Unfortunately, they’re more likely to get other people killed than themselves.
Personally, I think that, much like being an alcoholic moves you to the end of the queue for liver transplants, violating public health orders, or posting on social media that it’s a hoax, should move you to the end of the triage line, but that would probably go against the Hippocratic Oath.
If you want to walk on white-hot coals as an act of faith, go ahead, but that doesn’t give you the right to push lots of non-believers onto the coals as well.
I keep thinking of how I read that in South Korea, 80% of all cases could be traced back to one person. Who I presume was the one who introduced it to that one secretive church…
Not to mention that the First Amendment argument is horseshit, anyway:
But what about the First Amendment? Can the government really order churches to close? Doesn’t the First Amendment guarantee free exercise of religion? What about a citizen’s rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of association?
If a state closure order targeted churches—and churches only—the order would almost certainly be unconstitutional. But the state closures orders in response to COVID-19 represent classic examples of a “neutral law of general applicability” that are presumptively lawful under Employment Division v. Smith . If restaurants and bars and movie theaters are closed at the same time, churches won’t enjoy any special protection under the Free Exercise Clause.
Well, Employee Division v Smith is crap on the facts – a man was not allowed to use peyote as part of native american ritual (and lost his unemployment benefits b/c of it) – but the underlying premise, that narrowly tailored restrictions on time/manner/place to meet compelling state interest are legitimate.
Most Catholic Diocese and Archdiocese around the country have shut Churches down.
From Martin Luther’s letter to John Hess, 1527, in the midst of a pandemic (note that Luther’s son, Paul, was a chemist and physician): “[Some Christians] are much too rash and reckless, tempting God and disregarding everything which might counteract death and the plague. They disdain the use of medicines; they do not avoid places and persons infected by the plague, but lightheartedly make sport of it and wish to prove how independent they are. This is not trusting in God but tempting him … God has provided us with intelligence to guard and take care for the body so that we can live in good health … No, my dear friends, that is no good. Use medicine; take potions which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor does not need your presence or has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city.”
Gee, I hope somebody remembered to tell the coronavirus that spreading at a religious service is a violation of the First Amendment.
Olio Lord! Spread the word.
Oh?
Jesus…
Except in Ohio, where they think everybody in the world is an Ohio State fan
Ding ding ding! We have a winner.
Not sure who flagged this and why, but it’s a hilarious song, even after Big Butter Jesus dun got smoted.
I miss the days of using Big Butter Jesus as a landmark for out of town visitors trying to find my house. “Just go north on 75 past Big Butter Jesus… Yeah, you heard me… You’ll know it when you see it…”
And welcome to boingboing!
The joke I always reach for in such circumstances is this one. (Very appropriate being that the whole sitch is Trump’s Katrina and all that):
Here’s a pretty good form of the joke (from here):
This is a story of a man, who was a firm believer of god.
One day it began to rain very heavily. It kept raining and a big flood came.
The man climbed up on the roof of his house, and knew that he would be ok. God would protect him.It kept raining and now the water had reached his waist. A boat came by and a guy in the boat said: “Hey, jump in. We will take you with us”.
“No thanks”, said the man. “I’m a firm believer in God. He will rescue me”. He sent the boat away.It kept on raining and now the water had reached his neck. Another boat came by and a guy in the boat said: “You look like you could need some help. Jump in and we will take you with us”.
“No”, said the man. “I’m a firm believer in God. He will rescue me. Don’t worry about me”. The boat sailed away.It still rained and the water now reached his mouth. A helicopter came by and a guy in the helicopter threw down a rope and said: “Hi there my friend. Climb up. We will rescue you”.
“No”, said the man. “I’m a firm believer in God. He will rescue me. I know he will”. The helicopter flew away.It kept on raining, and finally the man drowned.
When the man died, he went to heaven. When entering Heaven, he had an interview with God.
After giving a polite greeting and sitting down, the man asked: “Where were you. I waited and waited. I was sure you would rescue me, as I have been a firm believer all my life, and have only done good to others. So where were you when I needed you?”
God scratched his confused looking face and answered: “I don’t get it either. I sent you two boats and a helicopter”.
The public health experts TELLING YOU NOT TO CONGREGATE AND TO PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING are the two boats and the helicopter, dammit!!
It’s one of those “prosperity gospel” places isn’t it? Their hand is forced because passing around the collection plate online doesn’t work very well. The congregation isn’t savvy enough to work the technology.
Still, it seems shortsighted to not skip a few weeks of collection to avoid having 10% of the members die off or be ruined by medical expenses.
…one Hell of a lot of things in the Bible.
Not necessarily. Doctors are quickly having to decide, say, who gets the respirator when they don’t have enough. This is a great reason to move someone to the end of the line for that. This is NOT a future scenario You don’t get help because Jeebus has saved you…
EtA: This one’s better
