A New Religion?

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The Religion of COVID-19

            Has the response to the Covid-19 pandemic become a pseudo-religion? I believe it has. But before you cancel me, I ask you to hear me out. For those with ears to hear and eyes to see you may find some truth here that cannot be denied.

            This pseudo-religion has one problem it seeks to solve and that is fear of sickness and death from Covid-19. All religions promise a cure for something that ails humanity. The Christian religion defeats the problem of sin with the cross and resurrection. Islam teaches that one gets to heaven by conforming one’s life to the teachings of the Koran. The ancient religions of the Greeks and Romans as well as the Norse had gods who controlled each of the different areas of life and it was the worshippers duty to appease the gods with offerings. Each different religion known to humankind has had a god or gods that functioned to meet the needs of its people.

            So, the purpose of this Covid-19 religion is to seek to eliminate fear. The priests of this religion supply a false sense of security and safety to its practitioners. On TV and the internet, the priests of the cult of what I will call safetyism preach the dangers of Covid and that safety from this disease can only be found by wearing a face covering, social distancing, hand hygiene and most importantly receiving the sacrament of vaccination and booster shots. Do this and you will live the high priests of safety proclaim. Do this and you can be free from the fear of the dreaded Covid virus.

            The only problem with this religion like all false religions is that they do not deliver what they promise. A person can follow all the rules of this faith and even take part in the sacrament of vaccination and still get sick with the disease. You may even die from it even if you have fulfilled all the requirements of the priests of safety.

            So, what does Biblical Christianity have to say about how we should live in the face of Covid? First, we have an obligation to care for the sick in their hour of need. As Matthew writes is his gospel chapter 25 verse 36b “I was sick and you visited me,” These are the words of Jesus to those of us who hope in him. You may respond that these words of Jesus should not apply here. It is not wise to risk our own health to be in the presence of someone who is ill. All I can say is that in the earliest years of the church it was their practice to tend and care for the sick regardless of what their illness was, and I see no new word from God regarding this practice. It is especially galling to me to hear someone say “that we know better now what causes sickness so we should practice safety over obedience to the word”. This is the height of selfishness. As Christians we are called to selfless servanthood. Indeed, we are to lay down our lives for our neighbors.

            The next area where the Bible confronts Covid-19 is the area of fear. Paul writing to his friend and disciple Timothy says the following: “7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” The high priests of Covid preach that we should live in fear of our neighbors, and we must do what these priests tell us to do or else we may lose our jobs, our freedoms, and anything else they can take away from us. God says we should live not in fear of these self-appointed priests of safety and obey their every word. (Even when they contradict themselves.) God’s view is that we should not live in fear of them no matter what they do to us. We are to live lives of power, love, and self-control. Not letting our fear rule us because our God controls the outcome of our lives not the high priest of Covid fear.

            Let us consider how we as Christians are to behave. Romans 13 says to obey our rulers. And our rulers today, such as they are, are not half as bad as what the church was suffering under at the time these words were originally written. Yet it seems to me God is calling his people today to live in boldness and confidence before him. We can no longer simply obey the people in power and ignore those powerless ones who suffer around us. Safety has become an idol and we worship at this idol and make sacrifices to it. Now we must not bend the knee to it any longer. We must choose this day who we will serve, either the god of safety, or Jesus. I choose Jesus the God of life. Amen.

           

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