Lager for the Lord, cocktails for Christ, Holy spirits – no matter how you said it, alcohol and the Almighty didn’t seem to go together. Finally, a man decided God probably wouldn’t mind him having a beer or two and was determined to spread the word.

“Theology on Tap is a monthly get-together that’s open to anybody who wants to talk theology and religion,” said creator Chris McCreight, 27-year-old associate minister at First Christian Church of Athens.

McCreight started this tradition about a year ago using Globe Bar as a meeting place. Now the location has moved to an equally atmospheric bar-restaurant, Trappeze, on the last Tuesday of every month at 8 p.m. According to McCreight, the meeting spot is half the appeal.

“What we’re really trying to do is make it comfortable,” he said. “You don’t have to have a beer – by all means do what you please. That environment is a little more liberating to some than meeting in a church basement or social hall. It’s just a more relaxed place where you can express the entirety of your thoughts about God and religion.”

McCreight found inspiration for the open-air forum on religion from an activity he enjoyed in college.

“I went to the Emory School of Theology, Candler, and we had a program called Theology on Tap,” he said. “It was just about community.”

McCreight said that this chapter of Theology on Tap will not only serve as a tool to get people respectfully discussing their views on spirituality, but also work as a relaxed, responsible drinking atmosphere.

“I’ve heard some people express concern that there was drinking going on, but I think that’s the perception that someone can’t be a person of faith and drink alcohol as well,” he said. “I say all things in moderation.”

Despite McCreight’s casual attitude about combining scripture and booze, he realizes that it’s a relatively liberal concept.

“It’s really quite odd how people won’t do particular things in church because God is watching, which is kind of an absurd statement when you think about it because God is everywhere,” he said. “If people see it as liberal, that’s fine, but what they really should see is an open forum that is made all the better when more voices are added to it.

McCreight also points out that those “voices” need not be from people of faith – atheists and agnostics are just as welcome as Christians or Muslims.

“The intent has never been to convert anybody. It’s really for everybody that’s interested just talking,” McCreight said. “I try to make it as diverse as I can. People come to the table who believe that God is not there, and we talk about why or why not.”

McCreight hopes this open-minded approach to interfaith dialogue will help contribute to a progressive attitude of peace and religious tolerance in the Athens community.

“If we were able to have a more genuine dialogue on our personal and communal faith, we would understand one another better,” McCreight said. “We get more of a sense of who we are and of who God is when we look at Him through the lens of another person. The more we can have of that, the better.”