation. Historical context matters. Remember - these books were written by men, not by God or Jesus.
At the time of writing, it would have been considered unnecessary to mention that the table wine was actually a mixture of fermented grape juice and water. That would be like saying "I poured a glass of cola with carbonation."
WRONG. They were written by me "as carried along by the Holy Spirit" aka God.
Saying the Bible isn't divinely inspired goes against the position of Christianity. That's an atheistic / agnostic position since it disagrees with scripture.
You are ignoring what scripture says to support your position, also common from atheists and agnostics.
Is God sovereign or not? That determines alot. If He is, then He can use men to carry forth His Word as He wishes and as the Bible tells us. If He's not then why would anyone even bother?
The God I worship is sovereign. How about yours?
Throughout John 2, the Greek word translated "wine" is oinos, which was the common Greek word for normal wine, wine that was fermented/alcoholic. The Greek word for the wine Jesus created is the same word for the wine the wedding feast ran out of. The Greek word for the wine Jesus created is also the same word that is used in Ephesians 5:18, "...do not get drunk on wine..." Obviously, getting drunk from drinking wine requires the presence of alcohol. Everything, from the context of a wedding feast, to the usage of oinos in 1st century Greek literature (in the New Testament and outside the New Testament), argues for the wine that Jesus created to be normal, ordinary wine, containing alcohol.
Ecclesiastes 9:7 instructs, “Drink your wine with a merry heart.” Psalm 104:14-15 states that God gives wine “that makes glad the heart of men.” Amos 9:14 discusses drinking wine from your own vineyard as a sign of God’s blessing. Isaiah 55:1 encourages, “Yes, come buy wine and milk…” From these and other Scriptures, it is clear that alcohol itself is not inherently sinful. Rather, it is the abuse of alcohol, drunkenness and/or addiction, that is sinful (Ephesians 5:18; Proverbs 23:29-35; 1 Corinthians 6:12; 2 Peter 2:19).
Here's a slightly lengthy historical answer to the question, but the Greeks and Romans of the time generally drank diluted wine that would come out to around 3-6% alcohol content. So while the wine itself certainly stayed in the 12-16% range, they would dilute it with a ratio of water. This article says there's written evidence from the time that they would use two parts wine and three parts water to get a good mixture, while half and half was too strong for their liking.
https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/57158/how-alcoholic-were-ancient-greek-and-roman-wines-before-and-after-dilution
Jesus turned water into wine. Not water into water and water. This was a party, not an environment or situation where the point of drinking was hydration with liquid that alcohol would help sterilize water like a battlefield or a march where your example would be the norm. Scripture is clear.