Southern Baptists majoring on the minors?

A resolution passed at the National Southern Baptist Convention in Greensboro today which requires abstinence from alcohol for anyone elected as a Southern Baptist entity trustee or committee member.

I abstain from all alcoholic beverages so I guess that I'm still eligible. My conviction on the issue of alcohol is that it tastes disgusting in all of its forms. I'm not so certain that drinking it is a sin. It just tastes bad. Of course, taste is a matter of opinion so I'm willing to allow that someone else might find the taste of alcoholic beverages pleasurable. If they don't try to get between me and my "Full Throttle" energy drink then I guess I won't stand opposed to their Miller Lite.

Drunkenness is a separate issue. The Bible is clear on the over-consumption of alcohol⁽¹⁾. Common sense will tell you that anything in excess is bad for you. So being drunk is bad but having a glass of wine with dinner is OK? Maybe yes, maybe no. As Christians we are supposed to be mindful of how the things we do effect other people.

First, We are supposed to be representatives of Jesus Christ since we are known as His followers. So even if we have the "freedom in Christ" to enjoy certain activities, if those activities are considered immoral in our cultural context then we are to abstain from them. Here the occasional consumption of alcohol passes. Certainly, no one would argue that our culture as a whole considers "social drinking" to be immoral. One might even argue that it would be considered impolite to refuse a drink in a social setting and so a Christian should have a drink in that instance (I wouldn't on the basis that it all tastes disgusting but I digress).

Our actions also effect other believers. We are not supposed to do things which might cause other Christians to sin⁽²⁾. Here's where issue gets tricky. Some Christians have struggled to overcome alcohol addiction in their lives. Does seeing other Christians drink alcohol tempt them to sin? I think a good case could be made for abstaining from alcohol based on just protecting other believers from sinning.

Here's the thing though. Instead of a mandate to abstain from alcohol the Bible cautions us about its consumption based in part on environmental factors. The Christian has to use some judgment in determining when it is inappropriate to consume alcohol. So why do some Christian leaders try impose a standard on the church that is higher than the example we see in Jesus' own life?

This extrapolation of new law out of and above God's law looks a lot like the legalism of the Pharisees to me. But Southern Baptists have chosen, by a show of their ballots, to take that stand. So the headlines will read "Baptist Teetotalers" and resolutions on marriage protection, ethnic cleansing in Darfur, and China's treatment of refugees will be found in the footnotes.⁽³⁾

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(1) Ephesians 5:18, Proverbs 23:29-35
(2) 1 Corinthians 8:9-13
(3) "Amended resolution calls for trustees to be teetotalers"; Biblical Recorder

More Reading:
"Conversion to Christ Over a Glass of a Wine"; Wade Burleson