At a Forest Festival in a nearby Village, a maple syrup test was set up.

Maple syrup from eleven local producers here in upstate New York, was placed in numbered bottles. A wild card bottle had Aunt Jemima syrup in it.

Testers would test syrup from each bottle and select their favorite.

Quite a few testers would select the Aunt Jemima, because it was familiar.

I was raised on the west coast, with Aunt Jemima syrup which is basically sugar with maple flavoring. Real syrup was too expensive.

I was in my twenties before I tasted real syrup and it tasted weird. But, after a few more bites of waffle, I was hooked.

From Job 34:

Hear my words, you wise men,
and give ear to me, you who know;
³ for the ear tests words
as the palate tastes food.
⁴ Let us choose what is right;
let us know among ourselves what is good

We taste food. We taste words. We taste church.

To keep the taste real, not just familiar, religions should be able to modify their rules to choose what is right, to choose what is fair and effective. We can combine compassion with responsibility without injuring originality and newness.