Moderate consumption of alcohol

Some years ago (circa 1996) I had apologetical e-mail exchanges with several individuals. I really believe the Holy Spirit was guiding me in some of these exchanges. I've found some of these old messages, and wish to share some of the "better parts" (many of which I had since forgotten) with a broader community...

One exchange with "Doug" concerned the matter of alcohol. Unlike many fundamentalist denominations, the Catholic Church does not categorically condemn alcohol, provided it is consumed in appropriate moderation (by those not overly influenced by it). During the exchange, I pointed to a number of references to "wine" in the Bible - even Jesus was said to have consumed wine. Doug claimed that this was "new wine" - ie, grape juice, and claimed that (in ancient usage) the term 'wine' could apply to 'the fruit of the vine,' whether fermented or not, and we could not be sure if the term 'wine' meant 'new wine' (grape juice) or 'fermented wine'.

SIDE NOTE: My stepfather once visited the Holy Lands (about 50 years ago). He was in the company of several ministers of different denominations. The tour guide explained that wine was added to the local water to kill bacterica. One Baptist minister exclaimed, "Alcohol has never passed my lips, and is not about to do so now! The Lord will protect me!" His faith was touching, prehaps, but he spent the rest of his trip in the bathroom with severe ahem and ahem, while the rest of the tour group visited the various points of interest.

The issue of alcohol isn't a point that I really seek to debate (Doug pressed the issue upon me). After all, if fundamentalists wish to refrain from alcohol, more power to them! Personally, I believe the world would be a better place if far less alcohol was consumed. However, truth is truth, and Doug's intrepretation of 'new wine' is simply not true:

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I was thinking about what you said about “new wine” as being non-alcoholic wine (ie, grape juice). Two things came to mind: First, when the Apostles spoke in tongues at Pentecost, some present were hardened to the Gospel and did not understand their words. They accused Peter of being “drunk on new wine.” Pretty strong grape juice, huh?

Also, Christ warns about putting new wine into old wineskins. Wine ferments for many years (this is why aged wine is more valuable than recent vintages: the fermentation process has matured). As wine ferments, it outgasses. This pressurizes whatever it’s stored in. If it’s in a wineskin (an animal intestine), the skin must be able to stretch to accommodate the pressure, or it will split. An old skin has already been stretched, and thus would split as the wine fermented. After it has fermented to a point, the process slows considerably and thus the outgassing is minimized (and an old skin is a safe means of storage). But “new wine” cannot burst a wineskin without fermentation, and alcohol is a necessary byproduct of the fermentation process. There would be no reason for Jesus to warn against putting grape juice into old wineskins unless fermentation were to occur. Plain grape juice will not fermet (it will spoil in a few days, first growing mold and soon turning to something resembling vinegar). Yeast must be added for fermentation (additional sugar will enhance the process, and produce “fortified wines” such as port). When Jesus talked about “new wine,” he meant something that was fermented (and therefore alcoholic).