Posted on 08/11/2003 6:40:57 PM PDT by Destro
7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Proverbs 31:6,7
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2:1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2:2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 2:3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 2:4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." 2:5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 2:6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 2:7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 2:8 He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. 2:9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 2:10 and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." 2:11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
John 2:1-11
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Through trade, the Slavs, the people of Kievan Russia and the Arab Muslims, little by little got acquainted with each other. Prince Vladimir (980-1015) received these foreigners among whom were Muslim Arabs, and discussed various subjects with them including religion. During these discussions they touched on the questions of life after death, heaven, punishment for evil doers and reward for those who did good on earth, questions of God, the Invisible and the all-knowing.
Prince Vladimir's pagan faith did not know of these questions and was not able to give answers. Ancient Russian and Arab chronicles inform us that the Muslims were sending their scholars to Vladimir. They wanted very much to convert the country to Islam. The first emissaries were from the Volga.
Bolghars informed Vladimir that they had embraced Islam. The description of Paradise with its eternal blooms and houris (maidens) appealed very much to voluptuous Vladimir's imagination.
So, the Muslim Bolghers came to Vladimir and said. to him, "You are a wise prince, but you do not know a law. Adopt our religion and worship Islam."
Vladimir asked them, "what is the gist of your faith?" They answered, "We believe in one God and Mohammad His messenger teaches us not to eat pig meat or drink wine. Vladimir did not like this commandment and he said that it was not acceptable for Russia. Vladimir was not very happy about circumcision or the prohibition of alcohol. "Wine is the mirth for the Russians. We cannot be without it."
N. M. Karamzin; 'What Was Russia at that Time'; pages from 1-history of the Russian State, Kharkov, Prapor, 1990 p 67. (in Russian).
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"May God give you the dew of heaven and the fruits of the Earth of wheat and wine in abundance" (Gen 28:29, the benediction of the patriarch Isaac to his son Jacob before his death). "Wine gives joy to the heart of man" (Ps 104:105). "There is no joy without wine" ( Pesahim 109a).
But, when it's good, it can be very, very good.
When I was running a pecan orchard in Alabama, I came to appreciate the subtle, nuanced charm of "Feets' Own Alabama Thunderbolt".
Relatives use it to can fruit in.
Yummy.
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin
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