In the grand scheme of
things we can say this – wearing a mask is a small price to pay, a small
inconvenience especially if it helps to prevent spread and potentially save
lives.
But even if it's a large
price to pay – as Christians we can say the following with confidence –
Wearing a mask is not
sinful. Therefore if it's the law, we're compelled to do it – at least outside
the gathering of the church and outside the home. Whether they are worn in the
church or home is for the leaders of those domains to decide in a
Christ-honouring Biblically reasoned fashion.
The reasons for refusing
this simple reality do not stand and as I've already suggested those who are
most vigorously making this argument have really no credible leg to stand on. Their
glaring inconsistencies, emotionalism and politically motivated thinking are on
full display when it comes to this issue.
This is all the more true
of those parents who would (if in an ER waiting room) wear a mask during flu
season or for that matter send their kids to a public school. If they grant the
state the power to mandate compulsory education and then comply with all the
nonsense and insanity that is the modern public school system I fail to see how
they can then claim the state has no right to issue a mask order. Their
refusals are unprincipled and arbitrary.
Legally there is no basis
to refuse the mandate. Let the various levels of government and the political
parties fight it out. I'm speaking to Christians. Legally there is no basis to
refuse the mandate.
Write your congressman or
your newspaper. Within Christian ethical boundaries do whatever your conscience
or desire compels you to do. But we're told to obey the law and it's not sinful
to wear a mask – therefore we are morally compelled to wear the thing. That
should be the end of it.
Morally the anti-mask stand
is also indefensible. It's not a communist plot. It doesn't hurt others and not
wearing one has the potential risk to hurt others. How can you call yourself
pro-life when you're not even willing to be inconvenienced to help keep others
from getting sick or dying?
For all the talk of legal
euthanasia leading to the culling of the elderly it was the Right and the
Christian Right that was quick to say – let the old people deal with it themselves,
they're old and going to die anyway but we can't shut down the economy.
That's pure utilitarianism,
the very thing they profess to abhor. When the chips were down they showed
their true colours.
You don't believe wearing a
mask makes any difference? And yet, again on what basis? Are all the scientists
completely and utterly wrong? Are they all in on the great communist plot?
Do you wash your hands? Do
you hesitate to eat raw meat? Why? On what basis? ***
Most would say 'yes' and
the reason is because of medical science.
I know of not a few would
answer 'no' to both questions. And undoubtedly there's something to said for
building a resistance. Some of the dirtiest and most unhygienic folks do seem
to avoid sickness. But the key word is 'some'. Others get sick and die of
things the rest of us don't. Others survive when humanly speaking they
shouldn't. I know of one family whose son contracted hepatitis A and let's just
say we weren't in the least bit surprised. People have forgotten how high
mortality rates used to be and how many of these old diseases were terrible and
left people scarred and forever affected by them.
In terms of science and
medicine, the anti-mask people have really no leg to stand on. In many cases
they've already demonstrated this by their inconsistencies.
Does this mean I accept all
of the current wisdom regarding masks? Certainly not. But at the same time it's
clear enough that societies that have strictly enforced their use have been
able to get the virus under control. We can talk about the problems of causal
connections but in this case it seems that (for whatever reason) mask wearing
in public has helped to bring the numbers down.
Those that still insist
it's a hoax or that the number of deaths are fake are living in a provincial bubble.
There's plenty to criticise with regard to the statistics and how the
government has dealt with this. Some measures might have been overblown. There
are many inconsistencies. But if anything we should be trying to do what we can
for our neighbours and the hardship of mask wearing is really negligible.
Historical memory is short.
People are whining about lost graduations and high school sports or even losing
their vacation. History is filled with plagues and pandemics and lost seasons
of life due to war and other problems. I think a lot of people need to grow up
and maybe read some history for a little perspective.
Finally, theologically the
naysayers have no leg to stand on and it is at this point that they stand most
condemned. Romans 13, the favourite passage of the would-be theocrats and
advocates of political Christianity condemns them. They are resisting the ordained
power. Nero was the power in Paul's day. There was no talk of rights, constitutionality,
good government, tyranny or resistance to tyranny. Pay your taxes and obey the
laws and go about Kingdom business.
I'm not saying the state
belongs in the Church or has some kind of authority over it. I've written about
this elsewhere. The whole conversation is off the rails as the Church does not
have a Biblical understanding of this issue and is already so compromised that
it has little moral standing. The Church capitulated in some cases for the
wrong reasons and in others it resisted for the wrong reasons – and that's
still going on.
It has been nothing less than
disgusting to see those in church (in direct violation of Galatians 5) using
their 'liberty' as a means to make a political statement within the meeting and
assert their 'rights' – even to the point of wounding their brothers and
sisters and driving some away. I saw older people wearing masks and yet others
in Trump-fueled defiance refusing to wear a mask and effectively mocking those
who do. They would break the tape on pews that were being blocked off as spacing
and defiantly sit down near others. It was shameful and represented the very
condemnation Paul talks about in Galatians – using their liberty as an occasion
to the flesh, confusing liberty from the bondage of sin (or the Law) with
libertarian political liberty (or really libertinism) – an unbiblical
Enlightenment concept. Some of these older people left and haven't been back.
Again, I hate wearing them
and I'm glad I have a job in which I am mostly alone and outside and don't need
to wear it except when I go into a store or office space. It's miserable but at
the same time I believe if everyone would do it for a season – we could put an
end to this nightmare. And God forbid that I would play a part in spreading it
and causing others harm.
In my rural area mask
compliance is practically non-existent and so in some respects the worst part
of it is the social aspect. The other night I walked into a locally-owned
convenience store. There were about ten people in there – spouting off nonsense
about Trump, Antifa instigators at the Sturgis bike rally, and some real pearls
of wisdom concerning the coming election. I was the only person who was wearing
a mask and I could tell they also wanted to say something derogatory about the
masks and lockdowns. They kept glancing at me. I just stood there waiting in
line and tried to ignore them. I saw another guy come in wearing a mask. He
took a look around (he didn't see me at first) and then started to take his
off. I understand the pressure but I also know the people in the store that
night are fools.
Others have become nearly
hysterical by the politics of the hour. Living in a media-fantasy bubble they
believe Trump is the saviour and that masks were somehow one of the planks of
the Communist Manifesto. My wife and daughters were yelled at recently in a
local store for wearing masks. The deranged Trumpite was ranting about
government lies and the CDC. Our society is crossing lines and wounding itself
in ways that it will not easily recover from.
It's a shame that so many
Christians have fallen into that same kind of foolishness and have embraced
lies and in many cases, combined those lies with Scriptural doctrine. They are
in violation of the Scripture's clear commands and let's face it, their hearts
are in the wrong place.
The Church should never bow
to state dictates – granting the state authority within the Church. Never.
But at the same time we as
Christians should pay attention to what's happening and show to the world that
we care about other people, that we live a true ethic of Christ-like
cross-bearing obedience that's willing to suffer for others and would certainly
never seek to do others harm.
We're in a real mess – but
of course I am talking about the Church. It's shame that Christians have
politicised this and have allowed themselves to be manipulated – even to the
point of being in direct defiance of Scriptural commands. And they believe
their sin honours God even while they spit in His face and rail against his
Providential governance which happens to include the powers that be. Trump is
president because Providence put him there. The same was true of Obama. And yet
they both might be forms of judgment. We're not told but we're told what to do
and how to live.
One last point. If you
really did think it was sin to comply, then
you would refuse and pay the price for it. You would (for example) walk
away from that store and not shop there – bearing the cross of hardship and
inconvenience as you try to meet your needs. If you think it's the Mark of the
Beast then live like it. What you shouldn't do is to waltz in there in utter
defiance because of your 'rights'. That just doesn't stand. That's not
Christian ethics. I'm afraid the Trumpian ethos has made all of this that much
worse. 2020 is going to be a year that we won't soon forget.
----
*** Of course some do eat raw beef. I know of one relative
who would eat raw meat and insisted that the food preparation guidelines were a
ploy to turn us into vegetarians.
The same is true of the raw milk folks. Sadly, they have (in
many cases) failed to understand the nature of some of the diseases and bacteria
at work in modern livestock populations – and this affects both the beef and
milk issue. The 19th century world they long for no longer exists. Just
like the crops of old are no more, so it is with the food supply. The world has
changed, foods have changed, genetics have changed and there are new diseases
and disease strains that didn't exist in the 19th century. Industrial
farming has brought this about and small organic farms still have to reckon
with the new strains of disease that are floating around in livestock
populations, gene pools and in feed. Globalisation has also changed the
equation. I lament it too but the 'simple' times that so many romanticise about
are no more and there's no going back.
I argued with one woman about some of this and when I
suggested the 'natural' route was fiction anyway in light of atmospheric
nuclear tests she looked at me like I was some kind of crazy Leftist. Because
of course being a good Right-wing militarist we understand that nuclear weapons
are a good thing. But she didn't seem to know about the fact that virtually the
entire Earth has been affected by nuclear testing – and one wonders if the
proliferation of cancer since the mid-20th century has something to
do with that? I honestly don't know but it's a possibility – but if it's true I
am also certain that governments will never ever admit to it and that it (cancer
treatment) has also become big business. The radioactive stuff is in our very
bones. A lot of people don't realise that since 1945 there have been over two
thousand nuclear explosions on the Earth. Kennedy pushed for a ban on
atmospheric testing in 1963 because even then government leaders knew that fallout
elements were appearing in the bones and teeth of children.
The industrial revolution has forever changed the nature of
food production and has helped to generate mutations and strains of disease the
old agrarian world never had to deal with. That's just how it is. Even so, come
Lord Jesus.
This is also why as terrible and in some cases risky as
vaccines might be, it's the reality of our day. We can't go back. That said I
am leery of them. I will wear my mask but I will certainly not be in a rush to
take the Covid-19 vaccine. I would rather give it a few years and then take it
if necessary. Sometimes there are problems as there was (by some estimations) with
the oral polio vaccine. I am also concerned over the way in which vaccines are
given in large combined or bulk doses. I do question the wisdom of that
practice.
As I write all of this I chuckle realising that almost no one
will agree with me. To every camp out there I will have either capitulated or
crossed the line at some vital point.