ALCOHOL

Admiral Heihachio Togo, whose brilliant tactics had destroyed the Russian fleet at the battle of the Sea of Japan in 1905, visited the United States shortly after the Russo-Japanese War. At a state dinner in Admiral Togo's honor, William Jennings Bryan was asked to propose a toast. Because Bryan was well known as a strict teetotaler, it was feared that an embarrassing breakdown of protocol was about to occur. But as Bryan stood to propose his toast, he held up his glass and said, "Admiral Togo has won a great victory on water, and I will therefore toast him in water. When Admiral Togo wins a victory on champagne I will toast him in champagne."   

Today in the Word, September 17, 1992.

Many years ago in St. Louis, a lawyer visited a Christian to transact some business. Before the two parted, his client said to him, "I've often wanted to ask you a question, but I've been afraid to do so." "What do you want to know?" asked the lawyer. The man replied, "I've wondered why you're not a Christian." The man hung his head, "I know enough about the Bible to realize that it says no drunkard can enter the kingdom of God; and you know my weakness!" "You're avoiding my question," continued the believer. "Well, truthfully, I can't recall anyone ever explaining how to become a Christian." Picking up a Bible, the client read some passages showing that all are under condemnation, but that Christ came to save the lost by dying on the cross for their sins. "By receiving Him as your Substitute and Redeemer," he said, "you can be forgiven. If you're willing to receive Jesus, let's pray together." The lawyer agreed, and when it was his turn he exclaimed, "O Jesus, I am a slave to drink. One of your servants has shown me how to be saved. O God, forgive my sins and help me overcome the power of this terrible habit in my life." Right there he was converted. That lawyer was C.I. Scofield, who later edited the reference Bible that bears his name.  

P. Meier, Christian Child Rearing, Baker, 1977, p. 49ff.

Even when people just think they are consuming alcohol, their behavior changes. 

G. Collins, The Magnificent Mind, p. 113.

A member of Alcoholics Anonymous once sent columnist Ann Landers the following:

We drank for happiness and became unhappy.
We drank for joy and became miserable.
We drank for sociability and became argumentative.
We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious.
We drank for friendship and made enemies.
We drank for sleep and awakened without rest.
We drank for strength and felt weak.
We drank "medicinally" and acquired health problems.
We drank for relaxation and got the shakes.
We drank for bravery and became afraid.
We drank for confidence and became doubtful.
We drank to make conversation easier and slurred our speech.
We drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like hell.
We drank to forget and were forever haunted.
We drank for freedom and became slaves.
We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply.
We drank to cope with life and invited death.              

Bits & Pieces, May, 1990, p. 18.

Missionary John G. Paton was invited to dinner with a wealthy friend. Paton noticed that the servant poured a glass of whiskey for his host. Somewhat embarrassed, the man explained, "I take a little whishey for my cough on my doctor's prescription." Paton asked "How long have you been doing this?" "Eight years," came the reply. "Is your cough getting any better?" asked Paton. "No," answered the man. "Well," said the missionary, "if I had a doctor who prescribed for me for 8 years and it didn't help me, I would quit taking his prescriptions and get a new doctor."

Source Unknown.

People who drink to drown their sorrow should be told that sorrow knows how to swim. 

Ann Landers.

OTHER

If there's an alcoholic parent in the family, there's a 50 percent chance one of the children will become an alcoholic. If there are two alcoholic parents, it's an 85 percent chance. 

Message, quoted in Signs of the Times, December, 1993, p. 6.

Portion of American adults who don't drink alcohol: 33% 

Charis Conn, Editor, What Counts: The Complete Harper's Index.

Half of Americans in a recent poll said they or their family members have suffered from depression, 46% considered it a health problem, and 43% saw it as a "sign of personal or emotional weakness," according to the National Mental Health Association. Other topics measured included alcoholism (seen as a personal weakness by 58% and a health problem by 34%) and obesity (38% deemed it a weakness, 48% a health problem). Where to go for help? Three choices were allowed. 45% suggested a medical doctor, 60% a mental health professional, but only 20% suggested a church, minister, rabbi, or priest, and just 14% suggested a spouse, relative, or friend. 

National and International Religion Report, January 1, 1992.

Why do teens drink? 66% cited stress and boredom, 25% said they drink to get high, and 31 percent said they drink alone. In 1989 3000 teens between the ages of 15 and 19 died in alcohol-related auto accidents. The favored drink among teenagers is wine coolers, but many choose beer because it is cheaper and easier to get. Students annually consume 35 percent of all wine coolers sold in the U.S. or 31 million gallons. They also consume 1.1 billion cans of beer, or 102 million gallons. 

Spokesman Review, December 30, 1991, p. B1.

Roughly one half of all fatal highway accidents--which average between 50,000 and 55,000 year after year--involve alcohol. Each year, alcohol on the highways results in physical injuries to 125,000 people.

Alcohol is involved in fifteen thousand homicides and suicides annually, twenty thousand accidental deaths, plus one-half of all auto accidents and the additional twenty-five thousand deaths they cause. Even 40 percent of the pedestrians who are killed have been drinking. 

Homemade, April, 1986.

70 million Americans are social drinkers; the amount of alcohol consumed per person has risen 40% in the U.S. in the past 25 years. 

U.S.A. Today, May 16, 1983.

By the time young people reach the 10th grade, only three in ten are non-drinkers. Results of a study indicate that about a third of high school students are moderate to heavy drinkers in the classification of the scientists who organized students into six categories: abstainers, infrequent, light, moderate, moderate-to- heavy and heavy drinkers. Ease of availability is related to heavier drinking. Those states that allow 18-year-olds to purchase alcohol have heavier drinking. 

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse, in Homemade, August, 1985.