Party foul=Sin

Repent! Have you ever been harassed by street preachers or other Christians telling you to repent of your sins or face eternal hellfire and damnation? If so, I'm very sorry. If they seemed hypocritical or unchristian to you, you are probably right. When it comes to sin, there is a lot to say. From a Eubarist perspective though, I think that sin is a lot like a party foul. Obviously sin is a bigger deal, but hey, party fouls are a big deal to some people.

A tin o' sin

Those of you who haven't been around college kids in the past few years will want to know what a party foul is. Basically, it is anything done at a party that goes against the general mood of the event. Spilling a drink, vomiting anywhere but the toilet, egregiously aggressive flirtation, breaking property, and just general sloppiness are all prime examples of party fouls. Even showing up to a costume party with everyday clothing. Nobody is fooled that it's your plain-clothes cop costume. Lameness in the face of fun is the common thread that ties all party fouls together.

Just lame

When it comes to the Christian idea of sin, there a few ways in which it is similar to a party foul.

1) Sin goes against the spirit of God's world
Christians believe that God created the world to be beautiful and perfect. In God's world there was no injustice, no greed, no lying, and no sadness. The garden of Eden was a big party with an open bar, mostly serving fruits, vegetables, and other delicious and nutritious treats. God made tons of different trees that were "pleasing to the eye and good for food," telling the humans that they could eat from any of them, except for this one that was no good. But they ate from the bad one, violating a cardinal rule of parties: what the host says goes. If your friend says "no sex on my little brothers bed," you listen. Come on! Adam and Eve's fall from grace represents humans doing things that are against the spirit of God's world. Anything that works against beauty, righteousness, equality, and flourishing for all is sin. It is lameness in the face of fun.

2) Sin is unavoidable
The dreaded original sin. Gasp! What a mean doctrine, right? Think about it this way though, once you get drunk, you're pretty much guaranteed to drop something, spill something, or say something stupid. It's just a consequence of being drunk. Sin is like this because it's just a consequence of being human. I hate to shock anyone but human beings are not perfect. No mater how hard we try to be nice to ourselves and others, we will fail. We know it. The doctrine of original sin understands this. It puts the things we do wrong in perspective by showing us that it's not because we, as individuals are low-down losers while everyone else is great. No, we're all in the same boat. If we're all descended from the original sinners, Adam and Eve, then we're all equally imperfect as we struggle to do what's right.

3) Grace and forgiveness abound
The thing about party fouls is that everyone around you is having such a great time that your offense can be easily forgiven. The joyous atmosphere of tons of great people dancing, enjoying delicious drinks, and laughing with one another has an incredible power to forgive. Someone spills a drink? Oh well, we'll clean it up, but the party must go on. It's still inconvenient, but everyone understands. I mean we're all drunk here, it could have been me. God's power to forgive is even stronger. The Gospel promises that since Jesus has done his thing, our sins will not be counted against us. If someone knocks your beer over, it's nice if they buy you a new one. God doesn't even ask this of us. There is nothing we can do, or are required to do, to earn forgiveness. It is freely given. We can take comfort in God's forgiveness, but I think we can also be inspired by it. Inspired to try and forgive other people's failures as easily and unconditionally as we forgive their party fouls.

Today's drink is strong and apple flavored, just like sin.

Apple in the Chapel

Ingredients: 1 shot honey liqueur (Barenjager, an offbrand, or even honey whiskey), 1 shot brandy, 2-6 oz. apple juice, soda water.

Shake honey liqueur, brandy, and ale juice over ice. Use 2 oz. apple juice just to get the flavor and have a strong and dry drink, or use more to make the drink sweet and refreshing. Strain into a glass and throw in a splash of soda water if you want fizz.

Don't be afraid to tempt your friends with this delicious cocktail. The only "fall" you get from this apple will be to the floor.