A letter to my grandfather

My grandfather recently asked me what role God plays in my life these days. This letter was my answer to his question.

"As you know, I lived the first 30-some years of my life in the Christian tradition of my family and my community. I always wanted to believe it all. However, when my church totally bungled up their relationship with me at the time of my separation from my wife, it left me without a church home, and with the opportunity to face the reality that I've never actually been convinced.

Belief is an involuntary action. You don't choose to believe something. You either believe or don't believe, in response to information and experience that convinces you or doesn't. If someone says they "choose to believe" something, then what they're actually doing is choosing to act in the way they think someone would act if they believed that thing.

When I observe the suffering in the world, I am not convinced that a deity exists, or at least not one that is worthy of worship. Maybe there is an all-powerful being out there, but they are evidently unconcerned with the welfare of humanity. Maybe there is a higher being who does love us, but they don't have the power to make things right. Maybe there are multiple deities who are battling for our universe and there would be even more suffering if a good God wasn't protecting us as much as they could. I don't know. But I don't see evidence of an all-powerful and loving God.

Now I know that the response to that is usually, "but free will!" 

To that I say, "that doesn't make it okay."

The premise is that suffering exists because of the fall which was the result of humanity being given free will. And the importance of free will is because the chief end of man is to glorify God, but forced or programmed worship would be meaningless. So that means that God desires our authentic worship so deeply that he's willing to accept the existence of unfathomable suffering in the world as collateral damage? 

I haven't even brought up the concept of Hell, because I'm aware that there are varying flavors of Christianity that do not hold to the same beliefs about a place of eternal torment. I absolutely reject the notion that a good deity would create souls that will endure for the remainder of eternity, knowing that the majority of them will spend their infinite destiny in everlasting torment. I would be much more aligned with the variation that believes that hell is just the cessation of existence for souls who are not redeemed.

Now you might be thinking that I am just angry at God, or the church. This couldn't be further from the truth. It is true that I despise the fundamentalism that abounds in the Bible belt, but that is because it is a gross misrepresentation of the Christian life that I see many of my dearest friends living out. And I am not resentful towards my church for the way they handled mine and my wife's situation. I fully understand that they are human beings who were going through a very painful and complex situation, and made some poor choices in the process. I am grateful that they surrounded my wife and kids with support in the early stages of our separation, since I was not able to take care of some of those things at that time. I'm also grateful that they recognize where we are now and welcome me back to events there that I attend with her and the boys.

To be angry at God would require believing that such a being exists to be angry at. On the contrary, the circumstances I observe in the world today suggests to me that a deity must not be all-powerful or must not be concerned with the well-being of humanity. This is why I prefer to say that I am not convinced of the existence of a being worthy of the title of deity. I believe that if there is an all-powerful and loving deity who is concerned with the matters of this world, then they may convince me when and if they so choose. 

Absent the belief in a deity, I believe that the higher power in the world is the collective love of conscientious human beings who love themselves in a healthy way and love their neighbors in the same way. I believe that the opposing force in the world is the destructive and deceptive power of fear. I believe that love can be victorious over fear.

Having said all that, it is undeniable that 37 years in the church has shaped much of who I am, even still today. Also, I still live in the Bible belt. It is not at all uncommon for me to use religious vernacular and imagery in my conversations every day. I frequently speak of Jesus with people around me. In my life, God and the devil are metaphors for love and fear. Fear is undeniably a liar!

So to answer your question I will bring the conversation full circle: I don't believe in a God in the same way that you do or the community that I grew up in. But I do believe in a higher power of love, and I do meditate daily in these things and practice that faith perpetually.

I know this is not the answer that you wanted to hear, but I hope it gives you a better understanding of where I am, and hopefully the assurance that I have not arrived here without much consideration. My mind is most definitely not made, and I have no issue with you praying that I will someday see the light. I'm pretty sure my dad prays that prayer every day. And I work at a half dozen churches with pastors who know where I stand and very possibly pray that prayer often as well. And perhaps God will use them to show me something I've not seen yet. 

Thank you for caring enough to ask the hard questions. 💜

My current relationship with faith and Jesus

I love to talk about Jesus. 

This is confusing to some people, as I am fairly vocal about being an agnostic Humanist.

So I thought maybe it would be helpful and/or interesting for me to try to clarify what my current relationship is to faith and Jesus.

Before I talk about the present, I should probably establish where I came from. I live in the Bible belt. I grew up going to church 3 times a week, and attending school with daily Bible classes and weekly chapel sessions. Then I was actively involved in church until I was in my late 30s. I am probably above average in my knowledge of the Bible. I might even be well above average. This is part of who I am, and I have no reason to deny it.

Despite a painful departure from the last church family that I actively worshiped with, bad experiences were not my impetus for leaving the faith. My reason was quite literally reason. If you want to you can read more about that here: https://jasonfaylen.blogspot.com/2017/05/i-am-no-longer-religious.html.

So where am I now? 

This will be a series of points that describe a perspective that is likely unique to me.

I want to be very clear about something important: I am not "angry at God", which would require believing in him/it. On the contrary, I do not believe that a deity exists that fits the description I was taught about for most of my life.

Furthermore, I do not believe in anything "supernatural." I believe that there is nothing beyond the natural universe, but I'll qualify that by adding that I think that "natural" encompasses some things that spiritual people would probably categorize as supernatural.

I also want to say that, unlike some very vocal atheists, I have little desire to eradicate religion. I have many religious friends and loved ones, and we are in agreement on many things. I can probably find deeply held convictions in common with people from all faiths.

I believe that religion is frequently used to make the world a better place:
- I love it when religion is used to build up people and communities;
- I love it when religion is used to pursue justice;

I like to think that the occasions where I disapprove of religion are those situations in which it is actually being misused:
- I hate it when religion is used as a weapon to hurt or subjugate others;
- I hate it when religion is used to make ones self feel superior to others;
- I hate it when religion is used to subvert reason, especially as it pertains to medicine and science.

As a Humanist, I believe that human life is the highest priority we should honor in determining "right and wrong." There are a lot of catchy ways to summarize my value system, but I've found that my favorite one is already familiar to most people: "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Even if I wanted to I could not disconnect myself from the Christian imagery and language that has permeated so much of my life. Fortunately, I don't want to, and considering that I still live in the Bible belt, and I am still surrounded by people who similarly understand this ideology, it makes sense that I continue to use this vocabulary that we're all familiar with.

So I love to talk about Jesus. I talk about Jesus more than many "Christians" I know. Some might even call me a Jesus Freak. I'm OK with that.

What do you believe happens to me when I die?

I call myself an agnostic humanist. I choose these words very intentionally. Agnostic just means there are a lot of things that I don't claim to know for certain. Humanist describes what is at the core of my perspective or worldview. I specifically avoid saying "atheist" because I'd rather be defined by what I do believe in rather than what I don't.

I'll describe it as briefly as I can:
(Agnostic) I haven't seen enough evidence to convince me there is any such thing as "supernatural" (though I believe that "natural" is much bigger than we usually think) so I don't make any claims as to the existence of a deity.
(Humanist) I think that human life is the most valuable thing we have and should be the basis of morality.

Recently I was asked what I believe will happen to me after I die. I jokingly replied, "well I hope my wishes are followed for my body to be donated to science!" To which they replied, "no, I mean what do you believe happens to your soul?"

Since I don't believe in anything supernatural, then I don't believe in things like souls or an afterlife. I believe that this life is all that we have and we need to make the most of it for ourselves and everyone we come in contact with.

However, if there is a higher power that decides our eternal fate (either of their own accord, or they've decided there are eternal consequences for those who don't "choose" them), and they are good, then I believe I'll be ok because I've been trying to do right by their creation. C. S. Lewis seems to agree with me (Tash/Aslan). But if that higher power would damn me to eternal torment because I was not convinced and therefore did not "choose" or worship them, regardless of how I lived my life, then I would not consider them good and worthy of worship, and I think we should all be concerned.

So that brings me to some questions for you:
Considering my position (unconvinced; I don't hate God, I just haven't experienced "him"), what does your God say I deserve when I die? Do you agree? Do you still find them worthy of worship?

Personal Responsibility

The world would be a better place if we all took more personal responsibility. Am I right?

The funny thing about personal responsibility is that it is *personal*. That means no one can decide yours for you, and you can't decide anyone else's.

Furthermore, it is unique to each person. Oh sure, there are basic principles that will apply to everyone, but your purpose in life will be different than mine, and that's how it should be.

I have a thing I like to say: Take responsibility and give credit. We like to switch those, but that usually results in selfishness and oppression. Unless someone reports to you for whatever reason, it is not our place to give out responsibility.

I struggle with this one, and I bet you do too. I challenge you to pay attention and be mindful of how often you give responsibility and take credit. I challenge you to intentionally switch those.

Why I am a humanist

Here is why I am a humanist:

Any time one's morality is based on a religion, then the deity of that faith system is the highest priority in determining right and wrong. If something "hurts" or offends the deity, then it is wrong, even if it hurts no people. If something uplifts or glorifies the deity, then it is right, even if it hurts people.

In humanism humanity is the priority. We also value animal and plant life, and even the "life" of the planet and universe, but humanity is the focus. If it hurts people, it's wrong.

Furthermore, religious morality (sometimes subconsciously or unintentionally) gives priority to people who value or align with the deity. Humanism gives priority to humans who value humans. No label (race, gender, religion, orientation, etc) changes that value.

I don't have a problem with your religion. I have a problem when any religion becomes a weapon against other humans.

The power of privilege

priv·i·lege

/ˈpriv(ə)lij/

noun
a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group.

How do you react when the topic of privilege comes up? Why is that?

It's very easy for most of us to quickly make a list of the hurdles and disadvantages that stand between us and our ideal life, but what happens when we acknowledge our privilege? I can think of two very significant things right away.

Gratitude.

For many of us, if we're honest with ourselves about our "progress", it probably has less to do with how far we've come and more to do with where we started. If we're honest with ourselves, it doesn't matter how much we've earned, we've probably been given more. This should result in a healthy dose of gratitude, and a better outlook on life in general.

Compassion.

Once we learn to focus on what we have instead of what we lack, it becomes a lot easier to see what others lack. When we have identified the advantages we have that we didn't earn, we become less likely to subconsciously attribute someone else's hardship to lack of effort.

When we see how much we have we're so much more likely to give to those who don't, no matter how much we really have.

Love your Neighbor?

Ramblings of my mind and fingers:
I think a lot about Jesus' summary of the Law and Prophets: "love God and love your neighbor" (paraphrased). I actually think fairly often about many of Jesus' teachings.
Yes, I realize this seems weird since I have walked away from the Christianity I was affiliated with for so long, but I still believe there is a lot of valuable wisdom in His words and it is certainly relevant to the culture I live in. On top of all that, "love your neighbor" is still a great way to articulate my worldview these days.

In case you aren't aware, my family life "hit the fan" almost 3 years ago, and I've done a lot of self-reflection in the time since. With my concurrent departure from Christianity came a need to re-evaluate my moral foundation. I can sum it up by saying that my god is love. This means that I can really adapt "love god and neighbor" for my own guidance, and I think a lot about love, and humility, and prioritizing people and making sure they feel valued. I guess you could say that I'm a humanist. I'm also trying to pass on to my kids that loving people is the most important thing, regardless of your religious or philosophical perspective.

So I find myself asking what it means to love God and love your neighbor? Are they 2 separate things? Are they intertwined? Can I still love my neighbor even if I don't believe that God exists in the way He is described by American Evangelical Christianity (or at all)? What if I skip the first part for now and try to tackle the second part until I can understand the first part better?

Nevertheless, I am fully aware that it means something different to everyone, including the Christians in my life and in the culture around me. Which begs the question:


How do you "love your neighbor"?


I will say this: if doing the first (loving God) renders you unable to do the second (love your neighbor) or gives you reason not to, then I think you're probably doing it wrong. But then some people will just call their abuse or rejection of their neighbor "tough love".


If I bring up Jesus' admonitions about judging and throwing stones, and your first reaction is to divert and talk about not sinning any more, or talk about judging in the discerning sense, or talk about how sinners just use Jesus' words to shut up Christians who are really "speaking in love", then I truly believe you are completely missing the point.

Sometimes I call myself an artist

Sometimes I call myself an artist. The reason it is only sometimes is because it's hard to call myself an artist with such a great lack of art to prove my claim. I would say that my greatest works of art are the spontaneous nuggets that somewhat frequently escape my lips, but those don't usually get documented anywhere for future study. I've been known to play multiple instruments and enjoy taking pictures but I don't have a body of work anywhere for you to make your own assessment of my artistic worth. The closest thing I have to a portfolio are the handful of records I've recorded and produced for other musicians.

However...

One could argue that my entire life is consumed with creativity. My outward appearance is a constantly evolving work of self-expression, from my tattoos and piercings to my various hairstyles and perhaps mostly my clothing (especially considering my decision a couple years ago to reduce my wardrobe to mostly black after experiencing some heartbreaking life changes). Hardly a day passes where I don't put my creativity to use upholding my reputation as a skilled problem solver. I constantly strive to think and live and speak outside the box. And I do engage in a handful of creative activities such as roadie-ing for two bands and building instruments. I'm also looking for a new recording clients.

So yeah, I am an artist. In the end I think it's really more about who I am and not so much about what I do. And I think that's also true for artists with great portfolios of evidence to their artistic worth.

What do you think?

I am no longer religious

This is a "coming out" of sorts: I am no longer religious. I am agnostic now, and I have been for quite some time.

Not to be confused with being atheist, this means that I don't know whether there is a God or not, and I'm not convinced that we really even can know for sure. I've had questions for a long time, but over the last few years I've begun to truly embrace the philosophy and speak about it more openly, ultimately culminating in this public affirmation.

So how did I get here?

I was raised Independent Baptist, which means nothing here because, by definition, every Independent Baptist congregation is unique. However, I chose to go to an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) high school, and that label comes with a very specific connotation. I don't care to go into all of the reasons why that sect is awful, but I'll highlight one characteristic for the purpose of this post: this group holds strongly to the Arminian theology that we choose God of our own free will. This mindset comes accompanied with much judgment and condescension towards those who do not choose as wisely as oneself.

In my twenties I discovered a much freer version of Christianity in the Presbyterian Church, which holds the Calvinist view that a sovereign God is truly in control of everything, including our choices. The irony of that statement is not lost on me.

I very much enjoyed my time with the Presbyterians, and I still dearly love many of them personally. However this was yet another step in my spiritual journey.

My first impasse with Christianity lies in the concept of Hell. I cannot bring myself to embrace the idea that an omniscient and omnipotent creator of all things, who is at the same time loving, holy, and just, would create a place of eternal damnation for those beings whom he did not choose or who did not choose him. Maybe some other time I will go into more detail on that, but for the purposes of this post it is sufficient just to say that my understanding of the Christian God and the Christian Hell are incompatible.

Now, I am aware of the doctrine of universal salvation, which says that all souls eventually find their way home to God, but that is rejected by most of Christianity, and it doesn't provide any answers for my second impasse: if God is truly omnipotent, loving, holy, and just, then why is there so much suffering? You can argue that eternity in heaven will be more meaningful because of our suffering on Earth, but I call bullshit. You see, if God is truly the omniscient and omnipotent creator of all things, then the answer to every hard question is ultimately: because God made it that way.

Ultimately I am left with two versions of God that are not Godlike to me: 1- omniscient and omnipotent, but not interested in saving humanity; or 2- loving, holy, and just, but powerless to do anything about it. Either of these gods may very well exist, but I'm just not that interested in interacting with them.

That may leave you wondering where I find my moral compass. I believe in the preservation of life, liberty, and beauty, with human life being the top priority, and those closest to me being my greatest responsibility. This is the basis I propose for all actions and policies.

And as for what happens to me when I die, well I guess I will find out when I die. Or maybe I won't, because maybe there won't be anything. But I do know this: even the Bible tells me that the only moment I can be sure of is this very moment right now. And so I will attempt to make the most of every moment by living the principles I laid out above. And if it turns out in the end that this was not enough for a co-dependent deity who needed me to love him and tell him how awesome he was then I guess we're all kind of screwed, aren't we?

Peace.

I married the wrong person

I'm extremely fortunate that I did not marry a bad person, but nevertheless I had no business being married at all at that time in my life.

It all started when my first love died in a car crash in 1999. My world was turned upside down and everything came into question. This was the beginning of a steady decline into great darkness for me.

In the desperation and uncertainty that followed Amber's death I succumbed to various pressures and ideologies and married someone who should have never been more than a good friend. Many people knew it leading up to my wedding day, including myself, but it wasn't until the morning after that it really hit me.

But then it was too late. Due to religious and cultural pressures, and no small amount of stubbornness, I decided I needed to pray to God to give me a miraculous connection with this friend I had married. That miracle never happened and in my foolishness I pursued other connections while trying to preserve some form of my marriage. I even had kids hoping they would spark the necessary magic.

As all of this progressed my spirit became darker and darker and I felt less and less alive. I started going to therapy for depression and anxiety.

Early in 2015 I finally came to my senses and realized that despite my religious expectations I needed to acknowledge reality and end my marriage to bring authenticity to my life and the lives of all of those connected. I began receiving counseling and thinking about the ways in which I could most carefully follow through with this while doing the least amount of further emotional damage to all those involved.

Unfortunately time was not on my side. Instead of being able to carefully plan and carry out I was unexpectedly confronted one day and I knew I had to do it then. When given the ultimatum to continue trying to make something work or call it quits I chose the latter.

This began a new chapter, which is about redefining relationships and discovering who I am and who I really ought to be. All of that belongs in a different post, but suffice it to say that I am in a much better place despite the struggles and complexity my new life includes.

Copied from Facebook March 11th 2017

3/11/2017 - 

On this day two years ago some things came to a head that changed my world. By the end of the day my marriage was at the beginning of the end. This was a change I knew was necessary, but it was not my timing.

That day I lost a lot of things, including respect, trust, most of my community, and a shared home with my children, but I finally found authenticity. I had become trapped in a facade that I couldn't uphold much longer. If things had not crumbled that day, then it surely would not have been much longer. It was just a matter of time.

But time...

Two years later I'm still struggling with the challenges that were introduced that day, but now the result of the effort is growth and progress rather than sinking deeper into depression and anxiety. Now that I know who I am I can strive to be the best I can be. Now I can build on truth and reality instead of building a fragile facade on a crumbling foundation of lies.

So I'm building. Building me. Building my family. Building relationships. Building my career. Building my future. It's not easy, but it's worth it.

I welcome all those who want to build with me.

P.S. I'm happy to converse privately if you have questions or just want to know more.

Edit 1: I just want to be clear on something that I accidentally left fuzzy: it was my fault. As much as something involving two people can be the fault of one, it was mine.

Edit 2: Also, the biggest lesson I've learned in all this is that I can't judge anyone because I have no idea what they have experienced and there's no way I can know what is right for their life.

I pledge allegiance

I am hesitant to pledge allegiance to any flag, because flags are all too often accompanied by zealots with a fervent ideology that divides people into groups and presumes that the people in their own group are somehow greater than those who are not. I pledge allegiance to the pursuit and preservation of life, liberty, and beauty, in my own circle first, and then progressively outwards in my community, my country, and the world.

Here

I'm gonna go ahead and add my two cents worth:

Life is hard. Life is complicated. We all make mistakes, and sometimes the resulting consequences last for years, or even a lifetime. Very often we will reap those consequences long after we've left the mindset we inhabited when they were sown.

Sometimes the hole you've dug is so deep it feels like you can never get out of it. You grow up and learn from your mistakes, and you can see what you should have done. You can see where you should have been by now, but that doesn't mean you can get there.

So you arrive at this place where you are trying your best to right your wrongs and get to the place you think you should have been. At the same time you're trying to acknowledge the reality that you may never get there. 

But let me tell you this: in this place, there is no room for judgement. I look around and see other people who are in their own pits of consequences, and I am in no place to throw a stone in their direction. Where previously I would have acted in pride and arrogance, I now feel great compassion.

Maybe I am where I should be after all.

Harmony: How I found myself this year

Even as a young child taking piano I hated practicing my lessons in that little room in the back of the house, and now as an adult and a bassist, I still don't ever "woodshed".  In fact, I picked up bass in 1996 and figured out everything I now know during band practices from then until now.  I just don't have any desire to lock myself in a room and slave over scales and modes and such.
So I was only half joking when I was complaining to Aubrey that I would have to go home and practice my bass to get the hang of the awesome and unusual bass line she had written for her newest song.  However, she was not joking at all when she asked me: "Don't you just love to play bass anyway?" I stopped and thought about the question. "Well, I don't DIS-like playing bass, but I certainly don't wake up with an urge to play it." And then the crisis hit me:

Why do I play bass?!?

This is the primary instrument I've been playing for nearly 2 decades, in countless bands and at church, and I am not sure that I love playing it!  I am not sure why I play it!  It is half of my identity and it has no known purpose!

At this point I am in turmoil and everything that I think I know is in question.  Until I finally made this realization:

I play bass because of the relationship of the bassist to everyone else in the band.

For those of you who do not know, the role of the bass in rock music is similar to that of glue in woodworking.  Glue holds things together, while also maintaining appropriate separation.  Glue fills in gaps.  And when quality glue is applied properly, it dries clear.  The bass (and bassist) in rock music works in very similar ways.

So the realization here was that I play the instrument I play because of relationships.  It was from there that I made another realization:

I play music for the sake of the fellowship and community.

Sure, I value the artistic content of music, and creativity is very important to me, but the highest priority for me in music is fellowship.  People are what matter most.  All of a sudden it all started to make sense!  It is no wonder I never wanted to practice alone- my whole purpose in playing music was to be with people and strive together in a creative process with them!  And this explains why I always enjoyed singing harmony- there must always be at least one more person.

I truly value art, but I value it most in the context of community.  And then it hit me:

My whole life has been about community!

As far back as I can remember I have had a deep desire to overcome differences and bring people together.  I have always hated religious denominations.  I have always thought that mulatto children were beautiful, literally and metaphorically.  I have always felt strongly about unity, and I have always had a desire to provide means for people to simply come together.

The theme of my life is Harmony.

At 35 I feel both silly and blessed to have just figured out who I am.  I realize that I have always been who I am, but I am just now figuring it out.  Some of you may be reading this and thinking, "Well, tell me something I didn't already know!" but for me this is monumental, life-changing.  I can now view every opportunity in my life through the lens of who I am, and what I am pursuing, and involve myself in things that truly work towards my dreams and goals.  I cannot describe for you what a joy and a relief this is.  I can only hope that your realization is imminent, and that you can know this joy also.

Happy New Year!  Here's to being the person you were created to be!

Why I Do Drink (a response)

I read an article tonight about why the (Christian) author does not drink. I appreciated the fairly non-judgmental tone of the article, and I felt inspired to try to write a civil and carefully worded reply. Here is the original article: http://www.echohisheart.com/2013/07/22/why-i-dont-drink/

Here is my response:

I disagree that the Bible says- in it's entire context- not to be drunk. I believe it would be more accurate to say that it says not to be a drunk. I agree with the context of not being controlled by something other than the Spirit, but I think it is really referring more to a life-style rather than individual occurrences. This applies to alcohol, food, sex, money, power, even religion! But then this is one of those areas where I have strong feelings about grace and legalism and black/white lines. Suffice it to say, I bet the wedding guests were pretty far into the fuzzy area when Jesus reinvigorated the party with new wine. Being a drinker now, there is a place between sober and drunk that I like to refer to as "merry'. I think it is important to surround yourself with people that will help you avoid sinning in that situation, but that is part of a later point.

I am all about financially contributing to local community creative ventures. I believe that God is very interested in community and creativity, and craft beer (translation: beer that is made for taste, not for drunkenness) is a phenomenon that exhibits both of these traits. Please, take my money so that I may celebrate your creativity on my taste buds and help you put food on your table!

Abuse of alcohol certainly and tragically dulls sensitivity to many things, including the Spirit. However, careful enjoyment of it can lead to opportunities for growth. I have a fellowship of men that gather to enjoy craft beer and tobacco pipes, and I've seen countless conversations and discipling happen with the aid of a bit of "social lubrication" that have led to great movement of the Spirit in people's lives.

I think the running theme I see in Angela's post is that all of the things she has said are most certainly true about alcohol abuse. Hindered relationships is absolutely one of those things. But that is only one aspect of the picture. The group of men that I fellowship with have been meeting for about 4 years now, and I can't even begin to tell you about the healthy relationships that have come about from a group that meets to celebrate pipes, beer, fellowship, theology, philosophy, future, technology and a healthy amount of pure silliness. The relationships are not limited to our 3 hour bi-monthly gatherings. These are new relationships that are now spanning the country.

Another issue I have with the old legalistic approach I became familiar with in high school is that it makes everything black and white, and essentially mindless. it creates a scenario where a believer doesn't have to think about what they are doing, but simply follow a prescribed list of "dos and don'ts". I don't think that is what God had in mind for us. And moderation is a very grey concept that is clearly advocated in the Bible. Interestingly enough, I've seen too many 350lb preachers rail against smoking and drinking, while clearly having no concept of moderation with food, possibly because they have given themselves so few opportunities to exercise moderation. I actually WANT my children to see what it looks like to exercise moderation while enjoying the fruit of the vine.

I'm not going to reply to each of Angela's points, but let me just say that I believe that alcohol is a gift from God, hence the phrase "my cup runneth over". I'm pretty sure it runs over with wine. And not this silly stuff some preachers would have you believe was just water with some fermented grape juice to kill the bacteria.

I believe that making good beer is an act of creativity and beauty that is glorifying to our Creator, and that participating in this art is contributing to that. I believe that exercising moderation is very much a good thing. I believe that bringing people together to fellowship is something that God celebrates, and craft beer is certainly a vehicle for that. 

This is not as eloquent as i had hoped, but I'm just out of time. Perhaps this is helpful for some in explaining an alternate view.  Perhaps I can refine it and repost it later...

Be the cliché you wish to hear...

I have learned that you can’t tell the ignorant that they are ignorant, and those with closed minds will never hear a contradictory word you speak. Any hope for dialogue is futile. You can only hope that they may see the truth when it is presented to them.
I have learned the hopeless despair that arises when I start to think about the problems in our country and our world, and their seeming insurmountable complexity. When I think about how each issue is so intricately intertwined with all the others, and to what great scale, I ask myself, “how can one person ever begin to make a difference?”

And then I learned something else.

Recently I have learned that change is happening in my own little circle. Minds are opening and ignorance is being replaced with the pursuit of understanding. Problems are being understood and solutions are being developed. The crazy thing is that some people attribute some of these advancements to my efforts to make a difference in my own life.

So, what have I learned? Sometimes a cliché or two can actually be fitting:

What we need is “a little less talk, and a lot more action!”

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

The gift that keeps on giving?

What if the way some Christians feel about "the War on Christmas" is how everyone else has always felt about the evangelistic efforts of those same Christians?

What if the perceived push by some to remove God from our schools, government, and society is simply the backlash against the overzealous attempt of some to force superficial godliness on our nation through legislation?

True or False?

I am becoming increasingly frustrated with our seemingly binary culture.  Who has convinced us that there are only 2 options, and that they are extreme opposites?  And who decided that compromise is only for sissies?  When did dialogue (multilogue?) turn into multiple concurrent monologues? And why has Christian activism been reduced to hoping that we yell the loudest by turning out the most voters?  Whatever happened to sitting down and working towards ideals that we can all agree on?

This is my perspective on religious involvement in government: instead of attempting to legislate the moral code of our own religion on the entire nation, we should work together with representatives of every major belief system in our society (including atheism!) to settle on a set of laws we can all approve of.  Anything that can’t be agreed on by a consensus probably does not belong in the laws of our nation.

Pilgrims

If our forefathers dreamed of a place where they could enforce their religion rather than the king's, they dreamed of nothing new and better than what they left. If we seek to implement that philosophy today, it is not any earthly kingdom we will drive pilgrims away from, but the Kingdom of Heaven.

Where is your God now?

If you think that we have taken God out of schools or government, then you do not understand the manner in which He has been there all along. If you think the spirituality of public institutions is an indicator of the faith of a nation, you are sadly mistaken. If you have spent time fighting to make our nation reflect only Christianity in its laws and policies, you have wasted precious time in the real fight for the Kingdom of God. Much like the heart of a person is not changed by outward conformity to God’s laws, neither are the people of a nation brought closer to the Kingdom by the whitewashing of their government. The failure to “keep God in the public” lies not with institutions- public or religious- but with God’s people, who are too willing to leave the work of the Kingdom to “the leaders” of our nation, rather than be the leaders themselves. Furthermore, when our religious liberty is taken from us, it will be the result of us trying to make our public institutions into mass outreach devices rather than using our freedom to be a light in our everyday relationships. That is how God remains in our schools, government, and nation- by being in your little piece of the world, through you.

Or is He?