Beer in Missouri

What is it about Missouri that figures into the "right" church?

We have the Missouri Synod Lutherans who consider themselves the "one holy catholic apostolic church".

Mormons, whose leaders have been told that Jesus will return to Missouri, oh.. and then Jerusalem later I guess.

And then these no-beer folks.

I really don't blame them much. Better safe than sorry. But should they decide someday to become Catholics, they will have to get much more earthy.

Besides the central use of good wine in Cana, we use real wine which becomes real blood. That's a pretty good reference. Alcohol is one of those earthy things God knows all about.

Good for the spirit, but don't get drunk. That's about the extent of it. Unless you're from Missouri.

link

Church planters who receive money from the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) must now teach alcohol abstinence. The policy change was sparked by the Journey, a growing interdenominational church that borrowed $200,000 from the MBC to renovate a church two years ago. One of the Journey's outreach groups meets in a St. Louis microbrewery.

Because the Journey received the money by loan, not by grant, the new policy does not affect the church. But future borrowers will be scrutinized more closely, Tolliver said. Previously, church planters were asked to sign a statement agreeing to abstain from alcohol. Now they must teach "the strong biblical warnings" against drinking beer and wine. Though the Bible does not expressly forbid alcohol consumption, the new policy states that alcohol consumption is not wise.

"There is growing discontent, people saying that we shouldn't be mandating things that aren't spoken clearly about in Scripture," George said. "It's hard to argue that the Bible requires total abstinence."

After heated arguments at the annual SBC meeting in June 2006, messengers passed a resolution affirming abstinence.

Was it "they have no grape juice", or "they have no wine"?

As noticed on Mirror of Justice.