Alcohol is a very effective dissolving agent. It dissolves families, marriages, friendships, jobs, bank accounts, and neurons, but never problem.
“Alcohol is a very effective dissolving agent. It dissolves families, marriages, friendships, jobs, bank accounts, and neurons, but never problem.” Yet, the practice of social drinking has become such a widespread habit in society that the total abstainer almost finds himself in the position of a heretic!
With the lack of explicit scriptural restriction from alcohol, theologians have controversial positions toward this practice. The Seventh - day Adventist understanding of the Word of God emphasizes on pure abstinence from all toxic substances including alcohol for our “body are the temple of the Holy Spirit”(1Cor 3:16-17).
Promoting health ministry principles that will prevent alcoholism is of a great importance to the church. In the present paper, attention will be paid to necessary measures to discourage alcohol intake, and to recover alcoholic addicted ones. To arrive at this goal, lines will be allotted to highlighting alcohol in Scriptures, and its effects on individuals and society.
DEFINITION
Alcoholism, also known as alcohol use disorder (AUD), is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in problems. It was previously divided into two types: alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence (Jill, 2014). In a medical context, alcoholism is said to exist when two or more of the following conditions is present: a person drinks large amounts over a long time period, has difficulty cutting down, acquiring and drinking alcohol takes up a great deal of time, alcohol is strongly desired, usage results in not fulfilling responsibilities, usage results in social problems, usage results in health problems, usage results in risky situations, withdrawal occurs when stopping, and alcohol tolerance has occurred with use. Risky situations include drinking and driving or having unsafe sex among others. Alcohol use can affect all parts of the body but particularly affects the brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and immune system. This can result in mental illness, Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome, an irregular heart-beat, liver failure, and an increase in the risk of cancer, among other diseases.
Alcohol use disorder (which includes a level that's sometimes called alcoholism) is a pattern of alcohol use that involves problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol, continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems, having to drink more to get the same effect, or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking.
The word alcohol is probably derived from the Arabic “al kohl” meaning a fine powder, probably antimony sulfide, used then in making cosmetics. In time it came to mean the essence of something. Still, much later, in the 16th century AD, an early chemist, Paracelsus, defined it as the most subtle part of anything” and in this sense spoke of it as “alcool-vini”. Gradually the “vini” was dropped but it was not until the 19th century that the term “alcohol” came to be used generally for wine-spirits”.
Now, in chemistry, the word alcohol denotes a branch of the hydro-carbon family. It is a group of liquids containing the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. There are 59 varieties of alcohol, the most important for our consideration being ethyl alcohol, fruit or grain spirit. Alcoholic beverages contain ethyl alcohol only, of which the chemical formula is C2H5OH.
Pure alcohol is a colorless fluid: it boils at 173 F and freezes solid at 200 F below zero. Absolute alcohol, 99% ethyl alcohol, is used in scientific and laboratory procedures. methylated spirit is ethyl alcohol to which 5% of methyl alcohol has been added to make it unpalatable. Both ethyl and methyl alcohol are highly toxic. Ethyl alcohol taken in excess can cause acute alcoholic poisoning which may be fatal.
Recommended for you- Use Charcoal to remove poison
Alcoholic beverages fall into three main categories according to the manner of their manufacture and the percentage of alcohol in them.
1. The brewed beverages are made from grain such as barley, oats, and maize. They include ale, beer, porter and stout. They are made by the conversion of starch in the cereals into sugar by the action of enzymes and the subsequent fermentation of the sugar. The conversion of the starch is effected by malt, which is usually sprouted barley. The enzyme formed during the sprouting converts the starch into sugar and then yeast is added which converts some of the sugar into alcohol.
With the lack of explicit scriptural restriction from alcohol, theologians have controversial positions toward this practice. The Seventh - day Adventist understanding of the Word of God emphasizes on pure abstinence from all toxic substances including alcohol for our “body are the temple of the Holy Spirit”(1Cor 3:16-17).
Promoting health ministry principles that will prevent alcoholism is of a great importance to the church. In the present paper, attention will be paid to necessary measures to discourage alcohol intake, and to recover alcoholic addicted ones. To arrive at this goal, lines will be allotted to highlighting alcohol in Scriptures, and its effects on individuals and society.
DEFINITION
Alcoholism, also known as alcohol use disorder (AUD), is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in problems. It was previously divided into two types: alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence (Jill, 2014). In a medical context, alcoholism is said to exist when two or more of the following conditions is present: a person drinks large amounts over a long time period, has difficulty cutting down, acquiring and drinking alcohol takes up a great deal of time, alcohol is strongly desired, usage results in not fulfilling responsibilities, usage results in social problems, usage results in health problems, usage results in risky situations, withdrawal occurs when stopping, and alcohol tolerance has occurred with use. Risky situations include drinking and driving or having unsafe sex among others. Alcohol use can affect all parts of the body but particularly affects the brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and immune system. This can result in mental illness, Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome, an irregular heart-beat, liver failure, and an increase in the risk of cancer, among other diseases.
Alcohol use disorder (which includes a level that's sometimes called alcoholism) is a pattern of alcohol use that involves problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol, continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems, having to drink more to get the same effect, or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking.
The word alcohol is probably derived from the Arabic “al kohl” meaning a fine powder, probably antimony sulfide, used then in making cosmetics. In time it came to mean the essence of something. Still, much later, in the 16th century AD, an early chemist, Paracelsus, defined it as the most subtle part of anything” and in this sense spoke of it as “alcool-vini”. Gradually the “vini” was dropped but it was not until the 19th century that the term “alcohol” came to be used generally for wine-spirits”.
Now, in chemistry, the word alcohol denotes a branch of the hydro-carbon family. It is a group of liquids containing the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. There are 59 varieties of alcohol, the most important for our consideration being ethyl alcohol, fruit or grain spirit. Alcoholic beverages contain ethyl alcohol only, of which the chemical formula is C2H5OH.
Pure alcohol is a colorless fluid: it boils at 173 F and freezes solid at 200 F below zero. Absolute alcohol, 99% ethyl alcohol, is used in scientific and laboratory procedures. methylated spirit is ethyl alcohol to which 5% of methyl alcohol has been added to make it unpalatable. Both ethyl and methyl alcohol are highly toxic. Ethyl alcohol taken in excess can cause acute alcoholic poisoning which may be fatal.
Recommended for you- Use Charcoal to remove poison
Alcoholic beverages fall into three main categories according to the manner of their manufacture and the percentage of alcohol in them.
1. The brewed beverages are made from grain such as barley, oats, and maize. They include ale, beer, porter and stout. They are made by the conversion of starch in the cereals into sugar by the action of enzymes and the subsequent fermentation of the sugar. The conversion of the starch is effected by malt, which is usually sprouted barley. The enzyme formed during the sprouting converts the starch into sugar and then yeast is added which converts some of the sugar into alcohol.
2. Wines are made from fruits, usually grapes, by the direct fermentation of the sugar in the fruit Juice.
3. Distilled spirits include whisky, gin, rum, brandy, vodka. They are produced by fractional distillation of wines or brewed beverages to concentrate the alcohol in the distillate.
The active agent in fermentation is yeast which is a microscopically small plant usually present in the air or in dust. It produces an enzyme which is capable of breaking down sugars and finally converting the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
The active agent in fermentation is yeast which is a microscopically small plant usually present in the air or in dust. It produces an enzyme which is capable of breaking down sugars and finally converting the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
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PLACE OF ALCOHOLISM IN SCRIPTURES
The issue of alcohol is an old one. It can be traced from Old Testament time through New Testament. Some people use Bible to argue that alcohol intake has nothing wrong. Throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, references to wine and strong drink occur frequently, sometimes in terms of appreciation, sometimes of strong condemnation. Thus in Isaiah we read, “As the new wine is found in the cluster ... destroy it not for a blessing is in it.” (Isaiah 65:8). But in an earlier chapter we find a solemn warning against it, “Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them” (5:11). This leads to the question on Biblical support to temperance and abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
Alcohol in the Old Testament
The first mention in the Old Testament of alcoholic beverages occurs in Genesis 9:21where Noah planted a vineyard and drank of the wine and was drunk. The writer had offered his explanation, in an earlier chapter (Genesis 4:21, 22), of the origin of institutions and inventions. Here he returns to his theories of beginnings, and sees in the forsaking, by the Hebrews, of their former nomadic way of life for that of settlement and cultivation of the soil, the curse laid on Canaan, the son of Ham.
Other OT texts relating to alcohol include Numbers6:3; Judges 13:7; Jeremiah 32:1-10; Amos 2:11.
Alcohol in the New Testament
In the New Testament references to what are clearly intoxicating beverages occur for the most part in connection with those groups of people who had been brought into the Christian faith in Asia-Minor, Greece and Rome, at a time when morals were low and indulgence in alcoholic drinks excessive.
In the Gospels there are only two definite allusions to intoxicating beverage. The first is surely significant. It occurs in the opening chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke in the announcement made to Zacharias of the coming birth of the forerunner of the Messiah. “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 1:15).
The second reference is in the parable of the faithless servant, who begins to eat and to drink and be drunken” (Luke 7:33).
References in the Epistles to inebriety are numerous and explicit. St. Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles and he was frequently confronted with excessive drinking even within the young Christian congregations where the converts were either Jews living in non-Jewish environments or Gentiles brought in from paganism with its bacchanalian feasts (e.g., 1 Corinthians 11:21).
True, there is no absolute prohibition given of the use of wine, but St. Paul had on a number of occasions to rebuke his listeners in no uncertain terms: “Let us walk becomingly . . . not in reveling and drunkenness” (Romans 13:13). Among the offenses which will exclude men from the Kingdom of God, he warns them, is drunkenness: “Make no mistake ... no drunkards . . . will possess the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:10). Again he points out the right course to the Ephesians, “Do not give way to drunkenness and the dissipation that goes with it, but let the Holy Spirit fill you” (Ephesians 5:18). The Galatians, too, need the warning that those who indulge in “drinking bouts, orgies and the like”, will never inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:20, 21).
PROBLEM OF ALCOHOLISM
The issue of alcohol is an old one. It can be traced from Old Testament time through New Testament. Some people use Bible to argue that alcohol intake has nothing wrong. Throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, references to wine and strong drink occur frequently, sometimes in terms of appreciation, sometimes of strong condemnation. Thus in Isaiah we read, “As the new wine is found in the cluster ... destroy it not for a blessing is in it.” (Isaiah 65:8). But in an earlier chapter we find a solemn warning against it, “Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them” (5:11). This leads to the question on Biblical support to temperance and abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
Alcohol in the Old Testament
The first mention in the Old Testament of alcoholic beverages occurs in Genesis 9:21where Noah planted a vineyard and drank of the wine and was drunk. The writer had offered his explanation, in an earlier chapter (Genesis 4:21, 22), of the origin of institutions and inventions. Here he returns to his theories of beginnings, and sees in the forsaking, by the Hebrews, of their former nomadic way of life for that of settlement and cultivation of the soil, the curse laid on Canaan, the son of Ham.
Other OT texts relating to alcohol include Numbers6:3; Judges 13:7; Jeremiah 32:1-10; Amos 2:11.
Alcohol in the New Testament
In the New Testament references to what are clearly intoxicating beverages occur for the most part in connection with those groups of people who had been brought into the Christian faith in Asia-Minor, Greece and Rome, at a time when morals were low and indulgence in alcoholic drinks excessive.
In the Gospels there are only two definite allusions to intoxicating beverage. The first is surely significant. It occurs in the opening chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke in the announcement made to Zacharias of the coming birth of the forerunner of the Messiah. “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 1:15).
The second reference is in the parable of the faithless servant, who begins to eat and to drink and be drunken” (Luke 7:33).
References in the Epistles to inebriety are numerous and explicit. St. Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles and he was frequently confronted with excessive drinking even within the young Christian congregations where the converts were either Jews living in non-Jewish environments or Gentiles brought in from paganism with its bacchanalian feasts (e.g., 1 Corinthians 11:21).
True, there is no absolute prohibition given of the use of wine, but St. Paul had on a number of occasions to rebuke his listeners in no uncertain terms: “Let us walk becomingly . . . not in reveling and drunkenness” (Romans 13:13). Among the offenses which will exclude men from the Kingdom of God, he warns them, is drunkenness: “Make no mistake ... no drunkards . . . will possess the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:10). Again he points out the right course to the Ephesians, “Do not give way to drunkenness and the dissipation that goes with it, but let the Holy Spirit fill you” (Ephesians 5:18). The Galatians, too, need the warning that those who indulge in “drinking bouts, orgies and the like”, will never inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:20, 21).
PROBLEM OF ALCOHOLISM
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PROBLEM OF ALCOHOLISM
Today, medical science has declared alcohol to be one of the major health hazards. It is recognized as a main contributing factor in the alarming toll of road and industrial accidents. Absenteeism and sickness through alcoholism are causing an economic problem of considerable proportions. Society is faced with the disturbing knowledge of so many broken homes, unwanted children, delinquency and crime - very often attributable, in the first instance, to the use of alcohol. Let look at some few effects of alcohol and how to go against alcoholism
What the body does with alcohol.
The definition of a food as given by Horsely and Struge is, “any substance which when absorbed into the blood stream will nourish, repair waste, and furnish heat and energy to the body without causing injury to any of its parts or loss of functional activity”.
The only claim of alcohol as a food is that it can provide calories when oxidized and is used sometimes in medicine for that reason. Although providing calories, alcohol is grossly inadequate in essential food substances.
When alcohol is absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract it passes into the general circulation via the liver, the right side of the heart, the lungs and the left side of the heart, and is carried to all the tissues of the body. The alcohol is eliminated from the body chiefly by oxidation. This is a fundamental body process by which all food substances such as sugars and fats liberate their chemical energy in the form of heat and work. Oxidation is affected in the various organs of the body by enzyme systems. Excess sugar or fat is stored in the body to be liberated and used when necessary. Oxidation of alcohol is affected by combination with oxygen brought by the blood stream from the lungs. Ultimately alcohol is converted to carbon dioxide and water by the oxidative process. Unlike sugars and fats excess alcohol cannot be stored in the body but continues to circulate until oxidation and elimination are complete.
Temperance: moderation and abstinence
Social drinking in recent years has entrenched itself deeply in the community. It is estimated that 75 % of the population over fifteen years of age partakes, in some measure, in alcoholic beverages. The great majority may remain moderate drinkers, but it is an accepted estimate that about 9 % of all drinkers will eventually lapse into alcoholism. A conservative estimate of alcoholics in Australia is 200,000 in a population of 12 millions.
That knowledge should make every committed Christian and responsible citizen pause before setting the most moderate example before others, particularly before young people on whom social pressures weigh most heavily. A Christian society which does not disapprove of moderate drinking provides a milieu in which abstinence will decline and in which the number of alcoholics will steadily increase, while the rehabilitation of those already alcoholics becomes more difficult. Medical and psychiatric treatment cannot succeed unless the patient becomes totally abstinent, and to do that he needs God and the help of a God-fearing fellowship which will not put temptation in his way.
Today the tendency to regard moderate drinking as the norm for society is disturbing, and the pressure to increase drinking by all manner of propaganda is very heavy. Moderate drinkers are nevertheless the major influence in recruiting new drinkers by their example, for no one was ever persuaded to drink by watching an excessive toper.
Education in regard to the nature and effects of alcohol is required, and may be a deterrent to some, but it can never off-set the power of a habituating drug of addiction once the taste has been acquired.
The Christian cannot avoid the challenge, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Apostle Paul gave the answer: “Love cannot wrong a neighbor; therefore the whole law is summed up in love.” Voluntary abstinence is not a preachment of intolerance; it is the persuasion of love.
Recommended Measures against alcoholism
The seventh day-Adventist church emphasizes on temperance and absolute abstinence from alcohol and all other related harmful substances. This is remarkable from the doctrines, teachings of the church always given prior and after baptism of new converts.
However further steps and course of actions need to be considered in order to create more impact about fighting alcoholism. Health seminars mostly centered on cigarette should give room to focus on alcoholism. Centers for influence should be established which in addition to tackling drug, would put emphasis on alcohol tobacco addiction. Here goes the story of Gregoire Lompo who has been relieved from his alcoholic addiction.
I was once post in Fada N’Gourma the eastern capital of Burkina Faso one day a certain man stopped me and asked for a lift. I picked him behind my bike. He was drunk, missing some words of his long vague conversion with me. I was to send him to his house. I saw it as an opportunity to establish a helping relationship with him. Few minutes of ride, there was a drinking pot at the road side. He requested money from me to get a bit of alcohol, I promised him for being ready to help him reach home but not for drinking. Our ride continued, he repeated his demand trice as far as drinking pots where at the road we were using. When we were getting closer to the fourth pot he told me: my friend here you have two options either you pay the drink for me or you drop here and go your way. I replied that though I would not buy drink for him, I will drop him, and sit on my motorbike wait until he finishes so that I would take him home. After half an hour my new friend is ready and I drove him home. I was welcomed by his mother, an old woman, who was surprised to see that her son could come home with a friend.
The next day I came back. This guy was clean and could spend rich time with me. In the course of our discussion, I discovered that worries about life, feeling of guilt were his mind and alcohol seemed to him a hiding place. Using Bible evidences about God’s care for the weary souls I read Matthew 11:28 “Come to me all you that labor and heavy laden and I will give you rest”. This man was astonished to hear such a promise of relief and said he would like to know my church and my home. He confesses that for more than five years he had never encountered such concerned about himself. He had lost his wife and two kids the same day. His own parents and in-laws blamed him from being the author of his family disaster. Teacher as he was, he felt no more interest for life and only alcohol was his refuge for consolation. At month ending he affords drinking beer and costly drinks, but from 10th till end of the following month he could only afford local alcohol drink to appease his sorrows and worries.
From this day I gave quality times with him. He began attending church meeting as church members showed him love. Before school resumption Mr. Gregory recognized that his life was restored physically, socially, financially and spiritually and decided to become a full church member. He is receiving Bible studies in view of baptism.
Gregoire‘s life story is one of many cases of the drunkards in the community that needed to be look in to, we don’t need to write them off but to embrace them and bring them back to life, they can be useful and contribute their quota as members of the society. Genuine and helping friendship should be manifested toward addicted people. Most addicted people certainly had one or other social problems that lead them into their troubles. They need to feel loved and valued. They need to feel that they are important and can make the best of lives. They need community support to rebuild they self-confidence. Hence, it is important to find safe way of helping people do away with alcohol addiction.
Alcohol withdrawal
Withdrawal from alcohol dependence can be fatal if it is not properly managed. (McCully, 2004). Alcohol's primary effect is the increase in stimulation, promoting central nervous system depression. With repeated heavy consumption of alcohol, these receptors are desensitized and reduced in number, resulting in tolerance and physical dependence. When alcohol consumption is stopped too abruptly, the person's nervous system suffers from uncontrolled synapse firing. This can result in symptoms that include anxiety, life-threatening seizures, delirium tremens, hallucinations, shakes and possible heart failure. Other neurotransmitter systems are also involved, especially dopamine, NMDA and glutamate.(Chastain, 2006)
Hoffman PL, Tabakoff B (July 1996) said this about challenges related to alcohol withdrawal
Severe acute withdrawal symptoms such as delirium tremens and seizures rarely occur after 1 week post cessation of alcohol. The acute withdrawal phase can be defined as lasting between one and three weeks. In the period of 3 – 6 weeks following cessation increased anxiety, depression as well as sleep disturbance is common; fatigue and tension can persist for up to 5 weeks as part of the post-acute withdrawal syndrome; about a quarter of alcoholics experience anxiety and depression for up to 2 years.
This is an indication that saving someone from alcoholism is not an easy business; it rather demands loving accompaniment and professional soul care. Hence we will explore twelve indispensable steps in fighting alcoholism.
Steps to recover from alcoholism
A twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion, or other behavioral problems. Originally proposed by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) as a method of recovery from alcoholism (VandenBos,2007), the Twelve Steps were first published in the 1939 book Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism(Bill W, 2001). The method was adapted and became the foundation of other twelve-step programs.
The following are the original twelve steps as published by Alcoholics Anonymous from testimony of people who were recovered from alcoholic addiction
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
These twelve important steps towards delivering someone from alcoholism were so effective that psychologists popularized them for widespread use. However, in order to ensure faster assimilation the American Psychological Association summarized this process into six stages. These stages are
admitting that one cannot control one's alcoholism, addiction or compulsion;
recognizing a higher power that can give strength;
examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member);
making amends for these errors;
learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior;
helping others who suffer from the same alcoholism, addictions or compulsions.
From these two elements it is obvious that alcoholism is a social but also a spiritual problem. Therefore measures to withdraw someone from this addiction require spiritual dimensions and efforts. This can be confirmed through Apostle Paul’s counsel “we struggle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). There is no need to look down upon an addicted person. Neither is it to rely on physiological approaches though these are useful. Prayer, coaching and loving soul-care are important ingredients which beyond all enriched diet habits would greatly participate in the restoration of alcohol addicted ones.
What the body does with alcohol.
The definition of a food as given by Horsely and Struge is, “any substance which when absorbed into the blood stream will nourish, repair waste, and furnish heat and energy to the body without causing injury to any of its parts or loss of functional activity”.
The only claim of alcohol as a food is that it can provide calories when oxidized and is used sometimes in medicine for that reason. Although providing calories, alcohol is grossly inadequate in essential food substances.
When alcohol is absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract it passes into the general circulation via the liver, the right side of the heart, the lungs and the left side of the heart, and is carried to all the tissues of the body. The alcohol is eliminated from the body chiefly by oxidation. This is a fundamental body process by which all food substances such as sugars and fats liberate their chemical energy in the form of heat and work. Oxidation is affected in the various organs of the body by enzyme systems. Excess sugar or fat is stored in the body to be liberated and used when necessary. Oxidation of alcohol is affected by combination with oxygen brought by the blood stream from the lungs. Ultimately alcohol is converted to carbon dioxide and water by the oxidative process. Unlike sugars and fats excess alcohol cannot be stored in the body but continues to circulate until oxidation and elimination are complete.
Temperance: moderation and abstinence
Social drinking in recent years has entrenched itself deeply in the community. It is estimated that 75 % of the population over fifteen years of age partakes, in some measure, in alcoholic beverages. The great majority may remain moderate drinkers, but it is an accepted estimate that about 9 % of all drinkers will eventually lapse into alcoholism. A conservative estimate of alcoholics in Australia is 200,000 in a population of 12 millions.
That knowledge should make every committed Christian and responsible citizen pause before setting the most moderate example before others, particularly before young people on whom social pressures weigh most heavily. A Christian society which does not disapprove of moderate drinking provides a milieu in which abstinence will decline and in which the number of alcoholics will steadily increase, while the rehabilitation of those already alcoholics becomes more difficult. Medical and psychiatric treatment cannot succeed unless the patient becomes totally abstinent, and to do that he needs God and the help of a God-fearing fellowship which will not put temptation in his way.
Today the tendency to regard moderate drinking as the norm for society is disturbing, and the pressure to increase drinking by all manner of propaganda is very heavy. Moderate drinkers are nevertheless the major influence in recruiting new drinkers by their example, for no one was ever persuaded to drink by watching an excessive toper.
Education in regard to the nature and effects of alcohol is required, and may be a deterrent to some, but it can never off-set the power of a habituating drug of addiction once the taste has been acquired.
The Christian cannot avoid the challenge, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Apostle Paul gave the answer: “Love cannot wrong a neighbor; therefore the whole law is summed up in love.” Voluntary abstinence is not a preachment of intolerance; it is the persuasion of love.
Recommended Measures against alcoholism
The seventh day-Adventist church emphasizes on temperance and absolute abstinence from alcohol and all other related harmful substances. This is remarkable from the doctrines, teachings of the church always given prior and after baptism of new converts.
However further steps and course of actions need to be considered in order to create more impact about fighting alcoholism. Health seminars mostly centered on cigarette should give room to focus on alcoholism. Centers for influence should be established which in addition to tackling drug, would put emphasis on alcohol tobacco addiction. Here goes the story of Gregoire Lompo who has been relieved from his alcoholic addiction.
I was once post in Fada N’Gourma the eastern capital of Burkina Faso one day a certain man stopped me and asked for a lift. I picked him behind my bike. He was drunk, missing some words of his long vague conversion with me. I was to send him to his house. I saw it as an opportunity to establish a helping relationship with him. Few minutes of ride, there was a drinking pot at the road side. He requested money from me to get a bit of alcohol, I promised him for being ready to help him reach home but not for drinking. Our ride continued, he repeated his demand trice as far as drinking pots where at the road we were using. When we were getting closer to the fourth pot he told me: my friend here you have two options either you pay the drink for me or you drop here and go your way. I replied that though I would not buy drink for him, I will drop him, and sit on my motorbike wait until he finishes so that I would take him home. After half an hour my new friend is ready and I drove him home. I was welcomed by his mother, an old woman, who was surprised to see that her son could come home with a friend.
The next day I came back. This guy was clean and could spend rich time with me. In the course of our discussion, I discovered that worries about life, feeling of guilt were his mind and alcohol seemed to him a hiding place. Using Bible evidences about God’s care for the weary souls I read Matthew 11:28 “Come to me all you that labor and heavy laden and I will give you rest”. This man was astonished to hear such a promise of relief and said he would like to know my church and my home. He confesses that for more than five years he had never encountered such concerned about himself. He had lost his wife and two kids the same day. His own parents and in-laws blamed him from being the author of his family disaster. Teacher as he was, he felt no more interest for life and only alcohol was his refuge for consolation. At month ending he affords drinking beer and costly drinks, but from 10th till end of the following month he could only afford local alcohol drink to appease his sorrows and worries.
From this day I gave quality times with him. He began attending church meeting as church members showed him love. Before school resumption Mr. Gregory recognized that his life was restored physically, socially, financially and spiritually and decided to become a full church member. He is receiving Bible studies in view of baptism.
Gregoire‘s life story is one of many cases of the drunkards in the community that needed to be look in to, we don’t need to write them off but to embrace them and bring them back to life, they can be useful and contribute their quota as members of the society. Genuine and helping friendship should be manifested toward addicted people. Most addicted people certainly had one or other social problems that lead them into their troubles. They need to feel loved and valued. They need to feel that they are important and can make the best of lives. They need community support to rebuild they self-confidence. Hence, it is important to find safe way of helping people do away with alcohol addiction.
Alcohol withdrawal
Withdrawal from alcohol dependence can be fatal if it is not properly managed. (McCully, 2004). Alcohol's primary effect is the increase in stimulation, promoting central nervous system depression. With repeated heavy consumption of alcohol, these receptors are desensitized and reduced in number, resulting in tolerance and physical dependence. When alcohol consumption is stopped too abruptly, the person's nervous system suffers from uncontrolled synapse firing. This can result in symptoms that include anxiety, life-threatening seizures, delirium tremens, hallucinations, shakes and possible heart failure. Other neurotransmitter systems are also involved, especially dopamine, NMDA and glutamate.(Chastain, 2006)
Hoffman PL, Tabakoff B (July 1996) said this about challenges related to alcohol withdrawal
Severe acute withdrawal symptoms such as delirium tremens and seizures rarely occur after 1 week post cessation of alcohol. The acute withdrawal phase can be defined as lasting between one and three weeks. In the period of 3 – 6 weeks following cessation increased anxiety, depression as well as sleep disturbance is common; fatigue and tension can persist for up to 5 weeks as part of the post-acute withdrawal syndrome; about a quarter of alcoholics experience anxiety and depression for up to 2 years.
This is an indication that saving someone from alcoholism is not an easy business; it rather demands loving accompaniment and professional soul care. Hence we will explore twelve indispensable steps in fighting alcoholism.
Steps to recover from alcoholism
A twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion, or other behavioral problems. Originally proposed by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) as a method of recovery from alcoholism (VandenBos,2007), the Twelve Steps were first published in the 1939 book Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism(Bill W, 2001). The method was adapted and became the foundation of other twelve-step programs.
The following are the original twelve steps as published by Alcoholics Anonymous from testimony of people who were recovered from alcoholic addiction
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
These twelve important steps towards delivering someone from alcoholism were so effective that psychologists popularized them for widespread use. However, in order to ensure faster assimilation the American Psychological Association summarized this process into six stages. These stages are
admitting that one cannot control one's alcoholism, addiction or compulsion;
recognizing a higher power that can give strength;
examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member);
making amends for these errors;
learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior;
helping others who suffer from the same alcoholism, addictions or compulsions.
From these two elements it is obvious that alcoholism is a social but also a spiritual problem. Therefore measures to withdraw someone from this addiction require spiritual dimensions and efforts. This can be confirmed through Apostle Paul’s counsel “we struggle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). There is no need to look down upon an addicted person. Neither is it to rely on physiological approaches though these are useful. Prayer, coaching and loving soul-care are important ingredients which beyond all enriched diet habits would greatly participate in the restoration of alcohol addicted ones.
In sum, the issue of alcoholism has long been a controversial one in the Christian world. However strong evidences are available from both Bible and Spirit of Prophecy that emphasize on the usefulness of total abstinence from alcohol as any other toxic substances.
It was clearly highlighted that alcoholism is a vice that needs much attention from Adventist health ministry so as to save many from the addiction and lead them to a fulfilled life in Christ. However far from any pretention for exhausting the fullness of the topic it is of a great recommendation that further research be conducted on the issue of alcoholism and how to fight it.
REFERENCES
Bill, W. (June 2001). "Chapter 5: How It Works". Alcoholics Anonymous (4th ed.). Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. 16-2.
Chastain, G (October 2006). "Alcohol, Neurotransmitter Systems, and Behavior". The Journal of General Psychology 133 (4): 329–35.
Hoffman, PL, Tabakoff B (July 1996). "Alcohol dependence: a commentary on mechanisms". Alcohol Alcohol 31 (4): 333–40.
Jill, L. (2014). Understanding and Treating Alcoholism Volume I: An Empirically Based Clinician's Handbook for the Treatment of Alcoholism: Biological, Psychological, and Social Aspects of Alcohol Consumption and Abuse. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. p.55.
McCully, C. (2004). Goodbye Mr. Wonderful. Alcohol, Addiction and Early Recovery. London: Jessica Kingsley. 265
VandenBos, GR. (2007). APA dictionary of psychology (1st ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 380-2.
Testimony of pastor KOUGWINDIGA Sougrinoma
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