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Southern Baptists Deny Water Donated by Beer Company to Hurricane Victims
Matthew 10:42 says, "If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." But Hurricane Wilma victims at one relief station in Florida reportedly had to drive three miles to get drinking water, because Southern Baptist volunteers serving hot meals refused to give away cans of water donated by Anheuser-Busch.

NBC-2 News in Fort Myers, Fla., reported that water sat all day at a feeding station Clewiston, Fla., because of the Southern Baptists' religious objections to alcohol. The water was expected to be handed out by Red Cross volunteers in other locations....

...That water donated by Anheuser-Busch comes in white cans labeled in blue "Drinking Water, Not for Sale." They carry the Anheuser-Busch eagle logo and a note they are donated by the brewer, but do not resemble the familiar Budweiser or Bud Light labels used to advertise beer on television and in sporting venues.

Southern Baptists have traditionally opposed the use of alcohol. A recent study, however, found that just more than half of Baptist ministers surveyed in North Carolina viewed the Bible as teaching that all use of alcohol is wrong and one in three said moderate use of alcohol is OK, but not becoming drunk.

GuideStone Financial Resources, which provides retirement, insurance and investment services for Baptist ministers, doesn't invest in what it calls "sin stocks," companies that are publicly recognized as being involved with alcohol, gambling, pornography and abortion.

It does, however, maintain holdings in companies such as Carnival Cruise Lines, which advertises cruises featuring gambling casinos and alcohol sales.