Have you heard about this book? The Christian Gentleman’s Smoking Companion: A Celebration of Smoking to the Glory of God. Jonathan Binnie, who told me about it, says that his brother attends a church that has a “men’s cigar outreach ministry.” It’s called “El Lector,” after the practice in Cuba of having somebody reading a book out loud to the cigar-rollers as they work. They have readings, as everybody smokes their stogies, or a speaker, as here. See a description of the book after the jump.
What do you think of this? Is it an exercise of Christian freedom or promoting an extremely unhealthy habit? Is it a good way of reaching men or an example of churchifying what is properly secular?
Actually, this sounds kind of like the Men’s Club of our congregation back in Wisconsin, with its very traditional ethnic customs, which consisted largely of sitting around drinking beer, eating cannibal sandwiches, and playing Sheepshead. [Read more…]