How much alcohol is too much?

As you may know, I am soon to experience Freshers week at University. While several aspects of starting University are simultaneously exciting and terrifying, the drinking culture is definitely up there among them. Recently I have been pondering the question posed in the title a lot, both individually and with friends in a similar position. Interestingly the Bible is not definitive and the subject seems to be both subjective and individual.

The Bible is clear on some things. Ephesians 5:18 says "...do not get drunk with wine".

Proverbs 23: 30-33 also condemns the actions of a drunkard;

Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine.

Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.

In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.

Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things.

Excessive drinking is undeniably addictive and in 1 Corinthians 6:12 it says:

“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything."

So clearly - from a Biblical perspective at least - getting drunk is off the table. I don't think this is particularly surprising. Drunkenness is selfish fun at best, and at worst can damage you and others. People do things when they are drunk that they would never otherwise do. Self control is a crucial human gift from God and alcohol abuse compromises this. 

 From these passages one can begin to think that there is no good reason to drink alcohol.
After all, how could God approve of alcohol when, by drinking it, you are in danger of become drunk or of drawing others into temptation?

The flaw in this line of thinking is that God created wine for human enjoyment; it was probably in the garden of Eden! The existence of drunkenness does not make drinking alcohol a sin any more than the existence of gluttony, war and rape makes food, fire and sex inherently sinful. They are all gifts from God which we can enjoy and use to his glory, or pervert and use against Him for our own satisfaction.

Jesus famously turned water into wine at a wedding, which he presumably expected people to drink - and even get drunk on. The Bible even indicates that Jesus drank wine himself (Matthew 26:29) and was accused (mistakenly) of being a drunkard because he liked to associate himself with those who got drunk.

The Psalms say that wine "is a gift that makes glad the heart of men".
Ecclesiastes 9:7 instructs: "Drink your wine with a merry heart"

There is an important cultural distinctions to make here. In those days sanitised water was not always available and so it was usual to resort to weak wine when clean water was hard to come by. This sort of wine was alcoholic, but would not have been easy to get drunk from.

So is the take home message that wine is okay providing we don't get drunk? Even if we assume that we are immune to peer pressure and know our limits, I am not sure that it is so simple. To claim that non-drunken alcohol consumption is never a sin is just plain wrong. A "sin" is not a wrong action in the way we usually think of it. It is simply an occurrence which has the net effect of separating you from God.

If I drink a glass of water when I should be focussed on prayer then I have sinned by drinking the water. So certainly any alcohol consumption could potentially be sinful. The core of the problem is the same as with most "practical" Christian problems; Is what you are doing glorifying God?

Back to the context of University Freshers week; Should a Christian get drunk? No. Should they drink primarily due to peer pressure? Nope. Should they drink in order to get anybody else drunk, or to make it harder for someone else to refrain from drinking against their will? I think not.

Is it okay to drink in moderation in order to more easily form friendships, enjoy yourself, and to respect your friends by being with them for their preferred choice of entertainment? If your intention is to honour God, and to represent Christ in the spiritual darkness surrounding the pubs and clubs, then perhaps. If you are dining with a European family, or are offered home made alcohol, and to not accept would be offensive then - providing you feel comfortably secure in your own limits and conscience - feel free. If your doctor recommends medicinal values of alcohol to improve your health then go for it! Loving people and your health should be more important than worrying about unimportant theological nuances.

Will I be drinking alcohol during Freshers week? I don't know. But I do know that my primary aims are to ensure that no one around me feels pressured into doing so, and to be an ambassador for Christ in all I do. Alcohol is God's gift and he probably appreciates it when we actually enjoy it as he intended. But He would far rather we refuse his gift for sound reasons than choose to instead abuse it and cause harm.

A (hopefully not post-hangover) blog about Freshers week will come out in a few weeks, so see you then!

Why I hate Christmas

"All Christians celebrate Christmas!" my RE teacher exclaimed in an exasperated tone when I told her that my church didn't. She wasn't far wrong. Each year Christmas is celebrated by around 2 billion people worldwide and you will be hard pressed to find many Christians who don't join in.



So why do we celebrate it? Here are perhaps the common main reasons given:

(1) The Gospel of Luke describes the nativity scene and tells us to remember and celebrate Jesus' birth.

(2) It is Jesus' birthday and is an integral part of the Church calendar which we should observe.

(3) It is a great opportunity to give gifts to others, and appreciate family and friends.

(4) Everyone celebrates Christmas in some sense; it can be a good evangelistic opportunity.

No doubt most of us would be able to think of these arguments straight off of the top of our heads. Now for the counter arguments, some of which you may not have considered:

(1) Though Christmas is considered to be a key aspect of Christianity, it is not found anywhere in Scripture. 

(2) The Bible warns about additions to Scripture; see Galatians 1:8 and Revelation 22:18.

(3) Christmas was originally a pagan festival celebrated by sun and devil worshippers, adapted by Catholics in the 4th Century. "Learn not the way of the Heathen" Jeremiah 10:2.

(4) Scripture does not tell us to commemorate Jesus' birth; “Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more” 2 Corinthians 5:16.

(5) “God forbid that I should glory in anything except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” Galatians 6:14.

(6) "So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality." Colossians 2:16-17.

(7) We are told in Scripture that the only thing that matters is Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. That we should keep only the Day of the Lord (not his birth) holy. That emphasis on days, months, years, and worldly feasts are not consistent with resurrection life. See Galatians 4:9-11, Amos 5:21.

(8) The only two birthday celebrations in the Bible were Pharaoh's - where the chief baker was hung - and Herod's, which ended in the beheading of John the Baptist. Clearly God does not care for birthdays.

(9) Jesus was most likely born sometime in September; sheep were unlikely to be without shelter, and censuses would certainly not have been taken in December as that is the rainy season in Judea.

(10) So much of the nativity story is just plain wrong; the Bible does not mention a donkey, an inn-keeper, a stable, angels singing or Kings, Jesus may not have been born the night Mary arrived in Bethlehem, and he almost certainly did cry! 

(11) None of the traditions are Scriptural; Santa does not exist, gifts were given to Christ rather than to friends and family, Christmas trees are a pagan symbol for eternal life...

(12) Christmas sees the highest depression and suicide rates in the year, as the marginalised feel increasingly detached from society.



There is a very real danger that we just accept this festival and everything associated with it without thinking. This is dangerous because for many Christians it is absolutely central to the faith. From a social point of view Christmas is good, and it makes for great religious content. But Jesus was not remotely religious and so by definition neither should Christians be. 

I am not denying that gift giving is a positive thing, but when it is a mere social obligation - and makes us feel good about ourselves - then we have to ask whether we are really giving as Jesus taught. 

Many people attend Church at Christmas who don't on a regular basis. The argument is that this is surely better than nothing, and that they may potentially end up becoming regulars. Again, this is a good strategy if you take God out of the picture. But how many of those who attend just a few times a year will experience God in a life-changing way during - or indirectly because of - a Christmas service? If not then they may as well have stayed at home. Attending Church does not get us - or anyone else - to Heaven. 

I would like to clarify that I don't hate Christmas. I do give and receive presents and usually set aside the day to be with family, go to Church and read the Bible. The title was just irresistibly catchy! To be honest I don't know where I stand on this issue. I just think that it is not debated nearly enough, and I am worried that the reason for this is because there is a lot of money and security in the tradition as it is. Most aspects of Christmas are in good spirit. But they are not holy or Scriptural in themselves. We should not pretend otherwise.

If we can make Christmas solely about Jesus, then perhaps we will be on safe ground. Or perhaps we can make it solely about giving to those who really need it? But we can't have it both ways. Jesus can not be an excuse for gluttony and selfishness. We celebrate his birthday by stuffing ourselves full of expensive food and alcohol, putting up fancy decorations everywhere, spending money on accessories to give to those who do not need the money (in the knowledge that we will also receive presents) while the cities homeless and sidelined look on - further separated from society than ever. I'm sure Christmas makes him smile.

University Expectations

So for those who don't know I am heading off to University in under three weeks. More specifically, I am doing an undergraduate degree in Mathematics at Cambridge University. GCSEs, AS Levels, personal statements, interviews, student finance, A2 exams, university entrance exams, results day panic; all steps on the way to enrolling at University. At this point I'm really hoping that it is worth it!

In the UK it currently costs somewhere in the region of £15,000 per year including tuition fees, accommodation, and all other costs. This obviously varies significantly based on location, course, lifestyle etc, but the point is that University is very expensive! Having said that, the financial support should mean that finance should not be a reason not to go to - or to drop out of - University. But it is only worth it if you are going to get a lot out of it.

In this blog I am going to write down what I expect University to be like and what I expect that I will do there and what I will get out of it. At the end of my degree I can look back on this and see where I am accurate and where I am wildly off!

(1) Freshers Week - Freshers week will be an emotional roller-coaster. It will contain amazing moments but will be extremely fatiguing. I will be glad of the opportunities to make friends but will be glad when it is over. There will probably be too many compulsory formal events for my liking and I will leap at the opportunity to just chill with some newly made friends rather than go out clubbing every night!

(2) The University - The wealth of opportunities and experiences available will be overwhelming initially. Once I've got over the shock of it I should be able to enjoy and take advantage of them though! The sheer number of Libraries - and their round-the-clock facilities - will cause me an inexplicable amount of excitement and my colleges sports grounds will be highly appreciated. The traditions, chapels and formal ceremonies - not so much. The accommodation and independence will take some getting used to but should be bearable!

(3) The Maths - The course will be a massive step up from school work but I will enjoy the increased pace - even if it means that I struggle with the material! Because of my course, I am not expecting to be able to get anywhere near a 1st class degree but I will be disappointed if I can't manage a 2:1. In terms of hours spent working per week I really have no clue. I'd hazard a guess at somewhere in the region of 40-50 though. The lectures will probably be confusing yet worthwhile and the supervisions will be terrifying but invaluable. I reckon I'll enjoy Analysis and Differential Equations modules.

(4) Extracurricular - I will continue to cycle and play guitar, play chess and solve Rubik cubes. But whether I will compete/perform in these disciplines I don't know. I will try out rowing and squash and may continue to play regularly. Running will probably take a back seat due simply to time restrictions! Clubbing is unlikely to become a regular hobby but I may go to bars and other venues with acoustic/alternative music.

(5) Christian Stuff - Fusion have helped me to short-list a few churches already so I suspect I'll visit a few in the first term and settle down somewhere. I'd like to be actively involved somehow, be that by playing guitar in the band or setting up PA or helping running the techie side of things. The Christian Union will probably be my main source of friends and social events and I especially want to be active in my colleges CU. I am hoping that this side of things will be encouragingly fruitful!

Top 5 Biblical Moments

As requested by David Halligan, I present to you my top 5 biblical moments!
They are not exactly my "favourite", nor are they the 5 moments which I think were the most important. They are the 5 stories in the Bible that I appreciate and learn from the most. They are events rather than specific verses, and the order is - once again - strictly chronological!



(1) Creation - Genesis 1 (Specifically verses 1-5)

         In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

This couldn't really not make the list! In case you are unfamiliar with the creation story, the gist is that God created everything there is - including space and time - in six "days". In the first three verses we are introduced to God the Creator, the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Foreshadowing if ever I saw it.

What really got me into the Creation story was a talk given by Rob Bell titled "Everything is Spiritual". It goes into all of the scientific truths and poetic intricacies embedded in the story in fascinating detail, and is highly recommendable. Apart from that though, this is where God is arguably at his most creative and active! We can argue about which aspects of the story are metaphorical but the basics are clear: God existed uncreated, then created time space and matter, and set everything in motion. That's fairly awesome!


(2) Parting of the Red Sea - Exodus 14 v 21-22

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

As a child I loved this film called Prince of Egypt which was all about the life of Moses. He was brought up in a very strange position and was used by God constantly throughout his life. He did some incredible things but surely this was the most dramatic wonder that God did through him. I mean seriously, an entire sea was parted!

Water is pretty heavy. In fact the total weight of the water in the Red Sea today is about 233 million million tons! Obviously not all of it would have been moved anywhere but even if only 0.000001% of that water was actually shifted when the sea parted, we are still talking millions of tons of water here. That ranks this miracle pretty high on my list!



(3) Turning Water into Wine - John 2 v 3-9

When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”   
 ... Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”...  
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. 

Firstly it is probably worth pointing out that Jesus calling his mother "Woman" was not disrespectful at all! Secondly I should probably argue my case for this passage being in my top 5 Bible moments. Why not choose a woman turning into a bag of salt, one of Samson's immense feats of strength, or Lazarus being raised from the dead?!

This was Jesus' first miracle. But I don't believe that this was his warm up act. This story contains within it the very heart of the whole redemptive story. Jesus said "My hour has not yet come." What did he mean? Was he not thirsty yet? Did he have a plan for his grand opening miracle that would be better? 

The interesting thing to note here is that every other time that Jesus says "my hour" he is referring to his death. Could he be saying that there will come a time in the future where he will provide wine for his guests? That this wedding trick is a greatly reduced version of what will happen? That, when he dies, his blood poured out for us will pay for our sins so that we can join in with the eternal celebratory feast? Where he is the host, and where the wine never runs out, because Jesus' sacrifice was ultimate and everlasting? Maybe.

(4) The transfiguration - Matthew 17 v 1-3, 9

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 

...As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

So this story has a fairly high "epicity" rating, and also accentuates the significance of Elijah, whom I feel is often underrated. But to be honest the main reason I included this event is because I really don't get it; Jesus and his mates go up a mountain, then Jesus seems to transform into his post-resurrection state. And suddenly two ancient prophets are joining them.

To make things more confusing, they aren't allowed to tell anyone - though Jesus clearly tells them that he will be raised from the dead, which is nice of him - and the text seems to suggest that John the Baptist was in fact Elijah all along. Except the disciples didn't recognise Elijah on the mountain...

If anyone can enlighten me I'd be very grateful. But regardless this story is very enchanting and deserves its place on the list. It is one of those events that I can't fathom but just know that it has some great eternal significance.



(5) The Day of Pentecost - Acts 2 v 1-4

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty wind-storm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

Woohoo!!!! Sorry, this passage always gets me a bit over excited...

So this is when the Spirit of God descends upon the believers. When they are anointed with tongues and with power, commissioned to go and spread the gospel. As Christians we should gather in expectation of the Holy Spirit's anointing on us before we attempt to do Gods work. If we don't we'll be relying on natural ability, and so will not be as effective. And will quite probably fail!

This passage goes on to describe the radical lifestyle that the early Christians lived; sharing all things in common - property, money, possessions, everything! This was the beginning of the most revolutionary movement the world has ever seen. It is quite possible that the speaking in tongues that started here has never ceased, and that when we speak in tongues we are simply entering into the continuous flow of the Spirit's movement in people, from across the world and through the ages!! 



So there you have it. My top 5 Bible moments. I probably share no more than 3 in common with you, so perhaps tell me which ones you would have chosen. Thanks again for reading and I'll see you again soon!

  

Five influential books I'd recommend

The title pretty much says it all. I'm not actually a big reader. But I do enjoy reading and really should do more of it. Here are five books/book series that have been formative for me, growing up.The order is purely chronological. The Bible has been omitted because I feel that to place it in this list would suggest a number of things, and I'm not sure I like most of them.

(1) The Adventures of Tintin - Georges Remi

For those that are reading this having never heard of Tintin, I am sorry. It is probably too late. I read my first book at the age of 7 or 8, and finished the series (20 odd graphic novels) by the age of 13. Many an evening I would spend reading book after book of these; they were addictive!

The series is essentially about a young detective who roams the world solving mysteries. However, the mysteries were just a backdrop in which the loveable, fantastically sculpted characters could flourish. If you are above the age of 15 you will probably be too embarrassed to read them, but perhaps you can persuade you kids to read them someday.

I am not sure if reading these books inspired anything more in me than a love of libraries and a notion that books could be cool, but I suspect that they did. If not, this series still deserves its place.

(2) The Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling

Now onto something more familiar, and I doubt an introduction is necessary. In year 4 our class read through the first book and by the time I left Primary school I was completely hooked. This passion of mine did not subside until I was about 15, and I would not be surprised if I read through the series once more, some time in the future. Love it or hate it, it is an epic series and probably represents the largest single part of my childhood.

The character formation is wonderful, and the plot - with it's questionable areas - is still a remarkable achievement. However critics may view the series, it rooted itself in my imagination like no other. For years I was entranced by the idea of Hogwarts, of Diagon Alley, and of the existence of Horcruxes. With these books, I found that I grew far more attached to very atypical heroes - Dobby, Snape, Mad-eye, Hagrid - than the stereotypical protagonists - Harry, Lily, Hermione, Dumbledore - and this taught me an awful lot about how we view heroism; often the true heroes are the people the world write off.

(3) The Heavenly Man - Brother Yun 

This is a bit of an unusual one. I only read this once - when I was 17 - and didn't even finish it. To tell the truth it was a birthday present for a friend. But it looked pretty interesting so at about 11pm the day before I had to wrap it and hand it over, I decided to have a sneak peek. At 2am I fell asleep with it still in my hands. It was that good. 

It is a true story about a missionary who was instrumental in developing the Chinese house church movement in the 1980s. Pretty scary stuff. He is sent to prison (think beatings, starvation and torture) several times and at one point he doesn't have any food at all. He relies on God entirely and it left me awestruck. Miracles were just a part of every day life. The book opened my eyes to the historical facts regarding the persecuted Church and also taught me a lot about faith.

(4) The Great Mathematical Problems - Ian Stewart

So there comes that annoying time near the end of year 12 when you have to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life. Yeah... So being the eldest child with parents who didn't really encourage me to think about my career as a child, I had no clue. I mean I knew I loved Science but that was about it. I also loved Music and quite enjoyed most of the subjects I'd dropped after GCSE! I decided to pick this book up from the Library in the hope that it would aid my understanding of what "proper" maths is like. Turns out,whatever it is, I love it!

This book is quite specialised but it doesn't require much knowledge beyond GCSE. Having said that, it goes remarkably deep into some really abstract and tricky concepts. It essentially gives the reader a whistle-stop tour through the mathematics of the last 500 years - an era which high school mathematics barely touches - by showcasing the hardest, and most interesting, puzzles; some solved, some still open. It was the basis for an entire paragraph of my personal statement, and indeed was pivotal to my career choice. On top of that, was a really pleasant read. If you want to know whether maths is for you, read it. Seriously.

(5) Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

If the author seems familiar, this is the same man who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia. For the record, that series would have made the top 5 if this didn't. I didn't want to give too much credit to Lewis. Check out the land of Narnia though. It's magical.

Anywho, this book is actually a series of letters written by a demon to his nephew. Read that again if you must. His nephew is in charge of ensuring that a human on Earth spends eternity in Hell and his Uncle (Screwtape) writes to him with guidance. We watch the humans life unfold before us and see the role that the spiritual warfare plays with unparalleled clarity. I have read this book in its entirety three times in the last year.

The concept may sound strange to you, but if you are a Christian I would recommend it above any other (modern) book. It has unveiled the spiritual battles in my life like no other book and teaches the reader something important with every sentence. Though the content is deep and densely packed, the genius style - and frequent satire - of Lewis makes it a delight to read. I seriously can not recommend this book enough. It changed my life.

Hope you guys enjoyed what was perhaps a bit of light relief after my last blog. See you soon!