Pub Theology is a thing, really! Beyond just a concept, it’s something people all over the place are really doing. Books have even been written about it, which only goes to show it’s totally real. Our Pop Conscious pal Rev. Ogun Holder has tried it, so we’ll talk about how it is done and why it’s catching on across the country. We’ll also look at other intersections where raising a glass meets with pop culture, religion, and deeper connections. Join us with the drink of your choice!
PUB = from the mid 19th century for Public House. It’s a tavern or bar. (Australian – a hotel.)
THEO = God, OLOGY = a subject of study; a branch of knowledge.
BOOKS: Pub Theology by Bryan Berghoef
What if God is to be found in places we haven’t been looking at all: in a coworker who doesn’t believe in God, in a Buddhist neighbor, in a friend who prefers a yoga studio to a sanctuary?
(No spot where God is not!)
Pub Theology 101
Pub Theology session (or Theology Pub, Theology on Tap, or even Scripture and Scotch
–>Gregory Stahr’s idea: Metaphysics and Martinis (or Margaritas!)
Bartender as confessor – confession is good for the soul and is very churchy
- Isaac “your bartender” on The Love Boat: Always willing to lend an ear.
- Moe Szyslak from The Simpsons, voiced by Hank Azaria.
Alcohol as celebration – most common
Bar and food with your movies!
Bret Macris – Syndicated – movie, restaurant and bar = awesome
Local Simi Valley version of that is Studio Movie Grill
Pub Quiz = smart people with general knowledge
TV Drinking AspirationsCheers (1982 – 1993) – You wanna go where everybody knows your name
Beer Commercials – Lowenbrau (a brewery in Munich owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Its name means “lion’s brew” in German.)
Here’s to good friends, tonight is kinda special. The beer you’ll pour must be something more somehow, so tonight, tonight, let it be Lowenbrau.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCu-D4ehac4 – beach vacation ad!
Dos Equis – Most Interesting Man in the World –
- The precise settings are never revealed, but he performs feats such as:
- freeing an angry bear from a painful-looking bear trap;
- shooting a pool trick shot before an Indian audience (by shooting the cue ball out of the mouth of a man lying on the pool table);
- catching a marlin while cavorting in a Hemingway-esque scene with a beautiful young woman;
- winning an arm-wrestling match in a South American setting;
- surfing the killer wave; and
- bench pressing two young East Asian women in a casino setting, each woman being seated in a chair.
- The voice-overs themselves are intended to be both humorous and outrageous, and include humorous undertones such as
- his giving his own father “the talk“,
- experiencing an awkward moment just to know how it felt, and
- finding the Fountain of Youth but not drinking from it “because he wasn’t thirsty”.
- his small talk changing foreign policies,
- parallel-parking a train, and
- being able to slam a revolving door.
Outlander – Scotch
Guide to Scotch Whiskey From The Art of Manliness.com : http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/04/05/the-art-of-manliness-guide-to-scotch-whisky/
Downton Abbey – Claret – dark red Bordeaux wines were in the 1700s by the British trade. History buffs will recall that France and England were at war during this period,From Vinepair.com : http://vinepair.com/wine-blog/historian-explains-how-downton-abbey-got-drunk/
Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre, a professor of history at Trinity College in Connecticut who specializes not only in British history during the time of the show – she actually teaches a class on Downton – but also in the history of drinks during the
time period.
The primary beverage of choice would still be wine, though much of that wine wasn’t the table wine we know, but was instead fortified and these ports and sherries would be what both opened and closed the meal. Champagne was also incredibly popular, and not just for toasts; a symbol of wealth and success, Winston Churchill famously enjoyed Champagne regularly with his lunch.
MOVIES
- Star Wars Cantina! On Mos Eisley
- The Big Lebowski: White Russian – Kahlua, Vodka, Cream/Milk
- The Blues Brothers: Orange Whip – rum and vodka mixed with cream and orange juice
- Bridget Jones’s Diary: Chardonnay
- Groundhog Day – Sweet Vermouth on the Rocks with a Twist – aperitif,
- Practical Magic: Midnight Margaritas
- Sex and the City: Cosmopolitans vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and a twist of lemon, the cocktail is a little sweet, a little sour and very pink. Silence of the Lambs: Chianti
- Some Like it Hot – the Manhattan, with its equally stiff combination of sweet vermouth, whiskey, and bitters. Top it off with a maraschino cherry for the ultimate unisex cocktail
- Lost in Translation: Suntory Whiskey
- Mad Men – Old Fashioned – muddled sugar, bitters and bourbon, garnished with fruit, over ice
- Sideways – Pinot Noir (anti Merlot)
- The Seven Year Itch – Whiskey Sour: “Miss Morris, I’m perfectly capable of fixing my own breakfast. As a matter of fact, I had a peanut butter sandwich and two whiskey sours.” (A whiskey sour has historically been made with sugar, lemon, and whiskey.)
- Casino Royale – Vesper – The martini — shaken and not stirred — was made famous by James Bond years ago, but it was Casino Royale that shot the Vesper to fame. The drink is just a mix of gin and vodka with vermouth but Bond puts it far better than we ever could when he tells Vesper why he names his martini: “Once you’ve tasted it, that’s all you want to drink.”
Wiki Religion & Alcohol
In Hinduism, wine as medicine is documented in the ancient Indian healing system of Ayurveda. Ayurveda, the oldest, documented system of medicine does not recommend wine for everyone.
Jainism is strictly against alcohol. Jainism, which preaches nonviolence and vegetarianism, does not allow alcoholic beverages because their fermentation depends on microorganisms which makes the alcohol non-vegetarian.
Buddhists typically avoid consuming alcohol as it violates the 5th of the Five Precepts, the basic Buddhist code of ethics and can disrupt mindfulness. (1. abstain from killing. 2. abstain from taking what is not given. 3. avoid sexual misconduct. 4. abstain from false speech. 5 abstain from fermented drink that causes heedlessness.) Pali
An initiated Sikh cannot use intoxicants, of which alcohol is one.
In Judaism, Excessive consumption and drunkenness, however, is discouraged yet is still not considered a condemnable action. Leviticus 10:9 reads: “A Kohen (priest) must not enter the Temple intoxicated.” Consuming alcohol to carry out religious duty (such as sanctifying the Sabbath with wine) is prescribed and regularly practiced within Judaism.
In Psalm 104:15 it is written that wine, “gladdens human hearts.”
In the Catholic Church, the wine becomes the blood of Jesus Christ through transubstantiation.[8] In Protestant denominations, the wine is simply a symbol of the blood of Christ. Monastic communities have brewed beer and made wine. Liqueurs too (Benedictine,
Islam: While not specifically forbidden in the Qur’an, there is a consensus among theologians that alcohol consumption is prohibited by Islam because it weakens the conscience of the believer. However, this has not prevented inhabitants of Muslim majority countries from producing alcoholic beverages such as rakı in Turkey, boukha in Tunisia or wine in Morocco and Algeria. Wine was even celebrated by the 12th-century Muslim Sufi philosopher Omar Khayyám.
In the Qur’an, intoxicants, i.e. all kinds of alcoholic drinks, are mentioned as negative and positive in various places, wine is in the description of Paradise.
And from the fruits of the palm trees and grapevines you take intoxicant and good provision. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who reason.
Sake is often consumed as part of Shinto purification rituals.
Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Norse rituals included alcohol. With wine gods and drinking festivals.
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