My father 80, great health, drinks one beer or glass of wine per day, usually at dinner.
Everything in moderation.
The temperance movement was adopted by the Baptists but it’s not biblical doctrine nor science. It’s church tradition.
I don’t drink, at all, but my wife does, occasionally, a beer or wine, no issues.
What I see does not line up with what you claim, for my brother, 2 close friends...
I’m not arguing that alcohol can’t be addicting and damage the body. But it can be used responsibly.
You probably have 1/2 of your adult congregation that’s overweight. I’m not being sarcastic, I mean this. If their health and well being really matters maybe focus on gluttony and how that destroys their health.
But since obesity is common, socially acceptable, we even have “fat acceptance” in this country, it’s a very unlikely topic politicians, clergy, etc. address. You’d be a bad guy, insensitive, if you address this.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/fat-acceptance
https://www.fashiongonerogue.com/plus-size-models-know/
IMHO, when religion deviated from the literal words of the Bible and begins adding their own ideas, bad things happen.
The Bible teaches us not to be a drunk. Jesus and all the Apostles, the Pope today, many of your beer brewers of the past were monks early on: https://buildingcatholicculture.com/brewing-monks-a-list-of-the-worlds-monastic-beers/
Some of these monks were brewing beer, and consuming it, about 800 years (even before that, that’s just what we can prove) before John N. Darby came around.
Many beers today are brewed no different than they were hundreds, even thousands of years ago. In fact, one of the oldest laws on the books anywhere that is still enforced is the German Reingeitsgebot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinheitsgebot.
You’re argument takes some exception and attempts to create a rule. There are some weird beers made to break records today and get notoriety for the brewery. They are not the norm. If you look at the alcohol content of an average beer today it’s 2-4% light beers 4-6% IPAs. What people do to make your argument is to compare the more powerful beers of today to what are called small beers in the past: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_beer.
It’s bogus comparison where some light beer of the past is compared to more powerful IPAs today.
The first beers period (~5,000 years ago) were around 6%. Egypt: https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/unbeerlievable-ancient-egyptian-ale-recreated-from-5000-year-old-yeast
Weihenstephaner, they have been brewing 1,000 years nonstop and you can get their original beer still today. It’s 5.1%: https://www.weihenstephaner.de/en/our-beers/original-helles-1
But like I said, it’s “belief” and there’s no point arguing it.