Do Christians Misinterpret the Meaning of Being a 'Stumbling Block'? Jesus was Called 'Gluttonous and a Drunkard'

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In yesterday's Bad Christian Blog post titled "Stumbling Blocks," Pastor Joey Svendsen wrote about Christians being hyper cautious of what they do because it may cause someone else to "stumble."

The main verse that Christians take the stumbling block rationale from is found in 1 Corinthians 10:23-31 which can be found here.

Svendsen feels many Christians condemn things such as beer, cursing, and even tattoos and piercing because people with prior issues may look at that as something that makes them slip up in their walk. It could also cause non-believers to question the validity of a believer's Salvation.

He list three points which he feels is a false interpretation of the Corinthians passage.

- "Drinking a beer may not be a sin in itself. But, drinking a beer could however cause temptation for a recovering alcoholic in the church to get drunk and perhaps relapse."
- "Or, drinking a beer could also cause a Christian that esteems and looks up to you to be disheartened and frustrated when he sees you drinking a beer, potentially even discouraging him or her to walk a life of victory in Jesus."
- "You never know when people described in #2 are watching you, thus you should avoid drinking alcohol altogether, or at the very least drink at home and get your unbelieving uncle to bring the booze to your back door."

"The Bible DOES say not to be a stumbling block, but I disagree with the above interpretation. Jesus himself didn't abide by this interpretation of scripture, and thus would have been condemned by Paul's teachings!" he wrote.

Svendsen uses the example found in Matthew 11:19 to make that point clear. The verse reads, "The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children."

The pastor continued, and wrote that Jesus knew people would view Him as a sinner because of His actions, but did it anyway because those were the people who needed to know the Lord the most.

"Here's what amazes me about a lot of Christians that stand by their false "don't be a stumbling block" translation. They are typically (though not always) very unloving and harsh with their words, and often make a habit of elevating the law over grace," he wrote.

Svendsen believes Paul's talk of being a stumbling block regards temptation in its simplest form. Using the beer example again, he writes of a scenario where he and a friend are hanging out having a drink. If their third friend came over and is a recovering alcoholic, they would most likely hide the beer to avoid any cause for their friend to stumble. This is a totally different situation than not drinking because it may cause people in general to stumble. They are doing this because they care and love their friend.

Read the blog post and its entirety here.

For more info on the Bad Christian ministry, head here.