When the Homily is about Immunology

The Dictatorship of Taste
Beer Church, part 1

Some of you, no doubt, just shrugged Beer Church off, but I didn’t. I’ve been thinking a lot about it these last few days…and NOT because I love beer either, so nyah!

But, did you take a moment to read their “About Us” section? Now, I have no need or desire to rake Beer Church over the coals, quite the opposite really. You see I’ve read quite a few “About Us” articles from a lot of different Christian Churches and sometimes they look ALOT like Beer Church's. What I want to try and do, is discern in my own mind what is the difference between my Church, and Beer Church.

Ok, so, Beer Church is made up of people who affirm the simple belief that beer is good. (And who would dare argue with them???) They also obviously have a communal need to congregate (I chose that word very deliberately), and they do so under the banner of the aforementioned belief system (Beer is Good). Furthermore, the Beer Church communicants also feel an inherent desire to do good deeds, and they facilitate this need by linking it with the communal celebration of Beer.

Less wordy than me, they summarize what they are all about here:

It [Beer Church] is based on our philosophy that people are basically good…People like to party, socialize and generally have a good time. In our human society, beer is a conduit, or catalyst, for making that happen. So find the people where they are. Have a party that benefits something worthy.

Goodness…it’s all about goodness. I am good, Beer is good, gathering with others over a cold pint of beer is good, and helping others is good. Mix them all together and you’d get something VERY good! However, as far as churches go, you’d also be getting sold short.

What do I mean? What is…or should be…the difference in the Christian Church? Well obviously there is an invisible difference, or at least we have faith that there is. The Church of Christ bears an ontological unity that transcends the simple concept of a group of friends who, in the name of charity, are huddled around a keg (or Chalice as the case may be). In Orthodoxy, we affirm that the Church is much more than just a set number of persons united by their fondness for beer Jesus. There is – and indeed must be – a mystical and invisible reality by which we really do become members of one another.

But we Orthodox make such ado about the visibility of the Church, so how do visible aspects of the Church differ from that of Beer Church? That is to say, obviously our self-understanding (as the Church) is different than theirs, but what do we DO differently? What specifically about our Church life would appear different from an outsider or an unbeliever?

I believe I have an answer, and a damn good one too. It has to do with what I am eating today, and for the 34 days that are to follow.

Part 2 coming soon…