Holy Firewater Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

For the most part the Bible condemns the consumption of alcohol and preaches abstinence. Deuteronomy 32:33 likens it to the "poison of serpents", Proverbs 4:17 dictates that "alcoholic drink is the wine of violence" and even St Peter declares that "it has no place in the Christian's life" (1 Peter 4: 3-4). However, there are passages that generalise that it does provide a modicum of happiness, in particular Psalm 104:14f, which talks of "wine that gladdens the hearts of man" and Ecclesiastes 9:7, which instructs us to "drink your wine with joyful heart".

In today's society, where the natural assumption is that wine is an alcoholic beverage, the above (simplistic) approach may indicate that the Bible condones the consumption of alcohol. The word wine, as used in the Bible, has its origins in the Greek word "onios" and the Hebrew "yayin" and both are used within the text to speak of fermented (alcoholic) and unfermented (non-alcoholic) grape juice. This quiz has no intention into entering into a theological argument. We'll leave that to the theologians and the scholars. For our part, the question does not ask about the "consumption" of wine but the "use" of it and this includes medicinal purposes.

This question was put forward by polluci19.

Answer: Jesus

Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist all clearly lived by the Nazarite vow but Jesus did not. Interestingly, all three of these men had the fact that they would be Nazarites decided prior to their births. Samson and John had their vows foretold and/or commanded by an angel of the Lord (Judges 13:5 for Samson and Luke 1:13-17 for John) and Samuel's mother made the vow if God allowed her to become pregnant (I Samuel. 1:11). Some have put forth that Jesus took the Nazarite vow but the evidence proves quite the opposite. The clearest proof would be Matthew 11:18-19 where Jesus draws a clear distinction between Himself and the way He lived and John the Baptist and his adherence to the Nazarite vow.

This question was put forward by tazman6619.

Answer: Noah

The events of this story occur directly after the Great Flood; however, only the bare skeleton of the story has been recorded, leaving a lot to conjecture.
Why Noah got drunk is not told but it is an unusual action from one who is looked upon as a Biblical hero. After seeing his father, Ham has informed his brothers Shem and Japheth of his nakedness. These two then cover their father with a robe but do it by walking backwards into the tent so as not to see him in the state he's in. When Noah awakes he soon realises what has happened and immediately curses his grandson Canaan, the son of Ham. This is a savage punishment delivered on one so young and one who, as far as we can tell, was not even there. This is one of the things that open the door to conjecture as if to say that there is more to this story than meets the eye, or has been told.

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Answer: All of them

Jesus was offered wine mixed with a bitter substance at his crucifixion as a way to stupefy his senses and in doing so ease his pain in a similar way to an anaesthetic (Matthew 27:34).

St Timothy was a sickly fellow and regularly suffered from a stomach ailment during his travels with St Paul. Paul would advise him not to drink water alone but to add some wine to it as a means to ease his suffering (1 Timothy 5:23). Those that preach abstention have always claimed that this was a way for Timothy to purify his drinking water rather than a concession to a young man to indulge in the wine.

In Luke chapter 10, Jesus told the story (parable) of "The Good Samaritan" who comes upon an injured man and dresses the man's wounds with a mixture of oil and wine to cleanse them and ease the man's pain.

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Answer: The second coming of Christ

The larger context of these verses is actually discussing the second coming of Christ and has nothing really to do with alcohol or the consumption of it. The contrast being drawn here is between those who know Christ is coming again and are watching and those who are not and are unprepared. The idea of sobriety vs drunkenness is a metaphor of the greater spiritual truth of being vigilant and aware vs preoccupied and distracted. (Guzik, David. "Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 5") Granted, it is a given that Christians should never be drunks but the context here is of a greater truth.

This question was put forward by tazman6619.

Answer: True

Christian tradition holds that the turning of water into wine at the Wedding in Cana is the first miracle that Jesus performed and, in doing so, announced himself to the world; however, it is only in the Gospel of St John in which it is attested to. In John 2:11 he indicates that this is the first of seven signs that will point to the divine status of Jesus.

The wedding that Jesus and his disciples were invited to was heading for a mini disaster, as they were out of wine. Upon his mother's bidding Jesus asked the servants to fill the containers with water and then to draw some and present it to the chief steward. On tasting it the steward was surprised and congratulated the groom on doing away with custom by serving the best wine last. It is often considered by scholars that John uses this as a form of allegory and that the good wine is really Jesus who has come to bring cheer and hope to the world.

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Answer: Uriah

Uriah served David as a loyal soldier in his army. He was also the husband of the now pregnant Bathsheba. David had summoned Uriah from the battlefield and then ordered him home for the evening thinking that he would eat, drink and then lay with his wife. This way when the child was born Uriah would mistakenly think that the child was his own and, in David's eyes, his sin would be covered up. Uriah, however, was a very loyal soldier and he could not bear the thought of enjoying his homely comforts while his fellow soldiers were still at the battlefront. Accordingly he slept on his own doorstep. David then urged Uriah to stay another day and join him at the palace. There he plied him with wine to get him drunk and then urged the soldier to sleep with his wife. Uriah's loyalty, however, was stronger than his inebriation. This was unfortunate for him as David then sent him back to the battle with a message for his commander, Joab, to place Uriah on the frontline where the battle was at its most fierce. It was here that Uriah was killed.

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Answer: To sleep with him

In Genesis 19: 15-17 we are told how the angels carried Lot, his wife and two daughters out of the city of Sodom and urged him to flee to the mountains. They also warned them not to look back. Then the Lord rained down fire and brimstone and destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, all the people in them and everything that grew on their soils. Essentially the two cities were reduced to salt-plains. Lot's wife turned around to look and was turned to salt as well. At first Lot and his daughters fled to Zoar, grew fearful of living there and immediately headed for the mountains. Living alone in a cave with their father the two daughters began to fear that they would not get to have a man and, as such, would see the end of Lot's line. So for two nights they got him drunk with wine and then each lay with him separately without Lot knowing. The daughters did become pregnant. The eldest daughter gave birth to Moab, which is Hebrew for "from the father" and the younger to Ben-Ammi, meaning "son of my people".

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Answer: The Last Supper

The final meal that Jesus shares with his disciples is not described as "The Last Supper" in the New Testament; however, its importance is not denied. It is here that Jesus predicts his betrayal by Judas and denial by Peter. It is here that he washes the feet of his disciples and prepares them for his departure. And it is here that Jesus institutes the Eucharist by offering bread and wine to his followers and requesting them to partake in it as these gifts represent his body and his blood respectively. The meal is described in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22 and John 13.

This ritual is often linked to the blood sacrifice described in Exodus 24: 5-8 where Moses seals a Covenant with God by killing an oxen and sprinkling its blood on the people.

This question was put forward by polluci19.

Answer: True

In Matthew 26:29 Jesus is speaking and He says, "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." The verse is rather clear that wine will be in heaven. Now what is meant by the word wine is an entirely different matter. Some have argued that wine can be interpreted both as alcoholic and non-alcoholic grape juice, aka fermented vs non-fermented. Without delving too deeply into the merits of both sides of this argument I think it is more important to look at the role of wine historically in the Bible and in the ancient world. Wine of an alcoholic nature was an important part of Jewish life at the time, both in the feasts they celebrated and in religious ceremonies. It still is. Another important point would be that of sanitation in the ancient world and more particularly an understanding of microbial causes of disease that did not exist. In the same way that beer was common in the Middle Ages because the alcohol in it made it safer to drink than water, so too wine served the same purpose in the ancient world. Most likely this wine was significantly watered down but the alcohol is what made the water safe to drink. It has been argued that the strong drink of the Old Testament may just have been undiluted wine and that the word 'wine' referred to the diluted variety. Science has shown that wine has health benefits far beyond just the purifying effects of the alcohol.

This is the world Jesus grew up in, a world where wine served religious purposes and also had health benefits because of its nature as a fermented beverage. This does not mean the intoxicating properties of wine are the most important aspect of wine, especially as described in this verse. No, the more important qualities of wine as expressed in this verse would be these religious purposes and the health benefits.

This question was put forward by tazman6619.