Sometimes, I hesitate to answer reporters' questions. You never know the agenda.
Some reporters have just made up their mind when the call. They are looking for you to be the caricature they need. Good ones take the time to get it right. I have seen both.
So, when they call, you hope that you get a good one. You hope that the question they asked will relate to the answer you gave. It is a bit more labor intensive to pull this off, yes; but I'm also more likely to go out of my way to respond the next time they call.
Anyway, the Los Angeles Times contacted me last week to talk about alcohol. Since I don't drink, they must consider me an expert. Grin.
Or, perhaps it had to do with the recent alcohol study we posted at LifeWay Research.
But, I thought the angle was funny: someone putting Jesus on a wine label. That seems odd. Now, if Jesus actually made the wine, perhaps that would be a better connection. But, the last time he turned water into wine was 2000 years ago.
Click here to read the article as it is now.
Yesterday, it had the paragraph involving me stated this way:
Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, an arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, said Christians should be offended: "Jesus chased people out of the temple for selling products in God's name. He did not put his name on the label to pump up sales."
Today, for what I think it an obvious reason, the editor changed it to:
Some denominations might think that the Grapes of Galilee isn't kosher. "Jesus chased people out of the temple for selling products in God's name," said Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, an arm of the teetotaling Southern Baptist Convention. "He did not put his name on the label to pump up sales."
If you want to see the story closer to the original, you have to go to Austratia where it has a new headline, "Sour grapes over Jesus-brand wine."
And, for the record, I think it would be a dumb idea to put Jesus on grape juice bottles, too. Jesus does not have a brand and he does not need a label.
Here are the questions and my answers.
>>Does it violate Christian principles in any way to sell wine with Jesus on the label? Part of the label reads, "The region of galilee, historically renowned for its vineyards and wines, is where Jesus lived, gathered his disciples, and ministered. Galilee was witness to Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River (Matthew: 3:13-17), and his miracles on the Sea of Galilee where he walked on water and calmed the storm (Matthew 14:23-32)."
I am not sure Jesus would be happy with his label on any product except the Bible and His people-- He didn't come to set up a commercial enterprise, He came to save mankind and set up His Kingdom.
>>Do the majority of Christians drink wine?
No, in a recent survey by LifeWay Research, the majority of over 1000 Protestants we surveyed indicated they did not drink alcohol. Thirty nine percent indicated they personally consumed alcohol.
>>Do you think this will be largely accepted by the Christian community, or do you see potential for backlash?
Jesus chased people out of the temple for selling products in God's name; he did not put his name on the label to pump up sales.
>>Is there any problem with using Jesus as a way to market a product? Do others do it?
I think that Jesus is a little more concerned with the spiritual and physical needs of hurting people than he is interested in selling fermented grapes.
Such is life.
-Ed, Southern Baptists Are Offended, Stetzer
P.S. I am pretty sure LifeWay will not be carrying this product.
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