Alcohol in the Bible
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Alcoholic beverages appear repeatedly in biblical literature – from Noah planting a vineyard and becoming inebriated in the Hebrew Bible to Jesus in the New Testament miraculously making copious amounts of wine at the wedding at Cana and later incorporating wine as part of the central rite of Christianity, the Eucharist. Wine is the most common alcoholic beverage mentioned in biblical literature, where it is a frequent source of symbolism, and was an important part of daily life in biblical times. The inhabitants of ancient Palestine also drank beer and wines made from fruits other than grapes, and some references to these appear in the scriptures, too.
On the whole, biblical literature displays an ambivalence toward intoxicating drinks, considering them both a blessing from God that brings joy and merriment and potentially dangerous beverages that can be unwisely and sinfully abused. The relationships between Judaism and alcohol and Christianity and alcohol have generally maintained this same tension, though Christianity saw a number of its adherents, particularly around the time of Prohibition, rejecting alcohol itself as inherently evil.
