The Divine Wedgie
Long before Chesterton sung the praises of drinking, St. John Chrysostom, a Father of the early Church, had this to say about drinking in his Homilies on the Statues:
Paul is not ashamed, and does not blush, after the many and great signs which he had displayed even by a simple word; yet, in writing to Timothy, to bid him take refuge in the healing virtue of wine drinking. Not that to drink wine is shameful. God forbid! For such precepts belong to heretics…
Still on the topic of drinking, Chrysostom regarded as blasphemy the association of drink with sin, and admonished the faithful thus in their relations to those who argue that drinking is sinful:
And should you hear any one in the public thoroughfare, or in the midst of the forum, blaspheming God; go up to him and rebuke him; and should it be necessary to inflict blows, spare not to do so. Smite him on the face; strike his mouth; sanctify your hand with the blow, and if any should accuse you, and drag you to the place of justice, follow them thither; and when the judge on the bench calls you to account, say boldly that the man blasphemed the King of angels! For if it be necessary to punish those who blaspheme an earthly king, much more so those who insult God.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In