OK. Bart and Eric are right. ;-)

Jake: The problem here is that meat offered to idols and drinking a beer are not the same thing. Let’s change issues. Suppose I have a member who is an animal rights wacko who genuinely believes it is morally wrong to eat meat. They see me coming out of a KFC munching on a bucket of my favorite chicken. Yikes!! Do I follow this principle of “no stumbling block” and swear off extra crispy for the weaker brother who was TRULY offended? How about seeing me buy a CD by some obviously lost secular musician? How about not wearing a suit? How about wearing a beard? The difference is that all these things are truly neutral and I am under no command of scripture to let my life and conduct be dictated by the weaker brother. NOW, if I am in a culture where eating chicken is considered worship of Col Sanders as God, then we have a different matter. And that is what Paul was dealing with. Don’t deputize the professional weaker brother to tyrannize everyone with what offends him.

Jesus drank wine. Is there anything else that needs to be said on the subject? He drank enough to be considered a bit of a party-guy. The Old Testament celebrates wine. (Psalm 104 says it gladdens the heart of man but we aren’t commanded to drink it????????? OK- I agree. But how about this: Is it OK if we drink it as a gift of God that gladdens the heart of man? I think that is what Jesus MUST have done!!!)

Ronald: If I am requiring a single non-Biblical requirement of my people with the authority of a church covenant, tell me and I will either stop it or resign. I am quite serious.

Guys, the defense of non-Biblical requirements here comes close to defending a LOT of things you guys don’t really want to defend. Things YOU don’t agree with, but some church does. I will use the BJU no inter-racial dating rule as an example. Not Biblical, but students were conscience bound to obey. That’s indefensible, unless you say that Christians have the right to impose non-Biblical requirements with the moral force of binding the conscience.