Sunday, October 15, 2000
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Sunday, October 15, 2000 |
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Liquor by the drink-a thousand times no!!! By
DR. KNOX HERNDON
It has been very interesting to me to read all the responses to the newspaper articles in reference to the past Hooters controversy and to the lengths of rationalization some will go to justify their lifestyle. I have been a minister now for 30 years and have been involved with suffering families and have been with many of them at the most crucial junctions of their lives. I will never forget when we were living in Landstuhl, Germany right after I graduated from high school. My father was the head chaplain for the 2nd General Hospital, which was the largest hospital we had in Germany at that time. We lived about three blocks from the hospital, which was a state-of-the-art facility. It had a heliport that would allow the most serious cases to be flown in for the extreme emergencies. I remember when Dad often would get called when the very serious cases would come in, either from helicopter or from being taken off the autobahns and back roads. In most of these serious cases, alcohol was involved. I will also never forget the time after time he would say to me how the patients were often so drunk that they would have to be strapped down on the tables because they would fight the medical personnel who were trying to save their lives. If any who read this article have teenage drivers, then the vote in November to allow liquor by the drink should especially be meaningful to you. This vote is not just about someone's individual right to drink, because society already has that right. It's about taking those drinks and then getting in your car and driving into one of my two teenagers or family members who are on the same roads. The statistics are staggering and don't need to be quoted here. To me this is a moral issue. It amuses me to hear the thumb-worn arguments used by some to take the Bible and use it to say it's OK to drink. In fact the scripture that I always hear quoted is "a little wine for the stomach's sake," and this is certainly true. The optimum word here is "little." It also states in 55 other places to stay away from it. One of the reason we chose Fayetteville to live in was your values and the fact that there were not bars everywhere. This is your chance to register your vote in November. I realize this is probably not a popular stance, but if you bring your arguments to the table for liquor by the drink, then please e-mail me your name and address so I can call you in the middle of the night to go with me to one of the many emergency rooms throughout the metro Atlanta area so we can pray together to ask God to keep one of our loved ones alive. The Rev. Dr. Knox Herndon is the pastor of His House Community Church (SBC) and a substitute school teacher in the Fayette County School System, and a former Army chaplain. The church is currently meeting in the American Legion Log Cabin across from the fountain on the Square in Fayetteville, but will be moving to a new location near Senoia in late October. Prayer line 770-719-2365; e-mail KHERN2365@aol.com.
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