For most of us, giving something up for Lent is tough. Chocolate, sweets, or even Facebook are popular choices for the Lenten discipline. Some give up alcohol but one man is adding alcohol to Lent. Not only that, but he is only drinking beer for Lent!
CNN’s Belief Blog recently reported that J. Wilson, a 38 year-old author of the blog brewvana, gave up food and is only drinking beer (and water) The practice was also observed by Bavarian monks hundreds of years ago.
Wilson is newspaper editor and beer enthusiast. His motto of his blog is, “An ideal condition of harmony, beer and joy.” He proclaims himself a non-denominational Christian who avoids denominational labels. His decision to drink only beer was a seriously one and required a lot of preparation:
There are doctor’s visits during the fast, and he did copious research before he began. He even bulked up beforehand, knowing he would lose weight. “I wasn’t running into this half-cocked,” he said. “I didn’t wake up on Ash Wednesday and think, ‘Wow this would be a great idea.’ It helps that his boss at the Adams County Free Press is on board, because he keeps a keg at the office. Each morning, Wilson pours himself a 12-ounce Illuminator Doppelbock for breakfast. Then another at lunch, a 3:15 p.m. snack and finally a beer around 7:15 p.m., once he is home and settled in with the family. Each beer has about 288 calories and is about 6.7% alcohol he said.
Wow a keg in the office! Apparently, he carefully monitors his intake not to become intoxicated. His other blog, Diary of a Part Time Monk records his Lenten experience.
It’s obvious that in the post-secular, post-industrial, post-modern, and post-denominational world, people are looking for new ways to deepen their faith. Many have found that bridging their personal passions (even beer) and their faith practices produces a more fruitful spiritual life.
What do you think of using beer to guide someone through Lent? Sinful or syncing faith with practice?
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