Given that Jesus turns water into wine in the Bible, how did Methodists become so vehemently anti-alcohol?
Interestingly, there was a new translation of the Bible in 1924 that changed the wedding at Cana and various other passages, so that references to wine were deleted. This was by a professor of theology at Yale who denied it was due to Prohibition sentiment, but it was a very unconvincing denial. As to why the theology of Prohibition became central, I don’t know. What I do know is the reaction against the saloon in the middle of the 19th century, particularly among women, was so intense that it combined with this notion of proper moral behavior. And the drunkenness that women were subjected to—when they had no legal rights and no property rights—it was a real social problem. And Americans were drinking a lot before Prohibition began. So maybe the church leaders are saying, “We have a real social problem here, so how do we tie this into our theology?” There were very powerful forces against Prohibition. If you follow the money, it doesn’t seem like anybody stood to profit financially. Ho
