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Entry: The Politics of Vodka Link: http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/the_politics_of_vodka#23846 Post contents: Although Zmirak is a devout Catholic, I see nothing in his brilliant essay on vodka that is anti-Protestant. He says not one word against Protestantism as a religious movement or a historical force. On this note, it is important to remember that Protestantism is originally pro-alcohol. Martin Luther was a great lover of beer, Calvin's Geneva never established anything like Prohibition, and ale-serving taverns were the most numerous establishments in Puritan Massachusetts, next to meeting houses. In fact, there are two cardinal principles of the Reformation that support alcohol: giving non-transubstantiated wine to all the faithful at the Lord's Supper, and rejecting manmade prohibitions of natural joys in the vain hope of earning or meriting grace. The Reformation means that one doens't have to torture one's self with ascetic practices to be saved. You can eat meat during Lent, and you certainly can drink a glass of wine or a shot of vodka. The notion that alcohol is ungodly is a relatively recent mutation in Protestantism. Prohibitionism is a turn against the entire Western and Christian tradition. Zmirak's brilliant blending of history, philosophy and theology on the matter of alcohol is a chance for genuine inter-Christian fellowship. Christians may disagree about justification or the procession of the Holy Spirit. But the founders and fathers of Protestantism, Catholicism and Orthodoxy all agree that wine is a blessing from God. We can all raise our cups and glasses on this point of "mere Christianity" beverage consumption. Sent at: 2008 07 09