If Jesus walked the Earth today, perhaps he'd be turning water into beer...

As most of you know, my church upbringing as a child was in the Southern Baptist denomination. Overall, I think this was a relatively good foundation from which to build my personal views of ethics and values, but in some ways the stereotypical Baptist conventions can also be viewed as too restrictive and judgmental. Perhaps the most controversial of these tenets is that absolute abstinence of alcohol is required in the eyes of God.

I understand the principle behind this the context of alcohol reducing one's inhibitions to the point of acting upon ones baser desires instead of focusing on the path of the Lord. And watching any edition of Girls Gone Wild or hanging out at a typical frat party in college would certainly support this view. Proponents of a complete abstinence from alcohol typically cite numerous passages from the Bible warning about its dangers. They'll say that the "wine" used in biblical times was merely a way to sanitize water, and probably didn't even have near the amount of actual alcohol today's versions of wine have. From my recollections, though, the passages from the Bible that "forbid" alcohol, merely warn against drunkeness, or drinking to extremes. I'm not sure it explicitly addresses moderate drinking.

I would argue that drinking amongst friends in moderation can be a good thing, as some of the inhibitions we have aren't necessarily there for good reasons. A little alcohol sometimes helps to "loosen things up" a bit, at least to the point that one can feel comfortable enough to share some deep inner thoughts without the brain being fearful that whatever comes out will be overscrutinized and judged in a negative way. This is not necessarily related to the direct biological effects alcohol has on the brain, but perhaps may simply be a result of sharing in a social activity that promotes hanging out and having a conversation. Central to a church is a sense of community, and being able to discuss issues honestly and openly with each other in a lucid manner is perhaps what's lacking in some of the more strict Christian communities these days. In other words, sharing a beer or a bottle of wine amongst friends can actually be a good thing.

I wonder if the Southern Baptist Convention sometimes loses sight of these things. The fear of alcohol at times is so engrained into their being that they'll shun anything even remotely related to alcohol, as was done with water donations from Anheuser-Busch during hurricane relief efforts. It seems that it's human to delve into territories that are potentially dangerous, but may say a lot about man's self-control and connection with God when he can enjoy these things in a responsible manner in a way that treats such pleasures as gifts to be thankful for rather than sinful delights to be shunned out of existence.

With that, I wasn't sure what to think about this article recently in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Picnics and coffeehouses used to be the typical gathering places outside of the church, but it seems one church here in town is making the brewpub the new location for ministry:

Theology at the Bottleworks is run by a wildly successful congregation of young St. Louisans called The Journey. The Schlafly program is part of the church's outreach ministry. And it works.

Every month dozens show up at the brewpub to drink beer and talk about issues ranging from racism in St. Louis to modern art controversies to the debate about embryonic stem cell research. First-timers are invited to check out the church on Sunday, and Journey leaders say many have. Theology at the Bottleworks is just one of The Journey's ministries, but it has helped the church grow from 30 members in late 2002 to 1,300 today.

The Missouri Baptist Convention donated $200,000 to this church to help them buy and renovate an old Catholic church to be their new home, so you can guess there's a bit of friction in regards to their "beer ministry."

It's an interesting idea, and one that would at least make me a bit more curious about this church. Tolerance is never a bad thing (and Schlafly beer isn't too shabby either).