For the first time in my life Christians are being ordered to not gather in their churches to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. If you had told me (or any of us) a year ago that the government would, in effect, shut down houses of worship, I would have thought you crazy, but here we are going to “virtual” services online for several weeks (or more?). And we have made that work, but at what cost?
In the past month over three hundred million Americans surrendered their First Amendment rights to religious liberty and assembly in the name of preventing the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Can our basic constitutional rights be temporarily suspended for such an emergency? Attorney General, William Barr, says “yes.” I’m not sure that’s true, but in any event such actions are inherently dangerous. The general biblical principle, a la Romans 13, is that we are called to be in submission to the government, as long as such submission does not demand that we disobey God. When the apostles were told not to preach, for example, they said:
Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:19b)
And then there’s the famous “go to church” verse of Hebrews 10:24-25:
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
I have a really rough time getting around that command in light of the current restrictions on meeting.
EXAMPLES OF ABUSE OF POWER
I am aware of two situations you may have also seen in the news that should scare the **** out of you, if you know anything of the U. S. Constitution, the Bible, or history. Last week a pastor in Florida was arrested for continuing to hold church services, in spite of extensive accomodation at his church to mitigate against spread of COVID-19. They spaced everyone six or more feet apart in the sanctuary, they used masks and gloves, and provided hand sanitizer, Frankly they were mitigating against the spread of the virus more than most doctor’s offices and hospitals. The pastor was arrested for failing to comply with the “stay at home” directive by the state.
Another situation is Greenville, Mississippi, which I just heard about today, is even scarier. A pastor there had a “drive-in” service in which congregants stayed in their cars with the windows rolled up and the cars separated by a sufficient distance. Twenty police cars showed up, the pastor was fined $500, and the lead officer told him that his constitutional rights were suspended! This was directed, according to the pastor, by the leftist, Democrat mayor, who has stated that churches are responsible for spreading the coronavirus! That’s not a new trick: Nero blamed the burning of Rome on the Christians, if you will recall your history. Of course the Bible tells us that the world hates Christians (John 15:18-20).
ESSENTIAL SERVICES?
Big Brother government officials are deciding what is “essential” — what can stay open and what must close. In their godless, worldly wisdom, churches are deemed “non-essential.” On the other hand, liquor stores are deemed “essential” and allowed to remain open. Are all of these people nuts? I am told that alcohol-related deaths in the U. S. are around 85,000 every year. Current projections indicate that COVID-19 will at most kill 60,000 — of course they keep revising the number downward from all their faulty models from millions to 240,000 to 60,000. I expect that in the end if will be under 50,000 — in other words, about what a typical flu season kills with no oppressive government restrictions of movement, meeting, etc. So, let me get this straight: Churches are going to kill people, but booze is no problem? If anything, given coronvirus is killing a lot of people, church services, which among other things prepare people for physical death, should be especially essential and even encouraged rather than suppressed.
WHY NOT ALTERNATIVE ACCOMODATION?
When all is said and done there is really no proof that keeping people from meeting in church is preventing the spread of the disease. This is supposition, driven by crisis and media hysteria. This is not an either or: either follow the government’s guidelines and essentially be quarantined or operate just as we did before COVID-19. The question Big Brother doesn’t want to deal with is alternative accommodation to the guidelines. Why shouldn’t a church meet if they take precautions — keep people seated with some distance between them, don’t shake hands, don’t pass a collection plate or communion trays, use facemasks, gloves, and hand sanitizer? That’s what our church was doing the last Sunday it met before suspending services. The current situation reminds me of the definition of a fanatic: Someone who redoubles his effort after he has lost sight of his goal. There are alternatives to dealing with this awful disease and its spread.
In my clinic newsletters the past several weeks I have emphasized that the real answer to coronavirus is a strong, functioning immune system. We know with established research many things that deal with viral infections — Vitamin D (which the great majority of the country is deficient in and would likely slash the number of people affected by this; Zinc, which kills the virus, N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine and Selenium with numerous anti-viral properties and more. A vaccine, laden with mercury and aluminum heavy metal toxins, that won’t be available until long after this crisis, is not the answer. Other current treatment approaches are promising, however, for those currently infected with major symptoms — hydroxychloroquine, plasma transfusions, etc., but that’s another subject.
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S BIGGEST DECISION
The President stated today (4/10/20) that the biggest decision he has ever had to make will be concerning the “reopening” of the country. Some of the people advising him, I suspect, would keep the country shut down for months. He and the Vice-President both know that “cure” would undoubtedly be worse than the disease. I pray that he will have the wisdom to combine reasonable practices to mitigate against spread of the virus with reopening the country, particularly in places like Arizona that have not been majorly affected. It’s time to reopen much of the country that is outside the major big city “hotspots.”
— Monte Kline, Ph.D.