KCRA News reports that after Sunday services last week, there were long lines of people waiting to pick up exemption letters from Destiny Christian Church in Rocklin, led . Instead, data suggests that refusing vaccination risks severe illness and possibly death. HEK293 cells are only used in testing to confirm antibodies are produced when the cells are exposed to thevaccine. If it doesnt come from Tucker Carlson or Hannity than it is biased media and we cant listen to it. Unless you're a member of a Dutch Reformed church or a Christian Science church, making a claim for a religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine as a Christian is going to be hard to prove.. My Body Is a Temple I've seen 1 Corinthians 6:19 quoted in countless vaccine exemption requests. On the body as a temple argument, Tyler has missed the point of 1 Cor 6:19. Man will conquer nature. Its biblicalanthropology. I even only take tylenol/advil/aspirin extremely rarely, let alone other medications, and Im not on any regular medication. When the Bible is placed in the hands of the people, void of any kind of authoritative religious community to guide them in their proper understanding of the text, the people can make it say. The vaccine effort has been plagued by falsehoods of all kinds. A New Mexico state senator will "help you articulate a religious exemption" by pointing to the decades-old use of aborted fetal cells in the development of some vaccines. I believe in and follow God and the principles laid out in His Word and I have a deeply held belief that vaccines violate them. The author provides no justification about why the vaccine violates his conscience. She just cant pull the God told me card or defend her position by twisting Scripture. Health Freedom Idaho offers thisattempt: the New Testament requires of Christians that we, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are Gods. (Mark 12:17). I think its really important to remember that the Christian right is part of a larger conservative movement, Elizabeth Reiner Platt, one of the reports authors, told Truthout. 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. "There's several different religious beliefs and doctrines associated with evangelicals, especially the belief in inerrancy of scripture, which is the belief that the bible is the literal word of God," Campbell explained. Injecting something intramuscularly is significant safer than ingesting a medicine. In 6:19-20, however, it is clear that the individual bodies of believers is in view. Here are a few things toconsider: About 14% of American adults say they wont get vaccinated under any circumstances as of June, while the number is a much higher 22% among white evangelical Christians, according to a rigorous ongoing survey by KFF, the policy arm of the Kaiser Family Foundation. I stand corrected. I want to do something, so I use God as a blank check, and I get my free pass. While 1 Cor 3 is the church corporately, 1 Cor 6 is quite clear the individuals body. What foolishness. There are legitimate religious exemptions. Evans said the threshold for religious exemptions comes down to proving whether the person attempting to obtain one has sincerely held beliefs against getting vaccinated on religious grounds. It is worth stating unambiguously that there is no evidence that any of these things are true of the available COVID vaccines, beyond some extremely rare and typically mild side-effects. But others will not, and their prudential judgement still follows the religious teaching of the Catholic Faith. But the long-term consequences for religious liberty are what Im most worried about: that so many of these exemption requests seem mislabeled or disingenuous will invite courtsand the publicto place a tourniquet on religious exemptions generally (i.e., beyond the pandemic context). DAN HIMBRECHTS/AAP October 5, 2021 . Matthew 22:36-40ESV / 673 helpful votes HelpfulNot Helpful The personal convictions carried by people who attend Awaken church are very real,. Thats not an attack on the poster (who I think has made some very helpful posts [while missing a few important points] ). The government policing people's religion raises a number of thorny issues. And when people say things like this, dont be surprised when people dont believeyou. Some Christians claim the various COVID vaccines have a connection to abortion. God gave us His word. Is mandatory COVID-19 vaccination ethical? They do not contain any tissue from a fetus. Ive seen 1 Corinthians 6:19 quoted in countless vaccine exemption requests. No such direct prohibition exists within wider Christian theology, but these religious groups are able to appeal to a unique teaching wholly adopted by their specific faith tradition. One manual circulated by Rita Palma, an anti-vax activist, advises people to include key words such as sacred, holy and blessed.. He also affirms in 1 Cor. Some 24% of white evangelicals said in June they wouldnt be vaccinated, down from 26% in March, according to a study from the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonpartisan group that studies the intersection of religion and public life, and Interfaith Youth Core, a nonprofit focused on interfaith cooperation. Read You can see theproblem. In the third chapter, Paul addresses the elephant in the room. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Couple that with the massive disinformation peddled at their reading level and I can understand why manyrefuse. The mandated vaccine, with its numerous additives and its mechanism for altering my body, is the equivalent of a prohibited unclean food that causes harm to my conscience. Not to mention it is a bit ironic that people are insisting on the vaccine for others for fear of someone else making themsick. Its in thebible! Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of federally protected classes, including religion, and provides that applicable employers must provide a religious accommodation to an employee who holds a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance against a workplace requirement. It means that a simple data point was overlooked, surely not intentionally, but even unintentionally it left an impression that isnt true. Tandon v. Newsom didnt center on a traditionally hot-button issue like abortion or LGBTQ rights; it focused on COVID-19. If a Christian is going to feel dirty by being vaccinated, thats the one toavoid. Vaccines to me are unclean. They may even have to show a track record of opposition to receive an exemption, which isn't easy. The issues here have been around for a very long time," Evans said. It is a challenge that a lot of pharma companies are having to deal with. Why do people keep missing this? In reality, what those seeking exemptions are arguing is that they believe the vaccine will harm them, and therefore they shouldnt be forced to take it. The Liberty Counsel is a Christian legal ministry. Sin isnt concrete anymore, itssubjective. people cite religious reasons for their reluctance to receive the shot. These requirements dictate that all employees, whatever their personal reservations might be, must be vaccinated by a specified date or else face repercussions ranging from required masking, testing, and isolation to different assignments to formal termination. Fax: (615) 242-0065, 505 Second St., N.E. He created the earth and man in such a way that mans responsibility and unique capabilities are to subdue the creation. Pauls warning is not about the pollution of their individual physical bodies, nor any threat from outside. Some vaccines were developed using fetal cell lines from aborted fetuses, she wrote, citing a remote connection to a practice she finds abhorrent. AMERICAN BAPTIST CHURCHES USA. That dont make it so. Second, the sample letter mistakenly interprets the temple motif to refer to physical pollution to ones body, when Paul is in fact interjecting a rhetorical question (an accusation, really) about sins that may destroy their community (the temple), among which Christresides. She quoted a passage from the New Testament: Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit.[1], The Louisiana Attorney General provides a sample exemption letter with an identical objection. One little-noticed Supreme Court ruling upended decades of precedent. This letter manages to encapsulate peak narcissism with its interpretivemethod: It is against my faith and my conscience to commit sin. If we take Pauls words seriously, our main concern shouldnt be the physical purity of our own bodies, but the purity of our witness to the world around us. Current employees may initiate a religious exemption request within the vaccination verification system. Those statements were made by people (Jesus, Paul) who spoke and/or wrote under infallible and inerrant direction and filling of the Spirit. Dr. William Tseng from Kaiser Permanente in San Diego said there are legitimate medical reasons for skipping the vaccine. You get it. 5:18, 20). Maybe that isnt you. God didnt just order us to subdue the earth. Once downloaded, review all of the information and requirements for the exemption type you have selected. We might be right or wrong, but we hold it forourselves. Whatever reasons a person may have for refusing vaccination, it is important to resist the temptation to endow those reasons with religious significance merely as a strategy for securing exemption from an employer mandate. Lets begin with Pauls first letter to the Corinthians itself. There are undoubtedly people of faith with relevant moral and, or, theological concerns that could merit religious exemption. In Isaiah 6:2 it tells us about a vision of heaven: "Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he . Lets start with the basics. But none of these reasons are overtly related with the individuals religious beliefs. Tyler Robbins is a bi-vocational pastor at Sleater Kinney Road Baptist Church, in Olympia WA. God bless you all. But ask yourself, Is [insert religious justification] really why I dont want the vaccine, or is [insert religious justification] a convenient pass for me to avoid something I just dont want to do? If the answer is yes, then youre in danger of violating the ThirdCommandment. For those of us who arent Christian Scientists, this isnt enough. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me. In response to questions from Catholics about COVID-19 vaccine mandates being imposed by employers or other authorities, the bishops of South Dakota . This should lead us to question why religious exemption is being sought here. We were . Kirschners son Jonah, who is 13 years old, was diagnosed with congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation before he was born. The Awaken Church lists this as the most notably significant reason why the acceptance of these vaccines would be considered sinful.. Even some who are knowledgeable about vaccines. "Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father." 1 Timothy 5:1. Jesus and Paul were actually muchharsher. 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. 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. And I am not so sure the church is acting properly toward ittoday. Mine are nodifferent. 2 Timothy 1:7 has nothing to do with rejecting all medical aid, nor does Psalm 91. They are concerned with what they put in their bodies, but they are taking 5 different medications, with very little understanding of what they do, just what the doctor has told them. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. The protests in Venezuela show a broad movement of people who are reaching the end of their tether amid inequality. we have no idea what is in them that makes them work. Likewise, putting out a fire on ones body is obviously helpful to ones temple. Injecting something into your body that you dont fully understand is a different case. This objection has a strong siren song, but is harder to justify than it seems. As such, mainstream social and political discourse has begun to stray into theological territory, with uninspiring results. News organizations expressed concern that Carlson would use the tapes to push an "ideologically-based narrative.". If you have elderly friends or family. I just dont get these arguments. In some cases its deception but, in many cases, its a lack of education. The author wishes to make sin Play-Dough; its anything the Holy Spirit impresses upon him to be wrong. "The most notable example was during the Vietnam and Korean [wars], people claiming religious exemptions from the draft.. Phone: (202) 547-8105 4 Liberty Counsel, Sample Religious Exemption Requests For COVID Shot Mandates, 26 July 2021, p. 3. https://lc.org/Site%20Images/Resources/Memo-SampleCOVID-ReligiousExemptionRequests-07262021.pdf. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:6-7. During the pandemic, religious entities, often supported by influential right-wing firms like the Alliance Defending Freedom, Thomas More Society and Liberty Counsel, filed a barrage of religious objections to rules aimed at protecting people from COVID, culminating in more than 100 decisions, according to a preliminary tally by the Law, Rights, and Religion Project at Columbia Law School. He holds degrees from The Masters University, Talbot School of Theology, and the University of Virginia. What does this mean? Nashville, Tennessee 37203 And this leads him to ask: Do you not know that you are Gods temple and that Gods Spirit dwells in you? You dont get to invent your own beliefs and pass them off as Christian. Jeremiah 29:11. Perhaps most chillingly, at a time when Roe v. Wade and a host of other important rights are on the chopping block, the case shows how the Supreme Court can upend decades of precedent with relatively little outcry. 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. He explains that the sins of sexual immorality and idolatry defile the body and the spirit, and he urges them to free themselves of it (see also 1 Thessalonians 5:19-24). To ones temple, advises people to include key words such as sacred, holy and blessed [ wars,... Medical reasons for skipping the vaccine for others for fear of someone else themsick! Very long time, '' Evans said [ wars ], the bishops of South Dakota was... Make sin Play-Dough ; its anything the holy spirit impresses upon him to be.... That refusing vaccination risks severe illness and possibly death however, it is challenge! Religious beliefs 1:7 has nothing to do something, so I use God as a argument... 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