Friday 20 January 2017

Ramblings of a teetotaller

If you come here often, you will know that I am a Christian but I don't think I have ever talked about my denomination, mostly because it has limited relevance. I belong to The Salvation Army, which makes me "a Salvationist" although "a Salvo" is the more common usage.
The Salvation Army started as a way of bringing church to the disadvantaged and marginalised people of London and our founder, William Booth, recognised that alcohol was a significant issue for his flock. His way of addressing the problem was to make The Salvation Army a temperance movement. As a matter of example and solidarity for those they were trying to help, Salvationists were required to become tee-total and so I followed that tradition when I formalised my membership of the church at age 18.
Since my childhood in the Salvos, the requirement to avoid alcohol has not changed but the attitudes surrounding the issue certainly have. I remember a Salvation Army where, for members, drinking was regarded as a complete no-no and would probably have provoked a pastoral visit from a senior member of the church community but these days it is tolerated with something more like a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude.
As I neared adulthood I regarded the Army's stance as a prime way to make ourselves, as a group, appear unapproachable and censorious although I still had huge respect for the philosophy and largely kept my promise to be alcohol free. ( I would sometimes have a taste of someone else's drink but drew the line at pouring or purchasing my own)
I suppose the expectation of abstinence was too much for a proportion of my generation because many of the people I grew up with in the church eventually left The Salvation Army and made themselves at home in the Anglican church where it was more acceptable to have a tipple.
I never felt a need to leave "the Salvos" but I decided that I would not burden my children with shame if they were to drink moderately.

In the last few years I have seen these threads come together in an new way. My children have all reached the age of majority, our New South Wales state government has enacted "draconian", "nanny state" anti-alcohol laws in an attempt to curb alcohol related violence and the church is increasingly struggling to be found relevant. My own local church, the one I have attended all my life, has been threatened with closure and our future is not certain,

I am beginning to think that maybe there would be some in our society who would welcome the absence of alcohol and that an environment of abstinence might be a refuge of sorts? Maybe the church is losing relevance because it looks too  much the same as secular society? Maybe abstinence is way cooler than we have given it credit for? I find it a little sad that our government is taking a stand towards moderation while the church is going in the opposite direction and I find it disturbing that the sanctions against alcohol are financially driven (saving money for police and hospitals) rather than rooted in the welfare of humanity.


27 comments:

  1. As the daughter of an alcoholic I am well aware of its dangers. There have been times in my life when I have abstained, and I expect I will again. At the moment I do drink but very, very moderately. And because I drink alcohol so rarely I notice the effect. And don't like it.
    Sadly I think banning things gives them an allure.

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    1. PS: My mother spend two days under the ruins of her home in Bristol when it was bombed in WW2. She said that the Salvo's were there when she was dragged out and she had a soft spot for them forever more. And I contribute to their work on a regular basis.

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    2. EC,
      Like any other large organisation, the Salvos are far from perfect so I am deeply grateful to supporters like you who choose to see our best efforts rather than criticise our failures.

      I'm pleased that there was somebody there to bring comfort to your mum at what must have been a very frightening time.

      xo

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  2. I grew up with a father who occasionally had a beer or a mixed drink and a mother who never did. Alcohol has never been an issue for me and I am comfortable with a glass of wine at dinner or an occasional mixed drink, but I understand it can be a terrible issue and terribly misused by some. I kind of agree with EC, governmental banning makes things much more desirable.

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    1. Anne,
      There is no doubt that prohibition at any level just serves to drive a behaviour underground.
      Our new(ish) laws prohibit admission to licensed premises after 1.30am. Last drinks are at 3am so the idea is to limit bar hopping in the early hours when people are highly inebriated. It has definitely saved lives.

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  3. *meh* The only prohibition that ever works is the one that is self imposed.

    I hear good things about the Salvation Army that do not quite trend well with how they treat "civilian" employees. But then again to each their own as their own mind and spirit dictates.

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    1. You are right, Mark.
      I think the issues are more prevalent (or more publicised) in the US but we have a ways to go with LGBT people both as clients and employees.

      It is my church and it has a lot of good so I live with the reality of that and as much as I can, I push toward change

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  4. I became a teetotaller way back in 1999 and have not regretted it. I am the only one in my circle of friends and in the entire family and that has its humourous moments, but everyone respects my TT status and do not expect to be served alcoholic beverages at my home. My son is another TT though his wife has the occasional drink but not at home.

    Life has not become difficult. While I don't go around proselytising being sans alcohol, I dislike people who go on and on about other people's drinking or not drinking habits. I usually just leave when such discussions take place.

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    1. Ramana,
      I have to agree about not proselytising. Drinking is just like every other life choice, it is an individual decision and there is no point trying to force anyone into anything

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    2. There's a bit of a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude in Northern Ireland. There are lot of religious folk who profess to be teetotal but are probably knocking it back in private. Surveys say that young Brits are drinking a lot less while the elderly are drinking a lot more. Either the young don't find binge-drinking enjoyable any more, or they just can't afford it.

      I admire your persistence in abstaining from alcohol despite it being so unfashionable.

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    3. Nick,
      In writing this post I hoped to get some thoughts on how someone like you sees the intersection of religion and alcohol? do you think religious people should be teetotal? moderate? or maybe just honest?

      I did read so me time back that young people seem to be using ecstasy more than alcohol but the drug scene changes so quickly......

      These days I don't find it difficult to not drink, it's just the way I live

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    4. I definitely think religious folk should be honest, rather than pretending to be something they're not. But I don't expect them to teetotal. Their attitude to alcohol is entirely a matter for them and their religion.

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  5. I don't drink very often, when I do I am very silly :-)
    I have always been fascinated by the Salvation Army since visiting a homeless hostel when I was at school. They do good work. I also had relatives who belonged to the SA, long before I was born. My mum told me they had to give up all their jewellery when they joined - is this true?
    Sx

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    1. Thats a fascinating question! In all of my and my parents living memory nobody would have been asked to give up their jewellery but who knows what happens in other places and times.
      Wearing jewellery with uniform was unacceptable (except for wedding and engagement rings) and there was a time when a Salvationist spent a large proportion of their life in uniform so jewellery would not have had much of an airing but i dont imagine anybody would have demanded it be given up

      Whatever happened in the past, that's nowhere near true now.

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  6. My mother was a lifelong atheist like me but she was very charitable having grown up in poverty. In spite of the atheism she was a strong supporter of The Salvation Army because as she would put it - unlike many other more pompous religions they do a lot of good in this world - helping the poor and needy. She remembered the kindness they had shown her family when she was a girl.

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    1. I'm so pleased that someone was there to show kindness to your family in tough times, Mr Brague. And many thanks to your mum for her generosity

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    2. Oh. By the way, I was joking about Robert H. Brague. He's an old-timer who blogs from Canton, Georgia USA. My real name is Neil but because I was a secondary school teacher I use a pseudonym when blogging. It is rather sad that I need to do that.

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    3. haha! ok Neil/ Robert/ yorkie. Funny thing is when I called you Mr Brague I was wondering if it would remind you of school. Maybe not

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    4. This is my impression too. Like the Quakers, the Salvation Army stands out in my mind as taking Christ's teachings a lot more seriously than most churches, the rank and file of which represent the status quo even while maintaining that they’re God’s favorite thing in the whole universe. I think that most churches look down on the Salvation Army just as the religious mainstream of Jesus' era looked down on him and his followers, and for many of the same reasons that they now look down on the Salvation Army. As for Robert Braque, I think I’ve heard of him. He’s a disreputable sort of character who has infested my respectable atheist blog for upwards of a decade, and while I’m done my best to make him into a fellow “liberal elite” and hell-bound infidel, he nevertheless persists in his love for Rush Limbaugh and for Jesus. I think that you, Kylie, would like him. I also think it very relevant that the church you are affiliated with is the Salvation Army. In mind, it fits you, and I mean that as a token of respect. More than anyone else I know, you represent the good that is possible in Christianity. I think it likely that you will argue that you are a flawed person who is unworthy of your Savior, but this would be to miss the point. If I were to say who are the best people I know in terms of the goodness that I find in their hearts, you and Strayer (http://catwomanflix.blogspot.com/) would surely head the list. You’ve been nothing but an influence for good in my life, yet I don’t know if you’re able to see just how powerful you are. I can simply offer that the fact you are so understated and so open with your uncertainties just makes me respect you more. When it comes to being a person who lives with the absence of any pretense, you are number one. I just wish that you and I were closer.

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  7. Maybe you know of the nationwide prohibition era (1920-1933) here in the states. Rather than curbing violence, prohibition probably increased it due to mob involvement and the fact that it remained easy to buy liquor. Prohibition also brought on an increase in death, blindness, and organ failure because moonshine was often contaminated with lead or else spiked with a poisonous forms of alcohol known as "wood alcohol." My father was a runner during the era of nationwide prohibition, meaning that he delivered liquor. My own state of Mississippi didn’t repeal prohibition until I was a teenager, but rather than legal liquor being liquor easier to buy, it was harder, depending upon what county you lived in and how old you were. I started buying liquor when I was fourteen because bootleggers were as willing to sell to a 14-year-old as to a 44-year-old. I’ve never even tasted moonshine because when I was a kid—as during the nationwide prohibition—most of what people bought was bottled liquor that was brought in from someplace else. During nationwide prohibition, Canada was the main source, but the liquor that I bought was simply brought in from Louisiana, which, at its nearest point, was but 35-miles away. One could buy all the liquor one wanted in comfort and safety since sheriffs were paid-off. Mississippi was so corrupt that some fireworks that were too dangerous to be sold legally were also bootlegged. One night, I bought some cherry bombs and M-80s from the sheriff’s wife, and they were so cheap that I bought all I could afford and went around town re-selling them for a profit. Later that night, I got a phone call from the sheriff saying that his wife had gotten the price wrong (she had sold them way too cheap), and that I had better bring him the difference. This wiped out my profit, but I couldn't very well refuse his demand.

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    1. I do know of the prohibition era and all my impressions of it suggest that prohibition is a bad idea. Your stories confirm that of course!
      It would be good if drinking was less "cool" Imagine if the Kardashians were to go teetotal, if their example can get people eating placenta, they can do pretty much anything

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  8. I've been a Christian since I was a teen, and have attended the same Baptist church for over 30 years of my life and alcohol and its seen as an acceptable thing to do in moderation. The church itself will not have alcohol on the premises, but it's fine to drink in sensible amounts. I do enjoy a drink, but it's never been an issue for me to limit my intake, as I never want to be in a situation of being out of control. Which is why I've never done drugs.

    I think some churches are losing their relevance because they are NOT changing with the times. Our church embraces everyone, and I think because of that it's growing on a weekly basis.

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    1. I agree that churches are losing relevance and could make more effort on some issues.
      Having said that, my congregation is warm and welcoming to everyone but we have difficulty attracting new people and have lost people in droves recently. It's disheartening because i think we do have our hearts in the right place

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  9. We often get charity folk at our door asking for donations. Most of them I turn away but the two I always give money to are the Salvation Army and St John Ambulance Brigade because I know how much good they do, quietly and unflamboyantly.

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    1. Thank you, Nick.
      I am personally appreciative of the continued goodwill of the public, despite our failings. Some people expect a level of perfection that is not really achievable.

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  10. I've just read your post and been educated. I was once (not that many years ago given the length of my life) engaged to a nominal member of the Salvation Army but I was not aware of what I take from the above comments to be an intolerance to gay people. Of course that not unusual amongst Scottish Presbyterian religions either. I have a great respect for the work that the Salvation Army does and doubtless it did a great deal in preventing people drinking too. Prohibition rarely works universally in any situation and more that compulsion does. If only people could be moderate in their habits and tolerant in their religion (I am a non-proselytizing atheist) the world would be a happier place.

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    1. Graham,
      I think the acceptance of the LGBTQ community varies among individuals, as it does in society at large. Many of us want to roll out the welcome mat to all comers but the official line is ambiguous and unfortunately, the bigoted can hide behind it.
      Scottish protestantism is some of the most fundamentalist in the world, from what I can tell. I guess someone has to be :)

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