The Wine of Scripture.

Southland Times, Issue 8090, 19 August 1885, Page 3

The Wine of Scripture.

TO. THK EDITOR. Sib,— lv a paragraph which was inserted in your issue of Monday last from the NZ. Methoditt, the writer expresses his surprise •'that Christians who profea* to be followers of Jtsus of Nazareth can teke what he could tot possibly have taken as a Jew—iutoxicating wine — at go sacred a service as the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper." With, charming simplicity, find to help s us, I presume, over our difficulty in getting wine at all that is not fermented, the writer say?, " I may mention that the wine I use in the service is an infusion of raisins." Let us be grateful to this writer for his kindness ; but most of us I presume would still like to use wine in the Lord's Supper, and with all deference an infusion of raisin? is not wine, either "according to the Scripture us: ge of the term wine, nor according to the usage of the English language. Why does not the writer give the name of the Jewish Babbi who is q toted as an authority to the effect that "Jews never use fermented wine in their synagogue services, and must cot use it on the Passover, cither for the synagogue or home purposes." It is clear that fermented wine w»9 used in the time of the Apostles at the Lord's Supptr, for 6ome of the Corinthians were reproved by the Apoctles for being even intoxicated en such occasions, but he nowhere alleges that they were not u<iog the proper sort of wine, nor does he blame them on that scoie. Without entering onthe eu* ject of i he Bcripture use of the term »i je fanner than simply saying tbat the Hebrew word for" wine"— yayin— cannot be proved to te ever used in any tingle case to an unfsrmented liquor, and the Greek word— oinos —used without any quaUfying epithet at Jeast, also uniformly deuo.es a fermented 1 quor. We may etate in reference to this matter of the Jewish Passover, ihat the t rm ■• fruit of the vine," employed fey oar Lord according to the synoptical Gospels, to denote the element in the cup at the Supper, h»s from time immemorial been usf d by the Jews tj designate the wine partaken of on sacred occasions, as at the Passover, snd on the eveniag of the Sabbath ; and the Mithia expressly state* that iv pronouncing bles. sings " the fruit of the vir c" i 3 the consecrated expression, for yayin, (Mishna De Bened. cap. 6, pais 1). iv conclusion, let me set against tbis anoDymoui Jewish Rabb ; a quotation from the writer of the article *W;ue' in Herrog's KncjcloiSßlia, This writer, says—" It is right to 6tate that dur* ing the Passover, Jews will not taste or touch fermented di ink* into which grain has entered (of Misbna, Peiacaoth, Part 2nd). But the fermented iuice of tfae grape prepared by Jews, and keot carefully free from leaven, is the proper Paschal wive, The truth on tbis subject can be learned from any intelligent Jew."— l am,&c, Akdbeyv H. Stobo.