Scot McKnight (there’s no better God-blogger) has attacked the idea that we should go further to be purer in our “sin-avoidance” attempts, specifically with respect to alcohol:

“What I find every year in this conversation is a serious, but repeated mistake. The tack is this: If I take a stand more “biblical than the Bible,” then I can’t be wrong. That is, if I choose not to drink at all, I will keep myself from sin and all appearance of evil and will be safe. This is what I call the sin of “zealotry” — the belief that if we are more extreme than the Bible, then we can’t be wrong. Wrong.”

via The Bible and Alcohol – Jesus Creed.

As someone who went along to a Christian school which in lots of ways leant pretty hard in this direction (generally, obviously not just alcohol), this is such a refreshing and freeing thing to hear. I think we’ve embraced this idea that we have to do things “just to be safe”, not recognising that it’s the same legalism we’re embracing for “safety” that Jesus railed against in the Pharisees.

And yet having said all that, I completely understand that there are very valid reasons why Christians would choose not to drink alcohol. But if the reason you’re doing it is to make yourself holier than Jesus, then maybe you’ve pushed “biblical” a bit far.