BeliefNet items four and five: superstition and drinking to get drunk
- Is drinking in moderation acceptable for Christians, and where is the line?
Item four (superstition) is summed up as idolatry — faith in objects having magical powers — with 1 Peter 5:8 cited as the article's kicker. A long host take argues the devil needs only to convince you there's power outside what God offers; results from magic or divination are sleight of hand or demonic limited power, and you should stay away. Item five (drinking to get drunk) cites 1 Corinthians 6:10; the hosts agree drunkenness is bad but reject legalism — know which kind of drinker you are, hang around people who support it, and recall Ben's Grand Canyon railing example as protection rather than restriction. One host confesses he stole a birdhouse while drinking and returned it the next morning; another host tells how he gave up alcohol entirely at his wife's request two years ago and calls it one of the best decisions he ever made.
More on Addiction
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Dear LFTP 1: the burned-out friend
- How do I approach a long friendship that has become one-sided and draining when the friend has anxiety, depression, OCD, narcissism, and a drinking problem?
Ben reads a letter from a listener burned out by a decade-long friendship with someone suffering anxiety, depression, OCD, narcissism, and a drinking problem who never asks how the listener is doing.
From No. 588 · hypokritēs
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Dear LFTP: husband's slot-machine addiction and a lost life's savings
- How should an 80-something wife respond when her husband's slot-machine addiction gambled away everything?
A letter from a woman in her eighties: her husband developed a slot-machine addiction, gambled away every asset from 58 years of marriage, and their son bailed them out as trustee of the land and home while doling out a tiny allowance.
From No. 581 · Silly Rabbit | Christianity, Culture, and Navigating Social Expectations
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Dear LFTP: dessert-free days, discipline, and soul over dirt
- How do I stop eating dessert on days I deemed dessert-free?
A listener allowed dessert only Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and can't stop on the other days. The hosts land on the simplest answer: you just stop; Dan's Atkins bars,…
From No. 581 · Silly Rabbit | Christianity, Culture, and Navigating Social Expectations
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Dear LFTP: AA member who witnessed a life-support withdrawal
- How do I come to terms with accidentally witnessing a fellow AA member's life-support withdrawal?
An AA member writes that while visiting a hospitalized fellow member with cookies, he arrived at the exact moment doctors withdrew life support and witnessed the family's raw grief; he now fears he intruded and caused harm.
From No. 568 · Like Jesus