Sunday, October 15, 2000

Liquor by

the drink-a thousand times no!!!

By

DR. KNOX HERNDON

Pastor

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 [email protected].