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Southern Evangelical Seminary’s Dr. Richard Land Points to the Underlying Factor of Alcohol in the Kavanaugh Controversy
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—One common denominator looms large over the “sad spectacle of human tragedy” to which Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings have sunk, says Evangelical leader and president of Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES, www.ses.edu) Dr. Richard Land—alcohol.
“Starting in the early 1970s, when the legal voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, many states began lowering the legal age to drink to 18 as well,” Land says in today’s installment of his daily radio feature, “Bringing Every Thought Captive,” citing The Washington Post. “This remained the legal age until the mid-1980s when, due to Congressional action, all 50 states raised it again to 21. Binge drinking among U.S. high school students peaked in the early 1980s, precisely when Judge Kavanaugh and his accusers were high school students.
“Adolescents are at an even greater risk of binge drinking than adults,” he added. “Binge drinking causes blackouts and memory loss much more quickly in not-fully-developed teenage brains and depresses impulse control much more quickly than in adult brains. Whatever the outcome of Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, we all should heed the warning that ‘demon rum’ is called ‘demon run’ for a reason. As U. Cal.-San Diego psychologist Susan Tapert put it, ‘There are still large numbers of teenagers and high school kids who engage in drinking and partying that is really dangerous. Even if you emerge from the evening unscathed, you’re doing some harm to your body, and you’re definitely doing some harm to your brain.’—Words every parent should seek to indelibly imprint on their teenage children.”
Land is a member of President Donald Trump’s advisory board for faith issues, and SES is preparing for the 25th annual National Conference on Christian Apologetics (NCCA) on Oct. 12-13, which for 25 years has provided Christians with the knowledge and motivation to defend their beliefs in a culture that can be hostile toward Christianity. For information about the conference, click here.
For more information on SES, visit its web site at www.ses.edu or its Facebook page, follow the SES Twitter feed, @sesapologetics, or call (800) 77-TRUTH.
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