31 Bible Verses and Scriptures for Hope during COVID-19. . All employers should eliminate any religious exemptions for coronavirus vaccines for Christians, period. As Jesus said in Luke 12:31, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you. We must keep in mind that God is making a covenant with a particular nation in the Old Testament. While equating You shall not murder to get inoculated, he resorted to using shame and attacking the reputation of those who opposed inoculation. "Religious exemptions provide an all-too-easy way for people who don't want to get vaccinated for some reason or other to wiggle out of a vaccine mandate and do so on the basis of what they claim to be a deeply held religious belief, which is largely unpoliced," Feldman told Insider. This would result with the inoculated patient being sickened, though usually with a less severe case of the smallpox. Our inflexible stands and outrage over whether to vaccinate or not break hearts, and pits people against each other and government health agencies. As a historian of the Bible in American life, I can attest that such shallow reading in service of political and cultural agendas has long been a fixture of evangelical Christianity. The angry conflict between people over vaccinations is most likely more disheartening to God than concerns over the vaccines themselves. According to The New York Times, millions of white evangelical adults in the United States don't intend to be vaccinated against COVID-19.This poses many challenges to battling the virus, including the prevention of herd immunity. If another person should say, My times are in the Lords hands; I am now in health, and am not willing to bring upon myself a disorder, the consequences of which I cannot possibly foresee. People with religious exemptions are not just looking for excuses, people get these exemptions because . Perhaps more time in prayer, less time reacting in fear and anger would help bring peace in this difficult, pandemic time. New Testament scholar and charismatic Christian Craig Keener shot down arguments that the COVID-19 vaccine could represent the mark of the beast, noting the medical treatment is not accompanied. If I did venture, and the outcome should not be favorable, I would blame myself for having attempted to take the management out of the Lords hands into my own, which I never did yet in other matters, without finding I am no more able than I am worthy to choose for myself. Second, God frequently, in the Bible, calls us to do things and avoid things that are very costly to us personally, in order to demonstrate that Christ and his ways are more precious to us than safety or security or comfort, and that we sacrifice in order to do what's right. Jeffrey Denny. My faith became stronger due to praying and searching for an answer to this popular question. ", (Excerpted from "Should Christians Get Vaccinated?" Nonprofits are handling the exemption requests in varying ways. Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and the Catholic Church have all issued statements saying that their religion. Inoculation Controversy: Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards, and John Newton "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.Philippians 4:6, Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? [4] William Cooper. I pray more regularly and study more scripture after my health scare. As for city employees, their religious and medical exemption applications are reviewed by each agencys Equal Opportunity Commission officer and human resources staffer. This vetting of beliefs should be alarming to any who value religious liberty. 10) Since the very beginning of creation "The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." He is a better man after his trial of earthly suffering. Multiple studies throughout the world have shown the vaccine greatly reduces the likelihood of contracting COVID as well as the risks of hospitalization from serious ailments and death. Instead, let us walk in faith and love by giving one another liberty of conscience. "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." II Timothy 1:7 Therefore, Jesus said in Mark 16:18 that we believers would lay hands on the sick and they would recover. Give my love to your friend. Though ones interpretation of Scripture and medical data might shape ones decision on whether or not to receive inoculation, the decision must still be made in light of ones conscience. Whether it concerns the global pandemic, your health, finances, the economy, or relationships, much of what is ahead of us in life remains uncertain. She then quotes 2 Corinthians 7 out of context and assumes a vaccine will "contaminate" her. The court found that Fallon's beliefs were not religious because they: 1) did not "address fundamental and ultimate questions having to do with deep and imponderable matters," 2) were not part of a. Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82 (New York: Hill and Wang, 2001). A weekly brief of our new teaching resources. A nonprofit worker contracted with the city claimed a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate. Accessed August 1, 2021. He warns us against fear because it can get in the way of the blessings and answered prayers that are in store for us. When it comes to the church, instead of the legalism of binding others consciences beyond the teachings of Scripture, we would do well to consider the wisdom of Newtons letter. Many are refusing to give religious exemption to anyone, and those who make allowance for them are often looking for some strange doctrinal tenet, such as Our obscure religious sect does not allow members to receive medical care. Many employees are not allowed to self-certify their own convictions, and instead are being asked to submit letters written by their pastors. . Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. One particular fringe theory arose out of evangelical apocalypticism: that the Covid-19 vaccine is the "mark of the beast"a sign of the end times and a symbol of alignment with the Antichrist. My third reason for refusing vaccines is due to the fact that vaccines / inoculation are the renown Mark of the Beast. Who Are the Four Horsemen in Revelation? By the time Protestants started forming settlements in North America, there were distinctly Anglican, Presbyterian, Anabaptist, Lutheran and Quaker reading of the Bible. But Catholics might find that they cannot rely on their parish priest or their bishop to support them in this endeavor. Those who mandate vaccines give little room for liberty of conscience. - Sort By Book Order. The Bible does not instruct us as to whether or not one should receive a vaccine, but it is clear when it comes to the doctrine of the liberty of conscience. From my perspective, the response of some evangelicals to the vaccine reveals the dark side of the Protestant Reformation. One of the few ways to avoid the tyrannical Covid measures being imposed on the public is through the use of religious exemptions. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. Dwight provides a narrative of Edwards careful consideration of inoculation and his seeking of counsel before receiving the treatment that caused his death.5Edwards and multiple family members received the inoculation believing that it was a wise course of action, while entrusting themselves to the Lord. If I could devise a means to avoid the trouble, I know not how great a loser I may be in point of grace and comfort. I consider all of my doctors advice and watch the occasional podcast on health. Jesus replied, addressing this topic of putting questionable agents into our bodies: "Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, 'Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Instead of receiving inoculation, Massey argued that one should trust the Lord. Very clearly the Torah says choose life.. The personal convictions carried by people who attend Awaken church are very real,. If there was ever a great opportunity for cherry-pickingusing Gods Word in a way that supports your ideas or lifethis is it. In the incredible wonder, beauty, and complexity of creation, there is chaos. The body is a temple that should not receive foreign or unnatural substances, and God will protect the body from sickness; and The immune system was created by God and should not be altered often. Religious exemptions are carved out under the federal Civil Rights Act signed into law in 1964. All of these verses have been lifted out of context and repurposed to buttress the anti-vaccine movement. I prayed this verse daily, driving to work, sitting on my couch. When I studied the beautifully written book of Job, I heard Gods answer to Jobs misery over losses in health, property, and family. This makes policing religious exemptions to vaccination hard - and rightly so. Barrier on What Does the Bible Say About Coronavirus: Is it a Sign of the End Times? Democratic Gov. People have to prove that the mandate somehow targets their religion in order to be exempt from the requirement. This fear has driven some Christians to request religious exemptions Check out her blog atBetty by Elizabeth Dunning and her website,www.elizabethdunning-wix.com. And I can trust my Lord When the epidemic began, the population of Boston was about 11,000, and many fled with their families to escape the disease. Photo credit: GettyImages/Richard Johnson. The Bible tells you that your body is a temple. Founders Ministries is committed to encouraging the recovery of the gospel and the biblical reformation of local churches. This highly contagious, steadily mutating virus is a pandemica threat to world health. Nay, I shall praise him for you both. During this time of global pandemic with COVID-19, this Psalm speaks of God's presence, power, and protection against fear. We might have lopped the illness off at its knees if every part of society locked down for two weeks at the beginning of 2020. Im very troubled by religious exemptions, Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis. More specifically, he entrusted his disciples to . A pastor at Manhattan Baptist church wrote a letter on behalf of a congregant. Unless you're a member of a Dutch Reformed church or a Christian Science church, making a claim for a religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine as a Christian is going to be hard to prove.. I still repeat this verse from time to time. What should one do if there is no religious exemption? During Jesus ministry on earth, someone in the crowd asked him for advice on eating meat offered to pagan idols. Another letter, by a Manhattan-based Baptist pastor, says the church ministry does not support the mandate and erroneously stated that the vaccines ingredients creates possibility of long-term adverse effects such as COVID-19.. The Bible says, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17 KJV). . The former should seem to require the strongest faith of the two. There are blessings in isolation and in spending more time with immediate family. 5 Things You Should Know about the ESV Bible Translation. Some members of the military are being required to be interviewed by chaplains, with the intent of determining the legitimacy of ones convictions. Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. 8 Of their flesh ye shall not eat, and their carcasses ye shall not touch; they are unclean unto you. Prior to this, most men and women in Europe were exposed to the Bible through the Vulgate, a Latin version of the Old and New Testaments that only educated men mostly Catholic priests could read. Reprints. In fact, the purpose of the Tribulation itself is to bring pressure for men to surrender to Jesus and find salvation." 10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that swarm in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the . But the president's mandate goes even further. Jesus went around healing lepers and touched them without fear of getting leprosy, he said. What Does the Bible Say About Coronavirus: Is it a Sign of the End Times? One letter writer cites the use of aborted fetal cells in medical research as a violation of their faith. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Philippians 3:20-21). If they obey the convent, they will prosper in the land. This is a good case . Can you receive the vaccine in faith? May the church recover and exercise the doctrine of liberty of conscience, and may our healthcare decisions be made in faith for the glory of God. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 1 John 4:20, If you feel aloneFor I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39, If you are weary from parenting 24/7But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. 2 Chronicles 15:7, If youre scared about the futureFor I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11, If youre battling discontentKeep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5. A blessed, Christ-like life now and joy in a future world describes the kingdom of God. [3] Elizabeth A. Fenn. Both are common sense and simple actions everyone can take to protect themselves and protect other people. It is about people who have faith in God. Small differences over how to interpret the Bible often resulted in the creation of new sects such as the Latter Day Saints, the Restorationists (Disciples of Christ and Churches of Christ), Adventists and various evangelical offshoots of more longstanding denominations such as Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists and Quakers. So, I kept cross-country skiing, kayaking, and hiking with difficulty. The Lord has blessed Ben and his wife Ricki with three children whom they are homeschooling. In the NYPD, 6,170 officers filed exemption applications, 1,850 in the FDNY, 550 at the Human Resources Administration and Department of Social Services, and 380 at the Department of Environmental Protection, according to city records. In addition, the following articles may offer more encouragement for all to remember as we face the trials of COVID-19 together: Discover Bible verses about Coronavirus related topics in this collection of scripture quotes. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10, If youre doing just fineRemember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. They make this argument for a variety of reasons. Though the controversy surrounding inoculation would subside as the practice became more widely accepted in medicine and in the church, many are faced with similar questions regarding the COVID vaccine today. These preachers built followers around innovative readings of the Scriptures. Seeking a religious exemption should very clearly rest on apparent and applicable religious beliefs. YouVersion, responsible for one of the most popular Bible Apps, reported an 80 percent increase in search during the pandemic, totaling 600 million worldwide. 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