Real Group Therapy for Men

Real Group Therapy for Men
Originally uploaded by Terrible_Swede.

Need I say more?

Something fun for everyone

This place just belogs on this blog:

Modern Drunkard Magazine

Check out this interview. It's funny.

Attack of the Booze Haters!

Enjoy

Sin Boldly?

Seeing that "Sin Boldly" is the motto of this blog, I feel compelled to explain it appropriately.

Luther's supposed "sin boldly" quote is a mistranslation and is therefore often misunderstood.

What he actually says is this:

"Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world."

Source: Project Wittenberg

In Bible Study, our pastor was explaining how it is important, according to Walther's XIX thesis on Law and Gospel, not to minimize any of our sins. This gave me a truer understanding of what I believe Luther was saying in this oft misapplied phrase. Afterward, Erika Flores, the translator of the above text who happens to be a member of our congregation, came up to me and pointed our a verse of Scripture in Luther's German translation of the Bible which says the same basic thing Luther was in this reference. I believe this is exactly what Luther was paraphrasing in his (in)famous statement quoted above.

Romans 5:20-21 (Luther Bibel 1545)

Das Gesetz aber ist neben eingekommen, auf daß die Sünde mächtiger würde. Woaber die Sünde mächtig geworden ist, da ist doch die Gnade viel mächtiger geworden, auf daß, gleichwie die Sünde geherrscht hat zum Tode, also auch herrsche die Gnade durch die Gerechtigkeit zum ewigen Leben durch Jesum Christum, unsern HERRN.

My English translation of the German: The law however came in besides, so that sin became more strong. But where sin becomes strong, nevertheless grace becomes even more strong, so that, as sin prevailed to death, thus grace also prevails through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

NKJV - Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

My point is not to say that Luther's German is the best translation of the Greek of this verse (I haven't even looked at that), but rather to point out what it is that Luther was trying to say in this often misunderstood phrase. That is, let your sins be strong, do not minimize them, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, because His grace is even stronger.

Bible and Beer?

Who'd have thought of it? This Kung Fu Master did.

Does the Bible itself mention beer? The references to “strong drink” — often coupled with mention of “wine” — quite possibly speak of beer. Why think this? It seems clear that “wine” and “strong drink” are two separate things, both of which can cause drunkenness. If the “strong drink” isn’t wine, it also wouldn’t be distilled spirits, such as brandy, since distillation is a much more recently developed process. Thus, “strong drink” is most likely a fermented beverage not made from grapes, but from grain or other vegetation. Whether or not some form of secondary fermentation adding carbon dioxide (and foam) was used is a matter of conjecture. So as we go through the following quotes, I recommend replacing “strong drink” with “beer” as you read.

And for you lovers of wine, this Kung Fu Master has one for you, too.

Ron with mini-keg 3of5

Ron with mini-keg 3of5
Originally uploaded by Terrible_Swede.

How to properly dispose of a mini-keg. Courtesy of Erica, my wife. Dan the Geologist was supposed to send me his copy of me and the Warsteiner mini but he's too busy with Intolerant Elle. Good stuff.

Prost!

Thanks to James Taranto for pointing out yet another reason why it's great to be Lutheran:

A lunch meeting between a leading parliamentarian in Belgium and counterparts from Iran has been canceled because the beer-loving Belgian could not stomach a ban on alcohol.

"Even for the tolerant Herman De Croo, that was a bridge too far," De Croo, a Dutch-speaking Liberal, told De Standaard daily on Thursday. . .

But he said lunch had been canceled because the Iranians, who as Muslims do not drink alcohol, wanted their hosts to do the same.

"I did not receive such demands in writing. But . . . I was indirectly asked not to serve alcohol," said De Croo.

Prost!