A Critical Review of The Laws of Fermentation and the Wines of the Ancients by Rev. William Patton, D.D.

Book excerpt: When William Patton wrote The Laws of Fermentation and the Wines of the Ancients in 1871, the temperance movement was near the height of its influence in America. The temperance movement penetrated the churches, and led to changes in the way Christians thought about the Bible, wine, and the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Many of these changes, while new in the mid-nineteenth century, are still a part of the lives of ordinary Christians and churches today. (For example, most churches used real wine in the Lord's Supper before Patton's book was published; but, by 1900, most protestant churches had begun to use unfermented grape juice in the sacrament. Another example would be the "two-wine" theory, which taught Christians that "good" wine is unfermented grape juice, but "bad" wine is fermented and alcoholic.) William Patton's book promoted, defended, and reflected these changes. However, the changes brought about by Patton and other temperance thinkers should be examined in the light of the Holy Scriptures, which are the only rule of faith and practice. Should they be retained? Or is a reform necessary? A Critical Review takes a careful look at Patton's book and his assertions.