I love that passage. N, T. Wright points out the importance of context and knowledge of setting in that passage, as the Pharisees having a graven image of Caesar in their pocket was of course in violation of the covenant law, plus he mentioned the inscription which on the denarius read “Son of God” to further indict them in their folly.
It is complicated, but the passage could also be interpreted as giving government proper authority within its realm, which would include public health measures. Sadly, churches in general did and are doing a poor job of taking the initiative in caring for the vulnerable and disadvantaged in this pandemic. Not all of course, but the majority. I fear many church leaders have acted in the role given the Pharisees in this passage, trying to put their rules and desires ahead of the kingdom of God.
One of the difficulties of covid seems to be that there are a lot of asymptomatic cases and if the symptoms do become obvious, they occur up to 10 days after infection. This is a perfect sort of stealth. People can wonder about perfectly unaware, yet blowing this everywhere. Those people, in turn get infected and spread it all over the place. Before you know it, it is everywhere.
If people would just wear masks and get vaccinated, it would drastically reduce the ability of this thing get around. You sneeze into a mask, most of it goes into the mask, and only a little can get out. That means less chance that it gets to other people. If it gets to less people, that is the same as if you blocked it coming in.
The most important thing about the vaccine is that it reduces the severity of the infection if you do experience a breakthrough infection. When the virus tries to attack your insides, the immune system already knows about it and can garner the support to defend itself. So, even though the delta variant can get started, when it gets beyond your sinuses or your throat, the “bouncers” know that guy.
by Grace we proceed
Epidemiologically speaking, slowing transmission matters a lot. SARS-CoV-2 isn’t going away. In both the short and the long term, transmission will occur, but it will occur at a higher rate in an unvaccinated population than in a vaccinated one. Either way, most will acquire immunity, but it makes a big difference for the immune-compromised (and for others vulnerable to severe breakthrough infections) if those around them are acquiring their immunity through vaccination rather than through infection, since it means less chance that they will be exposed to the virus.
The thing with masks, is that a 10% reduction in transmission helps a lot to keep hospitals open and working. No one ever claimed 100% efficiency. It is interesting but not unexpected that many of the "masks don’t work crowd tend to be binary thinkers on other issues, in my observation.
“Vaccination is not about personal Liberty.” I guess we differ. I have every right to control what goes into my body and the state has no business forcing me to take it. They have every right to highly recommend it but at the end of the day it is my decision. If I make the wrong decision and die because of it, then it is on me. Given that the vaccination is decreasing in effectiveness over time, it is likely that we all will eventually get it anyway.
No you don’t and yes they do. They even tell you how fast you can move your body on the highway. If you are endangering others with whatever behavior, government can regulate it.
It is also on you what you are subjecting others to in your sickness and if you spread it. Can you really be unaware of what is happening to the medical staff in the ERs and ICUs where COVID is rampant – the strain, exhaustion and despair, or are you that selfish or callous?
And maybe you have heard about the virus mutating? Maybe you don’t know when and where that happens – it happens in those who are sick when the virus is replicating (i.e, spreading within their bodies). The more people sick, the more mutations that occur. That’s on you, too.
And so is all the death and suffering you and your tribe cause the rest of us by monopolizing hospital space and personnel, to say nothing of all the medical personnel being driven out of the profession by the frustration of being pushed to the limits to deal with the never ending anti-vaccine horde. Your grand gesture erases none of that.
I can understand and even empathize with your libertarian declaration here. In fact I have a fair bit of that same attitude in myself too. We do and should have the rigths to control what goes into our bodies. We also should have the right to well-researched and reliable information available to us about how safe and needed something is without having that information shouted down (in some quarters) by people who are acting as knowledgable authorities, but using their platforms to diseminate fear and disinformation.
In short, I’m also libertarian about what I choose to accept into my ears and mind too. Would that you would join me in that also. Not that we don’t listen to stuff we don’t agree with - Lord knows we really need a whole lot more willingness to do that. But that we learn to listen critically and ponder. And once a source reveals that it is rooted more in the vague mists of conspiracy and fear instead of in real data and real, relevant expert consensus - that we would stop letting that source be our main feed for our mental outlook.
Yes, in general terms we are supposed to follow the laws of the land which I do but this goes beyond normal limits and is presently against the law. In fact, I could join some Christians in a lawsuit over this if I wanted to. Forcing a person to take a vaccination would not hold up Constitutionally - especially since it is not FDA approved yet.
Guess we will await an expert in constitutional law.
It’ is FDA approved. Thanks.
FDA Approves First COVID-19 Vaccine | FDA
George Washington enforced strict quarantine for the smallpox, and then inoculations. This dropped the death toll from 10-20% to 1%. If this is not wrong, then the discussion becomes one of science, not of liberty, I think. Thanks
. How did George Washington handle an epidemic? | by Joseph Dragovich | Lessons from History | Medium
He struggled a lot over the decision; it’s reasonable to struggle. It is hard for all of us. However, the science is better now than it was. I am grateful for those who have really studied this–NIH, CDC, an so on… Thanks.
In point of fact, you do not have that right. The state has the right to draft you into the army, to tell you where to go and what to do, to force you to accept vaccination with whatever vaccines it chooses, and to send you into combat to be maimed or killed by enemy fire. You may not like that reality but it’s the world we live in and the world we have always lived in.
But see, others could die because of your wrong decision. That’s the problem, my friend. 
Uhhh yes. Very democratic. The only counter argument to this is that the OT was written by iliterate people.
So let me ask you. Is Biden instituted by God as the verse say? Or anyone really that is president or head of state? Cause i dont think so.
Time to change the constitution tgen i guess
Those were New Testament references.
Yes i know. It was an error on my phone. ■■■■ autocorrect. Havent asnwered me question though
What government was in power when those were written? Speed limits are legitimate laws.
What? So God appoints people in power? People who many times can be literal dictators?
This is disgusting right here. Unless the counter argument i said above is used theres no justification for any of this $$ . I really forget how evil the bible must be sometimes
As evil as the supposed God who doesnt give a ## abiut his struggling children here on earth. Good ,very good
God is sovereign, even over mutations in DNA.
Remember the Latin anagram that answers Pilate’s question?
Quid est veritas? “What is truth?”
Est vir qui adest: “It is the man who is here.”