Editorial October 11, 1982 Issue

The question of drinking

NATHAN A. TALBOT

The trouble is, for the Christian Scientist, it just isn't as simple as deciding whether or not to have an occasional drink. Some people hold that a bit of liquid called alcohol, taken moderately, isn't going to be physiologically or psychologically devastating. But it's not the drink itself that's devastating; it's what is symbolized by taking that drink.

There are few freedoms as valuable as the capacity to think clearly, to think without ambiguity and confusion. In a fundamental sense, the use of alcohol represents a concept. It symbolizes a method (one with deep roots) of relinquishing mental freedom. It illustrates a specific way that people grant matter the capacity to affect their thought-process—or even to control it.

As consciousness is governed more and more by the divine influence of Christ, Truth, instead of by materialism, our thinking becomes clear and pure. In fact, a Christly quality of thought provides the only sure release from a mentality imprisoned by beliefs in the reality of matter. Moderation isn't really an answer to the drinking question, because we're actually being confronted with the concept of whether we are willing to relinquish a measure of our freedom of thought. For Christian Scientists, the real issue isn't how much freedom to give up; it's whether to give it up at all.

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The question of drinking

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