From the author: “My interest in the cause of temperance was awakened by the evidence which crowded upon me, as a pastor in the city of New York, of the abundance of intemperance. The use of alcoholic drinks was then universal. Liquor was sold by the glass at almost every corner…
“These and other facts so impressed my mind that I determined to make them the subject of a sermon. Accordingly, on the Sabbath evening of September 17, 1820, I preached on the subject from Romans 12:2: ‘And be not conformed to this world:’ etc. After a statement of the facts which proved the great prevalence of intemperance, I branded distilled spirits as a poison because of their effects upon the human constitution; I urged that therefore the selling of them should be dropped … These positions were treated with scorn and derision. A portion of the retail dealers threatened personal violence if I dared again to speak on this subject.”
Upon further study of the affects of alcohol upon man in his city, Patton was compelled to delve into the Scriptures: “…to study the Bible patiently and carefully, to know for myself its exact teachings…These results deeply impressed me, and forced upon me the question, Must there not have been two kinds of wine?”
In What the Bible Teaches About Drinking Wine, Bruce Lackey highly recommends Patton’s work: “I recommend the book entitled ‘Bible Wines And the Laws of Fermentation’ by William Patton… More than a hundred years ago, this preacher was the only one in the town where he lived who believed in total abstinence. He saw that it was necessary to make an extensive study to see what Scripture taught. This book is the result of that labor and is the very best thing I have ever read on the subject.”
100 pages.
