(48) S2E26 COVID-19 and the Conservative Christian Response

*Please note that I am not particularly critiquing the actions taken by government or individuals, provided their actions are based on honest and educated assessments of data. Isolating everyone vs. isolating only a certain population (e.g. those over 60, those with preexisting conditions, etc) is a judgment call. We don't have all the data necessary to make perfect decisions, so we're experimenting and learning as we go. At what point does shutting down the economy do more harm than good, particularly in countries where they live day to day, hand to mouth? I don't know, and I don't want to judge anyone for difficult decisions.

However, what I do intend to point out in this episode is that my group has erred (as a broad generalization, of course) in our discernment. Many in my group have politicized the virus to the point that we were unable to assess the gravity of the situation, we were unable to effectively love in our actions, and we were unable to wisely discern common sense judgment and action in the situation. While I am not judging for making the wrong decisions given limited information, I am judging our political idolatry and our dismissal of truths which don't fit our desired narrative. 

• A huge thanks to Joseph McDade for his generous permission to use his music: https://josephmcdade.com/
• Thanks to Palmtoptiger17 for the beautiful logo: https://www.instagram.com/palmtoptiger17/
• Discord Discussion Board: https://disboard.org/server/474580298630430751 
• The 80% (My Book): https://www.amazon.com/80-Conservative-Evangelicals-Prove-Relativists-ebook/dp/B07RDPW2NZ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=j.g.+elliot&qid=1573560697&sr=8-1
• Various reflections related to consequentialism: https://www.dckreider.com/blog-theological-musings/category/pragmatism-and-consequentialism

• A fantastic moral overview of the pandemic from a Christian perspective: https://mereorthodoxy.com/moral-reasoning-coronavirus-pandemic/ 
• Mars Hill Audio, which featured the above article in audio format: https://www.marshillaudio.org 
• Conservative Responses to COVID-19 Image Gallery: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1CMNQ-kj1dN37sxBUPjffKwZCk1vi0dRE
• Democrat vs. Republican:
  https://www.npr.org/2020/03/17/816501871/poll-as-coronavirus-spreads-fewer-americans-see-pandemic-as-a-real-threat?utm_term=nprnews&utm_campaign=npr&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social
• Liberty University and Falwell: https://www.washingtonpost.com/
• Falwell continue classes: https://www.businessinsider.com/jerry-falwell-jr-suggests-coronavirus-is-plot-to-hurt-trump-2020-3
• Governer difference between KY and TN: https://www.alternet.org/2020/03/kentucky-vs-tennessee-on-coronavirus-may-be-the-best-example-of-elections-matter-in-decades/?fbclid=IwAR0QBc9J9X37IwUjxyhfRovCTTliRV7SyBgCNtWPKYvTC--w7wW6gwu2o9U
• FOX Hype and Changing Tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DmW_H4U-MI&t=145s
• Fox Questioning the Virus as a Hoax/Conspiracy: https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/fox-news-contributor-i-am-seeing-videos-twitter-empty-hospital-parking-lots
• Georgia Conservative questions legitimacy of the pandemic: https://decaturish.com/2020/03/gov-kemp-staffer-accuses-officials-of-overreacting-to-covid-19-spokesperson-cites-federalist/
• Environment correction article: https://medium.com/cruciformity/coronavirus-a-symptom-of-creations-brokenness-e9335ae7d8a1
• Florida Church Ignores Guidelines: https://www.fox13news.com/news/tampa-megachurch-crowded-with-worshipers-despite-social-distancing-orders
• Another Church Ignores Guidelines: https://www.wesh.com/article/second-pastor-charged-with-violating-public-orders-says-church-doors-will-still-be-open-on-sunday/32003221?fbclid=IwAR3I9lL5E5WHuGR5mtMMDjbqPVAMLobnr8XJg8DCSP4SPmnRXdVAWYcl0o4#
• Parishoner Interview "covered by the blood": https://www.facebook.com/tboypunk/videos/3913215418696211/
• Reopen America and Conservatism: https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonchandler/2020/04/24/security-researchers-say-the-reopen-america-campaign-is-being-astroturfed/
• A good piece on Evangelicalism and some of its problems with taking responsibility: https://religiondispatches.org/itsnotus-being-evangelical-means-never-having-to-say-youre-sorry/
• Hypocrisy of the Religious Right: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/shanephipps/2020/04/20/the-christian-right-is-under-siege-by-a-pandemic-of-hypocrisy/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=FBCP-PATH
• Christians and Conspiracy Theories: https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2020/april/christians-and-corona-conspiracies.html?fbclid=IwAR0BFQWYb4Y-UUiWzugAlCC7hbwr7EF2bYIySoVwCn6zv82rh5EW5QM7KR0
• Sacrificing God - my blog discussing the moral inconsistency of our response to COVID and our response to moral compromise in politics: