100 Sermon Illustrations on Alcohol

Alcohol plays a prominent role in almost every type of crime:

53% of murders

57% of sex crimes

47% of burglaries

60% of assaults

80% of suicides

40% of work-related deaths

50% of work-related injuries

February 88 “I&I” column quoted former Dodger pitching great Don Newcombe on the inconsistency of the sport world piously warning about “drugs” at the same time it is being taken over by the breweries. He rightly referred to alcohol as “the most devastating drug on the face of the earth,” yet just about every sport in America is sponsored by some brand of beer.

Frank Dolson of the “Philadelphia Inquirer” agrees and wrote a scathing editorial. “Tell the truth, didn’t you gag just a little bit when you settled back in your easy chair... and then saw what looked very much like a beer label framing your screen when an announcer intoned, ‘This kickoff is brought to you by Budweiser’?”

“Here we are, in an all-out fight against drugs, one in which every major sport is supposedly taking part, and yet the games they play are being used to promote one of the most devastating drugs of them all. Yes, alcohol is legal. It also can be deadly.”

”Ride hard. Die hard.” Legend on the cap of truck driver Larry W. Mount, charged with 27 counts of capital murder after he crashed into a Kentucky school bus carrying Assembly of God church kids home from an outing at King’s Island. He was on wrong side of I-77, was speeding, and had a blood/alcohol level two-and-a-half times the legal limit.

[One’s attitude does materially affect a person and others.]

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit health advocacy organization, took a survey of students, 8-12, in Wash D.C. and Maryland. They know more about booze (5.2 brands identified) than U.S. Presidents (4.8). One 10-year-old girl could name 14 different alcoholic beverages but only 4 presidents.

Back in 1985, in a remote region near Essex, Montana, a Burlington-Northern corn-laden train derailed, scattering the grain along the tracks. Most was picked up, but about 400 tons were left to rot (and ferment). In 1986 about a dozen bears (black and grizzly) discovered the intoxicating mash and went on a binge. Railway crews then dumped soil on the corn, but the bears were back after hibernating in 1987, digging down for another bender. Next, wary train crews mixed non-toxic quick lime into the mash, but in 1988 the bears were back again, sniffing around the tracks until they found some untainted corn and another drunken toot resulted.

But they are just dumb, brute beasts. If you drink, what's your excuse?

#404

*

Patrick Viola, 22, near Latham NY and Chris Widebech, 21, at Danbury NH were both killed in separate beer bashes when their boozed-up buddies piled empty beer kegs on bonfires – and the kegs exploded. Both were almost decapitated. Accidents caused by a small amount of beer left in kegs which boiled and caused a steam explosion. One group deliberately tried to blow keg up to see what would happen. N.H. State Police Lt. Mark Furlone said, “People do dumb things when they drink.”

At a prayer breakfast in Clearwater, Florida, Adolph Coors IV, heir to the fourth largest U.S. brewery, told the audience he was born again and would spend the rest of his life winning souls to Christ. He also said he would abandon the beer business. Later he retracted the statement, recalling that Jesus had turned water into wine. [Sumner questions the logic of it being real wine.]

#602 *

Research by the Anchorage Daily News found that Alaska's frontier is experiencing an epidemic of suicide and violence due to substance abuse. It had been covered up, with obituaries saying they had died of natural causes. In one 16-month period, the small village of Alakanuk (pop: 550) suffered eight suicides, dozens of attempted suicides, two murders and four drownings. In 44 separate stories, the News described the widespread despair and self- destruction: native men 20 to 24 committed suicide at 10 times the national average; alcoholism was rampant; so was the sexual assault of children.

#722

*

Many animals get drunk on fermented fruit, and others crave human alcohol.

Koalas are addicted to eucalyptus and die without it. Examples of animal

drunkenness are given.

[used 11/14/93]

"The fact that drug use is natural doesn't mean it's good, then, just that

chanting 'no' isn't likely to rid us of it anytime soon. The most

controversial alternative - to haul off and legalize currently controlled

substances - could prove disastrous, given the deadly pharmacopia we've

amassed."

#1078

*

Martin Luther boasted that he could easily drink Melancthon under the table. Luther had a beer tankard with the Lord's Prayer on it; Malancthon could get to "Thy Kingdom come" while Luther could chug down to "Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever, Amen." [or something to that effect]

______________

My memory was correct in principle but not in particulars. I found this entry in the Google digitized book website, taken from The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, 1911, "Martin Luther And His Work," page 727:

“When entertaining some of his colleagues at dinner, Luther called the company’s attention to a large wineglass encircled with three rings. The first, he said, represented the Ten Commandments, the second the Creed, and the third the Lord’s Prayer. Having emptied it at a single draft, he filled it again and passed it to Agricola, something of a fanatic on the subject of faith, who was able to get no further than the Ten Commandments, to Luther’s great amusement.

“Beer and wine he partook of freely, as was the custom of his countrymen, and his table-conversation may often have been less restrained in consequence; but his enemies exaggerated when they accused him of being a hard drinker. While he never criticized the moderate use of wine and beer, he always severely denounced over-indulgence in them, not sparing even his own elector, John Frederick, who with all his piety, was prone to frequent intoxication.”

The true story of the tragic birth and life of the son of evangelist John Edmund Haggai:

The Lord graciously blessed us with a precious son. He was paralyzed and unable to sit in his wheelchair only with the assistance of full-length body braces. One of the nation's most respected gynecologists and obstetricians brought him into the world. Tragically, this man -- overcome by grief -- sought to find the answer in a bourbon bottle rather than in a blessed Bible. Due to the doctor's intoxication at the time of delivery, he inexcusably bungled his responsibility. Several of the baby's bones were broken. His leg was pulled out at the growing center. Needless abuse -- resulting in hemorrhaging of the brain -- was inflicted upon the little fellow. (Let me pause long enough to say that this is no indictment upon doctors. I thank God for doctors. This man was a tragic exception. He was banned from practice in some hospitals, and he committed suicide.)

During the first year of the little lad's life, eight doctors said he could not possibly survive. For the first two years of his life my wife had to feed him every three hours with a Brecht feeder. It took a half hour to prepare for the feeding and it took another half hour to clean up and put him back to bed. Not once during that time did she ever get out of the house for any diversion whatsoever. Never did she get more than two hours sleep at one time.

My wife, formerly Christine Barker of Bristol, Virginia, had once been acclaimed by some of the nation's leading musicians as one of the outstanding contemporary female vocalists in America. From the time she was 13 she had been popular as a singer - and constantly in the public eye. Hers was the experience of receiving and rejecting some fancy offers with even fancier incomes to marry an aspiring Baptist pastor with no church to pastor!

Then, after five years of marriage, tragedy struck! The whole episode was so unnecessary. Eight of the nation's leading doctors said that our son could not survive. From a life of public service she was now marooned within the walls of our home. Her beautiful voice no longer enraptured public audiences with the story of Jesus, but was not silenced, or at best, muted to the subdued humming of lullabies.

Had it not been from her spiritual maturity whereby she laid hold of the resources of God and lived one day at a time, this heart-rending experience would long since have caused an emotional breakdown.

John Edmund, Jr., our little son, lived more than twenty years. We rejoice that he committed his heart and life to Jesus Christ and gave evidence of a genuine concern for the things of the Lord. I attribute his commitment to Jesus Christ and his wonderful disposition to the sparkling radiance of an emotionally mature, Christ-centered mother who has mastered the discipline of living one day at a time. Never have I -- nor has anyone else -- heard a word of complaint from her. The people who know her concur that at thirty-five years of age and after having been subject to more grief than many people twice her age, she possessed sparkle that would be the envy of any high school senior and the radiance and charm for which any debutante would gladly give a fortune.

Seize today. Live for today. Wring it dry of every opportunity.

Ephesians sermon series: "MAKING THE MOST OF THE MOMENT," Eph 5:15-20.

I. The preciousness of time.

A. Christians must be wise about their use of time. 5:16

B. We live in difficult times, so time can't be taken for granted.

II. Christians must seek God's will. 5:17

A. With time being so short, don't put off seeking for God.

B. True wisdom is the ability to discern what is the will of God,

C. Be concerned about what God wants you to do today.

III. Christians must get high on God, not chemicals. 5:18

A. The Spirit instead of "spirits."

B. Alcohol depresses, the Spirit stimulates.

C. Being filled with the Spirit. 5:18

IV. Seek the Spirit's joy in fellowship and worship. 5:19

A. Fellowship: "To one another."

B. Worship: "To the Lord."

C. The importance of singing.

V. Be grateful to God. 5:20

A. Give thanks always.

B. "Always for everything" - not to be pressed literally. 5:20

VI. Being careful how we live...

A. How are you using the time God has given you?

B. What is the source of joy in your life?

C. What do you have to be thankful for?

#1693

*

For more than ten years something extraordinary has happened in Santiago Yatiepec, Mexico, a village of 2,000 or so. It once was plagued with a murder rate ten times Mexico's average. The extraordinary event? A feast day without drinking, without fistfights, without guns and machetes.

"People used to fight a lot," said Eufronsina Clemente, offering soft drinks in the courtyard of her brick house. "When they drank mescal, the men would go crazy." It was Yaitepec's women who led the fight to ban mescal, distilled form the fermented heart of the maguey, to ban all alcohol, on the feast day and every day of the year.

About 30,000 Chatino live in southern Oaxaca, spread among some 50 communities. Though Catholics, they have never abandoned their traditional beliefs. But Yaitepec seemed to lose its spiritual bearings in the 1950s. Violence overtook the town as people expanded their subsistence farming to add coffee as a cash crop. As farmers jockeyed for bigger parts of the communal land, alcohol fueled their anger.

(A rigid revenge system heightened the problem: The family of a Chatino murder victim traditionally seeks justice by killing not only the murderer but also an adult male member of the murderer's family. Marina Vasquez told of her husband, Adrian Cruz, shot to death 15 years earlier. "He was drinking with his friends, and they began to discuss things they shouldn't have." Four years later, her 21-year-old son, Eusebio, oldest of 11 children, was shot. "I believe the murderers thought my sons were going to avenge their father's death, but it just wasn't so.")

In 1982 Marian Vasquez, Eufronsina Clemente, and dozens of other angry women resolved to ban alcohol and shut the cantinas. "The mescaleros were even getting the police drunk," said Eufronsina. The largest cantina was owned by the town's presidente. When he refused to close, 200 men and women dragged him from his office and for ten days occupied town hall. The prohibitionists soon rallied virtually the entire town. Now anyone caught drunk or with alcohol faces fines and prison, and other Chatino villages have followed suit.

Against the odds the town became sober and peaceful. The loudest noises are not the clamor of cantina loudspeakers but the taps of hammers building new houses, now that people have a little more money. The former presidente has shut down his liquor business. And Marina Vasquez can rely on her surviving sons to farm the family's plot. "I am happy, because my sons don't drink mescal," she said. "If they go out, it's just for a little while, then they come home to sleep."

There have been no murders linked to alcohol since 1981.

#2877

*

The measure of manhood is Jesus Christ. Sound crazy? Sissy? Wimpy? That’s what I used to think. But I learned otherwise by seeking fulfillment in other ways.

Striving to find worldly acceptance, I sought to become the image of the rough, tough macho man. At the end of my quest, I felt confused and defeated. I may have looked big, but I was a weak-kneed, spineless jellyfish.

A chubby, slow, uncoordinated youngster, I grew up desperately seeking approval.

Though often jeered for my clumsy, slow-footed ways, my size worked to my advantage when I started putting my efforts into sports. But my red-letter day in elementary school came when I took on the toughest kid in class. I made this bully mad on the playground and he came running full speed at me.

Actually, I didn’t stand up to him. He scared me to death. Trembling, when he swung, I ducked. He missed and his momentum sent him flying over me.

Without realizing what I was doing, in the same motion I stood up and caught him with my shoulder. I tossed him in the air; he landed on his back, got up and slumped off, crying.

Suddenly I was the school hero. Though my success was a complete fluke, I thought, “Hey, look at the acceptance I got through fighting this guy.”

That launched my quest to become a “macho he-man” by building up my body to ultra-tough proportions. I thought being a man meant someone physically intimidating. I wanted to look so tough no one would challenge me to a fight.

It may sound simplistic to trace all my actions to a grade-school fight. But that was the turning point that set me on the path of “bigger means better.”

Years later I arrived at the University of Southern California boasting a 20-inch neck, 20-inch arms and a 54-inch chest. I used my physique to land a job as a bar bouncer, where I brawled regularly.

I amazed people with my physical stunts. Three times I wrestled bears standing as high as 7 feet, 4 inches and weighing 650 pounds. It was all a show, but my willingness to enter the ring impressed my fraternity brothers. I meant to prove I was the roughest, toughest, most fearless dude on campus. When I got drunk, I would run into 4-by-4 wooden stop signs and knock them over with a loud crack.

Even though I never started, and mainly warmed the bench, I was still one of the few walk-ons to stick with the varsity football team at USC. My willingness to mix it up with future NFL stars like Marcus Allen and Keith Van Horn earned more admiration in my social circles.

Besides persevering in football, my fraternity brought access to two of my primary dreams in life: great parties and lots of sorority sisters. In addition, I was on my way to earning a marketing degree from a dynamic business school.

Despite my physical exploits and campus status, I was bankrupt inside. There was a huge void inside — one only God could fill. My lifestyle covered up the insecurities, fear and failures gnawing at me. I wanted to be a man but didn’t know how. As time passed this void expanded through a steady diet of lust, pornography and immorality. I didn’t realize these things strip a man of purpose and responsibility. They made me feel even weaker.

Ironically, while I was partying away my college years, I called myself a Christian and belonged to a campus ministry. Finally, when USC made it to the Fiesta Bowl my senior year, things began to change. Upset over the hypocrisy and inconsistencies that plagued me, I aimlessly wandered the streets of Phoenix. Fortunately, I later wound up in a Christian gathering. The speaker was former LA Ram and Hall of Fame member Rosey Grier. Seeing through my counterfeit faith, he challenged me to get the sin out of my life.

The night he spoke I felt like laser beams were shooting out of his eyes toward me. The only way to serve God was to quit compromising, he said. The words stung with the force of a wooden stop sign against my nose.

As “fate” had it (there is no such thing, the Lord arranged it), Rosey spoke the following week at USC. He introduced me to my current pastor and an evangelist who spoke that night. As they counseled me, I saw that I had never understood what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. I saw that Jesus was not in control of my life. From studies to athletics, work, social life and family, he must be “Lord of all or not at all.”

That’s when I repented and God’s power changed me. The void in my life vanished. For the very first time, I felt like a whole person. A real man.

This country is staggering through a leadership crisis. The times demand bold men of character who are not afraid to proclaim the Lord in the midst of a wicked, perverted society.

Everywhere, whether in business, politics or education, people are crying out, “Will somebody please take the lead?” Or, as Psalms 94:16b (New American Standard) asks, “Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness?”

Men are the foundational strength of any government. From family to workforce to public affairs, as men go, so goes the nation. As TV host Ben Kinchlow says, “Being male is a matter of birth. Being a man is a matter of choice.”

Going against peer pressure. That takes guts. Daring to be a role model by doing what is right in the sight of a holy God. That requires bravery. Courage stands out from the crowd instead of bowing to it.

God has placed in the heart of every man the deep, burning desire to be a hero, a champion and an overcomer. Men want to stand up, do what is right and achieve greatness. That is leadership by example instead of seeking out the latest polling data to make up your mind.

In recent years the world has warred against this type of thought. Critics sneer, “Oh, you just have a big ego and you want to feed it.”

But I’m here to say: God designed you with that ego. Not to exalt yourself or act like a “stud.” It is so he can provoke you to do great exploits for his glory.

Having an ego is natural, since it’s a gift from God. The ideal man is a hero. Women dream of a knight in shining armor who will appear at the right moment and whisk them off to safety.

It’s the same with young children, who are always eager to brag, “My dad can whip your dad” or “No one is as good as my dad.” In today’s divorce-filled climate, there are also the kids who cry, “I just wish I had a dad.”

Strong men, our society needs you!

================

Excerpted from “Warriors,” released this month by Broadman & Holman Publishers. Sirotnak is an evangelist based in Anaheim, Calif.; Walker is a free-lance writer in Louisville, Ky.

Copyright (c) 1995 Baptist Press — RNbp5911mrjB5911g6912

Basically, my life was "American Pie" from the time I was born 24 years ago

until I reached junior high. My parents were Christians who took my older

brother and sister and me to church every Sunday and then to my grandparents'

house to spend the afternoon. I did well in school.

Then, when I was in about seventh grade, I became obsessed with motorcycles

and leather. I started listening to heavy metal music and drinking. I did

my first drugs when I was about 12 years old and progressed to daily use of

cocaine by the time I was 16.

I grew my hair long, had an ear pierced, and bought a motorcycle and leather

jacket. I got the money to support my habit and my motorcycle by doing

landscaping and carpentry and by selling drugs.

Needless to say, I had stopped going to church by then. I substituted worship

of a satanic cult that I followed around the country.

I dropped out of high school during my senior year, but I got a GED and spent

2 semesters at a local community college.

From bad to worse

My college career was halted abruptly in 1990 by a serious motorcycle

accident. As I look back on it, I see that accident as a turning point in my

life - a shift from bad to worse. I lost the use of my legs for 2 months,

and I stayed drunk and high for the entire time.

Although they took care of me after the accident, my parents told me they

had had it with me. My father said I had run from God and was paying the

price; he said I wasn't welcome in their home anymore, so as soon as I was

able, I moved in with a girl I knew. She lived with her mother, and both of

them were alcoholics, so they tolerated my habits.

By then, though, just selling drugs wasn't sufficient to support my drug

habit, so I started stealing. I stole from anybody and everybody.

Eventually I got caught and was sentenced to 8 years in state prison for

burglary. During the 21 years I served before being paroled, I was re-

introduced to God by volunteers from a church in Sussex County. They came

every Sunday night for a Bible study, and the things they said and did made a

big impression in me.

Clean for Two months

Unfortunately, when I was released from prison in 1994, I forgot about God. I

deliberately moved away from old haunts and managed to stay clean for 2

months. But I didn't have any friends in the new place and the only place I

knew to look for friends was a bar. So I started hanging out in bars, and the

next thing I knew, I was high. I also learned a new skill: free-basing

cocaine.

Within 3 months, I was unemployable. I needed a place to live, so I moved in

with a woman who was old enough to be my mother. I wasn't there for long,

however, because 2 months later I was back in jail.

My brother was planning to get married and he had asked me to be his best man,

but when he found out that I had been arrested again, he changed his mind.

That was one of the things that drove me to get help. The other was that I

was a three time offender and a parole violator; I knew that if I went back to

prison I would probably never come out. I was willing to do anything to stay

out of prison.

I don't know where I got the number for the Market Street Mission. I just

knew that I had to make a change or I would spend the rest of my life in

prison. I called Phil Dosier in February of 1995, and my life has not been

the same since.

Spiritual Kindergarten

For the first 3 months I just surrendered and listened. It was hard, and I

made mistakes, but some of the guys looked out for me and helped me. I needed

spiritual Kindergarten. My Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor re-introduced me to

God, and the Mission taught me about Jesus. Through Him, I have turned my

life around completely. My life has been put back together.

I completed the New Reality of Recovery program in December of 1995 and am

now employed by the Mission. I am in the leadership program, which allows me

to keep growing spiritual and to help other men who have been in some of the

same places I've been.

I have rebuilt the bridge between myself and my family. I see them at least

once a month. And now I have a new family too. The people at the Mission are

like a second family to me. A family that knows how to help me stay clean and

sober and close to Jesus.

Right now, I'm taking courses at the County College of Morris with the object

of a professional career. I would also like to get the certification I need

to counsel other addicts and to get involved with a prison ministry. I want

to be like those volunteers who came to me when I was in prison. People who

did it for love, not for money.

==============================================================================

[changed to third person for sermon:]

Jack Rue is a Morris County boy.

He describes his life as "American Pie" from the time he was

born 24 years ago until he reached junior high.

His parents were Christians who took his older brother and

sister and him to church every Sunday.

He did well in school.

Then, when Jack was in about seventh grade, he became

obsessed with motorcycles and leather.

He started listening to heavy metal music and drinking.

He did his first drugs when he was about 12 years old and

progressed to daily use of cocaine by the time he was 16.

Jack grew his hair long, had an ear pierced, and bought a

motorcycle and leather jacket.

He got the money to support his habit and his motorcycle

by doing landscaping and carpentry and by selling drugs.

Needless to say, he had stopped going to church by then.

He substituted worship of a satanic cult that he followed

around the country.

He dropped out of high school during his senior year, but

got a GED and spent 2 semesters at a local college.

His college career was halted abruptly in 1990 by a serious

motorcycle accident.

As Jack looks back on it, he sees that accident as a turning

point in his life - a shift from bad to worse.

He lost the use of his legs for 2 months, and he stayed drunk

and high for the entire time.

Although they took care of him after the accident, his parents

told him they had had it with him.

His father told him he had run from God and was paying the

price; he said he wasn't welcome in their home anymore.

As soon as Jack was able, he moved in with a girl he knew.

She lived with her mother, and both of them were alcoholics,

so they tolerated his habits.

By then, though, just selling drugs wasn't sufficient to

support his drug habit, so he started stealing.

He stole from anybody and everybody.

Eventually he got caught and was sentenced to 8 years in state

prison for burglary.

During the 21 months he served before being paroled, he was

re-introduced to God by volunteers from a church in Sussex

County.

They came every Sunday night for a Bible study, and the things

they said and did made a big impression in Jack.

Unfortunately, when he was released from prison in 1994,

he forgot about God.

He deliberately moved away from old haunts and managed to

stay clean for 2 months.

But he didn't have any friends in the new place and the only

place he knew to look for friends was a bar.

So he started hanging out in bars, and the next thing he knew,

he was high.

He also learned a new skill: free-basing cocaine.

Within 3 months, Jack was unemployable.

Two months after that, he was back in jail.

His brother was planning to get married and he had asked Jack

to be his best man, but when he found out Jack had been

arrested again, he changed his mind.

That was one of the things that drove him to get help.

He also knew he was a three-time offender and parole violator;

if he went back to prison he would never come out.

Jack Rue doesn't know where he got the number for the Market

Street Mission.

He just knew that he had to make a change or he would spend

the rest of his life in prison.

Jack called Phil Dosier in February of 1995, and his life

has not been the same since.

The first three months he called his "Spiritual Kindergarten."

He just surrendered and listened.

His Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor re-introduced him to God,

and the Mission taught him about Jesus.

Through Jesus, Jack feels his life has turned around completely.

He has rebuilt the bridge between himself and his family.

He sees them at least once a month.

The people at the Mission are like a second family to him,

one that holds him accountable.

And he's been taking courses at the County College of Morris

with the object of a professional career.

Jack's goal? To get involved with a prison ministry.

He wants to be like those volunteers who came to him when

he was in prison.

B. Most of us haven't sunk as low as Jack Rue.

1) But all of us must descend from our inflated ego.

2) We are nice, but not nice enough for God.

3) At your best, there is a great gap between you and Lord.

#4108

*

One of our young men gave me the following experience. He said, "An

old gentleman and a young man, who was the driver, stopped at

Ringgold, Georgia, to get a lunch. They asked for a certain type of

beer. They were informed the proprietor did not have this brand; so

they left the restaurant and went to another. They gave their order

with the call for this same beer. On being informed that they did not

have it, they left in a rage. The young man angrily said, "We will

have it [calling the brand] if we have to go to hell to get it." They

then drove rapidly away toward Atlanta. In making one of those curves

their car collided with a beer truck loaded with the brand he had

demanded, and there was a fearful wreck and crash. They were both

instantly killed and buried in broken bottles of the beer the young

man had demanded."

He got his beer, and doubtless went to hell in so doing. Some

things God will not stand for.

William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."

North Carolina, where a state cop stopped an obviously drunk driver. While he was ticketing the man, there was a multi-car accident on the other side of the divided highway. The highway patrolman told the drunk to wait. The patrolman went across the highway to sort out the accident. After a while the drunk figured he'd waited long enough and he drove on home and told his wife that if anybody asked she should say he had been in bed with the flu all day. Within the hour two state patrolmen appeared at the home of the drunk driver and asked to see him. He came from the bedroom wrapped in a robe and coughing and wheezing. The patrolmen asked if he had been driving that evening and he said he'd been sick in bed. They apologized for bothering him and asked if they could take a look at his car. The wrapped-up drunk escorted them to the garage and inside was-a highway patrol car, the blue lights still flashing. Paul Harvey, For What It's Worth, p. 131.

Authorities now know that approximately one person in sixteen who ever takes a social drink will become an alcoholic! How many of you would get on an airplane if before it took off you knew there was a 1 out of 16 chance that it would crash and destory your life. Actually, the odds for a commerical airliner crashing are closer to 1 out of 1,000,000; but even with those odds some people will not fly. Yet many of these same people will take a drink! - Zig Ziglar

William Jennings Bryan was visiting Japan and attended a banquet given to the Japanese Admiral of the Navy. When it came time to pay the naval leader tribute by raising a toast, all raised their champagne glasses. There was a gasp of alarm as Bryan, a tee-totaller, raised a glass of water. Someone grasped his arm and whispered to do so would be considered an insult. Bryan responded by saying, “You won your victories on water,” he said, turning to the admiral, “and I drink to your health in water; whenever you win any victories on champagne I shall drink to your health in champagne.”

Two Baptist groups met in Europe, one from America and the other from Germany. At the dinner table several of the American Baptists began to smoke. The German Baptists were aghast. In fact, the Germans were so shocked, they almost dropped their beer.

Two recent studies have bolstered conservatives' claims about abstinence and teenage substance abuse.

A study published in the latest edition of the journal Adolescent & Family Health found that 67 percent of the drop in the single teen pregnancy rate from 1991-95 was due to abstinence, not birth control. This counters a study released by the Alan Guttmacher Institute in 1999 saying that contraception was the major factor in the drop.

Meanwhile, another study has shown the positive impact religion can have on a teen's life. According to the study -- published in the March issue of the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors -- teens who consider religion important in their lives are half as likely as other teens to drink heavily or smoke marijuana and cigarettes.

Three researchers at Yeshiva University in New York conducted the substance abuse study.

“These buffering effects could be occurring because religiosity may influence a person's attitudes and values, providing meaning and purpose in life,” researcher Thomas Ashby Wills said in a statement. “It could also help persons to view problems in a different way.

“Besides offering coping techniques, being involved with a religion can also create more healthy social networks than adolescents would have if they got involved with drugs to find social outlets.”

The pregnancy study looked at various data, including the drop in the teen birth rate from 1991-95 (the latest data available) and the increase in abstinent teens during that time. “Teens” were defined as girls age 15-19.

The study utilized data from the National Vital Statistics Records, National Survey of Family Growth and the Alan Guttmacher Institute. The number of pregnancies per 1,000 teen girls decreased from 115.8 in 1991 to 101.1 in 1995, according to the study. At the same time, the number of unmarried teen girls who were abstinent -- defined as never having had sex or not having had sex in the past year -- increased from 53 percent to 56 percent, the study said.

The study was conducted by New Jersey physician Joanna Mohn, University of North Carolina-Greensboro professor Lynne Tingle and Colorado physician Reginald Finger.

“These findings support the significance of the growing movement of teens choosing to abstain from sex,” they wrote. “... [T]his study demonstrates the important role of increased sexual abstinence in reducing the single teen and overall teen pregnancy rates.”

The study of religion's effects on teens followed 1,182 teens in New York City from seventh to 10th grade, utilizing surveys each school year. The importance of religion was determined by asking the teens to rate various statements from “not at all important” to “very important”: “To believe in God”; “To be able to rely on religious teachings when you have a problem”; “To be able to turn to prayer when you're facing a personal problem”; and “To rely on your religious beliefs as a guide for day-to-day living.”

The study did not break the samples down into sub-categories, such as effects of evangelical Christianity.

The research found that teens who consider religion an important part of their lives were half as likely to be involved in “heavy drinking, cigarette smoking and marijuana use.” There was little difference in overall alcohol use, the study said.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #6284]

A rat was being chased by a cat. The rat finally ran into a shed that was full of barrels. One of the barrels he saw had a hole in it. So the rat ran into the hole. The cat was too big to get through the hole. The rat sprawled out of the inside of the empty barrel and gasped for breath. Soon he was rested however and began to sniff around. What was that he smelled? There was some liquid still around the inside rim of the overturned barrel so he began to lap it up. It so happened that this was a rum barrel and as the rat lapped and lapped he began to feel bigger and bigger and stronger and stronger. Finally with his belly full of rum he remembered the cat. So... he crawled back through the hole in the barrel, and sat on the rim and looked around defiantly and said, "Where's that cat!"

A bright boy, who had been taught the nature of strong drink and

who had promised to shun it, one day visited a rich uncle, who offered

the boy a glass of wine. He declined. Wishing to see how far the boy

could be tempted, the uncle urged him to drink, and finally offered

him the gift of a watch if he would drink. The boy declined, saying,

"Please do not tempt me. If I keep a teetotaler, I can someday buy a

watch of my Own; but if I drink and take your watch, I may later on

have to pawn it to get bread."

William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."

Far worse than the effect of strong drink upon the man himself is

its effect upon his posterity. A writer gives a striking illustration

of this. He says:

A specialist in children's diseases, who has for twelve years been

carefully noticing the difference between twelve families of drinkers

and twelve families of temperate ones, reports that he found the

twelve drinking families produced in those years fifty-seven children

and the temperates sixty-one. Of the drinkers, twenty-five children

died in the first week of life, as against six on the other side.

Among the children of the drinkers were five who were idiots; five, so

stunted in growth as to be really dwarfs; five, when older became

epileptics; one, a boy, had grave chorea, ending in idiocy; five more

were diseased and deformed, and two of the epileptics became by

inheritance drinkers. Ten only of the fifty-seven were normal in body

and mind, On the part of the sixty-one of the temperates two only

showed inherited nervous weakness, while four in later years of

childhood had curable nervous diseases, and fifty were in every way

sound in body and mind. There could scarcely be a more conclusive

demonstration in favor of abstinence from intoxicants on the part of

those who assume the responsibility of parentage.

By J. Wilbur Chapan, "Present Day Parables."

A deeply ingrained culture has developed on American college campuses that promotes the drinking of alcoholic beverages, with thousands of deaths, injuries, sexual assaults and health problems among the results each year, according to a new report.

The study, commissioned by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, found the following results were true on a yearly average:

• 1,400 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related injuries.

• 500,000 students are accidentally injured while under the influence of alcohol.

• More than 600,000 college students are assaulted by other students who have been drinking.

• More than 70,000 students are sexually assaulted or date-raped by people who have been drinking.

• More than 100,000 students say they were too drunk to know if they willingly had sexual relations.

• 2.1 million students drive under the influence of alcohol.

• 31 percent of students qualify for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6 percent for alcohol dependence.

• More than 150,000 students report a health problem related to drinking alcohol.

• About 25 percent say they have academic problems stemming from alcohol use.

“The consequences of excessive drinking are far too common on many college campuses nationwide, and efforts to reduce high-risk drinking and its related problems have largely failed,” task force co-chair Mark Goldman of the University of South Florida said in a written release.

The study, based on data from a variety of sources, reports students who drink the most include first-year students, males, whites, athletes and fraternity and sorority members. Students who drink the least are found at religious schools, two-year institutions, commuter schools and historically black schools, according to the report.

Although recent studies show the percentage of college students who abstain from alcohol has increased from 15 to 19 percent between 1993 and 1999, binge drinking has become a concern, according to the report. About 40 percent of students binge drink. Binge drinking is defined as consuming at least five drinks in a row for men and at least four in a row for women. About 20 percent of students say they have binged more than three times in the last two weeks, according to the report.

The NIAAA report, released April 9, came two weeks after another study revealed there had been a significant increase in binge drinking at schools for women. Between 1993 and 2001, students who binge drink at women’s colleges grew from about 24 to 32 percent, according to a report from the Harvard School of Public Health. There was a 20 percent decrease in abstainers at these schools. There also was a sharp rise in frequent binge drinkers from 5 to 12 percent, the study reported.

The NIAAA report recommended prevention efforts that focus on at-risk students, the student population overall, and the college and surrounding community. Among strategies that are effective or show promise, according to the report, are enforcement of minimum drinking-age laws, limitations on the number of alcohol retail outlets near campus, the expansion of alcohol-free dormitories and the reinstatement of Friday classes and tests.

The report, titled “A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges,” may be accessed at www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov.