Its in thebible! A lot of things happened. The answer, it would seem, is that there is a long-standing precedent for exempting religious communities from government mandates, so people have reached for religious exemption as a ready-made solution for their fears. These deficient exemption requests tend to fall into three categories of objections: personal autonomy, my body is a temple, or abortion complicity. Here is a representative example from a professing Christian, quoted in the New York Times: My freedom and my childrens freedom and childrens childrens freedom are at stake, said Ms. Holmes, who lives in Indiana. They may feel the policy unnecessarily overreaching or discriminatory, or perhaps presumptuous and hasty. Seems kind of funny to me now like people are catching on fire all the time. This is associated with what God calls sorcery and divination. Essentially all of the conspiracy theories. Why imperil the vitality of religious exemptions when theyre about to be needed most? And this may come just as Christians are about to need exemptions most. I appreciate your comments here of late about theissue. But we must stop government intrusion now, some will say. The biggest class of drugs that are an exemplar of this is the CNS class (or Central Nervous System). Accordingly I believe, pursuant to my Christian faith, that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Supposedly thats actually a known side effect but who knows. He holds degrees from The Masters University, Talbot School of Theology, and the University of Virginia. He doubts they will break new legal ground, however. It is a challenge that a lot of pharma companies are having to deal with. More importantly, stop blaming God for your moronicdecisions. As such, mainstream social and political discourse has begun to stray into theological territory, with uninspiring results. We would like to bring to the readers attention our perspective and experience on these important issues as they navigate these difficult questions. Encouragement for Anglican Pastors, Downplaying the Sin of Homosexuality Wont Win the Next Generation, 9 Things You Should Know About Revivals in America, When You Dont Feel Like Having Sex with Your Spouse, The Burning Question from Asbury Isnt About Asbury, Megachurch Marriage for the Bachelor Pastor: A Story of Love that Lasts, Ordinary and Extraordinary: A Day at the Asbury Awakening, Tim Keller on the Decline and Renewal of the American Church. On a more serious note, what deeply concerns me these days isnt the loss of religious liberty in the COVID measures, but the loss of religious liberty that will result from abuse of that liberty. Jeremiah 29:11. He is warning them about the effect of their own divisive actions on the community. Please make sure all fields are filled out. Thats the case here: Pauls admonition to the Corinthians is being invoked to put a religious spin on a ubiquitous concern for personal health. Its logical end is to eschew all medical aid in toto. And it reflects differently on a population than reality does. Flagging vaccination rates over the summer of 2021 combined with a sudden surge of the COVID-19 delta variant in recent weeks have prompted many businesses and organizations, and even some state and federal government entities, to implement vaccination requirements for employees. If our non-Christian neighbours come to see us as people who think the rules dont apply to us, or as people for whom the well-being of the wider community is irrelevant, their tolerance for our beliefs is likely to wane. As just a preliminary step to justify this argument one would have to establish a basis for the division of clean and unclean foods, and I wish you luck as you survey the literature on that topic! If food is sacrificed to demons, then thats a pretty good reason to avoid eating it (1 Cor 8). Were proud to publish real news 365 days of the year, completely free of charge to our readers. The case made its way to the Supreme Court, where the justices sided with the Bible study group 5 to 4, writing that government regulations are not neutral and generally applicable, and therefore trigger strict scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause, whenever they treat any comparable secular activity more favorably than religious exercise.. one person sharpens another. I made the comment, I think, but I probably should have checked itfirst. A group called One Washington is holding seminars around the state to instruct people on how to ask for a religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine. He will END this Vaccine Madness. The Bible calls the human body "a temple of the Holy Spirit." The New Testament makes multiple references likening the human body to a temple. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act requires employers to accommodate workers whose sincerely held religious beliefs or practices conflict with workplace rules, so long as the accommodations dont impose an undue hardship on the employer. DAN HIMBRECHTS/AAP October 5, 2021 . Matthew 18:1-4, and Matthew 19:13-15 are just a few verses that illustrate the aforementioned children as blessings from God that are valued and loved by him, I think that there needs to be room given to those who are just plain ignorant about vaccines. We were . Injecting something intramuscularly is significant safer than ingesting a medicine. People look for us to be models of . A Christian must have a rational basis for claiming a conscience objection. Phone: (202) 547-8105 It is a God-given responsibility and requirement for me to protect the physical integrity of my Body against unclean food and injections.[3]. "Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father." 1 Timothy 5:1. But we certainly can explain the known facts to help them understand better, especially if they are being coerced into getting a vaccine they currently believe has immoralorigins. I know that isnt popular, even in the church, but its nonethelesstrue. I can't even think about it.". All rights reserved, San Diego and California's COVID-19 Emergency Declarations Expire Tuesday. Plenty of biblical precedent for making those remarks. Nor the Bill of Rights. So if we are going to talk about being careful with sources and data, then lets begin by being careful with sources and data. Are you sure you are not violating the 3rd commandment in using God as your justification for condemning someone elsesconscience? There is no form necessary for employee religious exemption requests; you may select this option as you complete the vaccine verification process, and a request for a supporting narrative will be sent to you from the . What does this mean? It's unclear as of yet whether the two will attempt to oppose the subpoena orders. Your information is being handled in accordance with the, How conspiracy theories undermine the common good. know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost,. I was recently prescribed a statin after a recent exam, for high (though not ridiculous) LDL, and Im still trying to decide whether I want to start that medication or not. These are what defile a person." (Matthew 15:11, 19-20) Im not arguing Christians should be vaccinated, or that Christians should necessarily acquiesce to employer vaccine mandates. The issues here have been around for a very long time," Evans said. The idea that she apparently didnt consult her faith community about the veracity of her religious objection is completely off base. 8:8 that "food does not bring us nearer to God.". There are undoubtedly people of faith with relevant moral and, or, theological concerns that could merit religious exemption. Austin Stevenson is a PhD Candidate in Theology at the University of Cambridge. The logic is that receiving one of the COVID vaccines renders a person complicit in abortion because each of the vaccines was developed using fetal cell lines that might possibly be traced back to an aborted human life. If you are part of the Christian Science Church (which, despite its name, is most certainly not a part of historic Christian orthodoxy), you do not. A service of Logos Bible Software. But producing high-quality, independent work is not cost-free , If you found the piece above useful, informative, or inspiring, please consider supporting, To donate by check, phone, bitcoin, or other method, see our, Bernie Sanders Reintroduces PRO Act as Labor Activity Is on the Rise, Nebraska Democrat Vows to Filibuster All Bills Until Anti-Trans Bill Is Defeated, Immigrants Win Unprecedented Settlement Over Violent ICE Workplace Raid, The Nuclear War in Ukraine May Not Be the One We Expect, Truthout Center for Grassroots Journalism. It would take many people (say those in the lowest 25% quartile) an incredible amount of work to understand if the vaccines are harmful or not. (Proverbs 27:17). My response is that if someone claims that her Christian faith as informed by Scripture doesnt allow her to get vaccinated, then she does need to demonstrate how / why Scripture demands that conclusion (if she wants to be taken seriously by other Christians). Little matter, since such aid is not necessary in requesting a religious exemption. Chip Ellis, who protested the vaccine mandate at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, told The Sun Herald that belief is in part why he submitted a request for a religious exemption. On the body as a temple argument, Tyler has missed the point of 1 Cor 6:19. Christian notions of purity are not about food laws and physical cleanliness, but about the heart. First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we Pre-COVID 19, Maine passed a law saying there would be no religious exemptions for medical workers in the case of vaccinations. If you dont want the vaccine then put on your big boy pants and take the consequences instead of blaming God for not getting thevaccine. (It should be noted that some versions of these requirements do allow for individuals to forgo the vaccine in exchange for submitting to routine COVID-19 testing.). Sin isnt concrete anymore, itssubjective. Those cited here are largely specious; arguments in search of proof-texts. If faced with such a mandate, some Christians will likely consider objecting to vaccination requirements on religious grounds. Jay Inslee's mandate that workers be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 or lose their job, unless they . Tandon v. Newsom didn't center on a traditionally hot-button issue like abortion or LGBTQ rights; it focused on COVID-19. I think that is where their argument would breakdown. This should lead us to question why religious exemption is being sought here. We are not our own because we belong to the crucified and resurrected Lord. In still rarer cases (it seems like) there is a risk/reward calculation that causes them to skipit. How about thisone, One more and Ill quit beating this todeath. , and the University of Cambridge is warning them about the veracity her. Will attempt to oppose the subpoena orders apparently didnt consult her faith community about the heart the orders. 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