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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Alcohol has many usage and contrasting connotations. A glass of wine with a meal can symbolize Love, friendship, relaxation and enjoyment of a special occasion. It can represent romance, coming of age, success, beginnings and endings, good news and good company. At a Christian Eucharist or Jewish Passover, where wine is also shared, thanks are given to God for divine salvation from all that were enslaved, restricted and condemned. In drinking the wine, Christians participate with the first disciples in their Last Supper with Christ, and Jews participate with the ancient Hebrews in their exodus from enslavement in Egypt.
In African tradition, wine is used to portray a relationship and communion between the living human and ancestors, deities and other supernatural entities. This is evidence in covenant establishment, oath taking, daily ritual of libation, burial and institution of shrines and altars. Also in marriage ceremonies, the usage of alcoholic wine is indispensible even against the vehement opposition of Pentecostal churches in Africa with Nigeria as typical example. Ekwe (2000) stated that apart from water and wind, wine is another integral and indispensible part of African life and living. The presence is felt in almost all the activities of African customs and traditions ranging from burials, rituals, marriages, oath takings, covenant establishments, meetings, hospitalities, evening relaxation to all forms of their daily activities.
Unfortunately, the sacredness and redemptiveness of these occasions contrast with the association of alcohol with drunken violence in our towns and cities, cirrhosis of the liver on our medical wards, debts in families, death on our roads and numbers of fights in families. It contrasts more especially with the enslavement, which is alcoholism or alcohol addiction. This contrasting nature of alcoholic drink is clearly revealed in different chapters and verses of the Hebrew Scripture, the Old Testament. Serious warnings were placed on the need to avoid addiction and lust towards alcoholic wine. At some instances, some people were strictly warned not to taste alcoholic wine or partake in meals that have connection with alcohol. For instance, Nazarites like Samson in Judges 13:7, Princes in Proverbs 31:4 and the Rechabite family in Jeremiah 35 were in this category. The book of Proverbs 23:29-35 which is the case study of this research work pointed out and analyze the state, condition and ordeals of an alcoholic drinker and the problem of addiction even in this contemporary era.
In more purely statistical and objective terms, alcohol misuse is a contemporary social problem of enormous economic significance, which exacts a high toll of human suffering as a result of the social, psychological and medical harms to which it gives rise. Alcohol related morbidity and mortality are high in most parts of the world, and in many developing nations like Nigeria, alcohol consumption and its concomitant harms are on the increase. Yet, moderate alcohol consumption is tolerated, enjoyed and encouraged, with the majority of the adult population being drinkers of alcohol in almost all countries other than those with an Islamic culture.
What are we to make of these observations? It is easy to project blame to a safe distance by arguing that they are the responsibility of other people‟s plights or forces beyond our control. Government, industries and moderate drinkers can blame a majority of irresponsible citizens for
their excesses. The beverage alcohol industry can easily be blamed for promoting a product which causes so much harm. Or else, the product itself can be blamed and made subject of prohibition, on the basis that everyone would be better if it were not consumed at all in civilized society.
Perhaps no one needs to be to blame at all. Rather than blaming people for being irresponsible whether either as drinkers or promoters of alcoholic beverage, Cook (2003) argued that maybe the problem is better understood more in terms of disease. Perhaps some people are exceptionally vulnerable because of a disease of some kind, in such a way that alcohol causes them harm, and through them harms other people too. The nature of this disease is complex. It might be understood as a disease affecting the moral and spiritual nature of human beings in such a way as to impair their judgment, self control and integrity in a far more fundamental way. And, at risk of over-simplifying things and jumping ahead of the argument, this disease might be called alcoholism or addiction.
Therefore, viewing alcoholism or addiction as a disease or rather cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabrics of individual lives and society at large, one has to provide medication that will give permanent cure to this disease or reduce it to the bearest minimum in our society. One obvious fact which is glaring is the application of diverse curative methods to halt the pandemic nature of alcohol addiction which many have failed. For instance, laws have been made in different societies against alcoholic drinking, like in many Islamic states, which proved abortive because people devise diverse means to fall back to the pit of addiction. Again different alcoholic producing companies have been banned from production and advertising alcoholic drinks, but local production of alcohol serve as alternative means, therefore making the former ineffective.
However, the Hebrew Scripture offers principles, precepts and admonitions which strict observation, adherence and application of these, will bring the menace of alcoholism in the society to a halt. The reason remains that the Scripture touches the heart of man and answers diverse questions in the inner man. Edward (2000) observed that while human laws address immediate issues and challenges of man which solutions are temporal, the Scripture touches the remote (the root) of the same issues, offering a permanent solution. So the problem of alcoholism is not different from other issues which the Scripture has offered permanent solution.
This research work will showcase and analyze issues associated with alcohol and alcoholism using the Scriptural tool presented in Proverbs 23:29-35. Among all the books in the Bible that talked about alcohol, the book of Proverbs in different chapters and verses (Proverbs 23:20-21, 20:1) made many comments on the issue of wine and alcohol. But among these chapters, Proverbs 23:29-35 has the longest context, therefore stands as the most appropriate exegetical tool to treat the issue of alcoholism. Lessons drawn from this text will be applied to the Nigeria society with regards to alcoholism. Placing the Bible text on the Nigeria situation, solution will be offered.