I am in my fifties, and my parents both have failing health.  They do not appreciate that my husband and I are religious and have made family gatherings miserable over the years because of it.  My siblings say that since we are the "good ones" (financially stable, our children turned out well, we are healthy), we should take over Mom and Dad's care.  I've mentioned to my siblings that our parents probably wouldn't want to live with us.  My brother said that we HAD to take them in because the Bible says to "honor your parents".  Does this burden really fall to my husband and me just because we're the only christians?

 

Sincerely,
Overburdened

Dear Overburdened,

It is an unfortunate reality that many christians are left with responsibilities that others are unwilling to shoulder.  Children have the responsibility of caring for their parents in their old age (1 Tim 5:4).  Certainly that responsibility falls to all of the siblings, but if none of the others will shoulder the burden, you would still be bound to.  There are many trials that christians must endure as they seek to live godly lives, and it sounds like this will be one for you.

Some parents make it a joy to honor them; others weigh down their children with the duty.  Your parents don’t necessarily need to live with you, but you do need to honor them (Eph 6:2).  You will have to decide what is the best way to care for your parents without destroying the stability of your own immediate family.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week All the New Testament in a year

Did God cleanse all meats?

 

Sincerely,
Pass The Pork

Dear Pass The Pork,

Yes, under the New Covenant, all food is clean.  God sent Peter a vision of unclean beasts and told Peter to “kill and eat” (Acts 10:13).  Peter told God that he would never eat anything unclean (Acts 10:14), and God informed Peter that He had cleansed all meat (Acts 10:15).

Later on, the apostle Paul reiterates this idea and says that all meat is clean unless it offends your conscience (Rom 14:20).  So, feel free to eat pork, rattlesnake (if you dare), and clams without fear of sin.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week All the New Testament in a year

I personally believe that consuming any amount of alcohol is sinful.  Yet, so many people argue with me on this subject.  I continue to hear that Jesus drank wine and that it was fermented.  I believe that Jesus was perfect, and I honestly do not believe that the Son of God would sit down at a table with his disciples and do this.  I believe that the wine the Bible speaks of is simply grape juice. Please explain this to me.  Am I right for frowning upon alcohol, or is it simply okay to drink...as long as it is not abused?

 

Sincerely,
Fomenting Over Fermenting

Dear Fomenting Over Fermenting,

The Greek word for ‘wine’ is ‘oinos’.  ‘Oinos’ simply means ‘grape juice’… sometimes fermented, sometimes not.  So whenever you see the word ‘wine’ in your Bible, it may be talking about fermented or non-alcoholic grape juice.  New wine is grape juice that hasn’t had the time to fully ferment; old wine is alcoholic and fully fermented.  This explains why in Lk 5:39 Jesus states that people would choose the old wine over the new wine.

We also have to understand that the wine that was drunk in Jesus’ day was made using the natural yeasts found on the outside skin of the grape.  When grapes are crushed, the grape juice mixes with this wild yeast and ferments the juice.  These natural yeasts will only ferment wine to about 13% alcohol content, not the 17% or higher of many wines found today.  Furthermore, most wine was diluted anywhere from one part wine with one part water to as much as one part wine with four parts water.  In fact, Roman soldiers were known to only drink a type of wine called ‘posca’ which was an especially diluted mixture of water, bitter herbs, and older wine.

We say all this to tell you that wine in Jesus’ day is not the same as today.  Just because Jesus turned water into wine doesn’t mean it was fermented wine.  The word ‘wine’ is too generic for one to automatically assume that it was highly alcoholic.  God never specifically condemns drinking wine, but He does condemn ‘strong drink’ (Pr 20:1), drinking parties (1 Pet 4:3), and drunkenness (Rom 13:13).  Almost all alcohol that is consumed today would fall into the category of ‘strong drink’ because our alcoholic beverages are artificially fermented to increase their alcoholic content, and they are rarely diluted with water.  We would all do well to heed the words of Pr 23:31-32 and avoid alcohol as much as is possible.