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I saw the lite?
Joel Miller: Was biblical wine weaker wine?
06.18.2003

While RazorMouth has published fewer articles in praise of wine and beer of late, a recent question regarding the potency of biblical booze from an RM reader deserves attention.

While still a common practice in some circles, fewer Christians (at least it seems so here on the West Coast) support their prohibitionist and abstentionist positions by saying wine in Bible times was nonintoxicating—i.e., basically just unfermented juice.

Satirist P.J. O'Rourke takes a swipe at this tactic in his 1988 book, Holidays in Hell, recounting a visit to Jim and Tammy Bakker's Heritage USA theme park. At the onsite bookstore he found "a weighty tome arguing that every time the New Testament says 'wine' it really means 'grape juice.'" Later he says, "I almost don't have the heart to make fun of these folks. It's like hunting dairy cows with a high-powered rifle and scope." Fortunately, his opportunities to pull the trigger are dwindling....