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What Would Jesus Drink?
Bring up the issue of alcohol in your local church and you're bound to hear many different views and opinions on how the Christian should respond. In reality though, the only view that matters is the biblical one. Whether Christians want to imbibe or abstain, the first question that must be answered is "What Would Jesus Drink?" With a compelling combination of biblical theology, scriptural exegesis, and Jewish cultural history, author Joel McDurmon takes on the question with a clarity and honesty that is as refreshing as it is rare. Taking a neutral corner in any debate is not McDurmon's style, and it is certainly not the strategy of this book. He does not stop with simply answering the title question, instead he goes on to show that food and drink, and the act of eating or drinking itself, have for far too long been taken for granted by modern Christians. What Would Jesus Drink? A Spirit-Filled Study is not just another dull book about Christian doctrine and practice; it is a rich and full study of the goodness and grace of God. It is an intensely practical book about the joy of celebration and the blessings of covenant community.
145 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
11 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
Joel McDurmon
42 books64 followersJoel McDurmon, Ph.D. in Theology from Pretoria University, is the Director of Research for American Vision. He has authored seven books and also serves as a lecturer and regular contributor to the American Vision website. He joined American Vision's staff in the June of 2008. Joel and his wife and four sons live in Dallas, Georgia.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 15, 2019
Excelente!
October 24, 2013
This book was excellent. Free from unbiblical shackles, McDurmon lays out his argument excellently. He writes well and with authority. If you believe that as a Christian you cannot drink alcohol, think again. Not only can you, McDurmon suggests that you should! Bottom line of the book: if one is opposed to alcohol, this opinion is in conflict with Scripture.
And, come on, who can't not love the title? Even funnier is the subtitle. A "spirit-filled study"? Pure genius.
And, come on, who can't not love the title? Even funnier is the subtitle. A "spirit-filled study"? Pure genius.
November 30, 2015
This book is a fine and fearless introduction to God's heart-gladdening gift to man (Psalm 104:5). The tone is better suited to those in the choir already comfortable with drinking, and pointing out the errors in Jack Van Impe's teaching on the subject is more like pointing out the problems with a caricature. Nevertheless, WWJD tarries long over the Bible's teaching about both the blessings and dangers of wine.
March 16, 2013
A very good prolegomena to the topic, replete with witticisms, ripe with wisdom, and righteously indignant with prohibitionists. Not just a repeat of Gentry or West but a genuine contribution in its own right. Like a good bottle of wine, this book should be consumed in one session.
February 13, 2016
Thank you Joel, thank you.
August 17, 2020
This is a very good overview of a Scriptural defense of alcohol in moderation from a biblical standpoint.
June 29, 2022
A good introduction into the topic. There's a lot to say about this issue, and I can't do that in the space given. Suffice to say that McDurmon lays out the clear teaching of the Bible on alcohol and answers the questions you likely have on the topic in a fair and thorough manner. I grew up in a legalistic/fundamentalist home that did not see or recognize the gifts that God has given us in the form of alcohol. Just like anything else, it is easily abused if not careful.
As Lewis has noted: "One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting every one else to give it up. That is not the Christian way. An individual Christian may see fit to give up all sorts of things for special reasons - marriage, or meat, or beer, or the cinema; but the moment he starts saying the things are bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning."
Another good book on this topic is "God gave wine" by Ken Gentry.
As Lewis has noted: "One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting every one else to give it up. That is not the Christian way. An individual Christian may see fit to give up all sorts of things for special reasons - marriage, or meat, or beer, or the cinema; but the moment he starts saying the things are bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning."
Another good book on this topic is "God gave wine" by Ken Gentry.
March 20, 2018
Excelente livro! Joel Macdurmon apresenta não só argumentos a favor das bebidas fermentadas, mas também as defende como um gozo do reino vindouro. Inicialmente ele apresenta uma ordenança dada por Deus: Bebam vinho em minha presença e se alegrem! Infelizmente muitos pregam a abstinência total das bebidas e chegam a dizer que o vinho bíblico não é alcoólico. Joel passa quase dois capítulos explicando e provando que o vinho sim é alcoólico. Porém, o autor tem o cuidado e maturidade suficiente para defender quando devemos apreciar vinho e a motivação para tal: apreciar a bondade de Deus e ter um "gostinho" do reino vindouro. Por fim, o ápice do livro na minha opinião foi a questão debatida hoje em muitos locais sérios: o irmão mais fraco. O ponto que Macdurmon defende me surpreendeu e me fez analisar isso em outra perspectiva. Enfim, um dos melhores livros que li em 2018.
June 16, 2020
Dr. Joel McDurmon argues that the idea of forbidding alcohol with appeals to the Bible are not so biblical after all. In fact, alcohol is said to have some positive aspects and benefits, in particular wine is mentioned. It does seem clear that the Bible condemns an over-dependence on alcohol, like being an alcoholic or getting drunk frequently.
September 22, 2018
What Would Jesus Drink? is the book I wish I had written (or am able to write!) Clear, concise and straight to the point, well-illustrated, but more importantly, Biblical. Well done Joel McDurmon. Slàinte mhath!
October 20, 2018
Good and accurate info
This book rightly divides the word of God on the subject of alcohol. The Author points out the dangers of using alcohol. But does not hesitate to boldly, express the true Biblical and historical teachings.
This book rightly divides the word of God on the subject of alcohol. The Author points out the dangers of using alcohol. But does not hesitate to boldly, express the true Biblical and historical teachings.
May 5, 2019
You couldn't ask for a better introduction than the one provided here by Douglas Wilson. McDurmon graciously goes through the text of scripture and reasons that the Bible does not condemn the drinking of alcohol, rather it condemns abusing it.
October 23, 2019
This study starts off with an excellent forward by Douglas Wilson. Dr. Joel McDurmon with the prose of a poet shows again and again that the teetotaler position is not biblically mandated.
October 28, 2019
Dr. Joel McDurmon takes us through scripture to show that the Bible doesn't forbid the drinking of alcohol contrary to the claims of certain IFB churches and other teetotalers.
April 18, 2022
Sobering and encouraging. A great study for scholars or laymen.
February 22, 2025
A couple funny turns of phrase, but not that good overall.
September 22, 2011
There are groups within Christianity who say it is wrong to drink alcohol. They will also say it is wrong to smoke, dance, and otherwise have any fun. But Jesus drank wine for Passover, didn't he? Or did he?
I had a seminary professor that said, tongue in cheek (I think): "The song 'In Heaven There is no Beer' might be heretical. Jesus often speaks of heaven as a feast, and any good German knows that you can't have a feast without beer." The author does focus on the feast of the Kingdom in his book.
Joel McDurmon sets out to do an exegesis on the topic. He looks at the Hebrew and Greek words and divines what they mean and how they were used in context in Scripture as well as socialogically. This is important because, well, words mean things. The words used (yayin and shekar in the Hebrew and oinos and freuctos in Greek) have the meaning inherent of drunkenness. Context also tells us that these beverages were intoxicating.
The author uses some logical conclusions as well. One I have used many times is that if drunkenness is a reason to ban alcohol, then gluttony ought to be a reason to ban food. Yet no one calls for a ban on food. The author also notes that he has heard many heavy-weight preachers preached against alcohol yet say nothing on the subject of gluttony.
I liked the tie-in between wine, a fruit of the soil, and that mankind also comes from the soil. I expected a Christological tie-in here, with the wine of the new covenant actually is the blood of Christ. Alas, that fruit was left on the vine, as it were.
The author also goes through the festivals of Passover, First Fruits, and Pentecost and how they fit into the agricultural cycle of Israel. The fact that fermented wine would be used is noted in that grapes wouldn't have been harvested until Pentecost, and even then the juice would be held to ferment. Likely the beverage would have been the old, good wine from the year before.
And the author reminds us that the tithe was also used in a fellowship meal! Again, the tithe has been misunderstood in modern Christianity (I reviewed another book devoted to that subject here already: Should the Church Teach Tithing? A Theologian's Conclusions about a Taboo Doctrine). The tithe was for the common wealth, for meals of fellowship, not to keep an institution going!
Overall this was a scholarly book that addresses a subject that needs to be debated today.
I had a seminary professor that said, tongue in cheek (I think): "The song 'In Heaven There is no Beer' might be heretical. Jesus often speaks of heaven as a feast, and any good German knows that you can't have a feast without beer." The author does focus on the feast of the Kingdom in his book.
Joel McDurmon sets out to do an exegesis on the topic. He looks at the Hebrew and Greek words and divines what they mean and how they were used in context in Scripture as well as socialogically. This is important because, well, words mean things. The words used (yayin and shekar in the Hebrew and oinos and freuctos in Greek) have the meaning inherent of drunkenness. Context also tells us that these beverages were intoxicating.
The author uses some logical conclusions as well. One I have used many times is that if drunkenness is a reason to ban alcohol, then gluttony ought to be a reason to ban food. Yet no one calls for a ban on food. The author also notes that he has heard many heavy-weight preachers preached against alcohol yet say nothing on the subject of gluttony.
I liked the tie-in between wine, a fruit of the soil, and that mankind also comes from the soil. I expected a Christological tie-in here, with the wine of the new covenant actually is the blood of Christ. Alas, that fruit was left on the vine, as it were.
The author also goes through the festivals of Passover, First Fruits, and Pentecost and how they fit into the agricultural cycle of Israel. The fact that fermented wine would be used is noted in that grapes wouldn't have been harvested until Pentecost, and even then the juice would be held to ferment. Likely the beverage would have been the old, good wine from the year before.
And the author reminds us that the tithe was also used in a fellowship meal! Again, the tithe has been misunderstood in modern Christianity (I reviewed another book devoted to that subject here already: Should the Church Teach Tithing? A Theologian's Conclusions about a Taboo Doctrine). The tithe was for the common wealth, for meals of fellowship, not to keep an institution going!
Overall this was a scholarly book that addresses a subject that needs to be debated today.
October 16, 2011
Overall this was a good book. I was not really sure what to expect in regards to how McDurmon would approach the touchy subject of Christians and alcohol.
McDurmon begins where all books on alcohol should begin, with the Lord's Supper. He discusses the beginnings of the Passover Feast and ends with the Last Supper.
He also goes back and does a word search of the Hebrew word for wine "yayin," showing in its first usage that it was able to get Noah drunk and that its use is almost always a reference to an alcoholic drink.
He does not avoid the passages that speak of drunkenness, but addresses them head-on, especially every teetotalers favorite, Proverbs 23:31, showing that drunkenness is spoken of as a lifestyle, not just the act of having an alcoholic drink.
I hope I have not given too much away, but just enough to wet your whistle. There is much more in this little book that I have not mentioned. In the end, McDurmon says that all things were made by God for man's pleasure but not without boundaries. He does not encourage anyone to go out and start drinking alcohol and infact states that if after reading this book you think the book condones Christians going out and getting drunk, then you have missed the lessons of the book. It is all about Christian maturity.
McDurmon begins where all books on alcohol should begin, with the Lord's Supper. He discusses the beginnings of the Passover Feast and ends with the Last Supper.
He also goes back and does a word search of the Hebrew word for wine "yayin," showing in its first usage that it was able to get Noah drunk and that its use is almost always a reference to an alcoholic drink.
He does not avoid the passages that speak of drunkenness, but addresses them head-on, especially every teetotalers favorite, Proverbs 23:31, showing that drunkenness is spoken of as a lifestyle, not just the act of having an alcoholic drink.
I hope I have not given too much away, but just enough to wet your whistle. There is much more in this little book that I have not mentioned. In the end, McDurmon says that all things were made by God for man's pleasure but not without boundaries. He does not encourage anyone to go out and start drinking alcohol and infact states that if after reading this book you think the book condones Christians going out and getting drunk, then you have missed the lessons of the book. It is all about Christian maturity.
March 8, 2013
McDurmon does a solid job of showing just how theologically shaky prohibition and semi-prohibition really is. However, the kindle version, at least, suffers from some embarrassing typos. In addition, while I agree with his final rant about the damage of prohibition and the currently unfair system we have for alcohol distribution in America, I think it distracts from his main points about the role of alcohol within Christian living. Also, while water-intoxication is a well-known phenomena, did he really have to cite wikipedia?
Those criticisms aside, I think any Christian who truly desires to live by the Word and not by tradition should read this book.
Those criticisms aside, I think any Christian who truly desires to live by the Word and not by tradition should read this book.
October 26, 2013
A thoughtful, exegetical, joyful study of alcohol from a Biblical point of view. This work does not advocate for thoughtless and careless license but for a praise-giving, joyful embrace of God's gift keeping in mind the eschatological joy it points us towards and the covenantal image it portrays.
July 8, 2012
It reads like it was written as college term paper, but it is still very good.
March 31, 2014
Good. A biblical defense of enjoying God's gifts with the maturity of a Christian mind and heart.
April 3, 2020
The content is top notch for the topic at hand. I only regret that Joel utilizes a provocative title, which I fear may scare some people away from lending him the credibility he deserves.
January 17, 2021
Awesome book! Made me go out and buy a bottle of wine afterwards, haha.
September 16, 2018
Bem escrito, com ideias bem desenvolvidas.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews