Social drinking?

[Evang.Benincasa]

Originally Posted by Praxeas

The biggest deal is that grapes are only harvest for 2 months out of the year. So there was no grape juice for 10 months! They stored it in bottles to ferment

Hence bursting wine skins.

[jediwill83]

History of Mead...

The Greek poet Ovid wrote that Bacchus invented mead, and both the Greeks and Romans identified it with ambrosia, the food of the gods. The ancient geographer Strabo wrote about Arabian cave dwellers who brewed mead for their tribal leaders. But mead was invented long before the Greeks and Romans wrote glowing stories about it.
Mead is thought by some to be the oldest alcoholic beverage invented by man, and it appears almost anywhere in the world where honeybees can be found. It is almost certain that Neolithic people made mead long before they invented writing, probably discovering the process by accident when a jar of mixed honey and water was fermented by wild yeast.
The oldest archaeological evidence uncovered so far, however, was the discovery in northern China of jars containing a fermented mixture of rice, honey and fruit dated to around 7,000 BC. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of mead in a number of digs, including one cache dating back to around 500 to 550 BCE.
Archaeologists have also discovered gigantic, ornate vessels created especially to hold mead, some of which could hold several hundred gallons of the sweet brew. Special drinking cups and goblets were created just for drinking mead, which became a sort of ritual in its own right in many instances. These cups and goblets were frequently buried with their deceased owners, who undoubtedly hoped to enjoy their favorite drink in the afterlife.
While we usually associate mead with the Celts and the Vikings, variations of this versatile brew have been made around the world. The ancient Mayans made and drank honey wine in special ceremonies. The Australian Aborigines also make mead, as do many African tribes.
Mead appears in numerous legends, such as the Mabinogion, the Rig Vedas of India, the Aeneid, and is even mentioned in the Bible. The drink was sacred to Bacchus, the Roman god of wine.
Mead was always an expensive drink, and usually was served by the richest individuals in a society as an expression of their wealth and power. But peasants who kept bees frequently created and enjoyed their own versions of mead.
At its most basic, mead is a mix of honey and water, with a fermenting agent added. It is frequently mixed with various spices, fruit and berry juices. Honey is known to be an antibacterial, and the use of mead may well have been therapeutic as well as pleasant to those who drank it.
The origins of mead go so far back into antiquity that we will probably never know exactly how or where it was produced the first time. But even today, many people enjoy the rich, sweet taste of a good mead.

I was wrong about the alcohol content...its usually 10-18%....my bad.

[Praxeas]

I saw a documentary of how Egyptians made a "beer" from grain. It was a good way to preserve grain and get nutrients..so it said

[jediwill83]

yeah you have to look at the economic aspects of alcohol as well.it was a way to preserve crops that were grown in a way that wouldnt spoil...whisky is also distilled for the same reason.You have so many bushels of corn weighing so much and taking up so much space that will spoil unless it is sold and it can be distilled into a product that wont spoil and takes up less space and can make more money.No matter your view on alcohol it does make economic sense.

[*AQuietPlace*]

Originally Posted by Evang.Benincasa

I don't and I don't suggest anyone else because of what you are seeing in this thread. People can't wrap their minds around the subject, and it always turns out that the Christian who would drink a glass of wine with their food would be ostracized by sinner or saint. Yet, those who hold a prohibition against alcoholic beverages will drink other fermented drinks or foods, and never make the connection to alcohol because the content in their food or drink is so low. Prax brought up NyQuil, well not too many people I know would drink that, but I know people who abstain from wine but will drink Kombucha which is fermented sweet tea. I abstain because I think it's a really bad idea to drink alcohol.

Very sensible post.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Praxeas

No I don't see where the quotes I posted disagree with me. The common word used for "Wine" means fermented drink.

There are OTHER words used for unfermented juice..grape juice

Prax, here is a link for your consideration showing that authors in the old days called unfermented drinks, "wine".....The KJV translators were of the same mindset.....Their understanding of the Greek word(s) used for wine had either one of the meanings used in the same word "wine".

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=....74035653,d.cGE

[FlamingZword]

Originally Posted by Sean

He got fresh grapes Prax....I know a little about it myself, I live in wine country with grapes in my back yard.

I actually worked harvesting grapes, so that should make me an expert.

[KeptByTheWord]

Sean, while some may say wine to mean both wine or grape juice, you can't ignore the fact that people at a wedding would not be drinking grape juice. Paul wouldn't have prescribed Timothy grape juice for his stomach ailments. Unless the grape juice became fermented into wine, it wasn't something that would keep for any length of time, so the preservation process of preserving the grape juice/wine would inevitably result in an alcoholic beverage for the sake of preservation.

To try to use this reasoning to prove your point really takes you to a dead end, imo. Rather it would be better to assume that the wine they drank was preserved for longer periods of time because of the alcohol content, yet no doubt mixed with water, and probably not as strong as the wine drank today.

[FlamingZword]

Originally Posted by Sean

If you lived in 1611, and you were one of the translators, you would understand it as such. They knew what it meant when they translated the Greek into (wine)English....fermented OR unfermented, same word, different meaning according to the context.

Where did they ever said anything like that?
So know you know what the translators meant in their translation?
does that mean that they did not mean what they wrote?

you are not even grasping at straws, you are actually creating the straws out of thin air.

[Abiding Now]

You do know, that in the Gospels Jesus always referred to Cup as "the fruit of the vine" and not wine, right? Jesus didn't refer to the Passover Cup as wine.

Matthew 26:29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

Mark 14:25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

Luke 22:18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

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