Beer and the End Times

[Shawn, the Beer Philosopher]

Okay, I figured that title would garner some interest. Let's see who bites ...
The following is an excerpt from a piece I wrote a year or two ago, alluding to the connection between what has come to be known as the "neo-prohibitionist" movement and a popular form of Biblical interpretation in the modern church called "dispensationalism." Read it and share your thoughts. Feel free to disagree, but back up your claims to the contrary.

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"I understand the theology that drives many Evangelicals, and many Baptists specifically, to reject the use of alcohol even in moderation. Their roots pre-date Prohibition, but the spirit that sparked Prohibition is the same one that plagues much of the Church today. Dispensationalists, as many, many modern Evangelicals are, believe that we are at an epoch in history where the Church writ-large is under attack and poised for increased persecution and, dare I say, isolation as a result. This theology, popularized by the "end-times" prognosticators like Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHay, to name just two, paint a picture of the world moving imminently toward a violent end. According to their theology, the Church (i.e., true believers) will be "raptured" out of this tribulation at some point along the way (we won't go into the fine points of tribulationist thought here ...this is still a beer blog). The bottom line, though, is that many of these folks believe that beer (and alcohol in general) is just one of many tools that the Devil will use to entice Christians away from a life of faith. As the world continues to degrade, in their view, Christians need to be all the more diligent in guarding themselves against any obvious affiliation with "the world."

Beer is worldly, Worldly is bad. Ergo, beer is bad.

A pretty pessimistic view of the future, huh? Sadly, this is what a startling portion of the Evangelical Church believes today. Sensationalism sells. So, by rising up against things like moderate alcohol use, they are being true to their own convictions and true to what they're encouraged to believe is Biblical. This, I contend, is a sincere motivation. The trouble is ... I also believe it is sincerely wrong. I don't mean to sound overly harsh toward Evangelicals, or their questionable interpretation of portions of Scripture, but I am genuinely troubled by this sort of news. So many Church leaders are robbing their parishioners of their (literally) God-given liberties, often unknowingly.

Those of us who are Christians of a more historic (and, I'd argue, Biblical) bent are wont to cry out "wait, we don't all believe this stuff!" in an effort to do some sort of damage control for the "rest of us." At the end of the day, though, I don't know that this will do a lot of good. The only thing that will bring to truth of the matter to light is time, really. Something many don't believe we have.

Maybe when the latest end-times novel is forgotten, or revised because they got the predictions wrong again, some Christians will start to question the veracity of this kind of thought. Until then, however, I will continue to educate by example.

The reader can decide which of these attitudes is more "Christian."

[Scott E. Kingsbury]

IMHO - neither such condemnation, such judgment nor such "legalism" is called for in Scripture...or in the practice of the Christian Faith "once delivered unto the saints".

As for the so-called "fundamentals" of the faith - I've always figured that "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, thy soul, thy mind and thy strength...and thy neighbor as thyself" ....pretty much covers it.

Even Christ Himself said "On these two commandments, hang *all* the law and the prophets."

Now - as for proof-texting and picking of nits being done in the modern "evangelical" Churches - I have found that the so-called "Left-Behinders" rarely know much their own Christian history....and they always seem to miss the fact that... if it were not for the monastic movement, the Benedictines and the Franciscans in particular (the brewers of some mighty fine brews, I might add!), that the pretty bonded leather-bound, gold-leaf-edged, King Jimmy Version Bibles... with their names in gold-letters on the cover and three crisp matching satin ribbons - the ones that thay so proudly try to whack the rest of us upside the head with.... would *not* have been preserved intact without the preservation by happy, dedicated monks.

As a matter of fact....there are almost 1,850 years of good monastic practice, wine and beer making included (including some mighty fine Bourbon-Fudge from Gethsemani Farms (the Trappist home of none-other-than Fr. Thomas Merton hiself!) that predate the failed-Anglican preacher Thomas Nelson Darby and his made-from-whole-cloth idea of a pre-tribulation "Rapture" anyway.

For such unfortunates who miss out on the joy and the life that Jesus died for...in order to give us "life...and that more abundantly)...I would suggest a good beginning class (or even a few good books!) on Christian history....

I close with a joke:

Why do you have to take two Baptists with you when you go fishing?

Because if you just take one, he'll drink all your beer.

Bada-bing. I'm here all week....tell your friends.

Father K.

[Shawn, the Beer Philosopher]

Excellent assessment ... and well-balanced too (kind of like a good session beer). I can tell already, Fr. Kingsbury, that I will learn a lot from you. Assuming, that is, I'm not raptured outta here beforehand ... ;)

Isn't it interesting that the average dispensationalist's notion of Church history only dates back a little over 100 years, by and large. Athanasius and Augustine are traded out for Larkin and LaHay! Not a good trade in my view.

I posit that beer itself is a testament to the long-term propagation of the Gospel and the fulfillment of the Great Commission throughout time. Just as it takes weeks, months or even years to cultivate and produce a fine ale; so too with the eventual spread of the Gospel to all creation. A lot of work is yet to be done and an endeavor like that (or beer brewing, such as has been done for centuries) would be a fruitless labor if we're facing the end of all things at any moment. Wasn't it Moody who said "why polish the brass on a sinking ship?"

Hmm.

[theBryon]

Had a great moment earlier this year... My Pastor paid us a visit at the house and we enjoyed a couple of pints of my homebrew and some fellowship together... Shawn, I know you read my blog posts on the topic, but Father K, have a read and please provide feedback...

http://blog.homebrewbeer.net/2008/04/home-brewing-beer-christianity...