White was herself vaccinated, and encouraged others to do so for at least two reasons: (1) personal health benefits enable us to efficiently serve others; and (2) vaccination prevents transmission of disease and contamination to others. 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. In a poll of its members, the . Jeremiah was lamenting the behavior of Israelites captive in Babylon, who succumbed to worshipping false gods. Johnson &. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. In that regard, being vaccinated is an unselfish act aiding the well-being and protection of others. This story that St. Luke tells in his gospel (17:11-19) is not the only Bible verse I have seen and heard evangelical Christians use to justify anti-vaccine convictions. But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord. And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. The chariots come with flashing metal on the day he musters them; the cypress spears are brandished. F So glorify God in your body. A devout evangelical Christian friend of mine recently texted to explain why he was not getting the COVID-19 vaccine. "This mark of the beast is not a mark, a literal mark that we take in a gradual unfolding of God's plan until the end of the earth. These activities point to vaccination when there is a need for it and it is available. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on. And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. There is no sickness or disease that He cannot heal. The scatterer has come up against you. The same sound rule must be applied to vaccinations: what is not prohibited is acceptable when it is in harmony with Gods revealed health principles. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead. We can easily select and interpret Bible verses that agree with our individual mindsets regarding vaccines. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. May He graciously grant us discernment and power to act unselfishly according to His will so that we can be blessed by Him and be a blessing to others. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. Our spiritual health is closely connected to our physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being. The mark of the beast is about false worship involving spiritually poisonous doctrines that Scripture calls Babylonian teaching, reflecting the confusion of the tower of Babel. Jesus, in this statement, taught his followers that a pure heart does not condemn other peoples choices about whatever is ingested (including medicine) into their bodies. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.. The Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission compares such use to using organs from a person who was. 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. 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.. One evangelical Christian staffer's religious exemption request cites the use of aborted fetal . There is no good medical reason to vaccinate children against COVID. Such misinformation is connected to confusion about the mRNA basis of vaccinations against the coronavirus and SARS. Paul emphatically states that whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Cor. ", (Excerpted from "Should Christians Get Vaccinated?" The mark of the beast is a false religious system that opposes God, His people, and His law. We should employ every facility for the restoration of health, taking every advantage possible, working in harmony with natural laws. God created humans in His image (Gen. 1:27) as intelligent beings, to use their minds to reason and acquire knowledge and discern what is right, good, and profitable. And he was preaching the word to them. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. They grew anxious that these Catholic newcomers were a threat to their Protestant nation and often based these fears on perceptions of how Catholic bishops and priests kept the Bible from their parishioners. On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. I honor my body in these ways. For example, in 1844, nativist Protestants, responding to rumors that Catholics were trying to remove the Bible from Philadelphia public schools, destroyed two of the citys Catholic churches before the Pennsylvania militia stopped the violence. The passage reads: "Then he said unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: Abd great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and. Job could not understand why a good person like him was punished with so much misfortune. Fair enough. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. What Is the Meaning of Psalm 91 and Why Is it Popular? . Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? In Exodus 15:26 God promised that no disease (or plague) He sent upon Egypt would fall on the Israelites if they followed His commands. The context of a verse might put a very different slant on what the verse seems to say. And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. What Is the Significance of Not the Letter but of the Spirit? He lived among the tombs. As people read the Bible many for the first time they inevitably began to interpret it as well. While viruses are created to protect our health, a number of Christians have been against COVID-19 vaccinations. My faith became stronger due to praying and searching for an answer to this popular question. I prayed this verse daily, driving to work, sitting on my couch. Vaccines save lives by stopping the spread of disease, but waiting too long has often made it too late. They brought them before the tabernacle. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Then they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Jackie Gale has never had a single vaccination because she believes that the Bible commands Christians to honor God regarding how the care for their bodies and not inject extra chemicals into one's body, according to a letter to UAB President Ray L. Watts and the university's lawyer John Daniel from First Liberty Institute attorney Christine Pratt. Medical science and faith work closely together and must be applied hand in hand. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise. Today this American approach to reading and the interpreting the Bible is front and center in the arguments made by evangelical Christians seeking religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccination mandates. 4. The Holy Scriptures present important health principles that are to be (a) the bases of such reflections, (b) beneficial components, and (c) elements we can implement in everyday routines of life. The most common side effects are mild, such as redness and swelling where the shot was given. John Fea does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Their evil . After studying Job, I read the book of the weeping prophet Jeremiah, who stated, Heal me and I shall be healed(Jeremiah 17:4). I have worked on my health with the great help of a medical community. Reading and praying on the verses below may expand your understanding of Gods intentions regarding our bodily health and the role of vaccines. As Michael Bird would say, "sweet mother of Melchisedec!" But, this woman isn't you. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 38:21). We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. As Luke 17:21 says, "the kingdom of God is within you.". Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. the kingdom of God has come near to you(Luke 10:9). Indeed, the importance of vaccinations from the biblical-theological perspective can be demonstrated from multiple angles. It was neither necessary nor practical to enumerate all that was allowed: you may eat from the apple, orange, fig, pear, banana, and so on. And, his angels shall protect you. But our citizenship is in heaven. Indeed, the importance of vaccinations from the biblical-theological perspective can be demonstrated from multiple angles. Lectures and studies in this line will prove of the highest value. Vaccination is about preventing a potentially deadly virus from spreading within us or through us to others. Getting the vaccine is something to pray about, to discern Gods will for your life and our collective life on this planet. by Clarence Haynes Jr.). Vaccination has nothing to do with the mark of the beast or with false Babylonian teaching. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk. And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. Clarence Haynes Jr. suggests that based on Paul's advice about "disputable matters" in Romans 14:1-4, Christians should remember the following in disputes about vaccines: "The most important thing to remember is that the ones making this vaccination decision are not your servants, they are Gods. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Beyond individual health, staying safe and keeping family and community safe are sound Christian motivations. 19:18; Ezek. K Without a church hierarchy to reign them in, these evangelical pied pipers had little accountability. Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Therefore honor God with your bodies.1 Corinthians 6:19-20, It is an honor to have a body that is the temple of the Holy Spirit. When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Bishop Paprocki also notes that Catholics in other states still need to check on their specific rules for vaccine exemptions. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Back to the Third Commandment. I also try to eliminate stress from my life. Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. It is a gross misuse of Scripture to claim that taking a vaccination against COVID-19 is receiving the book of Revelations mark of the beast, and that it will change your DNA. This highly contagious, steadily mutating virus is a pandemica threat to world health.