Alcohol Anyone?

[JustAnotherGuy]

When I finally realized that I was done with Christianity, I had this nagging feeling that I was missing out on some things. I had never drank alcohol. I wondered what it was like. There's only some much you can understand about an experience by googling it. One day I broke down, snuck into the local ABC store, and picked up a bottle of Wild Turkey American Honey. I was looking for something that I could sip on and enjoy. I enjoyed it and ended up trying several other things over the course of 2-3 months. Now, I haven't had a drink in about 4 months. I stopped because I figured it would draw too much attention to my deconversion and trying to drink in secret made me feel like I was an alcoholic. My fiance wouldn't approve of it and I know my parents wouldn't(my mother was an alcoholic) either. SO I guess my question to you guys is this: Did your views on alcohol change when you deconverted? If so, how drastic was the change? Did it change your lifestyle?

 

Bonus question:

What's a good Bourbon?

[Vigile]

I drank while I was an xian. Jesus drank wine afterall. I figured the church had pulled a fast on one me.

 

Maker's Mark isn't bad IIRC. I'm sure there's better though.

[Shyone]

The first time I got drunk was when a priest gave me a giant swig of wine at the end of a service (I was a priest's server). Nothing had changed when I deconverted about 20 years later.

 

But then, I was a whiskeypalian.

[qec]

Speaking of whiskey, try to get your hands on a bottle of Glennfiddich, ImAlive.

[Guest Marty]

I am all for alcohol, don't get me wrong. I got pretty wasted last night in fact. Just wanted to pipe in and say be careful if your mother was an alcoholic. Alcoholism seems to have a genetic component, and your experiments may end up bringing you there, and you don't want that...

 

Otherwise, enjoy!

[FourDogBrewing]

I drank prior to deconversion. I drink post deconversion as well. I also now brew my own beer! lol

 

Anyway I think obviously some of the more strict Christian denominations don't allow things like alcohol or sometimes even dancing. The theory goes that they are less likely to commit sin I guess, if they avoid those things.

 

I am glad you are having fun experimenting and trying out various alcohols, getting a good buzz can be quite fun. Don't know anything about bourbon, but if you ever need a beer expert let me know.

[Reason]

Great post! I've been looking for one like this for awhile on here and the other blogs. Never can find them! Thanks! This is one that I have struggled with, too. I was raised strict IFB and, of course, drinking is EEEEEEVVVVILLL. I've talked to some friends online about it, but no one really answers any questions, I assume out of fear of liability if I go out and get wasted and hurt. I just wish someone could give me an idea of what's a good booze beverage to "try" for someone who has NEVER drank a drop in his life, (unless you count Listerine). I don't want to get "wasted". I just want to feel the "buzz" I've heard people talk about my whole life. And, no, I'm not interested in partying and being an Alcoholic. I'm just tired of feeling like a freak.

 

Thanks for posting this, Imalive. I thought I was the only one out there that had never drank. Of course, some have, but this is another example of how the different denominations and "faiths" cherry-pick what's right and wrong. Another think I don't miss about Baptists (and all of the other Christian non-sense).

 

 

(Btw, off-topic but a little semantic fun: what do you call a well-endowed Baptist woman? "Baptits!")

[★ Citsonga ★]

I'm 36 and have been out of the faith 6-7 years, and I still have never had an alcoholic beverage. I have used Nyquil and I did try some pineapple chunks that were soaked in some alcohol, but I've never drank any alcoholic beverage.

 

Now, what's interesting is that even when I was a christian I came to the conclusion that drinking in moderation wasn't a "sin," it was being drunk that was a "sin," so I didn't have an issue with it per se. However, I didn't want to do something that may lead someone else into alcoholism, and I also didn't have much interest in it myself. Nor did I want to pay that much for drinks when water is practically free. And, to top it all off, I used to collect cans along the road when bikeriding and turn them in for a little cash, and those days-old beer cans were quite stenchy. So, I never got into drinking, even though I didn't oppose moderate drinking.

 

That being said, many of my christian relatives are opposed to drinking alcohol altogether, so it also wouldn't have looked good to them for me to drink, which also carries over into my current status (especially since I haven't come out to them as a nonbeliever).

 

So, while I don't have anything against it, I guess I just still don't have enough desire for alcohol to bother spending the extra money on it. Hell, I'm one who 95% of the time just gets water rather than soda when going out to eat.

[Mike D]

I was a partier back in my youth so I drank while I was a Christian.

 

Interesting, now that I am not a Christian I don't drink at all other than on very rare occassions. But I am also really into health and fitness and it's sort of hard to work out with a hangover

[HRDWarrior]

I drank before my deconversion, I still drink. I like a wide variety of different things, from fruity girlie drinks to a super smooth aged whiskey, beer, and most everything in between.

 

My views on drinking haven't changed, either other than I feel no guilt for the occasion drunk night - but since I HATE hangovers and alcoholism does run in my family, I avoid those bender nights for my own reasons (although after finals this semester I went out and nursed a hangover the next day).

[hereticzero]

Answering yammering Christians drove me to drink before I left the religion. I could never understand why my college professors drank until my deconversion, they have to deal with really stupid people!

[tvaholic]

I had become a pretty liberal xtian in the last few years of my xtianity so I did have a drink occassionally. But it was more like a glass of wine at a party and things like that. I'm not a huge fan too many alcoholic drinks - I just don't like the taste. I much prefer sweet mixed drinks. I don't like beer at all but I'm all for a mai tai or a margarita. LOL!

 

What's funny is that I never BOUGHT alcohol myself until after my deconversion. The "don't drink at all" had been so ingrained into me that I was afraid to buy the stuff.

 

I'm still amazed at how religion warps people.

 

I still don't drink very often. Alcoholism does run in my family so I keep myself aware of what I'm drinking, how much, etc. I think if I had started drinking sooner I probably would drink a bit more now - still not a lot, but more than I do.

[par4dcourse]

Quit drinking after deconversion, but there was no correlation.

[★ Citsonga ★]

What's funny is that I never BOUGHT alcohol myself until after my deconversion. The "don't drink at all" had been so ingrained into me that I was afraid to buy the stuff.

 

Ya know, I think I'd feel weird buying alcohol too. I'd probably be afraid that someone who knows me would see me buy it. Yet I don't consider drinking to be a bad thing if done responsibly.

 

I'm still amazed at how religion warps people.

 

It does boggle the mind, doesn't it?

[godlessgrrl]

I was kind of weird about alcohol while I was still living with my folks, but it didn't have anything to do with being xian or not. It was because my mom was an alcoholic and my dad a problem drinker. I saw what they were like and I just didn't want any part of it. It wasn't for lack of opportunity - we had plenty of booze in the house, so I could've tried damn near anything, if I'd felt the inclination. I just didn't even want to go there.

 

The extent of my underage drinking involved my having about half of one of those nastyass Bartles & James malt drinks at a very low-key high school graduation party with my geek friends. Seriously, all we did was sit around and drink and watch movies. Nobody got wild at all.

 

I even turned down a glass of wine on my 21st birthday. I had to be talked into it, and I don't think I drank the whole thing.

 

It wasn't until I married and moved out and had to deal with my now-ex that I started drinking in earnest. For a few years I was prone to periodic binge drinking when things were really awful. For the most part I just wasn't interested in it, unless it was a tool I was using to abuse myself because I couldn't cope with a failing marriage and a miserable life.

 

It wasn't until I was about 30 or so that I figured out a happy medium. I drink sometimes, stick mostly with beer & wine, know my limits, and stick to them. I know I have to be careful about it because my mom was an alcoholic and because I've been self-destructive with it in the past. But truth is, I don't like being drunk. I don't like how it makes me feel and act, so generally I keep it to a minimum.

 

But I've never had any religious aversion to it. Hell, Jesus drank wine; he even turned water into the stuff, so it didn't make sense to me that alcohol should be forbidden. Drunkenness, yeah, and generally being an asshole when you'd had to much, stuff like that, but drinking in moderation? No problems with it at all.

[Ro-bear]

I was twelve or thirteen when I left the fold. It would not have made any difference since we were lukewarm methodists. My parents drank socially until they got so old that they had med interaction issues. I have been a moderate drinker since my late teens. I brew my own beer, which is my main alcohol source. Every now and then I get drunk, but hangovers get much worse as you age so my nights of excess are fewer and fewer as the years go by. Most days I do not drink at all. On the days I do, it is usually "one and done". But once or twice a month I enter a darts tournament and drink between six and twelve beers. Darts is thirsty work.

[Moving on]

Great post! I've been looking for one like this for awhile on here and the other blogs. Never can find them! Thanks! This is one that I have struggled with, too. I was raised strict IFB and, of course, drinking is EEEEEEVVVVILLL. I've talked to some friends online about it, but no one really answers any questions, I assume out of fear of liability if I go out and get wasted and hurt. I just wish someone could give me an idea of what's a good booze beverage to "try" for someone who has NEVER drank a drop in his life, (unless you count Listerine). I don't want to get "wasted". I just want to feel the "buzz" I've heard people talk about my whole life. And, no, I'm not interested in partying and being an Alcoholic. I'm just tired of feeling like a freak.

 

 

I totally know what you mean because I went through the same thing. It's tough walking through a liquor store and deciding what you want when you don't really know what hardly anything is or is like. And it's expensive enough, it's not like you can just buy a ton of different things and try them out. But, I've figured out the things I like most, which are not real strong.

 

I like to drink a little Bailey's mixed either with cold milk (or rice milk or something) or mixed into hot chocolate. Also, I like to mix a little vodka in with cranberry juice, orange juice, or pineapple juice. Wine coolers are also good and are definitely not strong.

 

What's nice about my Bailey's in milk/cocoa and vodka in juice suggestion is that you can control how much alcohol is going into the drink. You can start with a tiny amount and add a little more until you can tell it's getting too much. In this way, you will get a feel for how much you can handle without it being too much. And you're not going to get totally knock out wasted drinking Bailey's in some cocoa, haha...unless you can handle drinking a lot of cocoa. But, you do get a nice little relaxing buzz from it.

[JustAnotherGuy]

 

Thanks for posting this, Imalive. I thought I was the only one out there that had never drank. Of course, some have, but this is another example of how the different denominations and "faiths" cherry-pick what's right and wrong. Another think I don't miss about Baptists (and all of the other Christian non-sense).

 

It was something I wondered about as a believer, but I would never have brought myself to do it. Like some of the other people, I had no problems with someone drinking in moderation, but I didn't think I should be doing it. That first foray into the liquor store was an adventure. I had no clue what to buy.

 

Like you said, I didn't want to get fall down drunk. I had seen enough of that in my life. I just wanted to get a little buzz. I had no problem being responsible with it. Worked like a charm!

 

 

Before I had ever taken a drink, I was joking with a non-religious friend about what I would be like after a beer(he had just offered me one) and I made some naive comment about not being able to control myself. He calmly assured me. "It's not like what you think, bro." That really sank into my head for a few days. Now, I can honestly look back and say he was correct.

 

Now, I just wish there was some way to ease my religious fiance(from a fundy church) into handling me drinking. That's probably a whole other topic.

[Vigile]

Just eat when you drink, preferably something fatty, go slow (too fast and it can get out of hand quickly) and you won't have any trouble controlling your drinking. I don't like the feeling of being drunk. I don't know why anyone does. Anyone who has had their head in a toilet bowl once should have learned their lesson because in that state you pray with true sincerity to just die. Getting a nice relaxing buzz, however, is another story.

 

Honestly, life has very few real pleasures. IMO, good quality wine, beer, whiskey is one of them. The others are good food, good friends, good sex, good art; not necessarily in any particular order. I try not to deprive myself of any of these.

[★ Citsonga ★]

A lot of christians claim that the "wine" that believers drank in the bible was unfermented grape juice. Not that there's much evidence for that, but they want to weasel around those passages to hold onto their view that any consumption of an alcoholic beverage is inherently evil.

 

But then there's this text that most of them are unaware of and would have much more difficulty weaseling around:

 

Deuteronomy 14

[26] And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

 

"STRONG drink"? Sounds pretty clear what that's about, huh?

 

In addition, look at how the NIV translates it:

 

Deuteronomy 14

[26] Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice.

 

So, not only is fermented drink permissible here, but saying "wine or other fermented drink" leaves no other impression than that the wine was also fermented.

 

Hmmmm.... Perhaps my New Years resolution should be to uphold this scripture and get me some wine or something to try....

[Vigile]

Perhaps my New Years resolution should be to uphold this scripture and get me some wine or something to try....

 

The type and quality of wine you try will have a big impact on whether or not you like it; first impressions and all that.

 

I'd suggest for your first round, go with Spanish Tempranillo or Chilean Carmenère. These two grapes/regions seem to be the most stable and are just generally good irregardless of the year or vineyard.

[★ Citsonga ★]

Thanks for the suggestion, Vigile.

[Reason]

Thanks for all the good posts, guys. And, thanks to Imalive for starting this thread. I could have started this one! Been wanting to for some time but always forget when I get on here. (I guess the "Lord" doesn't want me to drink!)

[qec]

I am all for alcohol, don't get me wrong. I got pretty wasted last night in fact. Just wanted to pipe in and say be careful if your mother was an alcoholic. Alcoholism seems to have a genetic component, and your experiments may end up bringing you there, and you don't want that...

 

Otherwise, enjoy!

 

This is wisdom indeed. I am the same way with gambling because gambling problems run in my family, so I have chosen to deliberately stay away from all forms of gambling as much as possible.

[mick]

Be careful with this one. WHen I was in High School and college I drank alot. I could drink like 20 beers for one binge at a party all nighter. After I became a Christian I stopped drinking entirely. (That stretch went about 15 years of not drinking) I started allowing a good beer here and there in my final couple years as a Christian. After I deconverted I slowly started to drink too much. Now I still drink at least 6 beers every day. Sometimes 6 beers and a shot of whiskey or something, or a martini. I go a week sometimes to stop but I always start again. As soon as I start again, its at least a 6 pack a day for a while. I gained 90 pounds since I started drinking this way like 4 years ago. (I was 170 pounds now I'm 260) I would drink forever if it was not for the wieght. But I have done the research and I am NEVER gonna be my old athletic self again if I dont stop drinking. If I were you I would never drink.

 

 

When I finally realized that I was done with Christianity, I had this nagging feeling that I was missing out on some things. I had never drank alcohol. I wondered what it was like. There's only some much you can understand about an experience by googling it. One day I broke down, snuck into the local ABC store, and picked up a bottle of Wild Turkey American Honey. I was looking for something that I could sip on and enjoy. I enjoyed it and ended up trying several other things over the course of 2-3 months. Now, I haven't had a drink in about 4 months. I stopped because I figured it would draw too much attention to my deconversion and trying to drink in secret made me feel like I was an alcoholic. My fiance wouldn't approve of it and I know my parents wouldn't(my mother was an alcoholic) either. SO I guess my question to you guys is this: Did your views on alcohol change when you deconverted? If so, how drastic was the change? Did it change your lifestyle?

 

Bonus question:

What's a good Bourbon?