Reformed Presbyterian Minutes of Synod 1961 - Rparchives.org

90 MINUTES OF THE SYNOD OF THE
on May 24, 1961 condoned the practice of moderate drinking on
the part of many of their members and made no legislation regarding
the use of alcohol, thus leaving the question to the individual
conscience of each member.
The headline reported on May 11, 1961 in the newspapers,
"PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH LIFTS BAN ON DRINKING" was
explained by one of their ministers, the Rev. Henry W. Kunce, as
misleading, since, as he said, there was no ban to be lifted.
All of this in its effect, gives aid and comfort to the enemy
of the Church and reveals the weakness of much of the Church
in America today. The Church fails to lift its voice in the condemnation
of sin and fails to challenge resistance against the
enemies that would destroy us from within. We are reminded of
the words: "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good
men do nothing".
From the ranks of the 65 million adults who practice drinking,
there are already an estimated 5,015,000 alcoholics who not only
are powerless to control their drinking but are lost souls apart
from the redemptive power of Jesus Christ. Brethren, it is a solemn
fact that of this vast number, very few are being saved. A
quarter of a million fall into drunkards'graves year after year,
their numbers replaced by newly produced alcoholics. What does
this mean to us Who shall give account for the destruction of
these souls in the Day of Judgment Also, how much longer can
this be kept up with the inevitable acceleration in producing alcoholics
from the ranks of social drinkers. A few years •ago the
ration was one alcoholic made from sixteen social drinkers. Now
it has raised to one out of nine or ten.
It is the conviction of your committee that the Church is accountable
to God for decrying and condemning the covenant with death
and the agreement with hell represented by the 21st Amendment
to the U. S. Constitution. The Church is accountable for renewing
its stand for total abstinence from alcoholic beverages by its
stand for the etadication of the liquor traffic from the nation.
The brainwashing of the clergy by the insidious propaganda
of the distillers, brewers and vintners and the insidious influence
of the Yale School of Alcohol Studies during recent years, to the
effect that moderate dtinking should be approved and encouraged
and to the effect that alcoholism is a disease, thereby making it
seem less reprehensible than drunkenness, all of this must be
resisted by the stand and testimony of the Church.
The Bible makes it clear that the bodies of believers are the
temple of the Holy Spirit and are to be kept holy and undefiled.
I Cor. 3:16,17. Beverage alcohol is a drug and a poison. Taken
even in small quantities it is damaging to body and therefore has
no place in the Spirit-filled life. Its use is a worldly lust which