Alcohol.  Mirculous Images.  Two great tastes that taste great together.  As anyone who has spent thirty seconds on this site knows, those two things pretty much define my life's philosophy.

And apparently, the Brits feel the same way.  That is why an ecumenical group in England is combining these beer and a miracle image of Jesus into a controversial marketing campaign.

It seems that a group called the "Churches Advertising Network" (sounds like a shopping channel offering cut-rate rosary beads) that is putting up this poster as part of a larger advert campaign to get the hipsters into churches.

Problem is, some churchfolks seem to find this offensive.  Here's what the Times Online says about the controversy.  

Well, I agree with the churchfolks.  I am totally offended.  First of all, the poster's Shroud of Turin-style view of Jesus is so 14th Century.  Secondly, the Photoshop work is just plan bad.  Thirdly, I prefer gin. 

But the reason the churchfolks don't like it is because they feel it promotes alcohol consumption. 

I don't get that.  Jesus wasn't against alcohol.  He loved alcohol! Didn't He turn water into wine?  Didn't He drink with publicans and harlots?  Indeed, didn't He say, "Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." (Matthew 9:17)  Good advice.  Nobody wants to ruin good wine.  In fact, this passage may show that Jesus prohesied the coming of boxed wines, in which the booze is actually stored in new, plastic wineskins. He also seems to be recommending against trying to refill wine boxes once they run out.  I wonder how He would feel about refilling used printer cartridges.

At any rate, Jesus drank, I drink, and so do the Brits.  So I say, go forth with this ad campaign.  In fact, if they expanded it to include images of Jesus in gin and tonics, I might just start going to church.