Pastors and Beer
Tuesday, October 31, 2006 In The Narrative
I know not all pastors drink beer. But I do and here’s why.
I like beer. I once had someone tell me that I shouldn’t drink beer because beer’s a sin. But honestly, truth be told, beer’s not a sin. Cheap beer–now that’s a sin. In fact, there is not one biblical citation that demands total abstinence from alcohol; not even for pastors. (There is that little bit about some people in the Old Testament who took “Nazarite vows”; but that vow was to abstain from the “fruit of the grape”. So even a Nazarite could drink but they’d have to opt for… beer! — a non-grape beverage.)
And sure, we should be careful. But care is not the same as being goofy.
Not one culture other than 20th century American culture has ever preached the heretical doctrine of total abstinence (Okay, I’ll give you some “desert fathers” of old, but they were fringe, very fringe). It wasn’t until the rise of fundamentalism that anyone ever preached an abstinence heresy. Until then, all Christian cultures enjoyed varying forms of adult beverages, in moderation, of course. What’s more, the abstinence heresy is localized in the U.S.; it’s an American phenomenon. Or maybe we should call it what it really is: one American sub-culture’s Johnny-come-lately tradition. That is all.
One of my favorite abstinence-heretics of all time was a man by the name of Charles Welsh. In the late 1800’s (the height of American fundamentalism) Chuck invented a special kind of unfermented grape juice that he and his fellow fundies could drink in good conscience during our sacrament called Communion. We still enjoy Chuck’s grape juice to this day, it bears his name: Welch’s. I still prefer a Sonoma County merlot, but hey, to each his own.
But back to beer. Can one in good conscience seriously eat crabs or watch football without it? Not really. Not in earnest. Not with passion.
I like beer. One very powerful reason I like beer is because once you’ve tasted great Pilsners like Mr Interested’s homebrew, you can never go back to root beer. And who could forget the great ales of the ages? I’m reminded of Martin Luther and Wittenberg ale; and yes, served up warm.
So that’s one pastor’s view on beer. And I think you should let me come over to your house to watch football on your HD flat panel and drink your beer.
Invite me…
Wil Harris, a frequent TWiT, 
November is