Alcohol: a witness against itself

I no longer need to go to the Bible for evidence that alcohol use runs counter to religious and spiritual principles. Not since my wife and I attended seventeen two-hour sessions dealing with the hard facts of alcohol without moral or religious connotations. Not since my wife took additional classes in how to work with abused women and volunteered to serve in an abused women's program. Not since we read books and stacks of other material dealing with alcohol and its problems.

Sidney Katz, staff writer for the Toronto Star who studied alcoholism at Yale University, agrees with me in the article "Booze: Why You Shouldn't Drink a Drop." Katz writes that he abandoned drinking alcohol and became a teetotaler, not because of a moral or religious conversion, but on grounds that to him are simple, pragmatic, and irrefutable. His article cites statistics and facts to prove his case against any use of alcoholic beverages.

No, one doesn't need the Bible to develop a case against alcohol; it is a witness against itself. Notice a few facts.

In Western society alcohol is killing people faster than the deadliest wars of all history. Alcohol causes 60 percent of teen-age deaths on the highway and 50 percent of all highway deaths. It shortens the life span of one out of every 13 persons (alcoholics live 10 to 12 years less than other people). The executive secretary of the International Commission for the Prevention of Alcoholism said recently that of the 6 million known alcoholics in America, 350,000 would be buried before a year is out. In contrast, Vietnam killed 5,000 yearly. Half of drownings are alcohol related, and according to a study by Johns Hopkins University, 50 percent of pedestrians killed in accidents had been drinking. Everyone concerned to preserve life and peace must be concerned about alcohol.

Alcohol is the number one drug problem of American youth. One third of high school students boast of getting drunk at least once a month, and 1.3 million young people between 12 and 17 years of age have severe drinking problems. Alcohol use among teens is up 90 percent in 3 years, according to U. S. News and World Report. The Department of Health and Human Service's survey of fourth' and fifth~graders on the West Coast reveals that 45 percent consider themselves continuing users of alcohol. The parent who drinks forfeits his arguments against the child's use of drugs. Everyone concerned for youth must be concerned about alcohol.

Studies show a clear relation between alcohol consumption and the rate of crime. Alcohol is involved in 80 percent of all crime, and 80 percent of those in prison are there because of alcohol-related crimes. Dr. Jaren Tinklenberg, of Stanford University, speaking of the close link between alcohol and violence of all kinds, said, "Alcohol is a disinhibitor of social control." Every person concerned for law and order must be concerned about alcohol.

One of every 10 persons who drinks will become an alcoholic. In every community alcohol necessitates various social and religious agencies, in addition to law enforcement, to attempt to deal with the problems it creates. The known cost to the taxpayer for Government services alone exceeds $15 billion per year in the United States. In Canada the cost is $2.5 billion annually. Everyone concerned about human welfare must be concerned about alcohol.

Alcohol depresses brain function from the first drink and destroys thousands of irreplaceable brain cells with every drink. Dr. Daniel Sutter writes: "As a neuroanatomist and neurophysiologist, I believe the use of alcohol has very serious implications for the Christian. To me it is extremely serious to voluntarily subject one's highest levels of intellect and emotions to the anesthetizing effects of a drug which has no food value to the body but rather irritates and destroys its tissues."

It is estimated that 85 percent of all hospital admissions are alcohol related; this includes not only those who drink but also persons affected by them. Everyone who is concerned about health must be concerned about alcohol.

Disregarding the actual physical harm alcohol causes, it has no food value and takes from family needs. Not only does it destroy families and bring incalculable sorrow and suffering but the annual bar bill for a husband and wife can easily come to $2,000-$3,000 per year. It is a major cause of family breakups in the United States. Everyone concerned about the family must be concerned about alcohol.

No, one doesn't need to build a case from the Bible or experience a moral or spiritual conversion to condemn the use of alcohol. It's a witness against itself.