In the past, religion's contribution to this debatehas been from a moral standpoint about thequestions of poor behaviour that are encouraged bythe loss of our inhibitions. But the truth is thatChristianity has a complex relationship withalcohol, from the beautiful story in John's Gospel ofJesus turning water into rich and special wine, to thebrewing of beer by monks and the centralsacramental act of billions of Christians around theworld when we drink fortified wine from the samecup at the Eucharist. It is perhaps a sign of our timesthat this debate has been highlighted not so much by a moral anxiety as a medical one. It'sthe strain on the NHS that's the issue. We are it seems, a society less at ease with ourselvesthan we could be, for example, taking the edge off social interactions with a drink to alleviateour fear. Moralising judgements don't help here, but recognising that we medicate our miseryby taking alcohol will raise deeper questions about who we are and who we want to be."

过去，教会一直从道德层面来解释说行为弱智是自我失控所致。但事实却是，基督教跟酒有一种复杂的联系，《约翰福音》中耶稣将水变成美酒的美谈，到僧侣酿造啤酒，再到全世界的基督教徒举行圣餐的时的中心活动就是从圣杯中啜饮美酒。这也许标志着，在我们这个时代，有关饮酒的辩论已不再是道德问题，而是健康问题，被NHS解释为压力问题。看来，我们总是对自己不够放松，譬如，用喝酒来缓解在社交场合的紧张情绪。道德评判在这里毫无帮助，但必须意识到，用酒精来缓解痛苦只会让我们更迷失自己，更找不着方向。