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A trip to my local Giant grocery store the other night brought an unpleasant surprise. Back near the store’s beer coolers, clerks were stacking case upon case of a new beer. It’s name? “Sweet Baby Jesus,” a ‘craft’ beer brewed and bottled by a local Baltimore company, DuClaw Brewing Company.
“Sweet Baby Jesus,” launched about a year ago, recently became one of DuClaw’s best-selling beers. Thanks to a recent plug from Uncrate, a digital buying guide for men, “Sweet Baby Jesus” beer is drawing attention from reviewers and expanding its appeal beyond Baltimore, into New Jersey, Virginia, and surrounding states. Critics call the ‘chocolate peanut butter’ porter beer “truly exceptional,” graced with a “creative name worth repeating.”
That “creative name worth repeating” just happens to be the name of the Lord.
No matter.
These days, taking a celebrity’s name ‘in vain’—without permission—to sell a product guarantees a public rebuke and litigation threats from the celebrity’s lawyer. But taking the Lord Jesus’s name in vain to sell a parochial brew passes for urbane wit and draws a cosmopolitan snicker. One Philadelphia reviewer honored the beer with a “Best Name” award, tittering over the fact that ‘Sweet Baby Jesus’ is “a tiny bit blasphemous.”
A tiny bit blasphemous?
Believers know that it’s not possible to be a “tiny bit” blasphemous. “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised,” according to the Psalms. The Second Commandment—“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain”— forbids “the abuse of God\’s name.” The sin of blasphemy includes using “the name of God [and] of Jesus Christ in an offensive way.”
The mocking use of God’s name is not some “tiny” offense, because God is not some tiny creature. He’s our Creator. Respect for his name shows respect for God himself and for “the whole sacred reality.”
Slapping ‘Sweet Baby Jesus’ on a bottle of beer profanes his sacred name. Downing a ‘cold one’ that bears the name of Jesus, and then tossing it in the trash (or recycling bin, for those who reverence mother earth), alongside half-eaten chicken wings, soggy paper towels, and the dregs of last night’s party communicates a profound disrespect for the reality of the Person whose name it bears.
However, the DuClaw Brewing Company doesn’t give a whit. Its marketing campaign shamelessly trades on the name of Jesus, using religious imagery and language to hype the product. According to local sources, the company promoted the beer’s release with the boast, “One sip and you will exclaim the name.” The company’s website pitches a “Sweet Baby Jesus!” pint glass “featuring the ‘Sweet Baby Jesus!’ logo on one side and ‘The name says it all’ on the other.” It exhorts drinkers to “Exclaim that name!” (Abbreviated as #SweetBJ) And for 20 bucks, a woman can buy a “Sweet Baby Jesus” t-shirt that will “exclaim the name” on her “torso…so that you can look good and feel good while you drink even better.” (Guys can shell out $20 for a similar product.)
As a craft brewery, DuClaw makes money only if it sells something interesting, but it seems to have confused ‘interesting’ with ‘demeaning.’ It brews other beers with offensive names, such as “Bare Ass Blonde Ale” and “Anti-Venom Cluster F#@k,” but ‘Sweet Baby Jesus’ is the Brewery’s bestseller. Its distribution circle appears to be expanding rapidly, too. Within a ten-mile radius of my home, for example, over a dozen grocery chains and specialty stores have begun carrying it.
Why would DuClaw choose a product name that is likely to offend a wide base of potential customers? (Most Christians do drink, after all.) And why would a major grocery chain, with many Christians among its most frequent shoppers, stock a specialty product that gives a blasphemous slap in the face to the Christian God?
I suspect their market research tapped into a troubling truth: few people—even Christians—seem to care whether the name of Jesus is treated with derision or respect. Christians who are offended by the blasphemy most likely will shrug and say nothing. (Can you imagine the Muslim community’s likely response if a retailer stocked a beer profaning the name of Mohammed?)
As a private company, DuClaw Brewing Company enjoys the freedom to name its products as it chooses, within relevant legal boundaries. Its only branding “principle,” the company boasts, is to “make it cool.” Apparently, blasphemy is “cool.”
Which leaves us with the real question: What does it say about us when a company blasphemes the name of Jesus in order to sell beer in mainstream markets—and succeeds?
© 2014. Mary Rice Hasson. All rights reserved.
13 thoughts on “‘Sweet Baby Jesus’…Is a Beer?”
Has your immortal soul been eased into a heretic state against … God’s must
know Catholic Dogma, Dogma which you have never seen ?
Has this fact placed you outside of God’s Catholic Church … which uncorrected
causes the loss of your soul ?
Is there a Catholic Dogma remedy … for re-entering the Catholic Church ?
Answer: The answer to all three questions is … yes. Please continue.
You have been *profoundly* deceived …
Council of Florence, Session 8, 22 Nov 1439 — infallible Source of Dogma >
“Whoever wills to be saved, before all things it is necessary that he
holds the Catholic faith. Unless a person keeps this faith whole and undefiled,
without doubt he shall perish eternally.”
You must believe the Catholic Dogma to be in the Church … Dogma you have
*never* seen.
Site > http://www.Immaculata-one.com … infallible Dogma throughout.
The … Catholic Sources of Dogma … is the must know Faith. It is not “Bible interpretation”.
The … Catholic Sources of Dogma … is the must know Faith. It is not “Bible interpretation”.
The … Catholic Sources of Dogma … is the must know Faith. It is not “Bible interpretation”.
The Catholic Faith *is not* Bible interpretation … it is the infallible Sources of Dogma (of the Pope in union with the Bishops of the world). The Catholic Church didn’t even define the Bible’s New Testament Canon until 397 A.D. at the Council of Carthage.
Second Council of Constantinople, 553 A.D. — Ex-Cathedra Dogma >
“The heretic, even though he has not been condemned formally by any individual, in reality brings anathema on himself, having cut himself off from the way of truth by his heresy.”
– – – – – – – – – –
Can a group which enforces the opposite, the opposite, and the opposite of the Catholic unchangeable Dogma be the Catholic Church?
No … it cannot possibly be the Catholic Church … and promotion of the opposite of the Catholic Dogma is exactly what the vatican-2 heretic cult does … and has been doing since it’s founding on 8 December 1965 at the Vatican.
The founding documents of the vatican-2 heretic cult … the “vatican-2 council” documents … have well over 200 heresies *against* prior defined unchangeable Dogma … 50 listed at > http://www.Immaculata-one.com/section_12.html
Every (apparent) bishop at the “council” approved the mountain of heresy, which caused their automatic excommunication … automatic excommunication Dogma listed > http://www.Immaculata-one.com/section_13.2.html
Photographic proof … of heresy and apostasy by people … dressed up like Catholic Bishops …
http://www.Immaculata-one.com/section_13.html and http://www.Immaculata-one.com/section_12.6.1.html
http://www.Immaculata-one.com/section_12.6.2.html and http://www.Immaculata-one.com/section_12.7.1.html
http://www.Immaculata-one.com/section_12.7.2.html and http://www.Immaculata-one.com/section_12.10.1.html
The vatican-2 heresy does not have the Office of the Papacy … only the Catholic Church has the Office of the Papacy.
The … Gates of Hell scripture … has nothing to do with the Papacy … Dogma listed > http://www.Immaculata-one.com/section_13.3.html
The Dogma cannot “change” or be “reversed” … God does not “change”.
– – – – – – – – – –
Section 12 > Anti-Christ vatican-2 heresies (50 listed) … followed by many Catholic corrections.
(www.Immaculata-one.com/section_12.html)
Sections 13 and 13.1 > Photographic *proof* of heresy at the Vatican.
(www.Immaculata-one.com/section_13.html)
Because of … the Catholic Dogma on automatic excommunication for heresy or for physical participation in a heretic cult (such as the v-2 cult) …
… we were all placed, body and soul, *outside* of Christianity (the Catholic
Church) on 8 December 1965 … the close date of the “council”.
Sections 13.2 and 13.2.2 > Catholic Dogma on automatic excommunication for heresy or participating in a heretic cult such as … “vatican-2”, “lutheran”, “methodist”, “evangelical”, etc.
(www.Immaculata-one.com/section_13.2.html) (www.Immaculata-one.com/section_13.2.2.html)
Section 107 > St. Athanasius (died 373 A.D.) … “Even if the Church were reduced to a handful …” – – during the “arian” heresy … we are there again, but worse.
(www.Immaculata-one.com/section_107.html)
Section 13.3 > Matthew 16:18, Gates of Hell scripture … is *not* about the Office of the Papacy … four Dogmatic Councils defined it … that heresy will not cause the Dogma to disappear. (www.Immaculata-one.com/section_13.3.html)
Section 13.4 > The vatican-2 heretic cult does not have the Office of the Papacy only the Catholic Church has the Papacy. (www.Immaculata-one.com/section_13.4.html)
Section 13.6 > The Catholic Dogma on Jurisdiction and Automatic Excommunication for heresy define that … God has allowed Catholic Jurisdiction … for Mass and Confession to disappear from the world.
There is no such thing as Catholic Mass outside of the Catholic Church.
(www.Immaculata-one.com/section_13.6.html)
Non-Catholic heresies such as “vatican-2”, “sspx”, “sspv”, “cmri”, etc. … do not have Catholic Mass.
Section 19.1 > Dogma on Abjuration for *re-entering* Christianity (the Catholic Church) … after being automatically excommunicated. A Formal Abjuration is provided here also.
(www.Immaculata-one.com/section_19.1.html)
Section 10.2 > Returning to a state of grace, in places and times when Confession is not available, like now. (www.Immaculata-one.com/section_10.2.html)
– – – – – – – – – –
Second Council of Constantinople, 553 A.D. — infallible Source of Dogma >
“The heretic, even though he has not been condemned formally by any individual, in reality brings anathema on himself, having cut himself off from the way of truth by his heresy.”
Blessed John Eudes, died 1680 >
“The greatest evil existing today is heresy, an infernal rage which hurls countless souls into eternal damnation.”
Everything you must know, believe, and do to get to Heaven is on > > http://www.Immaculata-one.com.
Mike
Our Lady of Conquest
Pray for us
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There is also a type of Oyster, I believe it is from the southern part of the Chesapeake that has the same name. I suspect DuClaw got this name from this oyster. By the way DuClaw also have restaurants here in Md.
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We find that some Americans love to hurt the sentiments of christians by showing disrespect to Jesus. We can do two things one, we should boycot the product Two, we can pray for God,s mercy on thede perpetrators.
Thank you Mary for this article. It is shocking and shows at least some of what is wrong with our nation. We need to pray, and to live the Christian life, which includes sharing our faith. Nothing will change unless people are changed. When that happens maybe stupid, profane, and blasphemous brand names, will decrease because they won’t sell.
At least I hope so.
Please don’t compare the reaction of Islam – they are for the most part a backward religion that will take centuries to stabliize. Jesus would turn the other cheek and
you should all know this It is not as bad as calling your brother ‘raka’ and it has
nothing to do with ” my Father’s house” which is why Jesus to turned righteously
violent. If you trace the etiology of contemporary ‘lblasphemy’ you can clearly
see it is a form of superficial contempt for all the perceived human mistakes the
church has made in the last 50 plus years If you ignore these corporate clowns
they will eventually go away. If you don’t they will feast off your ire.
Respectfully, James, I disagree. Silence serves no purpose than to encourage the offender. Elie Weisel, who survived the atrocities of the Holocaust said, “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Granted, Weisel’s experience reflects the worst offenses against mankind, however, this statement made upon reflection of his experiences speaks volumes to us Catholic Christians who are persecuted subtly every day, and even face torture and death in many countries – – – while so many remain silent. History shows that persecution begins subtly, and then escalates due to silence and disbelief.
The problem that we face in the U.S. is that we fail to hold people accountable. We somehow believe that they have an inalienable right to persecute cloaked behind the veil of “free speech.” We have assumed the position that if we ignore “it, the “it” will go away. That approach has not been effective in the past, it will never be effective in the future.
As for Jesus’ anger in response to ignorance or injustice, the temple story is only one example. There are several others; when He addressed the Pharisees in the book of Matthew, when He healed the man with the withered hand, when He predicted His passion, when He cursed the fig tree, when He was blessing the little children, when he called out the demons from the man, when He rebuked Peter and when He addressed the Pharisees. I could offer substantial details on each of these, but have limited space.
So, James, forgive me, I will not be silent. I will always defend my faith, hold people accountable, and live by 1 Peter 3:15. I hope that others will consider the same in being Disciples of Christ.
Peace be with you,
Diane
Well, Diane, my contrbution will be not to buy the beer and predict that it will eventually be d/c – and, it is not impossible that someone might be converted by the Name, We are not at odds and I applaud your effort to go on the offensive even at the risk of dismal ground support. What is manifested, sight unseen, is the tacit understanding of just how crass life can get and this nauseum is shared by way more people than you realize..
Ah, James, we are more like-minded that I first thought. Drats- — this texting and email loses so much personality and tone, doesn’t it? Enjoyed “hearing” your perspective. Please keep praying for all God’s children….good and bad….especially me. Apologetics isn’t for the faint-hearted. 😉 Peace be with you, Diane ^i^
Mary, you did a fabulous job of highlighting the “subtle”
blasphemes in our culture. And yes, my hubby said the thing as Guy. If they
bottled “Mohammed Ale” and used the tagline “Have a blast with
Alah!” Oh, Lord have mercy. The outcry and condemnation would be life
threatening. However, Christians just turn the other cheek and go on without
seemingly noticing. That mentality is going to be to our determent. When Christ
walked into the temple and saw the blaspheme of the money changers, He didn’t
turn the other cheek…..he turned tables over in outrage. Where is the outrage
today?
Imagine what would happen if they start selling “Mohammed Beer” with a likeness of the muslim religion’s founder. I doubt they would remain silent and inert like Christians. Guy McClung, San Antonio
I have a suggestion for anyone who reads this article: GO TO THE “DuClaw Brewing Company” WEB SITE AND CLICK ON “Our Beer List”. It will REALLY put this article in perspective for you! THINK about this name for a second, “Hell ON Wood”.