Shortly after becoming a Christian in Summer 1980, I was confronted by the man with whom I had studied the Bible and who had baptized me. Our conversation went something like this:
T/E: Hey, I hear that you believe it is okay for Christians to drink
alcoholic beverages. Why do you believe that?
Me: Because that’s what
the Bible teaches.
T/E: No, it doesn’t.
Christians should abstain from alcohol.
Me: Then why does Paul say
in First Corinthians 11 that the worshipers were getting drunk on the Lord’s Supper?
They could only get drunk if the wine they were using was alcoholic.
T/E: That’s not what the
original Greek says. The word translated as drunk there really means “to become
full”.
Me: Then why did the
translators use the word “drunk”?
T/E: They just
mistranslated it. Come to my office with me and I’ll show you.
I follow him
to his office, and he pulls out his Greek New Testament and a Greek Dictionary.
He opens the Bible to 1 Corinthians.
T/E: Okay, here it is. Here’s
the verse in First Corinthians you were talking about. And here’s the Greek
word that is translated “drunk”. Now, let me show you what it says in the
dictionary.
He finds the word
in the dictionary, but just sits there and says nothing.
Me: So, what does it say
the Greek word means?
T/E: It says it means to be
drunk. (Pauses) I’m going to have to study this more.
Me: Okay. Let me know what
you find out.
T/E: I will.
I never heard
another word from him on the matter.
