Theological Observations
By: Rob Toornstra
Tags: Fear, Hope, Theology, Righteousness, Covid 19

In my pervious article, I laid out my cards regarding some of the key issues related to Covid. Primarily, those were opinions — informed opinions, I think, and opinions that I believe are sensible, but just that: opinions. There are cases to be made for other approaches.

In this essay, I lay out a few theological observations — ideas that I’ve pondered from the point of view of a pastor. These thoughts — representing nothing but my own convictions on these matters — reveal something about the human condition — fallen, and in need of rescue, and about a world longing for, and moving towards hope.

In part I, I began by stating that this season stated there that this season has been tough on pastors — as it has on just about everyone. A primary reason is owing to the strife disagreements have stirred up between members of our churches. I’ve known of marriages that have been strained, and relationships in extended families damage. Churches have groaned under the tension over how, when, and to what extent to submit to government, enforce mandates, or promote vaccines. What are the theological issues in play?

Persecution? First, your religious liberties are (mostly) not under attack. Early in the pandemic, churches were among the organizations required to suspend in-person meetings and some viewed this as curbing religious freedoms. I wrestled with that and I must say that I understand the argument. But my response is that all gatherings were included: sporting events, schools, restaurants, retail businesses and the like. So, religious organizations weren’t targeted, and the state was not “persecuting” churches. One could argue the effectiveness (or not) of stay-home orders, and that’s a spirited debate (and, I tend to think that the effects of non-gathering were actually minimal) but in most cases, I fail to see the strength of the religious persecution argument. Don’t cheapen the reality of persecution that many in other parts of the world experience by comparing face masks and other restrictions to their life-or-death persecution. Now, one big caveat: As businesses were allowed to reopen, there were cases where churches were not yet permitted to open (as they were considered “non-essential”) while casinos and other such venues were; this is a case that gets a lot closer to — if not directly into — “discrimination” territory. In such cases, Christians should oppose this with whatever means available to them.

Related to this, the arguments over wearing masks in church has been one of the most, if not the most contentious issue of all. In our state, Oregon is back to requiring masks for all indoor gatherings. I said before that I’m quite sure masks won’t prevent the wearer from getting Covid (and, I’ve argued that enacting and enforcing mask-wearing is better left to private entities), but suppose the odds are 60–40 in favor of masks mitigating against the spread of the virus to someone else. Considering this, wearing masks is a way to love your neighbor, even if by showing your concern for their well-being. Maybe a way to get at this issue is to ask — “As you’ve weighed whether or not to wear a mask, is your primary concern for your personal liberties, and personal comfort, or is it for your neighbor’s well-being?” As Christians, our calling is to consider our neighbor’s well-being as much as we look out for our own.

Some have chosen not to come to church because a mask is required. Again, I respect the differing convictions on this, but I struggle to make sense of those won’t attend church because a mask mandate is in effect. In my experience, these are often folks who are mindful of not wanting government overreach, and if they have to follow what is judged to be an unnecessary and over-reaching rule, they’d rather not attend. Fair enough, except that by not attending church, you’ve actually allowed the government to prevent you from gathering for worship. And, I’ve wondered — what do they do when shopping at Home Depot? Fred Meyer? There are two courses of action that people I know have taken: mask-up, or make someone else do your grocery shopping. This, in turn, raises more questions. If you are making someone else do your shopping, you are falling into the trap of wanting your cake and eating it too — the freedom of choice, and the freedom from your responsibility because someone else is now bearing your burden. But if you are sucking it up and wearing a mask into Home Depot, the question is, “Why will you roll your eyes, and put on a mask in a place like that, but not do the same for something as important as church?”

An Epidemic of Self-Righteousness I was standing in line to get my first dose of the vaccine at the state fairgrounds where I live. The line was outside, and along the fence that bordered a major street in the city. This allowed for all those waiting in line to be seen by the passing motorists, and as it turned out, for people in the passing cars to ridicule people in line. The general theme was that those in line for a vaccine were lemmings, mindlessly surrendering to a massive government conspiracy. (Okay, so they didn’t shout all that, but snippets of that is what came across.) On the other hand, there are those who judge those harshly who don’t get vaccinated as “non-Christian” for their decision.

Theologically, there is a danger (for those on all sides of these issues) of making our positions into something close to our righteousness. We start to feel superior, or more enlightened, or more loving towards our neighbor than those who take a different position from us. The vaccinated look down on the unvaccinated as uncaring of others; the unvaccinated condemn the vaccinated as ignorant folks who don’t see “what’s really going on.” Those who wear masks pat themselves on the back for doing a better job of loving of their neighbors with the mask; those who refuse the mask feel righteous because they aren’t letting the government, or big pharma, control their lives. This is the textbook definition of self-righteousness. Our beliefs, and the actions that flow from them become the means by which we judge ourselves worthy, knowledgeable, and vindicated by what we do.

From there, it’s a short move into identifying ourselves with “our” group: anti-vaxxers, the masked, those who follow the mandates, and those who defy them — and we emotionally “join forces” to attack those with whom we disagree. The net result is the polarized culture that we are all living in. As Christians, we acknowledge that our worth, our righteousness, isn’t attained by our positions on such issues and our resulting actions, but in Christ. This allows us to treat those with whom we disagree with humility and gentleness — it allows us to acknowledge that we may be mistaken on these matters, and that we treat those with whom we disagree with respect. I urge believers, on whatever side of these issues you land, to remember that your worth and your identity is not found in the positions that you take, but in Christ. If you can’t engage someone who thinks differently on these matters with humility, respect, and kindness, but instead label, condemn, and view with an air of superiority, something is wrong.

Pride of knowledge: The amount of misinformation and even outright dishonesty that has spread concerning the virus is alarming to me. Social media has facilitated the spread of ideas that have absolutely no basis in fact; from the idea that the virus is being spread through the contrails of jets to theories of microchipping, false information spreads quickly. This is a spiritual issue, as Christians, we are to be people who not only speak, but represent the truth. Unfortunately, we have been guilty of spreading information without taking the time to question our own assumptions. Jonathan Haidt has described (in his book “The Righteous Mind”) how we often come to conclusions rather quickly — and then search for information that reinforces our conclusions rather than being open to ideas that contradict our opinions.

My challenge for people of faith is twofold. First, stop spreading information on social media that is not true. Don’t assume that just because something is online, it must be true. I can’t tell you the number of articles that I’ve seen passed around by Christians that are demonstrably false. Second, and related, do your homework. Start by setting aside your own convictions for a moment, and open yourself up to the fact that you might be wrong. Go seeking after the truth, and not after evidence to support your point of view. Pay attention to how knowledge is tested — peer-reviewed journals, for example; credentialed experts; research that stands the test of time. Not bearing false witness means that we treat every word we speak (or share on social media) as though we are speaking it in the hearing of God himself. Speak — and share — carefully.

Fear: I have a theory that I’ve not tested, but I’d be curious to see if there is any way to do so. My theory is that the rise of secularism has a corresponding effect on the increase in fear. As secularism has increased, fear has also. It’s not that Christians don’t get anxious, or afraid, or worried — they most certainly do. But we’ve seen what seems to me to be a considerably high rate of fear permeating our culture. It’s not just fear of death, but fear of contracting the virus, fear of children getting sick, fear of restrictions coming back too soon… and the fear that we see appears to be more than a healthy caution that leads to appropriate protective and preventative measures, but a high-level anxiety that is almost paralyzing for some. Again, this isn’t to throw shade on those who experience this — this is merely an observation that the level of fear is high.

Christian theology finds a balance between recognizing the frailty and vulnerability of our world, and an acknowledgement that a sovereign God, who holds all things in His hands, can be trusted to care for us each day. The pandemic has stripped away some of our grandiose visions of our invincibility, and has rather crudely reminded us that this world is far more vulnerable than we’d like to admit. Yet, as Christians, we can indeed embrace the promise that is made over and over again in the bible — “Do not be afraid.” For some of us, our fears expose the honest realities that are good and appropriate to face; fear can be a good things if it alerts us to dangers that threaten us. Yet, for the Christian, we may have the confidence that the very worst thing to happen to us — death — becomes, through the gospel, the very best thing that can happen to us.

As a Christian, there are reasons to be hopeful, I think. This pandemic, and all of its related matters, has been painful, and even destructive. It has revealed parts in all of us — our pride, our vulnerability, our limitations — that we’d perhaps not paid much attention to before. The Christian gospel says that God often leads us through discomfort, and even pain, but always with a purpose — namely to build back up again into something better. This pandemic can hold that potential. Through it, we can be forced to seek strength outside of ourselves, we can be humbled out of our pride, we can learn what it is to trust in God more fully, seek Christ more fervently, and surrender ourselves more completely to God.