Having spent years in the pastorate, David Brumbelow has observed the tragedies associated with consumption of intoxicating beverages. Brumbelow determined to research the matter and reassess the teachings of Scripture about alcohol. The volume you hold, Ancient Wine and the Bible: The Case for Abstinence, addresses the subject with keen logic, a grasp of history, and thorough exegesis of biblical literature. Acknowledging that the Scriptures do not retain an expressed mandate against drinking alcoholic beverages as "thou shalt not steal,"he, nevertheless, demonstrates that the overwhelming witness of the Bible is like a mighty breaking wave on the north shore of Oahu, demanding abstinence based on case histories of the devastation of "strong drink" added to the "wisdom" literature of the Bible in its repeated call for abstinence.