I did have all this planned out on what I was going to say and how I was going to say it. However, when I did my little bit of research, I realized that facts got in the way. (frustrating things, those facts) It would have been little more than guessing.

As I looked, one article would say this. One would say that. There were even doubts it would seem, within the individual writings. It seemed simple when I started. They drank beer to avoid getting sick. It was what I heard from several sources. Now, I don’t know what is true about it. I read one article, which says one thing. Then I read another that says something else.

Let’s try to at least start with what is commonly accepted by one and all. Beer was put on the Mayflower before they sailed. I think we can assume from that that they drank beer before they left. Whatever they did after they arrived was likely close to what they did before they left.

It is said that the reason they landed at early, at Plymouth Rock, because the ran out of beer. I have no idea. Some say one thing. Some say another. You are welcome to do your own research.

It is generally accepted the children drank the beer too. Also, no one drank to access.

Finally, it is true that in the day, people did get sick from the water. It contained all kinds of microbes they knew nothing of. It would stand to reason that if they drank water, they might get sick. When they drank the beer, they remained healthy. It would stand to reason that they avoided that which seemed to make them sick.

As an aside, I also heard that the Roman soldiers boiled water as a religious thing, It greatly attributed to their health which made them stronger and faster soldiers. I don’t know if that is true either. It does sound logical. People who are sick can’t fight as well. However, I don’t know. I suppose it might have been because they drank beer as the pilgrims, instead of water.

Fact is, when making the brew, the water must be heated. That would kill the microbes. The fermentation has nothing to do with it.

At any rate, we no longer have that reason to drink beer. We have perfectly safe water, most of the time. Staying healthy is no longer a valid reason.

Those that know me; those that have read most of my posts, know that I don’t like alcoholic beverages. When people find that out, I get these sayings, “The pilgrims drank beer,” as if that makes it okay. They they find out I am Christian and they say, “Jesus drank wine.”

Let’s get this straight. You want to drink, then drink. Don’t try to justify it. Regardless of anything else, the alcohol is still the one most society damaging drug, no matter the reasons.

This one fact I know. I have seen it all my life. I have even experienced it myself. If you want to do something badly enough, you can think of a reason. So, let’s get it straight. You drink alcohol because you want to. You say you can stop any time you want to. However, of course, you don’t want to. You can always find reasons. But the one truth you don’t want to admit. You want to drink. There is no force on earth that will change that.

As for Jesus drinking wine, I am not about to try to defend that. Some say the wine was weaker back then. I don’t know.

My reason for being against alcohol started a long time before I was saved and has little to do with my belief in Jesus. It was from a personal experience in my family. My belief has only been fortified over the years. Moreover, it is backed up by the numbers today. One third of fatal accidents are caused by drunk drivers. Think about that the next time before you drink before driving.

Let me throw this at you. If you come home and find your babysitter drunk, you would fire her and refuse to pay her. Yet, you get even more drunk than she while watching your kids, and never think a thing about it.

As I said, you want to drink, you will drink. If you want to get drunk, you will get drunk, no matter who else it endangers. I know. I’ve seen it. You think it over a little. You’ve seen it too.

The fact is, excuses are easy to come up with. We are all well practiced at it, myself included. It just is, I had different things I wanted to excuse.

One excuse I did find most remarkable was Mickey Mantle’s. He admitted it. Those in his family died early in life. So why not drink? Well, he did die early, because of the alcohol, not because of the genes he inherited. He came on TV and admitted he made the mistake. And so it was that his liver failed him. That’s a real shame. Mantle really seemed to be a great guy, the type most would like to know.

Well, at least he didn’t use the old excuse that pilgrims drank beer. He made the mistake. He knew it and he owned it. I guess I need to recognize him for that.