The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield

Disclaimer: For those who are offended by the idea of a book written how beer and the religion of Christianity may have relationship with each other, you are invited to read my review, but remember that this is a review…not an endorsement.  With that said…my review!

As the son of two parents whose conversion stories included a turning from unbiblical standards of being “intoxicated”, I was taught that beer had nothing to do with God.  For years, I believed that the only type of people who touched beer were non-christians.

I think it can be safe to say that life has taught me otherwise.  There has been much debate on the issue of consumption of alcohol and being a follower of Christ.  These debates are not just among the “common people”, but even among those many would consider theologians or religious and biblical scholars.  History has proven to us that even respected church fathers have been recorded to have many a conversation over a beer.  That beer was most often made by Guinness.

The book, The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield, arrived at my home a little over 2 months ago from Thomas Nelson.  As a person who loves the study of history, I was very curious to see if this truly was a “biography of the beed that changed the world” as the book promoted itself to be, or if it was just another person trying to prove that it’s ok to drink beer and be a Christian.  Was this going to be a book of historical facts, or a collection of opinions?

My observation was that this was definitely a book of facts.

This may be the reason it took me so long to finish.  Intriguing as the information was, it did carry on at times like a text book.  None-the-less, there were many great things about this book.  Why was that?

Because this book not only told the history of Guinness, but it explored how the Guinness family’s faith shaped how influenced the world around them.  If anything, it showed how a family could be ministers in their community without actually being ministers by profession.  Though many of the Guinness family did chose vocational ministry over working at the brew house, the business of the Guinness brewery was always a motivator and empowering of benevolence.

Even though the current face of the Guinness company no longer looks like its humble and Christian beginnings (much like the many prestigious universities of the United States), a study of it’s history is one that portrays what a business that is lead by a follower of Christ can look like.

If you’re looking for more ideas on how to live “Your Best Life Now”…keep moving.

Or, if you’re looking for this book to replace a thorough personal study of God’s Word on the consumption of alcoholic beverages, then you’re going to be very dissapointed.

but…

If you’re a history buff who wants to see what Christianity in the “marketplace” looks like…pick this up.