<sod>'''Christian views on alcohol''' are varied. Throughout the first 1,800 years of [[History of Christianity|church history]], [[Christian]]s generally<!--Notable figures abstained from alcohol, but the dominant position was one of moderate consumption of alcohol--> consumed [[alcoholic beverage]]s as a common part of everyday life and used "the fruit of the vine"<ref name="fruit">{{cite web |author=Jesus Christ |title=Matthew 26:29;Mark 14:25;Luke 22:18|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026:29;Mark%2014:25;Luke%2022:18&amp;version=NIV |quote=I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.}}</ref> in their central [[rite]]—the [[Eucharist]] or Lord's Supper.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=[[Evangelical Dictionary of Theology]]|editor=Walter A. Elwell|author=R. V. Pierard |title=Alcohol, Drinking of | isbn=0-8010-3413-2 | publisher=Baker Book House | location=Grand Rapids, MI|year=1984 | pages=28f}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia| encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church| publisher=Oxford University Press, USA| page=1767 |title=Wine | editor=F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone |year=2005 |edition=3rd ed. |isbn=978-0-19-280290-3|quote=[W]ine has traditionally been held to be one of the essential materials for a valid Eucharist, though some have argued that unfermented grape-juice fulfils the Dominical [that is, Jesus'] command.}}</ref> They held that both the [[Bible]] and [[Christian tradition]] taught that alcohol is a gift from [[God in Christianity|God]] that makes life more [[joy]]ous, but that over-indulgence leading to [[Alcohol intoxication|drunkenness]] is [[Christian views on sin|sinful]] or at least a [[vice]].<ref name="Raymond 90">Raymond, p. 90.</ref><ref name="Eastons">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/easton/ebd2.w.html?term=Wine |title=Wine |encyclopedia=[[Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)|Easton's Bible Dictionary]]|year=1897| accessdate=2007-01-22}}</ref><eod>
<sod>'''Christian views on alcohol''' are varied. Throughout the first 1,800 years of [[History of Christianity|church history]], [[Christian]]s generally<!--Notable figures abstained from alcohol, but the dominant position was one of moderate consumption of alcohol--> consumed [[alcoholic beverage]]s as a common part of everyday life and used "the fruit of the vine"<ref name="fruit">{{cite web |author=Jesus Christ |title=Matthew 26:29;Mark 14:25;Luke 22:18|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026:29;Mark%2014:25;Luke%2022:18&amp;version=NIV |quote=I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.}}</ref> in their central [[rite]]—the [[Eucharist]] or Lord's Supper.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=[[Evangelical Dictionary of Theology]]|editor=Walter A. Elwell|author=R. V. Pierard |title=Alcohol, Drinking of | isbn=0-8010-3413-2 | publisher=Baker Book House | location=Grand Rapids, MI|year=1984 | pages=28f}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia| encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church| publisher=Oxford University Press, USA| page=1767 |title=Wine | editor=F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone |year=2005 |edition=3rd ed. |isbn=978-0-19-280290-3|quote=[W]ine has traditionally been held to be one of the essential materials for a valid Eucharist, though some have argued that unfermented grape-juice fulfils the Dominical [that is, Jesus'] command.}}</ref> They held that both the [[Bible]] and [[Christian tradition]] taught that alcohol is a gift from [[God in Christianity|God]] that makes life more [[joy]]ous, but that over-indulgence leading to [[Alcohol intoxication|drunkenness]] is [[Christian views on sin|sinful]] or at least a [[vice]].<ref name="Raymond 90">Raymond, p. 90.</ref><ref name="Eastons">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/easton/ebd2.w.html?term=Wine |title=Wine |encyclopedia=[[Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)|Easton's Bible Dictionary]]|year=1897| accessdate=2007-01-22}}</ref><eod>