Sunday Alcohol Sales (Washington, Coleman: how much, universities, tax)

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by arjay57

One of the benefits of most alcoholic beverages is that they are natural foods derived directly from nature's bounty. Grapes, hops, grain and other goodness from the earth.

That is why the Good Lord provided them to us, and, as I mentioned in an earlier post, commended them to our use.

The Bible teaches us, "Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do."
Ecclesiastes 9:7.

I'm not knocking diet sodas and artificial sweeteners, but I will have to say they don't seem as close to our natural world.

I know. I generally stick to water and herbal tea--health issues. Occasionally I do splurge and with a diet drink.

I should invest in a juicer--I love mangoes and a variety of fruits--now rather expensive, too. Walking, drinking water and a somewhat open mind/heart --I believe in that, whatever else may come to pass.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

Walking, drinking water and a somewhat open
mind/heart --I believe in that, whatever else may come to pass.

You bet, TakeAhike!!

[Stars&StripesForever]

Originally Posted by kaday

Jesus's first miracle was changing water into wine (Wedding Feast at Cana). I think he'd approve.

Was "wine" grape juice or "strong drink". Scholars can't agree on this issue. Most objective studies, however, lean closer to the "grape juice" argument, though we'll probably never know for sure.

[Stars&StripesForever]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

This mentality frankly frightens the **** out of me...you can shut the door and respect your tradition all day and all night long; but ********* if you want to use the police power of government to make me do it.

The government IS the people, for the people vote for individuals to represent them. If the representatives are against Sunday alcohol sales, which has been in place a very long time, then they'll stay in office as long as their constituents approve of the way they're doing their job.

Yet, you act as though people who disapprove of alcohol and serving such on the Christian Sabbath are not to be tolerated, as though their opinions are not as worthy as your desire to purchase alcohol. Why do you think serving alcohol is more important than the desires of others?

The argument that serving alcohol doesn't affect people is pure garbage. It affects the quality of the community, when liquor shops are allowed to gain a stronger foothold by being able to serve more days of the week. Liquor stores tend to attract more unsavory elements to an area. This affects the quality of life for the people living in the area. It also effects people emotionally, as they see their community in decline, their relatives or neighbors getting drunk (they may have never done so.). I realize that alcohol is already served, but there is no reason to further condone it to all days of the week.

The fact is, greater access to alcohol is likely to lead to more deaths. Alcohol is poison. The fact that it tastes horrible should tell you that you're drinking rotten garbage. If not for the fact that this fermented byproduct was used to preserve beverages during a time when refrigeration wasn't available, it's possible that beer and other alcoholic products wouldn't have come to be widely used as they are today.

What is it about alcoholic beverages that you like? It certainly couldn't be the taste of the alcohol, so what is it?

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by Stars&StripesForever

Was "wine" grape juice or "strong drink". Scholars can't agree on this issue. Most objective studies, however, lean closer to the "grape juice" argument, though we'll probably never know for sure.

Far from a Biblical scholar myself--yes, I accept that Christ was able to turn water into wine--they grew grapes in that region and I assume someone fermented the grapes at some point.

Christ could have turned water into anything he wanted.

shrug--For whatever reasons whenever there were discussions on 'wine' in my Methodist church--we weren't overly concerned about the wine itself. We took communion with grape juice--symbolic of the blood of Christ.

There was much more emphasis on living simply/stewardship and service.

When I attended a Presbyterian church--there was a great deal of focus on dealing with the affects of alcohol.

The use of common sense was emphasized by both denominations.

Imo, the moderate/responsible consumption of alcohol is not evil.

FWIW, I grew up here over half a century ago--not a transplant, as if that should matter in the slightest. Alcohol was consumed in Georgia since the establishment of the colony. Religious beliefs or not.

[Stars&StripesForever]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Wow.

The law in question is based on the Christian belief that Sunday is somehow special.

Who is imposing whose belief system on others ... again?

In a perfectly religion-neutral world, no special laws would exist for Sunday at all.

Why do northerners, such as yourself, have such liberal beliefs with regard to alcohol? I'd say transplants are trying to force their will on the true southern population, which I'd argue is likely against Sunday alcohol sales, by majority.

You're wanting to impose your "Yea, Sunday alcohol sales. We want it" mindset onto those who don't. So, in reality, you're in no position to claim anything about pushing any belief system onto anyone.

[Mattie]

Originally Posted by Stars&StripesForever

Why do northerners, such as yourself, have such liberal beliefs with regard to alcohol? I'd say transplants are trying to force their will on the true southern population, which I'd argue is likely against Sunday alcohol sales, by majority.

You're wanting to impose your "Yea, Sunday alcohol sales. We want it" mindset onto those who don't. So, in reality, you're in no position to claim anything about pushing any belief system onto anyone.

We're here, we pay taxes, and we aren't going anywhere. The vast majority of people who drink alcohol do not have any problem with the affects of it. Nobody is trying to push their beliefs onto anyone except you. Let all the people decide, not just one denomination.

[TakeAhike]

List of dry counties in GA>>>
12 out of 159
Georgia
•Georgia prohibits the sale of alcohol on Sundays at retail locations, and has limits on the sale of alcohol at bars/restaurants.
•Brooks County prohibits the sale of alcohol except beer and wine, with no sales on Sunday. The city of Quitman, within Brooks County, has allowed the sale of alcohol other than beer and wine in restaurants only since 2005. The new law was passed by Quitman voters despite fierce opposition from local religious and community leaders.
•Bulloch County was previously a partially dry county, but a referendum in 1998 removed the ban on alcoholic beverages.
•Coweta County is a partially dry county.
•Dawson County, was historically noted for being a heavy Moonshine county but was a dry county until recently with the first package store opening on July 27, 2007.
•Effingham County, near Savannah, Georgia, is a partially dry county. Sale of liquor is prohibited, but the sale of beer and wine is allowed.
•Fannin County is a partially dry county, allowing for the sale of beer in restaurants only.
•Franklin County is a dry county, though several towns within the county are not.
•Murray County, in northwest Georgia, is a dry county, although the city of Eton allows the sale of liquor at a local level.
•Hart County in northeast Georgia is currently a dry county which prohibits the sale of liquor, yet a referendum was voted on in the general election on November 6, 2007 to allow the sale of liquor by the drink.
•Union County is a dry county.
•Upson County is a dry county.
•White County, in northeast Georgia, is a dry county except in the city limits of Helen, Georgia and beer and wine outside of the city limits of Cleveland, Georgia (effective January 1, 2009). In Helen alcohol can be served and sold, and is known to be a DUI trap, as there is only a single route into and out of town, along Georgia State Route 75.

Georgia QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

'The State of Georgia is divided into 159 counties. Under the Georgia State Constitution, all of its counties are granted home rule to deal with issues that are purely local in nature. Four consolidated city-counties have been established in Georgia: Athens (Clarke County), Augusta (Richmond County), Columbus (Muscogee County), and Cusseta (Chattahoochee County).'

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Stars&StripesForever

Why do northerners, such as yourself, have such liberal beliefs with regard to alcohol? I'd say transplants are trying to force their will on the true southern population, which I'd argue is likely against Sunday alcohol sales, by majority.

Because I believe people should be responsible for their own actions, not the government.

I have the same view about guns, sex, and many other things. We're adults ... let us live our lives in peace as long as we don't hurt anyone. Why is that such a bad thing?

You're wanting to impose your "Yea, Sunday alcohol sales. We want it" mindset onto those who don't. So, in reality, you're in no position to claim anything about pushing any belief system onto anyone.

How did I impose anything? I simply have an opinion on the matter, as do you, and the fact that some in the Georgia legislature seem to agree with me suggests that I'm hardly alone in my beliefs. Reading this forum also leads me to that conclusion.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

Far from a Biblical scholar myself--yes, I accept that Christ was able to turn water into wine--they grew grapes in that region and I assume someone fermented the grapes at some point.

Wine-making was a very sophisticated business by the time Jesus arrived on the scene and had been around at least a few thousand years. It was traded internationally and highly prized. For example, enthusiasts like King Tut (around 1300 BC) had detailed vintage charts listing the year, the vineyard and the winemaker for every bottle in the extensive collection he packed into his tomb.

Wine was prominently featured in many ancient religions and cultures, including the Hebrews. They knew exactly what wine is and it's hard to imagine that they would have "mistaken" grape juice for wine any more than we would today.

It's problematic to start reinterpreting old texts and saying, "Well, what they actually meant was X." These folks weren't dumb and for the most part they said exactly what they meant, at least when it comes to things that existed in their day pretty much the same as they do in ours. When the ancients talked about slavery, well, they meant slavery. Likewise with things like homosexuality, adultery, murder, money, wine, and so forth.

We may well have very different opinions about these things today, but if we're citing to the old texts as authority we ought to at least acknowledge that they meant what they said, rather than trying to jink the words around and make them fit our current views.