Larry Devich
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Lutherans and beer
Certain Legalistic Christian churches try and tell us that drinking is evil, in spite of the clear teaching on scripture on the subject, so here are a few one-liners about drinking and beer drinking in particular that I've come across on a Lutheran email forum:
If you go fishing with a Baptist, take at
least two. If there's only one, he'll drink all your beer.
-----------
In Pastor Klemet Preus' book, "Fire And The Staff" he addresses this very issue in the case of a woman who at one time joined with others in the neighborhood drinking gin and tonic on occasional hot summer days. When she became a teacher at a local AOG Church she said she could no longer drink publicly because now she was to be an example of the faith . . . Pastor Preus' reply to her was: "Well, I guess that means there'll be more for the rest of us!"
-----------
In the words of Ben Franklin:
"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
or in the words of Luther:
"Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long as we are here in this world we have to sin. This life is not a dwelling place of righteousness"
------------
Or in the words of Friar Tuck: "Any idiot can make bread. The Lord
intended grains for a much higher purpose!"
------------
Proverbs 31:3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. 7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Thus:
1. Do not drink when you are sitting upon the seat of judgment.
2. Do not listen to the counsel of a woman who reasons apart from the clear testimony of the Word.
Finally: yes, drinking *is* shameful, though *not* drinking may cause others to conclude that you are possessed:
St. Luke 7:33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. 34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! 35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.
Let us take the shame Jesus bore, rather than act as those who are under the demonic influence of false doctrine yet would seek to be called "holy" (not John, the Baptists!).
----------
I am reminded of the Reformed Presbyterian, Archibald Alexander, the
first professor at Princeton University.who, as Kim Riddlebarger of
the "White Horse Inn" tells it, hated the taste of intoxicating
liquors, but when the Methodist circuit riders came to town, deemed it
his Christian duty to drink in front of them.
----------
Of all the qoutes above I think Luke 7:33-34 is the most pertinent for the Judgemental Leagalists(TM) out there. Jesus said, "33For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' 34The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'
Finally, here is something from Luther I read, which is not specifically about drinking beer but about another error of the JL's, eating and drinking the body and the blood of Jesus Christ:
We do not reduce faith to such an empty and insipid idea; but we say: Faith consists in this, that we see the content and the object of faith. Holy Writ states that if I believe in such a way, I do not have an empty purse or a vacuous thought of God, which devil and Turk can share. For the Turk also declares: "I believe in God"; that is, he thinks of God. But I believe rightly when I pin my faith, my thoughts, and my heart on the flesh and blood sacrificed for me, consume that, and boldly declare: "I believe that His flesh and blood are there, given for me, and that the flesh and blood are poured, as it were, into my faith as wine or beer is poured into a glass." This is my treasure: to eat, to drink, to think of, and to believe in, the flesh; to cleave by faith to the Man Christ and to His flesh, so that I may apprehend Christ.
But those who have a different view and talk about this as the papists do, hold empty shells devoid of kernels. Our faith, to be sure, also has a shell; but it contains its kernel. The heart is poured full. For I believe that Jesus Christ and His flesh and blood were given for me, and thus I surely receive Him as my mouth receives food and drink. If the mouth is not filled with food or beer or wine, there is no eating and drinking. Thus faith, too, cannot be a mere thought of our Lord God; for thoughts are not sufficient. The pope, for instance, assumes that it is enough just to think of God; that is his faith. My heart must take hold of and apprehend Christ; I must cleave to His flesh and blood and say: "To this I cling, to this I will remain faithful. I would rather surrender life and limb. May I fare with it as God wills."
Faith dare not be an idle thought. It is not enough that I recall how Christ was crucified, but beyond these thoughts I have a heart which relies on Christ, whose flesh and blood I admit into my heart, persuaded that they were sacrificed for me. That constitutes and is called true faith. Without such faith all counts for nothing. All saints and all monks with all their good works are nothing. For Christ declares: "You lack this flesh for your food; you do not accept the flesh and blood. Therefore nothing else will avail toward attaining eternal life than this eating and drinking."
This is a clear and excellent verse which I cannot escape [Jn 6:52]. I, too, would like to resort to my reason, like anyone else, and find a loophole; but all attempts to elude this verse are futile. I cannot get around it. Therefore everyone must be concerned that he eats the body. For this has definitely been ordained: Anything else than this flesh and blood, be it ever so beautiful, great, and holy, is neither instrumental in attaining eternal life nor necessary for it. All else taken together does not help a whit.
This article of justification is the chief doctrine. St. John expounded it especially. In this he proved himself a master. St. John cannot be sufficiently praised for treating this doctrine so diligently and so clearly. He is a master in the doctrine of justification. I cannot discourse on it more clearly and more forcefully than John did here through the Holy Spirit. He says: "You will not have eternal life unless you eat His flesh and drink His blood." "To eat" means to eat with the soul, so that I accept the flesh, apprehend it, and retain it.
It is not enough to consider that the baker baked bread and the brewer brewed beer. This does not bring bread and beer into your home. But when you take bread and beer into your mouth, then baker and brewer are forgotten. Thus the Jews here were baker and brewer: they baked and brewed Christ when He was crucified. Now it is up to you to get Him into your mouth, to eat Him, to lay hold of Him, to take Him into yourself, and to adhere to Him. That is faith; that is what He means.
Luther, M. 1999, c1959. Vol. 23: Luther's works, vol. 23 : Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 6-8 (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works. Concordia Publishing House: Saint Louis
¶ 6/22/2006 09:44:00 AM 0 Comments
If you go fishing with a Baptist, take at
least two. If there's only one, he'll drink all your beer.
-----------
In Pastor Klemet Preus' book, "Fire And The Staff" he addresses this very issue in the case of a woman who at one time joined with others in the neighborhood drinking gin and tonic on occasional hot summer days. When she became a teacher at a local AOG Church she said she could no longer drink publicly because now she was to be an example of the faith . . . Pastor Preus' reply to her was: "Well, I guess that means there'll be more for the rest of us!"
-----------
In the words of Ben Franklin:
"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
or in the words of Luther:
"Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long as we are here in this world we have to sin. This life is not a dwelling place of righteousness"
------------
Or in the words of Friar Tuck: "Any idiot can make bread. The Lord
intended grains for a much higher purpose!"
------------
Proverbs 31:3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. 7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Thus:
1. Do not drink when you are sitting upon the seat of judgment.
2. Do not listen to the counsel of a woman who reasons apart from the clear testimony of the Word.
Finally: yes, drinking *is* shameful, though *not* drinking may cause others to conclude that you are possessed:
St. Luke 7:33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. 34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! 35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.
Let us take the shame Jesus bore, rather than act as those who are under the demonic influence of false doctrine yet would seek to be called "holy" (not John, the Baptists!).
----------
I am reminded of the Reformed Presbyterian, Archibald Alexander, the
first professor at Princeton University.who, as Kim Riddlebarger of
the "White Horse Inn" tells it, hated the taste of intoxicating
liquors, but when the Methodist circuit riders came to town, deemed it
his Christian duty to drink in front of them.
----------
Of all the qoutes above I think Luke 7:33-34 is the most pertinent for the Judgemental Leagalists(TM) out there. Jesus said, "33For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' 34The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'
Finally, here is something from Luther I read, which is not specifically about drinking beer but about another error of the JL's, eating and drinking the body and the blood of Jesus Christ:
We do not reduce faith to such an empty and insipid idea; but we say: Faith consists in this, that we see the content and the object of faith. Holy Writ states that if I believe in such a way, I do not have an empty purse or a vacuous thought of God, which devil and Turk can share. For the Turk also declares: "I believe in God"; that is, he thinks of God. But I believe rightly when I pin my faith, my thoughts, and my heart on the flesh and blood sacrificed for me, consume that, and boldly declare: "I believe that His flesh and blood are there, given for me, and that the flesh and blood are poured, as it were, into my faith as wine or beer is poured into a glass." This is my treasure: to eat, to drink, to think of, and to believe in, the flesh; to cleave by faith to the Man Christ and to His flesh, so that I may apprehend Christ.
But those who have a different view and talk about this as the papists do, hold empty shells devoid of kernels. Our faith, to be sure, also has a shell; but it contains its kernel. The heart is poured full. For I believe that Jesus Christ and His flesh and blood were given for me, and thus I surely receive Him as my mouth receives food and drink. If the mouth is not filled with food or beer or wine, there is no eating and drinking. Thus faith, too, cannot be a mere thought of our Lord God; for thoughts are not sufficient. The pope, for instance, assumes that it is enough just to think of God; that is his faith. My heart must take hold of and apprehend Christ; I must cleave to His flesh and blood and say: "To this I cling, to this I will remain faithful. I would rather surrender life and limb. May I fare with it as God wills."
Faith dare not be an idle thought. It is not enough that I recall how Christ was crucified, but beyond these thoughts I have a heart which relies on Christ, whose flesh and blood I admit into my heart, persuaded that they were sacrificed for me. That constitutes and is called true faith. Without such faith all counts for nothing. All saints and all monks with all their good works are nothing. For Christ declares: "You lack this flesh for your food; you do not accept the flesh and blood. Therefore nothing else will avail toward attaining eternal life than this eating and drinking."
This is a clear and excellent verse which I cannot escape [Jn 6:52]. I, too, would like to resort to my reason, like anyone else, and find a loophole; but all attempts to elude this verse are futile. I cannot get around it. Therefore everyone must be concerned that he eats the body. For this has definitely been ordained: Anything else than this flesh and blood, be it ever so beautiful, great, and holy, is neither instrumental in attaining eternal life nor necessary for it. All else taken together does not help a whit.
This article of justification is the chief doctrine. St. John expounded it especially. In this he proved himself a master. St. John cannot be sufficiently praised for treating this doctrine so diligently and so clearly. He is a master in the doctrine of justification. I cannot discourse on it more clearly and more forcefully than John did here through the Holy Spirit. He says: "You will not have eternal life unless you eat His flesh and drink His blood." "To eat" means to eat with the soul, so that I accept the flesh, apprehend it, and retain it.
It is not enough to consider that the baker baked bread and the brewer brewed beer. This does not bring bread and beer into your home. But when you take bread and beer into your mouth, then baker and brewer are forgotten. Thus the Jews here were baker and brewer: they baked and brewed Christ when He was crucified. Now it is up to you to get Him into your mouth, to eat Him, to lay hold of Him, to take Him into yourself, and to adhere to Him. That is faith; that is what He means.
Luther, M. 1999, c1959. Vol. 23: Luther's works, vol. 23 : Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 6-8 (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works. Concordia Publishing House: Saint Louis
¶ 6/22/2006 09:44:00 AM 0 Comments
What a friend we have in Jesus
Yesterday, at the end of the devotion from Higher Things that I posted, there was a verse from a favorite old hymn of mine, What a friend we have in Jesus. I remember many years ago, when I was a boy, my mom had typed this out and fastened it somewhere near the kitchen sink, I recall singing it as I did dishes. Here is the whole hymn from The Lutheran Hymnal:
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"
by Joseph Scriven, 1820-1886
Text From: THE LUTHERAN HYMNAL
(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941)
1. What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Ev'rything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Ev'rything to God in prayer!
2. Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a Friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our ev'ry weakness--
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
3. Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our Refuge--
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He'll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.
It just goes to show that today's Lectionary reading is true, (Proverbs 22:6) Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. In spite of decades of rebellion in between, in the end the early training as a Lutheran Christian won the day.
Thanks Mom! :-) and, more importantly, Thank God!
Yesterday it got up to 101 degrees here in Dublin. Today it's supposed to be even hotter. I've closed up the house and set the A/C in anticipation. The good thing is that this is a "Spare the air day."
So BART is free all day to encourage people to ride transit rather than drive. That means when I go to San Francisco to attend the Symphony tonight, free tickets as usual, even my train ride will be free. Plus I'm not skipping church because Pastor Ledic is off at the English District convention today and there is no church tonight. Woo Hoo! Symphony sans guilt! :-)
¶ 6/22/2006 08:27:00 AM 0 Comments
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"
by Joseph Scriven, 1820-1886
Text From: THE LUTHERAN HYMNAL
(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941)
1. What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Ev'rything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Ev'rything to God in prayer!
2. Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a Friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our ev'ry weakness--
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
3. Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our Refuge--
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He'll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.
It just goes to show that today's Lectionary reading is true, (Proverbs 22:6) Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. In spite of decades of rebellion in between, in the end the early training as a Lutheran Christian won the day.
Thanks Mom! :-) and, more importantly, Thank God!
Yesterday it got up to 101 degrees here in Dublin. Today it's supposed to be even hotter. I've closed up the house and set the A/C in anticipation. The good thing is that this is a "Spare the air day."
So BART is free all day to encourage people to ride transit rather than drive. That means when I go to San Francisco to attend the Symphony tonight, free tickets as usual, even my train ride will be free. Plus I'm not skipping church because Pastor Ledic is off at the English District convention today and there is no church tonight. Woo Hoo! Symphony sans guilt! :-)¶ 6/22/2006 08:27:00 AM 0 Comments
Thursday in the First Week After Trinity
In the Name of Christ. Amen. There are any number of terms used in Scripture that describe the strength of our God. He is called a fortress; He stretches out His mighty arm to protect His people. He weighs mountains on a balance.
There are times to fear that strength, such as when you are a pharaoh trying to destroy God’s chosen people, or when you are a soldier in the army of Midian. But one doesn’t always need to fear the strength of God.
In Sunday’s collect, we prayed that God would use His strength to help us. God certainly is our strength. Without that strength, without His help, we could never accomplish what He sets out for us to do.
Not that we try to earn some brownie points from Him. Rather, we need His help in our service to Him and His kingdom where He has placed us. Whether it is as a student, a worker, or whatever else we might be in our life on earth, we ask for God’s strength to make it through each and every day.
Doing good is never our strong suit. Our sinful nature takes over on too many occasions (every occasion, maybe?) and causes us to really foul things up. But because we are forgiven for the sake of Christ Jesus, and because we have been made a new creation in the waters of Holy Baptism, we have a way out.
Because we are a new creature in Christ, we can call out for God to pour out His grace so that we can keep His commandments. We can pray that Christ in us would not get trapped behind our bungling, but shine as the Light in our dark world so that we might please God in all things.
Because we have been forgiven and washed clean by the blood of our crucified Lord, we can call out to our God in all things so that we can be the children of God He has called us to be. Amen.
“Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!” (TLH #246, v.4)
Daily Lectionary
Proverbs 21:30-22:6
1 Timothy 4:1-16
Matthew 13:24-30
¶ 6/22/2006 07:31:00 AM 0 Comments
“O God, the Strength of all those who put their trust in You, mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing, grant us the help of Your grace that in keeping Your commandments we may please You both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.” (Collect for Trinity 1)
In the Name of Christ. Amen. There are any number of terms used in Scripture that describe the strength of our God. He is called a fortress; He stretches out His mighty arm to protect His people. He weighs mountains on a balance.
There are times to fear that strength, such as when you are a pharaoh trying to destroy God’s chosen people, or when you are a soldier in the army of Midian. But one doesn’t always need to fear the strength of God.
In Sunday’s collect, we prayed that God would use His strength to help us. God certainly is our strength. Without that strength, without His help, we could never accomplish what He sets out for us to do.
Not that we try to earn some brownie points from Him. Rather, we need His help in our service to Him and His kingdom where He has placed us. Whether it is as a student, a worker, or whatever else we might be in our life on earth, we ask for God’s strength to make it through each and every day.
Doing good is never our strong suit. Our sinful nature takes over on too many occasions (every occasion, maybe?) and causes us to really foul things up. But because we are forgiven for the sake of Christ Jesus, and because we have been made a new creation in the waters of Holy Baptism, we have a way out.
Because we are a new creature in Christ, we can call out for God to pour out His grace so that we can keep His commandments. We can pray that Christ in us would not get trapped behind our bungling, but shine as the Light in our dark world so that we might please God in all things.
Because we have been forgiven and washed clean by the blood of our crucified Lord, we can call out to our God in all things so that we can be the children of God He has called us to be. Amen.
“Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!” (TLH #246, v.4)
Daily Lectionary
Proverbs 21:30-22:6
1 Timothy 4:1-16
Matthew 13:24-30
¶ 6/22/2006 07:31:00 AM 0 Comments
