Covid-Fog and Resistance

Is it fair to say there’s a major lack of clarity when it comes to anything related to Covid-19? Yes, or YES?!

Questions abound, like:

• How deadly is it...really?

• What are best measures to contain it?

• Should we mask up or mask down?

• Are restrictions justified?

Covid-fog. I tend to tread lightly when things get unclear for fear of smacking my head into something I can’t see. So I've been cautious about entering the fray. Call it a fogaphobia.

As you know, there are a flurry of good opinions out there, "fine people on both sides". I have good friends on opposite sides around all things related to Covid. Consider this piece simply another opinion - when the issues are high-stakes, the more viewpoints, the better.

One little disclaimer: I haven't watched any news, or scrolled newscasts, social media feeds, and the like for the last 3 weeks (bliss!). I've stopped the insanity and gotten off the train of speculation (which is just freaking exhausting). Take that for what it is - I might be missing the latest and greatest plot twists.

First, there are good reasons to be skeptical of everything you hear on CBC News (or any source out there, including YouTube and social media feeds). GREAT reasons. But this is the best one:

Consider that almost everything coming through your 65" LED is…wait for it…dramatized.

That’s how they hook you and get you to come back. And we love it (unfortunate for The Truth). Think about it: anytime you see a Covid piece, there’s always an image of an ambulance at a hospital being approached by someone in a Hazmat suit. It’s like a scene out of World War II. Dramatized. Whether it's The Crown, or Fox News, or Rambo, you might get somewhere near the truth if you cut the drama in half.

There are "facts" on both sides: to mask or not to mask, to gather or not to gather, to lock down or not to lock down. And sadly, chances are high you're only getting one side of the story (watch The Social Dilemma for more on this...highly recommend). Here's some alternative facts from credible sources:

• The death rate is over-stated (dramatized!). Almost all deaths are related to other very significant factors. Reported covid-deaths are not necessarily legitimate covid-deaths. Thus, the actual covid death rate is a mite more minuscule, comparatively speaking. Think of other risks you take that are far more likely to result in death. Like swimming in the ocean or driving a car.

• The best way to prevent infection (and thus covid-related deaths) is not the millions of non-medical (think about that, non-medical) masks people are wearing. Some credible folks say they might exacerbate the issue. I have theories on why this is. Here’s one: our noses are the best God-given air-filters ever, but when we wear a mask, we start breathing through our mouthes a lot more, thus taking our major filter (the nose) our of play. Tip: breathe through your nose even when wearing a mask.

• If Covid is deadly, the measures to prevent it are arguably more deadly. With collateral damage like substance abuse, domestic abuse, the elderly and the sick facing severe isolation, and the recent suicide rates. This says nothing about the economic fallout (which we’ve yet to see blossom to it’s fullest degree).

Those "facts" are only the tip of the iceberg. And there are an equal number that scream the opposite: wear masks like your life (and other's lives) depends on it, Covid is going to end up killing millions and millions, and shutting down the economy is a no-brainer.

Covid-fog.

Remember, good vision and perception is the product of seeing/hearing both sides - right and left. You would do well to approach it this way. Use this rule in all things connected to media and you'll do much better at finding the truth. A little dose of CBC, mixed with Stephen Crowder and Vox. CNN mixed with FoxNews. Seek to understand why the "other side" is saying what they're saying. It'll help you get perspective, and if you're actually on to the truth, reinforce what you believe. And if you're believing a lie, hopefully expose it.

Either way, we face many restrictions. And there are more on the way (me thinks). If you're in the camp of this-isn't-as-bad-as-they-say, you've probably heard increasing calls for civil disobedience, to disregard the rules (at least some of them) placed on us by governing authorities. Even pastors, citing an attack on religious liberties, have joined in the foray (think Mark Driscoll or John McArthur).

So a big question for me: have the Covid restrictions amounted to an attack on religious freedom?

I don't think so. My opinion.

Of course you can wear a mask. There's no eleventh commandment forbidding it. I don't like it, just like you. My beautiful face should be a blessing to the whole world, but it's hard when a mask hides half of it.

The real source of contention for Christians is the limiting or forbidding of in-person gatherings - a constitutionally protected right for all Canadians. Things get very personal for us around Sunday morning church.

Still, I say there's no call for insurgence (yet) around this, for two reasons:

1. Religious organizations are not the only ones greatly inconvenienced because of the recent rules around no gatherings or gathering limitations, and

2. the Bible does not command going to church on Sunday.

I get it! We love going to church on Sunday and sitting in our favourite pew and hearing our favourite preacher. And Pastor Tony's ruddy complexion doesn't come through as good on camera as in-person. It's very inconvenient for us to have to substitute that vibrant gathering in a packed room of awesome people for a virtual experience in our living rooms.

But's it's not immoral to livestream from home.

Should you fight for the right to gather in-person? Maybe, but don't make it an issue of "God-says". As a friend of mine put it, Jesus didn't tell us to go into all the world and hold church services - you may be relieved (or startled) by this. Only once in the whole book of Acts (chapter 20) do we see a Sunday Church Service, and it took place in the evening and was so lengthy a kid fell out of a second story window and died (to be raised to life by the preacher a little later). Yes, of course the church gathered, and often. Hebrews 10:25 clearly warns us to not "forsake the gathering, as is the habit of some”, but there is very little instruction given as to how that gathering should be carried out. And I want to assure you, the gathering IS taking place. In churches all across the city and planet. These gatherings are rich and meaningful.

And yes, they are mostly virtual.

So the argument that we need to gather in-person to be the church just doesn't work. Further, if in-person is a non-negotiable to having a good relationship with someone or connecting in community, Christians are screwed already.

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. ~ 1 Peter 1:8

Last week I hosted a small gathering of men via my Zoom Room. It was intense. Deep vulnerability. Insane healing and restoration. Tears, laughter, and the whole Shabang. For two Sundays in a row as I’ve preaching to an empty room (but to a full audience), people have reported experiencing God in surreal ways - right in their living rooms. There’s unity though there's no proximity. Think about that - proof that virtual interactions ARE the real deal. I could say a lot more about that, but we'll leave it for another time.

We are a healthier church today (by that I mean the number of people walking with God as disciples of Jesus) then we were a year ago. True story. We watch this closely.

Now, if you're seriously choked the church can't gather in-person, you're justified in feeling that way because of the massive inconsistencies around rules.

Covid-fog.

Here's one example: while I could be fined up to $25,000 for gathering people in a parking lot for a drive-in church (true story, all windows up with zero contact), it's completely kosher to go to Canadian Tire and stand toe-to-toe with a 100 people trying to get in on Black Friday deals!! That's frustrating. When I see this kind of thing, I want to push back. I want to resist.

But with a massive addendum for Christian readers:

sometimes God will actually ask you to submit to governing authorities even though what they are doing is wrong.

Please see that. You must make your decisions based on what He is asking you to do, not on your "rights". The best place I can point you to is the story in Scripture where Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane just before his crucifixion. It's there that he is wrongfully arrested by the governing authorities. The disciple Peter resists (without thinking or asking Jesus what he thinks - the plight of many Christians today) by literally hacking off the ear of a soldier. Jesus heals the soldier, then surrenders to the handcuffs. What was wrong for the government to do, what right in God's eyes at that moment, and salvation is won for eternity as a result. Remember this whenever you consider resisting governing authorities. A few chapters later, Peter will be given the injunction to stop preaching Jesus. He tells the authorities that this is a rule he can't abide by, and goes right on preaching. And this was good. But ask Jesus first. Be led by him, not rights.

I'd suggest it's not the time to fight for rights.

Will there be a time where Christians in Canada need to resist? My opinion on that is: absolutely. Religious freedom seems like a tentative thing in light of recent happenings and trends (ie. Trinity University's application to start a Canadian law school is rejected based on their Christian beliefs). The issue of whether I can act on my beliefs as a Christian and freely follow my faith are real. And let me say clearly: if and when we are mandated to do something that violates what God commands, I will be the first in line to go the opposite direction. Wholeheartedly.

But for now, there is just too much fog out there (and potential risk) to draw a clear line. The restrictions, at the very least, have the possibility of being justifiable. This sucks. Especially over Christmas. I seriously can’t wait to pack out our building again!

But for now, wear the mask when shopping, wash your hands regularly, and tune in via livestream this Sunday.

You'll be okay.

I think I'll end there. For now.

Photo by Jakub Kriz on Unsplash