The Christian right's hostility to science is definitely going to get people killed
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
cientists and health experts largely agree on the steps needed to fight COVID-19, the rapidly spreading new coronavirus: Widespread testing, if possible. Widespread and often stringent social distancing protocols in communities where it's taken root, to slow the spread. Hygienic practices like frequent hand-washing and sterilizing commonly touched surfaces. Protective gear, like masks in medical settings, to keep health care professionals from catching it and spreading it.
But when it comes to conservative evangelical Christians, who are already hostile to science on many levels, advice from health experts is all too often being treated as something that can be dismissed out of hand, if it threatens the political or theological goals of their movement.
To be clear, Christian right leaders aren't denying that coronavirus is a real problem ( at least not anymore ). If anything, the bevy of snake oil salesman who call themselves ministers sees the panic around the virus as a marketing opportunity to make money from selling dangerous supplements , to declare the virus can be beaten with the power of prayer and to declare that the pandemic is a divine punishment inflicted on sinners .
But Christian right leaders are also not about to let medical science supersede their authority, much less get in the way of their quest for power and cold, hard cash. Because of this, the Christian right has become a vector of bad advice, misinformation and dreadful business decisions that are directly threatening the health not just of their followers, but the public at large.
Jerry Falwell Jr., the shamelessly greedy president of Liberty University, has spent weeks downplaying the coronavirus threat, accusing the media of wildly exaggerating it to "destroy the American economy" and of course to damage Donald Trump. While nearly every university and college in the country has shut down their campuses and moved to online teaching to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Falwell seems determined to keep Liberty open.
Falwell is already allowing students back on campus, claiming it's more imporant "to give [students] the ability to be with their friends, to continue their studies, enjoy the room and board they've already paid for and to not interrupt their college life."
Roy Moore, the Christian right figurehead and twice-failed Senate candidate brought low by multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, is similarly defiant of the calls for social distancing that threaten to disrupt in-person church activities.
"I am writing a letter to pastors on the duty to continue church assemblies, even in the midst of these trying times," Moore wrote in an open letter , adding on Twitter that "churches are closed by tyrants who pander fear in the place of faith in God."
Moore invoked the example of Dr. Benjamin Rush, the Declaration of Independence signer who stayed in Philadelphia and caught yellow fever during an epidemic in the 1790s . Of course, Rush risked his life to save people with his medical expertise, an entirely different situation than a pastor insisting that people must come to church.
To be clear, most churches, especially mainline Protestant and Catholic churches, are prioritizing the health of members and closing their doors for the duration the crisis, often pointing believers to online services. But the pressure to keep the doors open, when it comes from someone like Moore, is no small thing. He may seem like an offensive joke to many liberals, but Moore has immense influence in the world of evangelical Christianity, which often favors megachurches that gather hundreds or even thousands of people at once, and whose pastors have been reluctant to close their doors . Reports suggest many of these churches are defiantly refusing to cancel services .
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Along with pastors who want those collection plates to keep flowing, at least one wealthy and prominent Christian right family is determined to keep its business open to the public. David Green, the owner of Hobby Lobby, is keeping most of his stores open during the pandemic , except those actually forced to shut down by local governments.
His reason? His wife, Barbara Green, prayed about it and decided to focus instead on "profound words to remind us that He's in control." Those words were "Guide, Guard and Groom," though the P-word, "profit," may also play a role.
The Green family, let's remember, was behind a recent lawsuit in which the Supreme Court granted privately held corporations the right to block their employees from using health insurance plans to pay for contraception. The case was presented by the Greens and their religious right allies as a relatively minor question of balancing reproductive rights against religious freedom. In reality, the case was about opening the door, both legally and culturally, to Christian right demands that arbitrary religious beliefs should trump human rights, public health, science and government authority.
So the secular progressive Salon publication wrote a hit piece against conservative Christians. Who cares?’
Obviously, you do! :~)
and yet we rely on facts and data from the Pence commission as well as praying with them.
Good; pray hard, we are gonna need it with Pence in charge. His idea of handling an epidemic is well known.
How Mike Pence Made Indiana’s HIV Outbreak Worse
I don't rely on anything that comes out of this white house of lies.
I live in the Bible Belt--central Texas--Waco exactly.
Churches here have cancelled services for the last 3 weeks at least that I know of, and are holding online services.
I believe that the number of churches not taking proper precautions is very, very low.
Perhaps the number is low, but not low enough.
In the midst of coronavirus fears, Fort Worth church stays open to ‘provide strength’
But Pastor David Klein said it was important to keep St. John’s Church open Sunday to give people a space to worship. He said if anyone felt uncomfortable, they did not have to attend.
He said the chances of someone catching coronavirus at church were small.
“I am not worried about that, because I’m not concerned that that is a place where the virus is going to be transmitted ,” Klein said.
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So it is SOME of what you call the "Christian Right", but CERTAINLY not all. Maybe not even most!
Perhaps; but, that is not what this article is proposing. It is saying that it is the anti-science mantra so often sung by the Christian Right, that will lead to things not being taken seriously enough by some. Case in point are some churches that are still holding services, because they don't believe there is a danger. They don't believe there is a danger because their church and cohorts deny and argue against scientific evidence.
'The christian rights hostility'--------------could have just let it go at that.
Perhaps this too. The christian rights hostility is grounded in its core principals that God erred when He granted Man free will. The Angel Lucifer strongly disagreed with God's ruling on this matter and was banished.
Please link any credible evidence you used to come to that conclusion. Anything from a Christian church would be swell.
Bible
The Bible has many pages. Care to point out what verse supports your theory that churches have as their core principal that God erred? Can you tell me what churches today espouse your theory?
Never read it, huh? Goodbye.
I have.
But then again, I am not the one claiming that the Bible is my source for bogus, ridiculous claims.
That's okay, I figured you'd duck the question.
Carry on!
The Bible has:
Please explain what you meant in comment 4 . Thank you.
Claiming the Bible as a source without quoting specific passages is akin to citing Encyclopedia Brittanica as a source without telling what you looked up.
Seems like a bad idea. But then so do beach parties and having a G20 summit right now. Around here, at least, I think every church has closed but are probably connecting electronically.
Same where I live and in many states around me. They live stream masses/services.
Every church?
Jasper it would be informative if both you and Tacos! did a google search for your states, to see what churches are still holding services.
"Around here, at least, I think..."
In your zeal to tell others what to google and how to think, you glossed over some words that dramatically change the meaning of the phrase you tried to derive from.
My mother's church still held services this past Sunday. Not virtual, or drive-through - he was at the pulpit, preaching to churchgoers who were sitting in the pews. And during "fellowship", everybody is expected to hug. No social distancing.
He finally cancelled future services earlier this week.
I don't know that anybody is actually tracking that kind of thing - especially statewide - such that you could Google it. My knowledge comes from local coverage, conversations, emails, etc.
Where have I said "every church"?
Using Google as a search engine is very risky and unwise. I'm surprised that people still use it.
Re: your snide comment about me -- I am very educated regarding news in my region, the USA, and internationally. I hope that you do the same.
squiggy, the words you attributed to me were actually Tacos!'.
Please change or delete your post.
I have googled that for North Dakota , Minnesota, and Texas; but, I don't know what states you all live in.
I was not attributing that statement to you, I was asking a question.
I have googled a few states, but I am not sure what your state is , so I asked if you could do that. Nothing snide meant, I was just trying to gain information.
What I don't understand is why anyone would care what thousands of Christian churches do, or do not do, regarding social distancing in each of the states and territories.
Are you also researching the social distancing practices of Wiccans, Jewish synagogues, Hindu temples, and Muslim mosques? Church of Satan? (etc) ... Or, only evangelical Christian megachurches that may not be following recommended (not mandated) guidelines?
I'm merely curious as to what your search for information really is.
I have been researching all that (accept Wiccans, witch I will now do, thanks!). I have also been searching to see if any bars, restaurants, clubs, theaters, etc. are not practicing social distancing. The reason I think it is important is the wide reach that churches in America have. Their members work and play in every facet of our society; if they are not distancing, they will infect others. tracing where these infections are contracted goes a long way to understanding the progression of the virus.
Yes, you are correct in that I am more focused on evangelical Churches. Why? Because the Evangelical Church is my church, my background, and my family's as well. It is a close, personal thing to me. I am focused on making a difference from the inside if I can. That is why I call out hypocrisy and fault in my own church and denomination. How can I amply or effectively call out the mistakes others are making, if I do not look to my own house first? It is not antagonism, it is responsibility. The Evangelical Church is going down a dark path imo. They have forgotten their first love, and believe salvation is to be found in a political solution, just as many did in Jesus day. This belief, that a political solution is the answer, has led many astray, confused, and broken. I aim to change that.
You questioned 'every church' as if those words were used alone, to couch your thought.
Please, feel free to shit in your hat.
Dude you commented to me but were quoting someone else’s words.
"Around here, at least, I think..."
Those are the words you excluded and were originally included in modifying 'every church'. You tried to make a dick of Jasper and were clumsy about it.
Dude! Those were never my words! How could I exclude words I never said. The only reason poor Jasper even came up is because IT WAS HIS WORDS you were quoting in your comment to me. Go back and look at the comments and you will see that you got confused as to who you were replying.
Now cut it out, and stop derailing this seed.
Me too. Not one church open here and a lot of them are evangelical and or conservative. Not even our world wide mega church Bethel that is based here.
I just talked to my mom's former priest last night. I'm making him a cheat sheet for his parishioners on how to join his virtual service via Zoom
I know a lot of people are using Zoom - the schools, city councils, churches. Unfortunately, they're getting Zoom-bombed, which is a thing I didn't realize existed until a couple days ago.
Pastor Who Claimed Covid-19 ‘Hysteria’ Was Plot Against Trump Dies From Virus
I know I'm dating myself, but the best response is what Maude use to say...God will get you for that.
Perfect addition Sandy, thank you. From your linked article...
Religious Ignorance Kills: Landon Spradlin, a Virginia pastor who claimed the “mass hysteria” around the coronavirus pandemic was part of a media plot against Trump, has died from the virus.
ABC News reports:
According to reports , Spradlin, a 66-year-old Christian “musical evangelist,” fell ill while on a missionary trip to New Orleans with his wife.
Friendly Atheist reports Spaldrin went to New Orleans to “wash it from its Sin and debauchery.”
On his Facebook page Spradlin shared a misleading meme attempting to minimize COVID-19, comparing the virus to the swine flu, and suggesting that the response to the coronavirus pandemic was media created “mass hysteria” to damage Trump:
Geez, I wonder where he got that idea that is was created (read hoax) to damage trump....that's why trump should keep his mouth shut
That, Lady, is exactly why he should shut the hell up. All he does is sow confusion when he keeps spouting nonsense, lies, and tripe all day everyday.
The Road to Coronavirus Hell Was Paved by Evangelicals
Trump’s response to the pandemic has been haunted by the science denialism of his ultraconservative religious allies.
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Religious nationalism has brought to American politics the conviction that our political differences are a battle between absolute evil and absolute good. When you’re engaged in a struggle between the “ party of life ” and the “ party of death ,” as some religious nationalists now frame our political divisions, you don’t need to worry about crafting careful policy based on expert opinion and analysis. Only a heroic leader, free from the scruples of political correctness, can save the righteous from the damned. Fealty to the cause is everything; fidelity to the facts means nothing. Perhaps this is why many Christian nationalist leaders greeted the news of the coronavirus as an insult to their chosen leader.
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One of the first casualties of fact-free hyper-partisanship is competence in government. The incompetence of the Trump administration in grappling with this crisis is by now well known, at least among those who receive actual news. February 2020 will go down in history as the month in which the United States, in painful contrast with countries like South Korea and Germany, failed to develop the mass testing capability that might have saved many lives. Less well known is the contribution of the Christian nationalist movement in ensuring that our government is in the hands of people who appear to be incapable of running it well.
Consider the case of Alex Azar, who as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services has had a prominent role in mismanaging the crisis. It seems likely at this point that Mr. Azar’s signature achievement will have been to rebrand his department as the “Department of Life.” Or maybe he will be remembered for establishing a division of Conscience and Religious Freedom, designed to permit health care providers to deny legal and often medically indicated health care services to certain patients as a matter of religious conscience.
Mr. Azar, a “ cabinet sponsor ” of Capitol Ministries , the Bible study group attended by multiple members of Mr. Trump’s cabinet, brought with him to Health and Human Services an immovable conviction in the righteousness of the pharmaceutical industry (presumably formed during his five-year stint as an executive and lobbyist in the business), a willingness to speak in the most servile way about “the courage ” and “openness to change” of Mr. Trump, and a commitment to anti-abortion politics , abstinence education and other causes of the religious right. What he did not bring, evidently, was any notable ability to manage a pandemic. Who would have guessed that a man skilled at praising Mr. Trump would not be the top choice for organizing the development of a virus testing program, the delivery of urgently needed protective gear to health care workers or a plan for augmenting hospital capabilities?