Now simply from a standpoint of logic, the wine ("oinos") Jesus created in John 2 had to be pure, rather than fermented, grape juice. Why? Because everything that comes from the Creator’s hand is absolutely pure, whereas anything alcoholic comes from a corrupt process called fermentation, and nothing good is ever related to alcoholic wine in the Bible, only corruption comes from drinking alcoholic anything. There was also no time for fermentation to take place after the miracle.
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Wine is, by definition, fermented. Pure means that it's not mixed either with water or honey or some substance to make it lighter. Now Bro.Randy, who's the ignorant?, or can't you accept that maybe something that it´s not Victorian or PC to your standards it's not a sin?
If Jesus had created grape juice instead of wine, the guests would not have declared it "the best wine" as they did. Being already slogged, they'd have beaten the crap out of the host for serving them kiddie drinks, then killed Jesus on the spot.
Since the other issues have already been addressed, I would like to point out that, had the author been referring to juice instead of wine, he would not have used the word for 'wine,' which is - correct me if I'm wrong - likely different in both Greek and Hebrew than the word for 'juice.'
So if fermentation is what makes alochol evil, then the following foods must be evil:
cheese, yogurt, vinegar, bread, soy sauce, pickles, chocolate, vanilla and numerous other foods.
It's funny how not only is this concept a fundy thing, it's really only an American fundy thing. I hesitate to suggest reading what the Frugal Gourmet had to say on the subject as his historical research isn't exactly rigorous, but he does have quite a lot to say on the subject in some of his books.
Wine is wine, and fermentation != corruption.
This argument kills itself a few times then gets up and starts again... Let's break it down:
"Now simply from a standpoint of logic"
When did fundies start using logic? Oh wait nevermind, this guy just doesn't know what the word means.
"whereas anything alcoholic comes from a corrupt process called fermentation"
No sir, please read the dictionary sometime, fermentation is not underhanded lawbreaking or anything close to corrupt.
Doesn't your whole argument contradict what the bible tells you to believe, OR ELSE?! Well then sorry but your bible does not let you use logic please go back to singing with the rest of the sheep.
Another example of fundies coming up with an opinion first (alcohol is bad), and then cherry-picking the Bible or inventing far-fetched nonsense out of thin air to create biblical support. This just goes to show how little the Bible created moral standards and how more likely it is that it was the other way around.
only corruption comes from drinking alcoholic anything.
Communion much?
Without fermentation, we would collapse while doing physical activity, as our bodies wouldn't be able to produce lactic acid to supply us with extra energy when we don't get enough oxygen. How corrupt...
So, the bible is no longer an immutable source of truth, as it clearly states wine, and wine is corrupt? What would Jesus do if he saw you perverting his work for your own designs?
So now that all foods produced through fermentation have been ruled "corrupt", should we start in on the other chemical processes? What about distillation? Brandy is distilled wine, so does that make it an even more concentrated source of corruption? Should we break in to the nearest Safeway and start smashing jugs of distilled water Prohibition-style?
tracer:
I believe there were ways to do it, but virtually all of them involved turning the juice into something other than fresh grape juice. Mostly things like boiling it down to must syrup and the like.
Anti-wine zealots like to make lists of such techniques, but they really don't produce anything resembling the desired end product, so they don't count. Letting it turn into wine was by far the easiest way to preserve it.
Jesus was no killjoy. He turned water into wine to keep the party going, because he liked a good time as much as the next person.
I'm far from a fan of Christianity, but the character of Jesus himself always struck me as admirable as well as approachable. Wasn't that the whole point of becoming incarnated in the flesh? Yet fundies make him so "pure" that the humanity is completely drained away. Which strikes me--from my atheist perspective--as blasphemy.
You know, apparently the temperance bunch back in the 1800s were kind of obsessive about fermentation. The quick breads they came up with were pretty successful, but the unleavened loaf breads... well, I have a couple of recipes, and they sound like the sort of thing you'd need a chainsaw to cut.
Oh really? Then why did Jesus himself say that his enemies were taking issue with his drinking wine?
"The Son of man came eating and drinking , and they say , Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children."
- Matthew 11:19 (KJV)
But then, when was your lot ever impressed by anything Jesus might have had to say?
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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