May 11: The Sunday beer and wine sales debate—sin and danger

By PASTOR CHAD BRANCH
Published: May 11, 2008

Regarding your editorial, “Time for a change,” (May 2, page A10), you write, “It’s time to end Pittsylvania County’s ban on the Sunday sale of a legal product that can be bought in neighboring communities.”
I completely disagree!
You mention in your piece that the obvious reason referendums to remove the ban have failed in the past is because “county pastors have urged their parishioners to vote against the referendums, framing the issue as a moral one.” By the tone of your words, you seem to disagree with us making it a moral issue.
However, as God-called servants, it is our duty to speak out against immorality and to urge our parishioners to take a stand not only for their beloved Pittsylvania County, but for the people who live here.
Addressing the biblical perspective of this argument, may we be reminded of how God our creator views the consumption of alcohol and liquor?
In the Old Testament book of Habbakuk, God pronounced judgment upon the Babylonians. The judgment was to be levied justly due to many gross sins, but one in particular was their wanton drunkenness. God speaks through the prophet Habbakuk and says, “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also … the cup of the Lord’s right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.” If the Bible is true, and if this statement truly is the word of God almighty, then we must carefully consider our position on this issue.
If we overturn the ban on Sunday beer and wine sales in the county, would God not consider us as those “that giveth his neighbor drink?” God clearly associates drinking with immorality and wickedness. In the book of Proverbs 20:1 we read, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” In chapter 23 of the same book, God says, “Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh. For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty. Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.”
Oftentimes, when the issue of alcohol consumption is raised, those who oppose it and speak of its dangers are viewed as fanatical people with radical views. But statistics do not lie. In the third and fourth “Special Reports to the United States Congress on Alcohol and Health,” Congress was presented with chilling statistics regarding alcohol consumption and its destructive effects upon our country. The report states that with every drink, one shortens his life 20 minutes. It also states that in a country where citizens spend more than $50 billion a year on alcohol, America has somewhere between 11 to 17 million alcoholics.
We may think that we are making money from liquor taxes and that it is a profitable business. However, the report to Congress says that alcohol problems cost the American economy an estimated $68.6 billion every year.
This is a result of the problems of people who drink — physical problems, jobs lost, man hours lost and accidents taking place on the nation’s highways. Three quarters of a million people are injured because of alcohol each year in America. Three people are killed and 80 people are injured in alcohol-related incidents every hour! Eighty-three percent of all fire fatalities are alcohol-related. Fifty to 68 percent of all drowning deaths are alcohol-related. Up to 80 percent of all suicides are alcohol-related. Forty percent of all fatal industrial accidents are alcohol-related. Eighty-six percent of all murders are alcohol-related. Sixty-five percent of all child abuse is alcohol-related. The leading cause of mental retardation is alcohol consumption during pregnancy. This same report says that 200,000 Americans die each year due to their own or someone else’s consumption of alcohol. This information can be obtained by anyone who is interested in knowing the truth.
People may say, “It’s my business if I want to drink or not!” However, though I may never take a drink, it is still “my business” because half of us are going to be hurt or even killed by someone who is drinking. Nearly 20,000 people are killed every year on our highways because of alcohol. One person dies every 21 minutes in an alcohol-related automobile accident. Every year on America’s highways, more than 25,000 people die and 750,000 injuries occur because of alcohol-related incidents. It is well-known that on a typical weeknight when people are out shopping, dining and traveling to and from work and school, that one out of every 10 drivers is under the influence of alcohol.
You correctly point out that “the ban on Sunday beer and wine sales doesn’t keep county residents from buying — or drinking — beer and wine on Sundays.” However, any law or ordinance which makes it more difficult to obtain is a good thing that should be kept in place. If just one person is kept from consuming alcohol because of the ban, it is worth keeping. At a time when Pittsylvania County is so desperately trying to polish its image and attract new business and residents to the area, overturning the ban would most certainly be a step in the wrong direction.
I urge your newspaper, which is viewed by many as a conservative news source, to reconsider your position and support the ban to stay in effect. I urge the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors to abide by what is the obvious choice of their constituents (as revealed in the last two referendums) and keep the ban in effect without even considering bringing it to a vote. I urge local chapters of MADD and SADD, and other organizations dealing with the destructive effects of alcohol consumption to write in and voice their opinions. I urge fellow Christians — especially preachers — to write in and support the ban to stay in effect — and rally their congregations to do the same. And if the question ever goes to the ballot, I urge every Christian in the county to unite against overturning of the ban not only this time, but anytime it is put to a vote.
In Isaiah 28:7, we read, “but they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.”
May we not be found guilty of such a charge!
• Branch is pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Sutherlin.