Roger, my point was that 53% taking the vaccine may be enough for herd immunity.
Yes, we should do to others as we would have done to us.
But that does not eliminate the view that some may consider taking a vaccine rushed through trials as something no one should do and will be in a better position to help others as a result of not taking a vaccine which may or may not have side effects.
I don’t hold that opinion, but I respect the right of others to hold that opinion. And those holding that opinion may believe they are doing as others should do.
The “house divided” passage is not applicable, as all Christians are not required to have the same judgment of right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate, safe and unsafe.
I am reminded of this Star Trek episode.
A vaccine is needed to counter the vaccine (against aging) that destroyed society 300 years before. Of course, it was fiction.
I can understand why churches are unwilling to put their tax-exempt status at risk.
The power to tax is the power to destroy.
And I understand why pastors don’t want to alienate half their congregations (or more than half, since Trump supporters are more likely to go to church than those who don’t support Trump) by focusing on politics rather than the gospel and kingdom of God.
What you are positing is a situation where people are acting rationally based on facts. We have people today who refuse to have their children be vaccinated with tried and tested vaccines so they are possibly exposing their children and others to common and serious childhood diseases. It is a serious problem and parents are claiming religious and non-religion exemption from basic protection against diseases.
Where will if someone cooks up some conspiracy theory about new vaccines as they do about everyone else. The story from Star Trek was about vaccines, but I see no other connection, except vaccines do need to work and need to be sold as safe.
The reason why the House Divided is important is because societies are based on covenants and covenants must be based on trust. People do not have to agree, but they do need to cooperate. When the President says that he is not bound by the Constitution, the aw of the land and acts that way, that does not inspire cooperation and trust. “Without Vision the People parish.” l
You have it wrong. It is the Trump supporters who by definition made christianity political. The way to cleanse the churches is to focus on the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, which is as different from a Trump Rally as one can get.
On your first paragraph, some people do act rationally based on facts. Others do not. Facts often point different people to different actions because preferences and fears and goals vary from person to person. What is rational to you and for you may be irrational for another.
On your third paragraph, you seem to have neglected the fact that the US society is based on checks and balances as much as covenants of trust.
On your last paragraph, you say that I “have it wrong,” but you don’t say how. What specifically did I write that was wrong in that paragraph of mine that you quoted?
“If politicians really care so much about vulnerable citizens, where were they a year ago, or five years ago, when those in the public health community began to raise the alarm about the rising tide of these deaths?”
People were complacent about a lot of things before, but are no longer.
Also, I maintain that one of the main reasons to open is not necessarily “deaths of despair”, though that is a serious issue, but the hunger crisis. The worsening hunger crisis (again, that leads to death) IS documented. So people can use this article to say that these doctor’s concerns are not valid, but there is still a valid, public health reason to open.
I’m not sure if you can tell from the pic, but that’s a few hundred college students at the beach and this is the least busy part. The houses here rent for $15k a week. Go down about 4 miles and there os like 30x times as many people out where condos line the coast. Went back to a club last night to go over some plans again with the owner and there was about 250 ppl inside.
South Alabama. But it’s the same from Florida to Mexico. A friend of mine in Texas posted pictures and it’s just as busy. A friend from Mexico said the gulf is flooded with 10s of thousands of people. It’s all along the Gulf of Mexico.
The majority of people here now though are college students from northern USA here on vacation. The clubs are a pretty equal mixture of locals and visitors though based on the tags.
I think mid fall is the best time to visit. The air is cooler but the water is still really warm from being heated up all summer. Though it’s still daylight at 8pm which is nice. I worked late today. But the sun is up 530am-8pm and so I can work 630-630 and still be able to run or bike well over an hour.
With the pandemic though, for the sake of others I act as if I take it more serious than I actually do as a default , and so I’m still not hanging out at the beach and am instead hiking along the bay side mostly. More plants there also. With all the wilderness it’s easy to hike 3 miles out where you don’t even come across another person for hours at a time.
For whatever reason you seem to be oblivious to the meaning and purpose of God’s Kingdom. We are not to bring people into agreement. We are to create a place where people can work together to help one another despite our differences and because of our differences. The primary reason why w3e have these problems more than ever is because the POTUS and his supporters so not think that they should be nice to others and demonstrate human decency toward those whom they oppose.
Checks and balances means it is more difficult for one group to override the rights of others. Sadly it also makes it makes it relatively easy for a fanatic minority to veto the rights of the majority. as we have seen. It makes cooperation more important, not less,
Trump supporters follow Trump, not Jesus Christ. That is what you have wrong.
Sorry to hear that. Montgomery’s ICU beds were overwhelmed to the point that cases were sent to Birmingham. Please continue to act like you take it seriously even if you actually don’t.
I will. Though not always , I tend to accept the advice of professionals until I hear more feedback from other professionals. But when it’s essentially across the board, and within reason, I’ll accept it.
I don’t really hang out with people anyways beyond bible studies. So anything that’s not essential to me I am willing to reduce and find another approach to. Besides I would rather not eat in a restaurant and continue to work.
Well, Roger, you seem to have imagined that I hold positions that I don’t hold.
I have noticed when people do not agree with my views they often attack me personally.
I understand you don’t like Trump. There are lots of things about him that I don’t like either. I did not vote for him, so I think you have me confused with someone else.
However, I think your view that a person cannot “follow” (whatever you mean by that) Trump and also follow Jesus is somewhat narrow. I know what following Jesus means. I don’t know what you mean by “follow Trump.” I am a follower of Jesus, not a follower of any politician.
As for the “fanatic minority” vetoing the rights of the majority using the checks and balances system, the other way to view that might be that our system of government was set up such that the rights of the Individuals cannot be trampled by the majority. I, for one, am happy for our checks and balances system and the protections of due process.
I’ll have to read through that again, I saw the letter the other day but it might’ve been updated. The main difference that I see is the one side wanting to open everything up doesn’t have evidence of increased social issues, but the recent protests do have evidence of racial issues leading to increased deaths for certain communities:
They argue the difference between these protests and those of a month ago:
On April 30, heavily armed and predominantly white protesters entered the State Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan, protesting stay-home orders and calls for widespread public masking to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Infectious disease physicians and public health officials publicly condemned these actions and privately mourned the widening rift between leaders in science and a subset of the communities that they serve. As of May 30, we are witnessing continuing demonstrations in response to ongoing, pervasive, and lethal institutional racism set off by the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, among many other Black lives taken by police. A public health response to these demonstrations is also warranted, but this message must be wholly different from the response to white protesters resisting stay-home orders. Infectious disease and public health narratives adjacent to demonstrations against racism must be consciously anti-racist, and infectious disease experts must be clear and consistent in prioritizing an anti-racist message.
