PASTORS & THE CORONA VIRUS

Religious Virtue Signalling - please read and share Are Virtue Signaling Pastors Breaking the Law?
(2020 Covid-19 Pandemic)
By Rev. Jon Nessle

It was the winter of 1974 and my first Sermon. The room had been rented and everything organized and I was ready. But then a snow storm hit. Normally an inch or two would not thwart my congregation who were from small towns and farms, who would not think much of it. But this snow fall was over 8 inches! I called everyone up and said, don't come. We will reschedule it. I knew that there would be some stubborn or persistent folks who would brave the elements and still try to come and I had elderly folks that I did not want to put at risk. So I postponed the meeting and told everyone to even call folks that they didn't think would come, just to make sure no one tried.

Weeks later when the meeting was to be held again, it began snowing again. I declared, not again! I called up a few strong believers and we prayed for the snow to stop. At the same time another congregant was flying in to the local airport. He later told me of a strange thing he witnessed. He saw the snow stop falling! He said it happened all across the sky simultaneously. The snow stopped all at once and he watched the clear patch of sky increase in size downward and the layer of snow fell like a falling blanket, leaving clear air above! I asked him when was this. It was exactly at the same time we were praying. We on the ground saw the snow stop and so we continued preparations for the meeting.

Then one hour before the meeting was to start, I received a phone call from my Mother. Her house had caught on fire! Thankfully, it was put out in time and the damage was not terrible. I was 30 miles away. I asked her if she was OK and she said yes and I explained that I could be there in a few hours and she said that was fine. So I taught my first Sermon and made the Devil sorry he ever messed with me! What was the difference between those two incidents? Wisdom.

With this current pandemic, these are unprecedented times in our lifetime,. Ecclesiastes, a book of wisdom declares:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-
(1) To every {thing there is} a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
(2) A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
(3) A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
(4) A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
(5) A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
(6) A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
(7) A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
(8) A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Perhaps this too is a time for wisdom : Because of the potential to spread the virus, this is a time to refrain from embracing. Sometimes we face situations in which there seem to be conflicts of priorities or Laws. This is one of them. On one hand, the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." On the other hand, Regional Health Authorities and State and County governments are imposing quarantines or limits on the size of meetings including Church to limit potential exposure to the virus. What should we do? Normally such things are adjudicated in a court of Law in which a Judge weighs the issues and then based upon his or her wisdom, applies the laws. We do not have time for that for this virus does not wait. But since the conflict of law will ultimately be resolved by wisdom, can we not appeal to wisdom now?

This is the key question: Is complying with the Government's temporary restriction on large meetings including Church meetings an act of fear and therefore a violation of faith? Is there a Biblical precedent for this situation? Yes there is! Quarantines are Biblical and the rules are outlined in Leviticus 13ff. Therefore, obeying quarantines are not a questioning of our faith.

Leviticus 13:1-5
(1) And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying,
(2) When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests:
(3) And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.
(4) If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight {be} not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days:
(5) And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the skin; then the priest shall shut him up seven days more:

The priests were tasked with the job of diagnosis and quarantine because they were authorities who could be trusted. While some could dogmatically claim that the observation of such things must be done exactly the same today, I say that the principles here can transfer to our modern situation. Today the trusted and licensed ones who are tasked with diagnosis of disease and setting quarantines are Doctors. Back then the Priests were trained and experienced in this. Today our equivalent, Pastors and Rabbis, etc. are not. But the truths of quarantining for a period of time still stand.
The Law of Moses also contained fascinating details about hygiene that protected the Jews from germs 3000 years before they were discovered by Louis Pasteur. There are directives about washing after touching dead things, and being unclean for periods of time. This also includes washing clothes that were worn and even shaving and social distancing!

Leviticus14:8
(8) And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.
(9) But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.

Leviticus 14:34-48 even speaks of checking homes and condemning the buildings. Again in modern times, religious leaders are not tasked or trained for such things. Other trained and licensed experts are. It is fascinating to read this section of Scripture knowing that mankind did not know about germs (but God did...)

Leviticus 15:2-13
(2) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, {because of} his issue he {is} unclean.
(3) And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it {is} his uncleanness.
(4) Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean.
(5) And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe {himself} in water, and be unclean until the even.
(6) And he that sitteth on {any} thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe {himself} in water, and be unclean until the even.
(7) And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe {himself} in water, and be unclean until the even.
(8) And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe {himself} in water, and be unclean until the even.
(9) And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean.
(10) And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth {any of} those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe {himself} in water, and be unclean until the even.
(11) And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe {himself} in water, and be unclean until the even.
(12) And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
(13) And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.

Leviticus 17:15
And every soul that eateth that which died {of itself}, or that which was torn {with beasts, whether it be} one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe {himself} in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean

Disease was prevented by the requirement to go outside the camp and defecate there and then bury it. (Deuteronomy 23:12, 13.) Bloodborne diseases were prevented by the prohibition of eating blood and viruses borne by unclean animals were avoided by dietary laws. Leviticus 22: 4ff states that these rules even applied to the priests themselves. Furthermore, Exodus 30:17-21 required the priests wash at the Laver. While this would have ceremonial in significance, it also has health implications for the Tabernacle was a place of assembly for the congregation and as such, a common source of the transmission of germs, much like schools are today. Social distancing also was part of the Law:

Deuteronomy 23:10, 11
(10) If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:
(11) But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash {himself} with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp {again}.

So was the compliance with the Law a question of fear or faith. No it was of obedience. Therefore because of this precedent, I think that wisdom should prevail and that we ministers who run Church meetings ought to think of our most vulnerable congregants and not put them in harm's way. Look. The Priests and even Moses were super-believers and at times had interceded to miraculously stop plagues more than once. So why were these health related regulations even needed? Wisdom...

Yes, these times are fearful and assembling with fellow believers is a comfort, but the mitigating factor of the potential for virus transmission discourages that. But thankfully, because of our affluence and technology in the USA there are other ways of assembly. We can assemble virtually over the internet or in conference calls. But we also must reach the most vulnerable group which is our elderly folks who make up a significant proportion of some Churches. They do not tend to utilize technology to the same degree as younger generations. But there are still ways of dealing with this. I heard of congregations who have assembled in their cars in parking lots and the Pastor preached from horseback. Churches could even utilize closed Drive in Theatres for this purpose.

Furthermore, I know of no general reason for any minister to require anyone to break quarantine, unless, of course, one has technicolor revelation to do so. I say "technicolor" because such a thing would violate what I have just shared from the Bible. There is precedent for doing so like when Paul circumcised Timothy despite what he wrote about circumcision, but again, he had technicolor guidance to do so. So if a minister thinks he has such guidance, may I remind him that the rules for prophets given in the Old Testament apply:

Deuteronomy 18:22
When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that {is} the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, {but} the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

There could be a miracle like what happened with the snow preceding my second meeting. But if no divine intervention, people could get hurt. So if anyone follows the so-called guidance and gets sick he cannot attribute that to their lack of faith. There are healthy Churches and unhealthy ones. True ministers and false ones, and there is a lot of gray area in between for both. When it comes to such complicated analyses, the words of Jesus suffice: "By their fruits ye shall know them." He did not say "by their words..."

In my opinion, any organization who legalistically requires people to attend is violating the spirit of assembly which is at the core of any ekklesia. People ought to be coming because they want to, because they get results, fruit, not just words. If people are criticized and judged there, something is wrong. It is not healthy. If ministers feel they have to signify themselves or their Church by breaking the rules of quarantine, both rules, I say, of our secular government and in the Bible, unless they have "technicolor" revelation to do so, it is either that they are confused, immature or virtue signaling. Oxford Dictionaries - English. Retrieved 26 October 2017 describes virtue signaling as: "a pejorative neologism for the conspicuous expression of moral values." That is, it is a newly coined term of communicating disapproval by conspicuously expressing one's moral values. They are disapproving of the Quarantine by signaling their supposed holy bravery by implying they have great faith in spite of it. Well that's great for you, but what about grandma? You can be responsible for your own risks, the Bible says, may your blood be on your own head. But what about the vulnerable folks in your congregation?

In a religious setting virtue signaling it is the "persistence or occurrence of various costly religious practices such as circumcision, fasting, snake handling, and trial by ordeal. This idea is that the participation in an act with a religious purpose serves as a way to signal one's dedication to the beliefs held by that religion, thereby signaling personal morality to onlookers." These virtue signalers are trying to gain acclaim and followers like birds displaying their plumage to attract mates. The Bible has another way of describing it.

Colossians 2:23a
Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility...

The word "will worship" is ethelothrēskeia which is defined as a self-devised external form of ceremonial service. Self-devised as in not of God, external, as in showing off, ceremonial as in not practical or useable. So my advice is find yourself another Church if they are requiring you to break quarantine. After this is all over you can go back if there is anyone left.