While the church is very prominent in the life of most Jamaicans, the Lenten season brings further focus and reflection on a number of traditions, special ceremonies including The Eucharist, and The Holy Communion which is based on The Last Supper, or as others call it – The Lord’s Supper. Was it wine as we know it, or was it unfermented grape juice that they were having? Where else was wine mentioned in the Bible ? A quick search on my iPad King James Version Bible brings up 233 results on the word “wine”. As I did further research on wine in the Bible , what I can state for sure is that many schools of thought exist on what the mentions of wine in the bible mean. Was the overall feeling about wine a positive one or a negative one? So many opinions exist and everyone has their own proof.

Do you believe The Bible?

Newsweek Magazine, Jan 2, 2015, had a cover story titled ‘The Bible – So Misunderstood it’s a sin’ and as was expected ignited a firestorm of controversy. As a lifelong learner I was very interested in their take on this often controversial book, as I have always had many unanswered religious questions myself, having considered denominations like the Seventh-Day Adventist churches, Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Halls, Catholic and Anglican churches. The following paragraph from the 16-page Newsweek article piqued my interest: “No television preacher has ever read the Bible. Neither has any evangelical politician. Neither has the Pope. Neither have I. And neither have you. At best, we’ve all read a bad translation — a translation of translations of translations of hand-copied copies of copies of copies of copies, and on and on, hundreds of times.” Against that backdrop, here are my thoughts on wine in the Bible.

Wine in the Bible

• Wine is the most mentioned alcoholic beverage in the Bible.

• Biblical literature uses several words in its original languages to refer to different types of alcoholic beverages. Some of these words have overlapping meanings. These include references to wine at different stages of development — from grape juice fresh from the grapes all the way to fermented juice of grapes and other fruits — wine.

• Many religious people are of the belief that the Bible is anti-alcohol and they say they have their proof. Let’s not forget prohibition.

• Many believe that the Bible supports measured alcohol consumption and they say they have their proof.

• The very first mention of wine in the Bible is in Genesis 9, where Noah had a bit too much wine and fell asleep drunk and naked.

• Jesus’ very first miracle was that of turning water into wine. Many argue that it was not wine as we know it, others say for certain it was real wine with alcohol.

• The deliberations continue as to whether wine was served at The Last Supper, as the biblical text only mentions that they had a beverage made from “fruit of the vine”. Again, scholars argue and have proof for both sides of the debate.

From what I have read over the years, I believe the Bible displays an ambivalence toward wine, considering it both a blessing from God that brings joy and merriment, and a potentially dangerous beverage that can be sinfully abused.

What do you believe? I hope you had a happy and holy Easter.

Christopher Reckord – Information Technology Entrepreneur & Wine Enthusiast. Send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope @chrisreckord and on Twitter @Reckord