Ersatz Coffee

As an amateur historian, I have come across many references to ersatz drinks during times of war. During WW2, one reads of ersatz coffee, tea and even milk. Every now and then you get a description of what exactly is in the drink but not very often. I have read about drinking straight chicory disguised as coffee, blackberry leaves dried and brewed as tea and a chalky type substance, never really identified, as a milk substitute.

These people had no choice but to drink the fake beverages. They dressed them up as best they could and one even reads of the British drinking the blackberry leaf tea from expensive silver teapots. That should certainly require a stiff upper lip.

I got to thinking about this the other day after reading more and more about the 'Emergent Conversation' that started with faulty premises, Cool Seeker Services that resemble Rock Concerts and Church Growth strategies gone mad.

They seem to making it up as they go along but none of it is really new. It is Ersatz Faith. It is just a brew disguised as Christianity dressed up in a shiny pomo teapot. It entertains but never satisfies. It fills one up for a moment but never lasts. It leaves one craving the real thing but searching for it in the wrong place.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,

for those who fear him have no lack!

The young lions suffer want and hunger;

but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

-Psalm 34: 8-10