Tag Archives: COVID-19

Discussion on the Effectiveness of Wearing Masks

Part of diet and fitness is your overall health. With so much hoopla about COVID and Face-masks, we want to know, supported by reliable data driven experts, if wearing a face-mask works, or does not work, or risks more harm or less harm; and how that can help you plan your safe, lower risk, workouts and going to the gym.

Wearing a Mask

“If properly worn, surgical masks block large-particle droplets, splashes, sprays or splatters that may contain germs like viruses and prevent them from reaching your mouth and nose, according to the FDA.” [1] So, according to the government agency, this mask protects YOU from OTHERS. But is it really protecting you, if you’re continually re-injecting viruses and bacteria from your own body? After all, sneezing and coughing is your body ejecting unwanted things.

“Because surgical masks fit loosely rather than having a tight seal, they don’t provide an absolute barrier or complete protection against tiny particles in the air that may be released by coughs or sneezes.”[1] And these “tiny particles” also known as “aerosol particles” are so small, they even go through all cloth masks. So, again, what’s the point?

Oddly, and “currently, the CDC does not recommend that healthy people wear a face mask to protect themselves from COVID-19 (or other respiratory illnesses). According to W.H.O., masks are only effective when a person also frequently washes their hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.” [1] Now that’s an interesting point. Is it the mask that helps or washing your hands?

If “aerosol particles” go through the mask but washing your hands can wash off and kill viruses in the particles, wouldn’t washing your hands be the thing to do?

*UPDATE*

The CDC reversed, again, their recommendations and are now recommending all people to wear masks. The idea is that it blocks the larger particles from spreading. But if health people are wearing masks, what COVID laced particles are they spreading? None. So then the benefit for healthy people to wear the mask is to prevent breathing in the large particles from sick people who aren’t wearing masks. Makes sense. BUT, have you ever smelt a fart or walked somewhere where you could smell food or weird bathroom smells? The answer is yes. Have you wondered how large those particles are? Well, they are larger than a virus. Now, granted the virus does not travel in the area by its self, alone. When someone infected sneezes, they shoot out all sort of sized aerosol particles, not just those big scary nasty droplets. Studies suggest the virus can be in the air for hours, depending on the size of the particles. Knowing smaller aerosol particles get ejected and can linger in the air, are smaller than fecal and food particles, this still brings us back to the starting point.

The basic scenario of some infected person walking down the isle of Walmart, sneezing while wearing a mask still ejects small aerosol particles in the air, that smaller kind that can linger. Then, you walk down that same isle 10 minutes later. You breath in and out smelling all the food smells… and inhale those very small aerosol particles, through your mask… Then, as the bigger heavier particles fall and rest on something on the isle, that you may touch and buy and take home… all of this while the both of you are wearing masks… What did wearing the mask accomplish?

A simple test is Tobacco Smoke. Can you smell it wearing your masking? The particle size of tobacco smoke is around 0.05 and 0.01 [18]. What about a virus attached to aerosol droplets that size? Well, it’s still a possibility according to this 2010 study, studying the H1N1 virus (same family of virus as COVID) [19]. A good visual is using a chain-link fence to block mosquitoes.

How many strangers, in public, sneeze in your face? How many strangers breath heavily in your face? None. No one really does that. It’s common knowledge that it’s rude and gross. So if heavier droplets fall on objects you touch and small aerosol particles linger in air as your walking around… all while wearing a mask, yet, smaller than the fibers of 99% of masks the public uses, what has been prevented? Still doesn’t change the premise of this article.

There are a couple of states that never went on lockdown [20]. Why don’t they have higher infections rates and deaths? [21] Some countries didn’t impose such harsh restrictions either, why are they not more hard hit? It’s logic, the more testing and data collection, the higher the numbers. Not necessarily because the virus is spreading but because of the amount of testing being conducted. Some states have even been busted inflating the numbers! [22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28… and we can keep going]. Even the bias left-wing VOX admits to this [25]. And what happened to the seasonal flu? What happened to those numbers? There are a whole host of influenza viruses out there, where are those numbers? Why do states to certain political ideologies seem to have worse numbers? Notice how they try to avoid talking about the deadliness (or lack of) of the virus, because, it’s not as deadly as they want you to think. Some even come up with arguments against considering the mortality rate. What is worse than death? See, there is more data manipulation and politics at play here than COVID itself.

*END OF UPDATE*

Why Wear A Mask If You Touch Things?

“As a lay person, using a cloth face mask, or continually wearing a surgical face mask whenever you leave your home, poses practical problems. “If you think about a bandanna or something that’s papery, it’s going to get wet through the day and be uncomfortable, and potentially you’re going to touch it more,” says Dr. Colleen Kraft, associate chief medical officer at Emory University Hospital and an associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. That reduces the mask’s effectiveness and actually could expose you to possible virus on its outer surface.” [1] This seems to place the greater importance in washing your hands than wearing a cloth/paper mask.

Mask or no mask, avoid touching the mucosal surfaces of your face – your mouth, nose and eyes. “Surgical masks will not prevent your acquiring diseases,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, and the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Rather, he explained, surgical masks are typically used by surgeons to protect their patients from their mouth-borne germs — but “those masks don’t work to prevent inhaling diseases,” said Schaffner. As for more preventative measures, Schaffner recommends “abundant hand-washing” [6] Again, “abundant hand-washing” is prescribed.

Face masks can play a role in preventing the infection, but that role is limited. A healthy individual in a normal situation does not need to wear a mask. A face mask is not the ideal solution for protection from the new coronavirus for the following reasons: A surgical mask does not fit tightly over the nose and mouth (which allows particles in and out); It is not possible to prevent airborne virus infection (some particles are so small they just go through the mask anyway); When you touch the mask, you lose the protection and must replace the mask, and dispose of it safely. [10]

Who Should Wear The Mask?

“CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.”[2] It’s odd the CDC still recommends “simple cloth face coverings” even though viruses to so small they fit right through them. It also seems that the mask “works” best for people who are already infected to prevent and reduce the risk of them spreading it from saliva and or coughing through droplets and expelling larger particles. But that still doesn’t address the smaller particles and the virus itself…

“But those who work around confirmed infected people, a mask may reduce the risk of inhaling the virus from the infected person’s cough (except if they particles are small). W.H.O. says, “If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with COVID-19“…The WHO recommends masks for those who are symptomatic or known to have COVID-19, and those exposed to people who are sick, but not for the healthy out in public.”[2] Sounds a little contradictory.

“A cloth face mask won’t totally block the coronavirus. But it’s an added layer of protection for you and the people around you when you use it along with regular handwashing and social distancing measures like staying 6 feet away from others.”[7] Soooo it’s hand-washing and distancing that is better, since the virus can travel through the mask?

“The public does not need to wear face masks most of the time, said Dr. Otto Yang, a professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.” [8] It seems that way.

Major health agencies, including the World Health Organization, the CDC, and others, have offered confusing and sometimes contradictory guidelines (as noted above). Most healthcare professionals have concluded that, at the very worst, a mask can’t hurt, even if it may provide a false sense of safety. Three large, randomized controlled trials were conducted in the 1980s to determine once and for all if surgical masks actually did prevent surgical wound infection. Here, where bacteria were the major concern in wound infection, the enemy targets were larger and might not require the fine filtration necessary to keep a respiratory virus away, researchers theorized. But the trials “showed absolutely no efficacy” for that original purpose. “Really, the surgeon might as well wear nothing on their face,” C. Raina MacIntyre, MBBS, PhD, of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia said. Mask wearing “is so inculcated into the practice of medicine that it’s going to be very hard to change,” said John G. Bartlett, MD, former chief of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins. [11]. It’s as if wearing a mask is to make you feel better and a tradition and not something that actually prevents anything.

Wearing a face mask purportedly helps in two ways. First, you get to keep your own germs to yourself. (But is that something good for you and something you want?) [13] But, why would I want to continually keep re-inhaling a virus? They’re meant to be disposable and worn only once. If they get wet, they become useless and should be thrown away. So if you keep wearing the same mask, you keep re-introducing virus stuck on the mask into your body, over and over. You wash your hands, then touch your mask, washing your hands was pointless…

What Do Studies Say?

“A study involved four subjects with COVID-19 coughing with several mask types, and without any mask, onto petri dishes. The masks themselves were also swabbed after coughing. They found the masks did not prevent spread of the virus through coughing (for every mask type, some virus still made it onto the petri dishes). They also found virus on the outside of the masks but not the inside, which is a bit counterintuitive. They speculate that airflow around the mask may be depositing the virus on the outside.” [3]

So are some masks better than others at reducing the risk, even though there is still a risk with all masks?

A recent study found that surgical masks (which are much less effective than the N95 masks) are somewhat effective at slightly reducing the risk. [4]

In a recent systematic review of 19 trials, they concluded that in “the community, masks appeared to be more effective than hand hygiene alone, and both together are more protective. Randomized controlled trials in health care workers showed that respirators, if worn continually during a shift, were effective but not if worn intermittently. Medical masks were not effective, and cloth masks even less effective.” [5]

A March 17 study in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) [9] seemed to justify the fear of airborne spread, showing that the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 could survive in the air for up to 3 hours as an aerosol. The new study showed that the virus was viable as an aerosol in a lab, but not in real life. In the study, the researchers “took extremely concentrated virus, much more concentrated than a person makes, they used an artificial aerosol machine [a nebulizer], which probably generates way more aerosol than a normal person does So their conclusions were in this system. The researchers of that study looked at SARS-CoV-1 (the original SARS from the 2003 outbreak) and SARS-CoV-2 and found that both could be aerosols. “But we already know that the original SARS virus was not transmitted that way,” in the general public, so that makes their model “not very believable (Dr. Otto Yang, a professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.) [8]

The only high-level evidence for efficacy of masks in the community was a trial from Hong Kong — published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine — involving flu patients who were randomized to hand hygiene alone or in combination with surgical masks. when these interventions were initiated within 36 hours of symptom onset, face masks plus hand hygiene reduced risk of transmission by a very significant 67%. Although the entire benefit can’t be attributed to face masks, the results suggest masks may make a difference. [12] Compared with controls, employing hand hygiene alone or with face masks tended to reduce transmission of the flu to those living in the same house, but not significantly so [11].

A “2009 Canadian study of 446 nurses who were working with influenza patients concluded that face masks provided protection almost equivalent to that provided by respirators. Unfortunately, that turns out to be mixed news. Of the nurses wearing surgical face masks, 23.6 percent contracted the flu, versus 22.9 percent of those wearing N95 respirators. Ironically, that same year, an Australian study of 2000 Chinese healthcare workers had quite different results. According to the report from that study, “Consistent use of N95 respirators prevented 75% of respiratory infections (about the same as the Canadian study), while consistent surgical mask use was no better than low use for prevention of clinical respiratory illness (6.7% versus 9.2%, P=0.159) or of influenza-like illness (0.6% versus 1.3%, P=0.336).” In other words, surgical masks were nearly useless in preventing infection, but respirators were highly effective.” [14]

The Real Problem

The real problem with all this is that aerosol particles aren’t really stopped by masks and can remain in the air for hours, even settle on objects that we touch a thousand times a day. They go through and around masks, even stick to masks, on the outside; as the studies indicate. Since aerosol particles can travel and linger in the air, experts recommend that you stay at least six feet away from contagious people. But what difference does that make if they can linger in the air for hours as you walk around and pass by people and touch things they touched?

There are several ways pathogens can reach the respiratory system. First, if a sick person coughs or sneezes they may expel “splashes,” which are large particles (greater than 100 μm in diameter) that drop to the ground fast. Those are the things we touch. Then, we touch our phones, masks, wallets, purses, car searing wheels, door handles and so on. A mask doesn’t protect against this. The masks usually can protect against the coughing and projecting “splashes”.

Droplets are a smaller version of splashes, between 5 μm and 100 μm. Then there are small, lightweight aerosol particles of less than 5 μm that remain suspended in the air, travel over distance, and easily penetrate the respiratory system.

Aerosol particles can come from sneezes, coughs, or just exhalations of the sick person. In fact, the air around an infected person is usually loaded with aerosol particles containing viruses or bacteria. Of which, can go around and through cloth/paper masks…

The US standard is the N95 respirator, which is certified to block 95 percent of particles as small as 0.3 μm (millionths of a meter), which is about the same size as a single virus. This seems to be the only mask that can offer some kind of protection against Aerosol particles.

So, if your not wearing an N95 respirator (mask) but some sort of cloth or paper mask you may as well not be wearing a mask at all.

It seems that washing your hands and wearing a N95 respirator is the only way to really, actually, and scientifically, reduce the risk of virus loaded Aerosol particles.

If someone tells you that you need to be wearing a mask, any mask, they are weak minded ignorant sheep of a system that just wants to make the populous feel better and feel like the government is doing everything it can, and that it’s the people’s fault for the continued spread…

Sorry, your cloth/paper mask is nothing more than your self-soothing, self-righteous, virtual signaling and that your “saving lives.” When, in fact, your cloth/paper mask can’t even stop the virus, in small coughed/expelled particles, that is so small it can go between the fibers of your mask, linger in the air and rest on anything and everything you touch…

Wash your damn hands.

And if you want to live in fear of a flu virus with a 0.26% mortality rate over all, and a 0.05% for people 49 years old and under [15, 16, 17], than at least wear a N95 respirator.

Sources

https://health.usnews.com/conditions/articles/do-face-masks-work-types-and-effectiveness. Dr. Colleen Kraft, associate chief medical officer at Emory University Hospital and an associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/do-masks-work/
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1342
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0843-2
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7191274/
https://www.foxnews.com/health/do-surgical-masks-protect-against-coronavirus. Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, and the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus-face-masks#1
https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-do-face-masks-work.html. Dr. Otto Yang, a professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.09.20033217v2.article-info
https://www.medicinenet.com/do_face_masks_protect_you_from_the_new_coronavirus/article.htm
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/infectioncontrol/16278. C. Raina MacIntyre, MBBS, PhD, of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia
flu-related papers published online Aug. 3 by the Annals of Internal Medicine. Benjamin J. Cowling, BSc, PhD, of the University of Hong Kong
https://www.jonbarron.org/colds-flus-infectious-diseases/do-face-masks-really-help
https://www.jonbarron.org/colds-flus-infectious-diseases/do-face-masks-really-help
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/280793
https://boston.cbslocal.com/2020/05/22/coronavirus-cdc-symptoms-asymptomatic-mortality-rate/
https://fox59.com/news/cdc-estimated-35-of-coronavirus-patients-dont-have-symptoms/
https://www.coloradoci.com/bin-pdf/5270/ParticleSize.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2994911/
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/13/politics/asa-hutchison-arkansas-coronavirus/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/index.html#cases
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-02/error-led-to-overcount-of-coronavirus-testing-in-orange-county
https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/welcome-ad?toURL=/clinical-care/texas-doctor-goes-viral-saying-covid-19-numbers-are-inflated-rgv-doctors-disagree
https://www.abc4.com/coronavirus/utahs-thursday-coronavirus-numbers-inflated-from-data-backlog/
https://www.vox.com/2020/5/22/21266382/coronavirus-testing-accuracy-covid-data-manipulation
https://luetkemeyer.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=400389
https://abc7.com/orange-county-oc-false-mistake/6292928/
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/21/cdcs-coronavirus-report-includes-data-that-could-artificially-inflate-testing.html

THE CONSTITUTIONALITY AND ETHICAL ISSUES OF ‘STAY-AT-HOME’ ORDERS

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Emotions aside, we examine the recent “Stay at Home” orders issued by Governors and county Judges nation wide. Do they even have the power to order you to do so? Are they constitutional? Are they even ethical and moral?

First, let’s look at what the constitution says.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Immediately we see that there are some direct, explicit constitutional issues with Stay at Home orders. The prohibition of religious rituals and gatherings is a big, clear, violation. The next obvious violation is completely taking away the right of the people to peacefully assemble. Making these “stay at home” orders an actual large scale violation of the rights of every single person they are imposed on.

If taken to court, no doubt, it will go up to the Supreme Court.

Due to the impact and drastic nature of the order, the Supreme Court would use their “Strict Scrutiny” test to determine if it is even Constitutional.

is necessary to a “compelling state interest”;
that the law is “narrowly tailored” to achieving this compelling purpose;
and that the law uses the “least restrictive means” to achieve the purpose.

The first prong of the test is that It must be justified by a “compelling governmental interest.” While the Courts have never brightly defined how to determine if an interest is compelling, the concept generally refers to something necessary or crucial, as opposed to something merely preferred. Examples include national security, preserving the lives of a large number of individuals, and not violating explicit constitutional protections.

Does the government have a compelling governmental interest that would require explicitly violating large number of individuals constitutional protections?

The obvious justification would be the Coronavirus and the national emergency declaration; and the need to “lower the curve” and “save lives” by being forced to “stay home.” But what happens when the actual data is argued in court and that it is on record, legally, that this virus is just a newer and nasty flu? Is a nasty flu compelling governmental interest to explicitly violating large number of individuals constitutional protections? The judicial answer to this question COULD set a VERY scary precedent.

Big government lovers, mommy daddy government dependents, socialists, and closet communist would all say that “yes, there is a compelling governmental interest to protect the welfare of the the people, the common good, from a flu virus” So, we could only speculate how the court would rule based on their view and philosophy of government, federal system and a confederation of individual states held together by a constitution that elect persons to represent that state nationally; a constitutional republic. So, let’s look at the known rulings and characteristics of the current supreme court justices.

The Supreme Court Justices

John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice. He is a wild card. Hailed as a ‘conservative’ he has not been one according to his rulings. He, however, does not seem to vote based on his personal ideology. In Department of Commerce v. New York, he shot down government information gathering about the people. A win for the people. In Rucho v. Common Cause; Lamone v. Benisek he ruled to take away federal judicial power. That is a reduction in federalism. Kisor v. Wilkie, he upheld allowing government agencies to have the power to interpret ambiguous regulations. Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, agreed with the majority that private businesses records are confidential and private. Flowers v. Mississippi, he joined the majority in granting a new trial due to a potentially racial discriminatory jury selection. American Legion v. American Humanist Association, he favored religious freedom over imposed secularism. Apple Inc v. Pepper, he, dissented against the liberal majority ruling against private companies. Nielsen v. Preap, sided with the majority that the federal government can detain noncitizens with criminal records anytime.

Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, is a stout moralist. He is conservative in his world views and interpretations and is very methodical in his opinions. In Department of Commerce v. New York, he supported the government information gathering about the people so that the government could better estimate its immigration data. Oddly supported a more nosy government. In Rucho v. Common Cause; Lamone v. Benisek he ruled to take away federal judicial power. That is a reduction in federalism. Kisor v. Wilkie, he dissented in allowing government agencies to have the power to interpret ambiguous regulations. Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, agreed with the majority that private businesses records are confidential and private. Flowers v. Mississippi, he dissented in an interesting manner in granting a new trial due to a potentially racial discriminatory jury selection. I irony is that he, the only African American on the court, dissented, leaving an all non-African judges to rule that an all non-African jury may be bias. American Legion v. American Humanist Association, he favored religious freedom over imposed secularism. Apple Inc v. Pepper, he, dissented against the liberal majority ruling against private companies. Nielsen v. Preap, sided with the majority that the federal government can detain noncitizens with criminal records anytime.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice, she is extremely close to retirement and his most likely holding on until after the next election (I’m sure she is hoping that Trump does not get re-elected). She is as liberal as they come. Like most liberal judges, she rules based on her emotions and ideology, then digs for legal justifications to support her preconceived liberalism. In Department of Commerce v. New York, she shot down government information gathering about the people. A win for the people. But, not for the same reasons Justice Roberts did. She hates Trump and is liberal in her immigration views. In Rucho v. Common Cause; Lamone v. Benisek she disagreed with the majority court and wanted to keep or expand federal judicial power. Kisor v. Wilkie, she upheld allowing government agencies to have the power to interpret ambiguous regulations. Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, she dissented in her opinion against private businesses and their records. Flowers v. Mississippi, she joined the majority in granting a new trial due to a potentially racial discriminatory jury selection. American Legion v. American Humanist Association, favored imposing state secularism over the free exercise of religion. Apple Inc v. Pepper, she joined the liberal majority ruling against private companies. Nielsen v. Preap, dissented from the majority that the federal government can detain noncitizens with criminal records anytime.

Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice, has been on the more liberal side of things. Though, not as extreme as Ginsburg, Sotomayor, or Kagan, he has those sort of left leaning judicial ideals. He interprets the constitutions, looking for “purpose and consequences” not just literal textual criticism. And he seems to be more supportive of government authority and action over the people. In Department of Commerce v. New York, he shot down government information gathering about the people. A win for the people. But, not for the same reasons Justice Roberts did. He is liberal in his immigration views. In Rucho v. Common Cause; Lamone v. Benisek he disagreed with the majority court and wanted to keep or expand federal judicial power. Kisor v. Wilkie, he upheld allowing government agencies to have the power to interpret ambiguous regulations. Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, he dissented in her opinion against private businesses and their records. Flowers v. Mississippi, he joined the majority in granting a new trial due to a potentially racial discriminatory jury selection. American Legion v. American Humanist Association, he favored religious freedom over imposed secularism. Apple Inc v. Pepper, he joined the liberal majority ruling against private companies. Nielsen v. Preap, dissented from the majority that the federal government can detain noncitizens with criminal records anytime.

Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Associate Justice, has been on the more conservative side of things. He is a Roman Catholic and his faith is not benched in his world view. He is a literal originalist in his interpretations of the constitution. In Department of Commerce v. New York, he supported the government information gathering about the people so that the government could better estimate its immigration data. It was interesting that he supported a more nosy government. In Rucho v. Common Cause; Lamone v. Benisek he ruled to take away federal judicial power. That is a reduction in federalism. Kisor v. Wilkie, he dissented in allowing government agencies to have the power to interpret ambiguous regulations. Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, agreed with the majority that private businesses records are confidential and private. Flowers v. Mississippi, he joined the majority in granting a new trial due to a potentially racial discriminatory jury selection. American Legion v. American Humanist Association, he favored religious freedom over imposed secularism. Nielsen v. Preap, sided with the majority that the federal government can detain noncitizens with criminal records anytime.

Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice, is most definitely a liberal when it comes to constitutional interpretation and the role of government in a society. In Department of Commerce v. New York, she shot down government information gathering about the people. A win for the people. But, not for the same reasons Justice Roberts did. She is a liberal in her immigration views. In Rucho v. Common Cause; Lamone v. Benisek she disagreed with the majority court and wanted to keep or expand federal judicial power. Kisor v. Wilkie, she upheld allowing government agencies to have the power to interpret ambiguous regulations. Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, she dissented in her opinion against private businesses and their records. Flowers v. Mississippi, she joined the majority in granting a new trial due to a potentially racial discriminatory jury selection. American Legion v. American Humanist Association, favored imposing secularism over the free exercise of religion. Apple Inc v. Pepper, she joined the liberal majority ruling against private companies. Nielsen v. Preap, dissented from the majority that the federal government can detain noncitizens with criminal records anytime.

Elena Kagan, Associate Justice, just like Justice Sotomayor, she is liberal when it comes to constitutional interpretation and the role of government in a society and stout Democrat given her political employment backgrounds. In Department of Commerce v. New York, she shot down government information gathering about the people. A win for the people. But, not for the same reasons Justice Roberts did. She is a liberal in her immigration views. In Rucho v. Common Cause; Lamone v. Benisek she disagreed with the majority court and wanted to keep or expand federal judicial power. Kisor v. Wilkie, she upheld allowing government agencies to have the power to interpret ambiguous regulations. Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, she, oddly, agreed with the majority in her opinion against private businesses and their records. Flowers v. Mississippi, she joined the majority in granting a new trial due to a potentially racial discriminatory jury selection. American Legion v. American Humanist Association, she favored religious freedom over imposed secularism. Apple Inc v. Pepper, she joined the liberal majority ruling against private companies. Nielsen v. Preap, dissented from the majority that the federal government can detain noncitizens with criminal records anytime.

Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice, is a texutalist and originalist in his interpretations of the Constitution. He is without a doubt, conservative in his world view and a government minimalist. In Department of Commerce v. New York, he supported the government information gathering about the people so that the government could better estimate its immigration data. It was interesting that he supported a more nosy government. In Rucho v. Common Cause; Lamone v. Benisek he ruled to take away federal judicial power. That is a reduction in federalism. Kisor v. Wilkie, he dissented in allowing government agencies to have the power to interpret ambiguous regulations. Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, agreed with the majority that private businesses records are confidential and private. Flowers v. Mississippi, he joined Justice Thomas in the dissent opinion in granting a new trial due to a potentially racial discriminatory jury selection. American Legion v. American Humanist Association, he favored religious freedom over imposed secularism. Apple Inc v. Pepper, he, dissented against the liberal majority ruling against private companies. Nielsen v. Preap, sided with the majority that the federal government can detain noncitizens with criminal records anytime.

Brett M. Kavanaugh, Associate Justice, much like Justice Gorsuch, is a texutalist and originalist in his interpretations of the Constitution. He is conservative in his world view and seems to be more libertarian in his government philosophies. In Department of Commerce v. New York, he supported the government information gathering about the people so that the government could better estimate its immigration data. It was interesting that he supported a more nosy government. In Rucho v. Common Cause; Lamone v. Benisek he ruled to take away federal judicial power. That is a reduction in federalism. Kisor v. Wilkie, he dissented in allowing government agencies to have the power to interpret ambiguous regulations. Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, agreed with the majority that private businesses records are confidential and private. Flowers v. Mississippi, he joined the majority opinion in granting a new trial due to a potentially racial discriminatory jury selection. American Legion v. American Humanist Association, he favored religious freedom over imposed secularism. Apple Inc v. Pepper, he, oddly, joined the liberal majority ruling against private companies. Nielsen v. Preap, sided with the majority that the federal government can detain noncitizens with criminal records anytime.

So, given their ideologies and most recent 2019 rulings, we can have some idea about how they could view Stay at home orders.

Liberals would put more weight into the concept and principle of mandatory, government imposed stay at home for the greater good. Conservatives would put more weight in the individual freedoms and personal decision making of the people for their own good.

In general, it would seem like a split court with Justice Roberts as the wild card. It seems like he would be against closing down private businesses, given his rulings for private companies. He also seems to favor traditional religious expressions, so forcing churches to close on Sunday, specially Easter Sunday, sounds like something he would disagree with as well. It almost seems he would be 55% against Stay-at-home orders and 45% for. This would swing the court to a 5-4 decision against Stay at home orders.

Is the violation of rights from a flu like virus a compelling government interest? It seems the court would go either 5-4 or even 6-3 on this one.

The second prong is that the law or policy must be narrowly tailored to achieve that goal or interest. If the government action encompasses too much (overbroad) or fails to address essential aspects of the compelling interest, then the rule is not considered narrowly tailored.

A broad stroke of declaring entire aspects of a society “non-essential” would not sit well with a majority of these justices. Forcing the closure of entire industries wouldn’t sit well either. It seems that the court would rule that these actions and orders are NOT narrowly tailored and encompasses way too much; 7-2, 6-3 court, easily.

The third prong is that The law or policy must be the least restrictive means for achieving that interest: there must not be a less restrictive way to effectively achieve the compelling government interest. The test will be met even if there is another method that is equally the least restrictive. Some legal scholars consider this “least restrictive means” requirement part of being narrowly tailored, but the Court generally evaluates it separately.

Now this is almost laughable. There are millions and hundreds of other, least restrictive means to “flatten the curve.” But, given some of the ideologies of the court, the failure of this test may not be so clear. 5-4 ruling on this prong is a reasonable guess.

Only a totalitarian authoritarian tyrannical oppressive Court would rule “Stay at home” orders constitutional. The same kind of supreme courts that agreed with slavery and internment camps.

Now, lets apply our Liberty Test to dig deeper in this issue.

Is it supportive of the most related right?
1. OR does it create hardships and difficulties in exercising such right?
Does it expand the most related right, and or loosen them around that right?
1. OR does it create or tighten them, increased limitation and contracting that right?
Is it equally levied on all people?
1. OR do some people receive special treatment or are targeted unequally?
Does it address a extremely specific issue?
1. OR is it too vast, broad, vague, and subjective?

First prong; No, it does not support ANY constitutional rights. One may argue, it supports the right to life and pursuit of happiness but… this virus isn’t any more deadly than a peek flu season AND there are WORSE things that KILL MORE people. And the “pursuit of happiness” is not protected as quarantine and unemployment will cause an increase in poverty and suicide… With that said, we can see that it will create hardships that didn’t exist prior. Most defiantly NOT supportive of any of our rights.

Second prong; No, it does not expand any rights, nor does it loosen any government regulations or laws around any rights. In fact, it does exactly the opposite. As the secondary prong explores, it creates, increases, and tightens limitations and restrictions around just about all rights. We can conclude that this is the most hateful act towards human rights.

Third prong; No, the simple fact that the government can just deem whomever it pleases as essential while others non-essential is the same as picking favorites and showing bias and partiality in a society that claims to be defenders of equality. It is NOT levied equally on all people. Some people are given special treatment through being deemed essential and others are targeted unequally by being deemed non-essential and ordered to close and stay home. This is the opposite of equality and freedom for all.

Fourth prong; No, it does not. The issue is so broad in that the issue encompasses the entire planet. The issue is a virus. There are hundreds of viruses, all over the place, all the time, every year, everywhere. The broadness, vagueness, vastness, and subjective nature opens the door wide open for governmental abuse and large scale control and oppression; justified by a virus.

With the Constitutionality of the orders in question and doubted, and its massive failure for freedom and liberty, it then makes us question the moral and ethical nature of these sorts of orders.

The statistics to support the claim of how dangerous the virus is, are skewed and heavily flawed. At this point, with the sheer number of people that have possibly been infected, even with the CDC guided inflated death count; there is a reasonable argument that it is just another, new, flu strand; with a fairly similar mortality rate of the seasonal flu. This can not be discounted. But it exposes the flawed proclamation of the scariness and dangerous-ness of the virus; leans more toward propaganda.

The orders are justified with the idea of “safety, for the common good… a little sacrifice for the community” and “security from a common enemy, the virus” The ethical problem is that those are the same justifications used for Japanese Internment Camps and a host of other unethical government oppression… so to use them, would also require you to justify Internment Camps to remain consistent and prevent being a logical hypocrite. The Supreme Court also upheld Japanese Internment Camps too… So that is the ethical question:

Is targeting a certain group and forcing them to do something against their will and in violation of their rights; moral and ethical?

This question answers both “Stay at home” orders and Japanese Internment Camps because they both depend on the same logic and justifications. Let’s go through the logical similarities and elements:

“Non-essentials” are identified and targeted.
Religious groups were targeted with “stay at home” assembly prohibitions.
1. Japanese Americans were identified and targeted.
The Stay at home orders force “Non-essentials” and Religious groups, to do something against their will (stay at home, can’t go to work, etc.)
1. Japanese Americans were forced to do something against their will and couldn’t go to work.
The Stay at home orders violate the 1st Amendment rights of “Non-essentials” even “essentials”
1. Japanese Americans 1st Amendment rights were violated.
The Stay at home orders are needed for “safety and security” during a government declared serious event (national emergency)
1. Japanese Internment Camps were for “safety and security” during during a government declared serious event (war time)

Logic proves there that if you justify one, it justifies the other. So the real question you have to ask is:

Were Japanese Internment Camps unethical and immoral?

You can’t say Japanese Internment Camps were immoral but Stay at Home orders are not; because, again, as logically proven above, they follow the exact same logical expression.

If you defend “Stay at Home” orders, you then must defend Japanese Internment Camps, to remain logical and rationally consistent. If not, you are illogical, irrational, and hypocritical.

We can even evaluate Jim Crow laws, using the same line of logic and rational thought. We know that Jim Crow laws and Japanese Internment Camps ARE UNETHICAL and IMMORAL; therefore, we can conclude that Stay at Home orders that depend on the very same logical must then be unethical and immoral as well.

Though, we should NOT solely depend on The Supreme Court to determine our ethical and moral grounds. They too defended Jim Crow laws (the “separate but equal” ruling, Plessy v. Ferguson) and Japanese Internment Camps (Korematsu v. United States). And let us not forget the host of other court rulings throughout history that WERE and ARE and forever will be unethical and immoral (Historic American Government Oppression). Ethics and Morality transcends the Supreme Court. They did not invent it or define it. They either agree with it and defend it, or violate it.

Those who defend “Stay at Home” orders, would have also defended Japanese Internment Camps and Jim Crow laws in those times. They may say that they wouldn’t have but their thinking and cultural emotions is of the present. But their logic is timeless. And the logic, if applied in that era, within that era’s thinking and cultural emotions, would have led them to the same conclusion; the justification of taking away rights for the common good.

Our Take on COVID-19

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With the politicians and media outlets constantly pushing news updates on the Coronavirus, we all by now are aware of it, but what is it, how dangerous is it, and why the hype?

The Data

First of all, the death rate for ages 1-49 is less than the annual flu. The low is around 12,000 deaths and the high is around 56,000 deaths, annually, from the annual flu. It hit 80,000 in 2018 [1]. How many has the Coronavirus killed? 3,494… world wide [3]. With 102,228 confirmed cases, and 3,494 confirmed deaths, we can calculate a death rate of 0.034 or 3.4% Seems high, but when you look at the age groups effected you see that most of the confirmed cases were elderly which are also the higher confirmed deaths. The death rate for SARS and MERS was far greater, 10%, and 34% [6]. Here is another important fact about the Coronavirus and its death rate. 80 percent of those who died have been over the age of 60, and of those 75 percent had pre-existing conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes [6]. Compared to Ebola that killed perfectly healthy people, this flu like virus hits harder those who are already weak. How if we put it in perspective, each year an estimated 290,000 to 650,000 people die in the world due to complications from seasonal influenza viruses. That’s EACH YEAR.

*UPDATE: 4/16/2020*

The GAME of numbers and statistical manipulation; a form of propaganda. But, numbers also can’t lie. Confirmed, low death rates show how deadly it’s not. Then how do some regions have much higher death rates? Sanitation regiment and cultural hygiene may play a role but that isn’t the virus’ doing. How can New York suffer such a high amount of mortality, yet, the rest of America doesn’t? Does testing rate change the numbers? Yes, and No.

Italy and Spain (7.7%) have high testing rates with a 5.79% mortality rate. But, France and the UK have very low testing rates, with 5.7% and 5.2% mortality rates. The example here shows that testing rate doesn’t seem to matter here. What they don’t tell you is that initially, as it began, those who died were tested and made up the initial batch of stats. Therefore, the percentage WOULD be a lot higher because they made up a majority of the confirmations from the very beginning [7].

As we test more and more, we find more and more infected, surviving; and as we find more and more infected, and not dying, this drops the mortality rate. In March, the death rate was estimated around 3.4% (The W.H.O. estimation), and even they, it seemed to be an overestimate. Even Trump disagreed with those numbers (consulting with professionals) and said it’s under 1% and everyone laughed [8]. As more countries ramped up their testing, they found a vastly lower mortality rate. South Korea determined a 0.6% mortality rate given all their increased testing. China even published a study putting the mortality rate at around 2.3%

But then this study was published. A group of researchers analyzed data from China and found that the overall mortality rate of COVID-19 was 1.38%. But if they adjusted for cases that likely went unaccounted for due to their mild or asymptomatic nature, the overall mortality rate decreased to around 0.66%, they reported on March 30 in journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases [9]. Then, another study, exposed problems with the data coming out of China. Their study published in the journal Nature Medicine had found that the death rate in the city — without including those who were likely asymptomatic — was around 1.4%.

Consistent with previous research, the new study also found that the death rate varied greatly by age. While the death rate was around 0.0016% in 0 to 9-year-olds, it increased to about 7.8% for people who were age 80 and above. The researchers also found that nearly 1 in 5 people over the age of 80 infected with COVID-19 were likely to require hospitalization whereas only 1% of people under 30 were likely to be hospitalized.

THEN the CDC issued March 24, the guidance tells hospitals to list COVID-19 as a cause of death regardless of whether or not there’s actual testing to confirm that’s the case!! Instead, even if the coronavirus was just a contributing factor or if it’s “assumed to have caused or contributed to death,” it can be listed as the primary cause!! The Western Journal author even stated “It doesn’t help that data when the guidelines for determining who’s actually died of the coronavirus are profoundly vague.”

WHICH LEAD TO this:

“probable” and “presumed” is NOT accurate or confirmed.

What if they died from just the seasonal flu? After all, that infects and kills more people annually. How would they know the difference if the symptoms are very similar?

What happens when an elderly person with numerous underlying conditions comes into the hospital and dies? What happens when someone suffering from late-stage cancer or liver failure dies in the hospital? If that person was in the final stages of life and no testing is done and no autopsy conducted, what are we to assume? [12] Data manipulation is a communist propaganda strategy. Which is why China’s numbers aren’t reliable and everyone admits it. The Washington Post, shockingly, reports on China’s unreliability and their tactful manipulation of their data [13]. Even in their opinion section, they expand on that gross dishonest and manipulative behavior [14]. So, officially, if you are basing your insight and fear on numbers from China… you are officially indoctrinated by communism.

SO NOW, we have States putting out mildly unreliable data, counting those who died from a per-existing condition, as someone who died directly due to the COVID-19. AND we have extremely unreliable data coming out of China. You add those together and BAM, trash statistics, inaccurate unreliable numbers, but cause fear.

*UPDATE: 5/25/2020*

Here we are again, with another update and CDC “revision” [23] of their numbers. Shockingly, of course, as predicted, they drop the mortality rate by a lot; to 0.26% over all.

Officials estimate a 0.4% fatality rate among those who are symptomatic and project a 35% rate of asymptomatic cases among those infected, which drops the overall infection fatality rate (IFR) to just 0.26% — almost exactly where Stanford researchers pegged it a month ago.

Ultimately we might find out that the IFR is even lower because numerous studies and hard counts of confined populations have shown a much higher percentage of asymptomatic cases. Simply adjusting for a 50% asymptomatic rate would drop their fatality rate to 0.2% – exactly the rate of fatality Dr. John Ionnidis of Stanford University projected. [24]

Why are the death rates only higher in Democrat controlled states? Yes, their numbers are/were skewed.

*End of Update(s)*

You can start to notice some hype. News outlets compare it to Ebola and and AIDS, when, in fact, it is just a mutated flu virus [4]. And all these fancy websites are set up to ‘track’ it like some sort of massive pandemic about to bring about the end of the world [5]. The media has hitting on this 24/7. If there is negative news relate to this virus, they do news alerts, blow all the horns and whistles and talk about it non stop. You have liberal states and cities quick to declare national emergencies for ONE confirmed case. I guess all their homeless spreading all kinds of disease as they shit in the streets and leave heroin needles on the ground everywhere isn’t a big deal.

Why would anyone want to politicize The Coronavirus?

For the same reason why they politicize children, victims, homeless, and every other vulnerable population and exploit tragic events; the make a political opponent look bad.

The criticism of The President after his press conference was interesting. He is acting in his official capacity and meeting with experts to formulate a federal response. And before any sort of implication or visual result, he is already attacked. Now, this is not an enforcement for any one party or person. We have our serious disagreements with him too, but we are also fair, rational, logical, and call out hypocrisy no matter where it is.

The truth is, The Federal government shouldn’t have this much power in the first place to control our daily lives. If I don’t want to get sick, ill wear a mask, wash my hands, and avoid public places; until it dies down. If I get sick, ill follow all proper medical advice, quarantine myself, stay hydrated, get plenty of rest, and keep my fever down. I shouldn’t depend on the government to tell me what I should and should not do. Mommy Daddy government in a forced healthcare state is never a good thing. Communist China couldn’t even stop it from spreading.

Suddenly all the anti-borders, pro-immigration folks are perfectly fine with China sealing off their borders. You can’t be anymore anti-immigration than the actions that China took. Not a word from them. Why? Because they politicize immigration and all the immigrants to make a party and a president look bad. They DGAF about immigrants because they aren’t all up and arms about China…

*Update 4/16/2020*

Wow, just look at what has happened since this Article was originally published on 7 March 2020.

The government has deemed people’s livelihood as “non-essential” and forcefully closing them down. Small businesses have gone out of business. Unemployment rate has shot up to over 10% [21, 22]. What’s crazy is those elements in the Bill of Rights; those businesses directly related to those absolute rights, are deemed “non-essential”

Even POLICE DEPARTMENTS feel like your absolute RIGHT to protest is “non-essential”!

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Be sure to give these piece of shit Gestapo-like police a phone call, email, or social media tag, they deserve nothing less for their oppressive mindset.

https://raleighnc.gov/policepoliceinfo@raleighnc.gov919-996-3335

And their Police Chief:
Deck-Brown, Cassandra
Cassandra.Deck-Brown@raleighnc.gov
919-996-3385https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-2&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1250098856827801600&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fpotr1774.com%2Fthe-coronavirus%2F&siteScreenName=POTR1776&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

https://www.facebook.com/CityofRaleigh
Then, they started enforcing “stay-at-home” orders, dictating where you could and could not go. Commanding you to not leave your house or get arrested. The LOCAL governments fearlessly infringing on YOUR RIGHT to assemble [14].

THEN, these LOCAL and STATE governments ordered a RELIGION not to worship, meet, on one of their holiest of days; Easter. And, when they did, they were issued citations and some even arrested! [15, 16, 17, 18, 20]. And notice a lot of these snide self-righteous virtue-signaling peaceful slaves cheering on these local governments to violate everyone’s religious freedom [19]. What is so crazy is, here, we SEE government TELLING a religion HOW they can and can not worship…

“Pursuant to Executive Order 202.10, all non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size for any reasons (e.g. worship services, parties, celebrations, or other social events) are canceled or postponed. Congregate services within houses of worship are prohibited. Houses of worship may only be used by individuals and only where appropriate social distancing of, at least, six feet between people can be maintained. Further, individuals should not gather in houses of worship, homes, or other locations for religious services until the end of this public health emergency. If possible, religious leaders should consider alternative forms of worship, replacing in-person gatherings with virtual services, such as phone or conference calls, videoconference calls, or online streaming. “

ALL THIS IN A MATTER OF A MONTH.

The Bill of Rights (READ IT!), YOUR inalienable HUMAN RIGHTS, were disregarded and violated in less than 30 days, by YOUR local, state, and federal government…

Completely based on inflated, hyped, and inaccurate numbers of a virus that has infected and killed less people than seasonal flue…

*UPDATE: 5/25/2020*

“When controlling for the differences in population across states, the number of deaths from coronavirus is over three times higher in states with Democratic governors than in states with Republican governors. As of Sunday, April 26, states with Republican governors have experienced 57.53 coronavirus deaths per million of population, states with Democratic governors have 179.74 deaths per million of population. Even excluding the state of New York as an extreme outlier, states with Democratic governors have 138.58 deaths per million from coronavirus, still over twice as many coronavirus deaths per million as deaths in states with Republican governors.” – James R. Rogers [25]

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo won glowing reviews in the news media for his handling of the state at the epicenter of the crisis, though the reviews have started to dim. Republican governors, however, were vilified for moving slowly to order total lockdowns or being the first to lift restrictions [26].

Odd, its almost as if a certain ideology is actively counting more deaths, that may not be corona-virus related, to induce fear and elicit more funding from the federal government. States that are going broke, such as California…

*End of update(s)*

Don’t By Into The Hype

As we see, investors are weak-minded sissies who bought into the scary hype. They acted like Apple and Microsoft wouldn’t recover… The worlds biggest tech companies wouldn’t survive a dip in production… so like weak minded hopeless sissies do, they sell off. Thus, the major dips in the stockmarket.

Then we have the media constantly beating the horrors of the flu into our heads and some how tying it into how poor the president is doing at containing the situation… COMMUNIST CHINA COULDN’T CONTAIN IT. Stfu MSNBC, CNN, even Fox. When you’re in a public place and you see this propaganda on the tv, change the channel.

The virus will die out.

The economy WILL recover.

The human race will go on.

You just may want to invest in companies that diversify their labor factories in more than just one country. Mexico and India are good alternatives to China alone… just a thought.

But this sissy knee jerk reaction to something that takes place annually needs to stop. Confront the fearmongers and shut up their pathetic attempts to control the weak.

Wear a mask. Wash your hands. AND GET OUT AND PROTEST!

Or just sit at home, as ordered, like a weak-minded bitch, and be a good little peaceful government slave and repeat after me: “tHe nEw nOrmAl, lOweR tHe cUrve, sOciaL DiStAnCiNg, fOr tHe gReAter GoOd.“

The government, as proven, is NOT fighting for your rights, they careless about your rights, and have proven it in the COVID-19 era.

Sources:

Do Masks Work?

The Constitutionality and Ethical Issues of ‘Stay-at-Home’ Orders

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Dear #StayHome People,

I am speaking to all of you who proclaim that you are staying at home, during the Coronavirus, because you care about other people. Sounds very noble of you. So strong, so brave. Continue reading →

Stay At Home, Follow Orders, Obey, Comply, For The Common Good

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It is amazing to see the sheer amount of people demanding that OTHER people forfeit, suspend, neglect, and give up their freedoms because of a fearful feeling imposed by unreliable stats and unconstitutional government orders. Even vilifying people who exercise their constitutional rights. What is the rationale behind this? Are their concerns legitimize? Continue reading →

COVID-19 Data, Sources, and Why?

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To help sift through all the BS and politicization of this situation, we will sift through the data and sources to help isolate the REAL experts and the REAL reliable numbers. That why when some nutjob trys to spit numbers to justify taking away your rights, you have better, more sound, ammunition, per-say. Continue reading →

COVID-19 Seems To Prove Cessationism

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Cessationsim is the idea that more tangible, visible, gifts of The Holy Spirit are no longer given to believers. That, after the completion of scripture, they are only reserved, by God, as He sees fit to use. The outbreak of COVID-19 seems to discredit just about all those who claim to have these such gifts. We will look at two predominate gifts, The Gift of Prophesy and the Gift of Healing, in the season of COVID-19.

The Gift of Prophesy

The Greek word translated “prophesying” or “prophecy” in both passages properly means: to “speak forth” or declare the divine will, to interpret the purposes of God, or to make known in any way the truth of God. Predictive prophesy has been used in scripture on several occasions, most notably, all the prophecies about the coming messiah.

But false prophesying and false prophets exist too. Ezekiel 13:1-7 tells us they “prophesy out of their own imagination” and “who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!.. Even though the Lord has not sentp them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words.” Brutal.

So, how can we know if someone is a true prophet of God or has the gift of prophesy?

Numbers 12:6 makes it clear that God will prove him true and anything the prophet claims will be in perfect alignment with the nature and character of God and His will. A true prophet does not validate himself, but will be validated by God. If a prophet claims that they “decided” to become one, or was “appointed by man” to be one, they are false (1 Corinthians 12:11; John 5:31-33). God alone decides who will speak for him and how (1 Samuel 19). To validate them and their message, God empowered them to do miracles (Acts 14:3), BUT the miracles are not to be solely relied on but the consistency and unity of the message with God’s nature, character, and will.

A false prophet will be known by their contradictions to Holy Scripture (Revelation 2:20-21). Which is why they HATE being questioned or tested. But, this also reveals them as false too because we are commanded, by God, to “test everything, hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22) and “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1). They WILL produce spiritual fruit, good or bad. THEY will produce a fruit that is rotten and stinks of hypocrisy and contradictions. A fruit of disunity with God’s Word and will. And we CAN see it if we look (Matthew 7:19-20).

Thirdly, if the “prophesy” fails, the prophet is false. That means if the claim falls short in ANY WAY, its a lie, and the person is a liar (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). Signs and Wonders do NOT prove a prophet to be of God, even false prophets will be able to do them (Revelation 13:13-14; Matthew 7:22-23). We also look at the examples in scripture. They are specific. Very specific locations, persons, events, in such detail, they are undeniably true. Like, the birth place of the messiah, Micah 5:2. The virgin birth, Isaiah 7:14. Jesus’ return from Egypt to Nazareth as a child, Hosea 11:1. He will be betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver! (Psalm 41:9; Zechariah 11:12).

A prophesy will cut so deep that it will effect the spirit of the hearers. We see all through scripture that true prophets were murdered because of the spiritual power of their words, from God. Jesus even points this out in Matthew 23:37. Jesus, himself, was murdered because his words are like a sword; and are divisive and offensive (Matthew 10:34-37). And we can go on and on about the amazing details of these prophesies, HUNDREDS of years before the events.

So, in keeping these four simple, biblical truths of discernment in mind, let’s look at validated true prophets.

True Prophets and prophesies.

Moses spoke forth God’s warnings about plagues (Exodus 9:14; 11:1; Leviticus 26:25). Deuteronomy 28:59 is brutal: “Then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.” Another predictive prophesy from Moses. Ezekiel 14:21, Jeremiah 14:12, 19:8, 24:10, 49:17; 2 Chronicles 7:13, all predictive prophesy about plagues. And there’s more.

All the prophesies about Jesus, fulfilled (see cited verses above).

Isaiah prophesied in 700 BC that the Kingdom of Babylon will be overthrown and never recover (Isaiah 13:19). This happened in 539 BC, and Babylon never recovered. But, he didn’t stop there. He also revealed it would be reduced not nothing more than a swampland (Isaiah 14:23). When archaeologists excavated Babylon during the 1800s, they discovered that some parts of the city could not be dug up because they were under a water table that had risen over the years.

Ezekiel prophesied in 587 BC that the city of Tyre will be sacked AND that it will be completely destroyed, dissembled, and thrown into the sea (Ezekiel 26:12). Alexander The Great, did exactly that. He took the rubble from Tyre’s mainland ruins and tossed it – stones, timber and soil – into the sea, to build the land bridge so he could attacked in 333-332 BC.

By far, one of the greatest prophesies of all time; Daniel 9:25. This gives the literal time frame from a certain point all the way to the appearance of The Messiah. Beginning year of the prophesy is 444 BC. Now, we must keep in mind that the Jewish prophetic year was composed of twelve 30 day months; that means the Jewish prophetic year had 360 days, not 365 days. Daniel states 69 weeks of seven years each, and each year has 360 days, the equation is as follows: 69 x 7 x 360 = 173,880 days. So, 173,880 days, or 476 years, from 444 BC brings us to… 33 AD… when Jesus publicly begins his ministry… Now THAT is a divine validation!

So, there lies the issue. IF the gift of prophesy is fully functional, the same way it was in the biblical era:

Did anyone prophesy the coming COVID-19 pandemic?

Here we have a Pastor, Marlon Bolton, of Praise Experience Church of North Lauderdale in Florida, claiming to have prophesied it “weeks before Chinese authorities even identified the novel coronavirus strain.” then stated, “We prophesied about the stock market crashing. We even prophesied about the shortage of food in this season. Very accurate.” BUT, his “prophesy” accompanied a call for donations and the heretical “Seed donations” idea. He then said God showed him that seven plagues are “destined for our land. If you give seed offerings, I believe you’ll be covered for these plagues,” There are other really wild heretical things he does too [1, 2].

So, how do we know this guy is a false prophet? He’s greedy (2 Corinthians 2:17, Titus 1:7, 1 Timothy 3:3) and demands money in exchange for “spiritual blessings” (1 Corinthians 3:5-7, 1 Corinthians 4:6-7, Acts 8:18-23). And, his nonspecific simple “claim” has been exposed as false. The stock market didn’t crash, in fact, it is still higher than it was 5 years ago. There isn’t a shortage of food really, I can go into Walmart, today, right now, and buy food. I may be limited to how much I can purchase at one time, but food is there for me to buy. Then comes the “seven plagues that are destined for our land.” Time will tell how true this is but given all the evidence, his disunity with God’s nature and character and poor accuracy reveals he is false when tested.

Then, you have the biggest heretic and fraud of our time, Kenneth Copeland. Prophesying that the end of COVID-19 was a last week. On April 2nd he stated: “It is finished. It is over. And the United States of America is healed and well again.” [3]. Welp, that failed. It is still spreading and people are still dying and today is April 11th. But, he even gets more blasphemous. He states: “In the name of Jesus, standing in the office of the prophet of God, I execute judgment on you COVID-19. I execute judgment on you, satan, you destroyer, you killer. You get out. I break your power. You get off this nation. I demand judgment on you. I demand. I demand.” That’s a bold statement. Let’s test that against scripture. “Yet Michael the archangel, when he was disputing with the Devil in a debate about Moses’ body, did not dare bring an abusive condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Jude 1:9. Hu, so this authority is reserved for The Lord. James 4:12 says “There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy.” and Psalm 50:6 “The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah” And I’m guessing that ONE judge, isn’t Kenneth. He has ZERO authority to “execute judgment” on anything. This narcissistic, self-idolatry, God’s Word contradictions are the fruit of a false prophet. Also, notice, he hates God’s will and God’s just judgements on the world through his creation, such as COVID-19. So, he’s a false prophet and heretic.

Here’s the deal, Time Magazine [5] and some psychic named Sylvia Browne [4] seemed to have just as effectively predicted COVID-19 as all those who claim to be receiving prophesies from God. That brings shame on the name of the Lord. That belittles the majesty of our Holy God. Why are there no truly deep and detailed prophecies like the ones in the Bible, about COVID-19? Simple answer:

The Gift of Prophesy and Office of Prophet are NOT functioning.

Because if they were, they failed miserably, invalidating themselves anyway. When you test these prophesies and the prophets against God’s Word, they fail. There is a reason why their prophesies can not rise above the level of a atheist psychic…

Okay, so the Gift of Prophesy and Office of Prophet are not functioning, as revealed by God’s ordained will through COVID-19. What about the Gift of Healing? Why not just heal everyone sick?

The Gift of Healing

The spiritual gift of healing is the supernatural manifestation of the Spirit of God that miraculously brings healing and deliverance from disease and/or infirmity (Matthew 4:24; 15:30; Acts 5:15-16; 28:8-9). So what did true divine healing look like in the Bible?

Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law sick with a serious high fever (Luke 38:39). Jesus heals Leprosy (Luke 5:12-14, 17:11-19). Jesus heals people who are paralyzed (Luke 5:17-26, 7:1-10). Jesus heals the blind (Matthew 9:27-31; Mark 8:22-26; John 9:1-12; Luke 11:14-23, 18:35-43). Jesus instantly transforms physical deformities (Luke 6:6-11, 13:10-17, 22:50-51; John 5:1-15). Jesus literally raised people from the dead (Luke 7:11-17; 8:40-42, 49-56; John 11:1-45).

Now all that was done by Jesus. But what did the Apostles, or those with the gift of healing do? 1 Corinthians 12:28 gives a progression of church maturity. First, of course, the apostles, then prophets that speak fourth God’s word because The Bible wasn’t completed yet. Then, the disciples of the Apostles, the teachers. Miracles to validate the Apostles and prophets before the completion of scripture. Then, the gifts of healing, helping, church organizing and leading in all sorts or languages and cultures. And then what? That’s it. Everything is all set up, the church is made, Apostles are validated by God, and Holy Scripture written and complete.

So, the Apostles, the selected few, went around and healed the sick (Luke 9:2-6; Mark 6:13; Acts 4:30, 5:16, 19:11-12, 28:7-9) But not just the “sick,” these dudes were raising the DEAD and instantly curing obvious physical deformities and undeniable physical conditions! (Matthew 10:8; Acts 3:1-10, 8:7, 9:36-41, 14:8-10, 20:9-12).

It is important to first note that Matthew 10:1, Jesus only gives this “authority” to heal, to only his closest disciples. 1 Corinthians 12:9,30 also shows that gifts of healing were not given to everyone. But do you notice something: only the Apostles are described as doing all these healings, even stated in Acts 5:12: “by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders…” And again, in Acts 8:18: “saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given.” Then, in the writings of the Disciples of the Apostles, such as Clement of Rome, Papias, and the authentic writings of Ignatius; they are not performing miraculous healings. So, we can, in fact, conclude that the gift of healing was given only to a select few. And after they passed away, we stop seeing people being raised from the dead and instant physical deformities and conditions being instantly healed.

With the spread of COVID-19, Where did all the charismatic pastors with the gift of healing go?

Why would they need to quarantine themselves? The Apostles didn’t. They went TO the sick, not concerned about themselves becoming sick. Why don’t they, the modern healers, GO TO those who are sick with COVID-19 and heal them?

A prominent Northern California mega-church, Bethel Church, whose members believe their prayers heal the sick and raise the dead is advising the faithful to wash their hands, urging those who feel sick to stay home, canceling missionary trips and advising its faith healers to stay away from local hospitals [7]. And this quote from the church says it all: “Though we believe in a God who actively heals today, students are not being encouraged to visit healthcare settings at this time, and moreover, are taught that even under normal circumstances, they must receive permission from both the facility and the individual before engaging in prayer,” Why are they not being encouraged to heal those in need? The Apostles WENT TO WHERE the sick were if the sick weren’t brought to them. And WHY would they need “permission” to engage in prayer? Who is their master, Bethel Church, or God?

Even Bill Johnson has subtle contradictions in his own statement: “Many visit Redding weekly, hoping that God will touch them. I am happy to report that many leave well and whole,” Johnson wrote. “But many others leave in the same condition in which they came. I refuse to blame God for this, as though He has a purpose in their disease. While Jesus did not heal everyone alive in His time, He did heal everyone who came to Him. His is the only standard worth following.” But, these people come to Jesus, through Bill Johnson, in faith, to be healed! He flat out admits that his gift of healing, fails. Is The Holy Spirit a failure? No! Therefore, their “gift” is not of the Holy Spirit, if it can fail. Then, he says this: “Healing happens, but it’s foolish to take unnecessary risks with your health and the health of others,” Hu, I guess the Apostles were foolish…

Considering the predominate church that claims to have the gift of healing, Bethel Church in Redding California; you would think they would be healing their community. Interestingly, As of April 9, 2020, there are a total of 19,472 positive cases and 541 deaths in California [9]. So… why aren’t these 19,472 infected being healed and why aren’t the 541 dead being raised back to life? In their very own county, there are 24 confirmed cases [10]. 18 people in isolation and 47 in quarantine, in their own region. Can they not send just one of their elders with the gift of healing to go heal those people? Apparently not.

Either their [Bethel Church] Holy Spirit is weaker than in the times of the Apostles, or it’s not the same thing. God’ doesn’t change, Holy Scripture is our guide and test; therefore, it’s not The Holy Spirit they claim to be “gifted” by. In fact, their own gifts seem to be powerless against a REAL TRUE health issue such as COVID-19.

Then we hear the excuse, “Well, there were things even the Apostles couldn’t do” referring to Matthew 17:16. But, Jesus didn’t say they couldn’t. Jesus first rebuked them for the lack of faith, and then flat out tells the Apostles it was due to their lack of faith (Matthew 17:17, 20). This sort of admission to justify why their gifts of healing fail is admitting they, themselves, don’t have enough faith in their own gifts; laughable.

The amazing amount of disunity and contradiction to God’s Word; and it become more clear the more you compare their actions and claims to Holy Scripture. God’s use of COVID-19 is a clear judgement on all these prophets and healers and their devoted followers. This seemingly “bad” virus is actually exposing the false prophets and false teachers. God is using it to shine light and expose evil deeds. And for those who continue in their faith in the false teachings and teachers, this is a judgment on them (Romans 1).

re here: https://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/religion/article241044316.html#storylink=cpy”

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COVID-19 and Closing Churches

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With the spread of the flu-like Covid-19 virus, government orders to close, and the community in fear of getting sick; at what point should a church close its doors and temporarily end meeting? To get clear guidance, we must seek God’s Word, and not our feelings or thoughts from our fragile emotional state. What did Jesus and The Apostles do? What did the early church do? What does Holy Scripture say?

What Did Jesus Do Around Sickness?

John 4:46-53 is interesting, not only is it a sickness healing, but Jesus brings up a interesting point.

⁴⁶Then He went again to Cana of Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum. ⁴⁷When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and pleaded with Him to come down and heal his son, for he was about to die.
⁴⁸Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
⁴⁹“Sir,” the official said to Him, “come down before my boy dies!”
⁵⁰“Go,” Jesus told him, “your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and departed.
⁵¹While he was still going down, his slaves met him saying that his boy was alive. ⁵²He asked them at what time he got better. “Yesterday at seven in the morning the fever left him,” they answered. ⁵³The father realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” Then he himself believed, along with his whole household.

Now, it doesn’t say WHAT the boy was sick with except the fact he was sick and was going to die. There is something interesting to note. Jesus didn’t travel to the sick boy’s house. Instead, healed the boy from the a distance. Right here, some people may use this as an example was to why self-isolation is acceptable for the church because God heals from a distance. BUT, that is a failure to see the REAL reason for this sort of RARE “distance” healing. Verse 51 would be completely irrelevant. That’s the point. The time and distance PROVES Jesus has divine healing powers. THAT’s the point. Not the distance. So, this is actually a poor example for self-isolation and God’s healing of the COVID-19.

Now, there was a very important point to be made, by Jesus. Jesus REBUKES the people, including the royal official. He literally says “you people,” referring to the crowds that follow him to see what he does and don’t really ponder what he says. He generally rebukes them for not believing in HIM as the living WORD and trusting the WORDS that he says as coming from God himself. Instead, these doubters need to see miracles for themselves in order to give some sort of self satisfying credence to his words.

There is a natural thing inside humans that if it tickles our senses, it feels more satisfyingly credible. This is also true for fellowship. If you meet people in person, or see people in person, and hear a pastor speak in person, and sing your favorite worship song in person; how much greater of the a feeling do you have than if you just watched it online. There is a natural and massive difference. Keep that in mind (1).

LUKE 4:38-40, a high fever

³⁸After He left the synagogue, He entered Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him about her. ³⁹So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and began to serve them.⁴⁰When the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him. As He laid His hands on each one of them, He would heal them.

Peter’s wife’s mother had “a high fever.” In this day, a fever of 101 would almost just feel like a hard days work. So for them to note, at this time, she had a “high” fever, means she was in bad shape. But look at Jesus, he “stood over her.” Jesus didn’t maintain any sort of “social distancing.” But it gets better, “all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him. As He laid His hands on each one of them...” They were physically bringing their sick, possible with viruses, to Jesus. And Jesus would literally, physically touch them. No gloves, no masks, no protective gear; just faith.

These people would have NEVER had an encounter with CHRIST JESUS, if “social distancing” was enforced legally and or culturally. Keep that in mind (2).

LUKE 5:12-14, Leprosy

¹²While He was in one of the towns, a man was there who had a serious skin disease [leprosy] all over him. He saw Jesus, fell facedown, and begged Him: “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” ¹³Reaching out His hand, He touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made clean,” and immediately the disease left him. ¹⁴Then He ordered him to tell no one: “But go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses prescribed for your cleansing as a testimony to them.”

Though this translation does not specifically say “leprosy,” other early writings and translations do. It is a contagious bacterial infection that gets ugly quick. Jesus, in his human body, that gets tired, needs food and hydration, reached out his hand and literally, physically, touched him. There is a symbolic concept here too. This would, according to Pharisaic additional laws and jewish ceremonial laws, would make Jesus unclean. But, we know that Jesus is far from unclean, in fact, he is the exact, perfect opposite, he is perfectly sinlessly holy. BUT he TOUCHED an unclean, infectious person. He did not avoid them. He did not maintain social distancing.

There are countless more examples in Holy Scripture but the point is, Jesus and the Apostles didn’t shy away from infectious people: Matthew 14:34-36; Luke 17:11-19.

Here, people will make the argument “But Jesus was God, we are not.” Seems like a valid point. So, let’s look at the healing that the Apostles did AFTER Jesus had ascended to heaven.

The Apostles and Sickness

Acts 5:16

“Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.”

Their faith and desire for God’s healing superseded their feeling to stay away from sick people. In fact, all the sick people and their friends and family were coming together. Remember, Jesus had already left at this point. This is just the first and early churches, after Pentecost. A mass sickness party was being held by the Apostles, and by faith, they were all being healed.

This would have never happened if the early church avoided meeting and maintained social distancing from all those who were sick.

Act 19:11-12

“And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.”

Acts 28:8-9

“And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him. After this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured.”

Again, no social distancing and avoiding meeting here.

So, we see that even the Apostles were not afraid of coming down with any of these diseases. They didn’t tell these people to say home and NOT bring their sick friends and family to them. They did NOT close their doors wherever they were at to avoid contamination. They WERE without Jesus, physically, and were on their own continuing his works.

Israel and The Church’s Historical Reaction to Epidemics and Pandemics

The 412 BC Epidemic

In 412 BC, there was an epidemic of an unknown disease, but it is often identified as influenza due to the described symptoms. It was reported in Northern Greece by Hippocrates and in Rome by Livy. It caused a food shortage in the Roman, and a famine was only prevented with food relief from Sicily and Etruria, and via trade missions to the “peoples round about who dwelt on the Tuscan sea or by the Tiber.” In other words, it spread.

In 520 BC Cyrus the Great allowed Jews to return to Judea and rebuild the Temple in 515 BC, but did not allow the restoration of the kingdom. During the time of the epidemic, Persia was in control of Israel; and Persia traded with the Roman Republic until they were conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC.

Israel did not stop conducting their ceremonies, worship services, and religious festivals even though there was a epidemic spreading from Rome.

The Antonine Plague of 165 to 180 AD

This was an pandemic brought to the Roman Empire by troops returning from campaigns in the Near East. Scholars have suspected it to have been either smallpox or measles; deadly and highly contagious. The disease broke out again nine years later, according to the Roman historian Dio Cassius (155–235), causing up to 2,000 deaths a day in Rome, one quarter of those who were affected, giving the disease a mortality rate of about 25%. The total deaths have been estimated at 5 million, and the disease killed as much as one-third of the population in some areas and devastated the Roman army. The plague may have also broken out in Eastern Han China before 166 AD, given notices of plagues in Chinese records.

The church was in the dead center of this pandemic. It was a monster of a plague. COVID-19 looks like a small cold compared to this one. So, what did the early church do during this extremely dangerous plague?

Irenaeus, who was about 30 years old at the time and was a pastor at the Church of Lyon during the plague. He was indirectly a disciple of Polycarp, who was an actual disciple of John. He never paused his mission work. He didn’t stop meeting and fellowship. He even discussed his conversations and debates with Gnostics; which lead him to write Against Heresies. Any sort of social distancing was not mentioned by him whatsoever. The thought of closing his church doors and stopping his ministry work during the plague was not an idea he had. In fact, as the plague spread, religious construction of sacred sites was increased [1]. There was an increased desire to a divine solution and Christianity was there to provide answers. Studies have shown, that Christianity greatly increased, due to consistent ministry work, during three pandemics in the Roman era, the Antonine plague, the Cyprian plague, and the Justinian plague.

The Cyprian Plague of the 3rd Century

Carthage’s bishop, Cyprian, encouraged Christians to care for the sick and dying. They buried the dead and risked getting sick by taking in the sick. This was repeated other times in the early centuries of the church during epidemics. Christians introduced a new concern and standard of care for sick people [4].

Candida Moss, a professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Notre Dame, notes that an “epidemic that seemed like the end of the world actually promoted the spread of Christianity.” By their actions in the face of possible death, Christians showed their neighbors that “Christianity is worth dying for.” The author of the Christian Post article even states “Nearly eighteen centuries after the Plague of Cyprian, Christianity still prompts people to run towards the plague when virtually everyone else is running away.”[5]

On Easter Sunday in 260 AD, Bishop Dionysius of Corinth praised the efforts of the Christians, many of whom had died while caring for others. He said:

“Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves, and thinking only of one another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy; for they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains.“

Lymon Stone, a research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and an advisor at the consulting firm Demographic Intelligence, in Foreign Policy, notes. “But it did something else, too: It triggered the explosive growth of Christianity,” he writes. “Cyprian’s sermons told Christians not to grieve for plague victims (who live in heaven), but to redouble efforts to care for the living. His fellow bishop Dionysius described how Christians, ‘Heedless of danger … took charge of the sick, attending to their every need.’”[6]

The Bubonic Plague, 1485–1551

Just about all of Martin Luther’s life ran congruent to the Sweating Sickness that spread throughout Europe. As a pastor and professor, he did not close his church doors and theological school. During the spreading sickness, he revolutionized organized and formal worship services that changed history. But it gets better. The Elector of Saxony, John the Steadfast, ordered Martin Luther, to leave. He refused. Along with his pregnant wife Katharina, Luther stayed in Wittenberg, opening his house as a ward for the sick [2,6]. Someone literally asked him if it is wrong for a Christian to flee the cities that are infected, you can read Martin Luther’s letter here. It is important to note that Martin Luther did NOT say it was wrong to flee or in our modern conduct, close churches and self-quarantine; of itself. BUT that it WAS wrong to neglected the needy because you close churches and self-quarantine. He basically said that if you have no family and not you don’t know of anyone in need, than fleeing is a good option. Here in lies the problem, what church or elder doesn’t know someone in need? What Christian doesn’t know someone who doesn’t know Christ? Is that not the ultimate eternally worth need? Martin Luther chose to stay to minister to the sick. He said:

“[N]o one should dare leave his neighbor unless there are others who will take care of the sick in their stead and nurse them…. we are bound to each other in such a way that no one may forsake the other in his distress but is obliged to assist and help him as he himself would like to be helped.“

Would Martin Luther close his church and self-quarantine during a pandemic? No, he didn’t even close and hide during one of the most deadliest pandemics in human history. He willingly, faithfully, and boldly, ministered to the sick.

The 1563 London plague

Church leaders gathered to address some issues and iron out what the orthodox biblical faith teaches in 1563 AD and 1567AD, and drafted what is known as the Heidelberg Catechism and Belgic Confession. All the while the 1563 London plague was raging. Social distancing and closing churches did not happen.

The 1663-1668 Plagues of Netherlands, England, and France

While the “Great Plague of London” was spreading, from the Netherlands, and to France, the church gathered in London and drafted the The Westminster Confession of Faith in 1664AD. An extremely important document that helped shape modern Church orthodoxy and maintain biblical reliance and understanding. Asymptomatic persons were, in fact, quarantined for 40 days, but just about all who were quarantined died; but the Church didn’t close. They took part in helping the sick.

The court of Charles II, together with lawyers, merchants and doctors, fled the city, but the poor could not. St Bride’s vicar, the Revd Richard Peirson, remained to witness the devastation to his parish community. The parish distributed relief to stricken families [7]. While the communities wealthiest persons, including doctors, fled instead of helping, the church remained [8].

The Broad Street Cholera Outbreak of 1854

Charles Spurgeon admired the Puritan ministers who stayed behind to care for the sick and dying during the Great Plague of London in 1665 [9]. Charles Spurgeon stated:

“During that epidemic of cholera, though I had many engagements in the country, I gave them up that I might remain in London to visit the sick and the dying. I felt that it was my duty to be on the spot in such a time of disease and death and sorrow.“

“During the outbreak, Spurgeon recognized his responsibility to be present with those who were sick and dying. This was not a time to be an itinerant preacher. This was a time to focus on caring for his church and the community in which he lived. He would not outsource this task to his deacons or other church leaders but remained in London in order to fulfill his duty. We know that the congregation continued meeting during those days because the church’s minute books contain records of congregational meetings carried on throughout the fall of 1854.

Amid all the pastoral challenges of the outbreak, Spurgeon and his deacons continued to receive new members, pursue inactive members, observe the Lord’s Supper, and practice all the other normal activities of a church. Not only that, but in retrospect, it was particularly during this time, when news of death raged all around the city, that Spurgeon found Londoners most receptive to the gospel.

As the pastor, Spurgeon not only continued to gather his church, but he also made himself available throughout the week, working tirelessly to visit the sick and grief-stricken.” [10].

Charles Spurgeon didn’t self-quarantine and didn’t adhere to social distancing. He went to the sick and ministered to them. The never stopped meeting and proclaiming the gospel.

The Spanish Flu, 1920s

The Christian Reformed Church convened at the Synod of Kalamazoo and drafted the understanding of God’s common grace in 1924. The Spanish Flu was raging, world wide. They did not close down their churches or cancel their synod. The churches in America, as a whole, did not close down or stop meeting.

Influenza A virus subtype H3N2, 1970s

The outbreak and discovery of the H3N2 virus, predominate pastors from around America met in Chicago and drafted The Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy. Also, during this time, in the 70s, the churches did not close during the spread of H3N2.

We see, that historically, and during much worse pandemics and plagues, the church did not close their doors and stop meeting. They, in fact, become part of the help and aid to all those who were sick; just like the Apostles before them. But what does other parts of the the Bible say about how to better address this issue?

The Ebola Outbreaks of The 1990s

Now as then, this power confounds and confuses Christianity’s critics. A recent article in Slate acknowledged that many of the people fighting the Ebola epidemic in West Africa were missionaries [11]. The writer, Brian Palmer, admitted that he “[didn’t] feel good about missionary medicine, even though [he couldn’t] fully articulate why.” He knew that he shouldn’t feel this way but he did.

Ross Douthat of the New York Times suspects that Palmer’s misgivings have something to do with the fact that the selflessness of the missionaries “unsettles” his “secular and scientistic worldview.” In that worldview, “helping people is what governments and secular groups are supposed to do.”[5]

“John Fankhauser, a missionary doctor, said: “I have a very keen awareness of the risks and the need to be extremely careful, but I also feel very called to what I’m doing,” says Fankhauser, 52, from Ventura, Calif. “I feel very confident that this is where God wants me right now.” With the exception of Doctors Without Borders, international aid groups moved at a glacial pace. The World Health Organization deferred to weak local governments to tackle the terrifying disease. Even the U.S. military response was predicated on the idea that American troops would not be directly providing care to people affected by the virus” [12]. It was up to the church. And if these Christians chose to follow “self-isolation” and “social distancing,” who would help these people?

God’s Word

Aside from Jesus’ example, and the Apostles’ example in Holy Scripture, we can find assistance in coming to a biblical response in other truths made in scripture.

Psalm 41:1

“Happy is one who cares for the poor; the LORD will save him in a day of adversity.”

There are two ways to look at this; is avoiding contact with the poor, caring for the poor? Is this being merciful and loving in that you care for their health enough to avoid them in the hopes of preventing getting them sick?

Here’s a problem. If you know you are not sick, then avoiding them is actually SELFISHNESS and UNLOVING to the poor. Because you are actually more worried about your self and your own health than to serve the Lord, willing to risk yourself for his Glory and their greater good. Making this argument, knowing your are not sick, exposes your selfishness, weak faith, and doubt in God’s protection.

So, if you are not sick, but yet you avoid taking care of the poor when given the opportunity, you are actually IN SIN. You don’t trust the Lord’s protection. You don’t believe in his divine healing. And you care more about your own life than the person you claim to love.

James 4:17

“So it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it. “

Helping someone in need, is what is good. Physically caring for someone in need, is what is good. Caring for someone in physical or emotional need, is what is good. Avoiding all these, to keep yourself from getting sick, is not doing what is good; it’s selfish, non-sacrificial, lacking in faith, thus sin.

Mark 16:17-20

¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; ¹⁸they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” ¹⁹After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. ²⁰Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Now, this is huge. Jesus said these things “WILL accompany those who believe.” They can touch deadly things, even receive into their bodies deadly things, and yet, “WILL NOT hurt them at all.” and then right after that he said “they WILL place their hands ON SICK PEOPLE.” Again, all these “will accompany those who believe.”

Think about the gravity of this. WHY are you scared to touch sick people? The REAL question is, why do you NOT believe Jesus’ word here? To simplify it; Why do you not fully trust God? Do you not trust God will/can heal them? Do you not trust God will/can protect you?

Peter could walk on water! but, because of his weak faith, he almost drowned (Matthew 14:30). If Peter walked on water, why can’t you minister to sick people? If it is fear, Jesus directly addresses you:

Matthew 10:28

²⁸Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

The “who” could be a “what” or another noun; person, place, or thing. That “thing” can also be COVID-19. COVID-19 has killed people, but it only kills this temporary body. Jesus flat out commands us to “NOT BE AFRAID” of COVID-19… Is your lack of faith leading you to disobedience?

John 10:11

“A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep but the hireling sees the wolf coming and flees”

This is a brutal revelation about pastors, elders, and church leaders. The wolf, is anything worldly that scares the weak and scatters the flock. This is exactly what COVID-19 is doing; has scared the flock and scattered it. Sadly, it appears that most pastors are just hirelings and not good shepherds, because they too have gone into hiding. Martin Luther said “For when people are dying, they most need a spiritual ministry which strengthens and comforts their consciences by word and sacrament and in faith overcomes death.”

1 Timothy 5:8

“⁸But if anyone does not provide for his own, that is his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.“

Now this is a very important COMMAND. YOU have a duty, a divine responsibility to take care of your household and family. Maintaining social distancing and avoiding contact with family and members of your household is in direct violation to this command. The things that are to be provided are care, love, fellowship, not just physical resources. Obligated to provide physical and emotional support and care. Even Bond-servant Masters are to care for their bond-servants as members of their household (Eph 6:5-9). So, this isn’t just limited to immediate blood-family.

Matthew 25:41-46

⁴¹“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Now THIS is condemning. Social Isolation and avoiding fellowship risks THIS! Social Isolation and avoiding fellowship does not feed the hungry, hydrate the thirsty, not welcome the lonely and strangers, does not clothe the poor, and cold, OR VISIT THE SICK! Jesus literally says “sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Closing the church, stopping fellowship and corporate worship directly conflicts with what Jesus is getting at here.

The church, by closing and avoiding worship and fellowship, is neglecting those in need. And dumping the duties to try to care for the local church community violates what The Holy Spirit prescribes in 1 Cor. 12:21-26.

1 John 3:16-17

¹⁶By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

What does that look like now? You see people in need, or know of a friend, family, or community in need; you have the resources to address that need and have been part of that community assisting in helping that need before; then suddenly, stopping, no longer helping because of fear of getting sick. You are not willing to lay down your life for the brothers and sisters in your community.

All of these raise the question:

Is risking infection unloving to your household?

It can’t be. The Apostles risked getting sick by healing people every day, Peter was married. Was he risking getting infected and then infecting his wife? No, it wasn’t a risk because God is soverign. In the eyes of the weak in spirit, yes, it seemed like he was risking getting infected and bringing the bug back home to his wife. But the element of a sovereign God is unfaithfully absent with that idea.

Is it then unloving for missionaries to take their families to dangerous parts of the world for mission work? Of course not. Is it a risk of danger, maybe. But is the fear of risk the problem? Yes.

The fear is being poor in faith. The fear is immaturity in faith. Peter feared drowning once he saw he was walking on water. What, is it selfish and unloving of him to risk widowing his wife to walk on water with Jesus? Is it selfish of Peter to lay hands on the sick, and risk being infected and taking the sickness back home to his wife? No. Peter was not in the wrong or acting in sin.

What Does The Bible Say About Quarantine?

So what happens when we become sick? Well, we should be quarantined; but not neglected.

Leviticus 13:4-8

the priest is to isolate the affected person for seven days. ⁵On the seventh day the priest is to examine them, and if he sees that the sore is unchanged and has not spread in the skin, he is to isolate them for another seven days. ⁶On the seventh day the priest is to examine them again, and if the sore has faded and has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce them clean; it is only a rash. They must wash their clothes, and they will be clean. ⁷But if the rash does spread in their skin after they have shown themselves to the priest to be pronounced clean, they must appear before the priest again. ⁸The priest is to examine that person, and if the rash has spread in the skin, he shall pronounce them unclean; it is a defiling skin disease.

Here we see “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron” and laid out this process of a sort of quarantine. This skin disease spoken about is a bacterial infection of Leprosy, which is contagious.

This is about those who HAVE symptoms or ARE sick. This is NOT about people who DO NOT have symptoms of any contagious sickness. The context can not be used to justify quarantining healthy people. Because, then how could the priest examine the person and determine their cleanliness or uncleanliness?

If, your sick, stay at home. If you are NOT sick, YOU HAVE A DUTY TO SERVE THE LORD STILL. But, what if the government orders the churches to close?

Government Orders to Close Churches

Romans 13:1-7

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ²Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

This comes up a lot too, by pastors who close their churches at the orders of the state. They justify this action with the use of this verse. A major problem, though. This verse applies to governing authorities of good conduct. And “good” is defined by God. That means, if the governing authorities do NOT do what is good but, in fact, impose authority that which only God is owed, they they are not to be respected and honored; because they are NOT the one whom the respected and honor is owed. Give Caesar what is Caesar’s and give God what is God’s (Mark 12:17). Worship and praise is God’s, he owns it, and expects it, commands it; it is our duty before God himself. ANY governing authority that interferes with it, is due no respect or honor in regards to it.

Watching your church service from a live video feed is not corporate fellowship and worship. You have no interaction with the pastor or fellow believers. It is no different from you watching any other video instead. You may as well YouTube other churches and pastors that you’ve never met. It’s all the same.

Corporate Worship and Fellowship

Acts 2:42, 46

“devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts”

Closing church doors and doing live video feeds of worship services is NOT being “devoted to… fellowship, to breaking of bread…” It is just not possible. You can not break bread from a live Facebook feed. Fellowship is neglected, period. The early church was so on fire for Christ, they met every day! DESPITE Roman authorities AND Jewish authorities persecuting them.

The early church defied the Roman authority. The early church defied the Jewish authorities. The early church RISKED death, arrest, breaking the law, jail, prison, and diseases; yet, still were devoted to fellowship and meeting in their homes.

Hebrews 10:25

²⁵not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

As mentioned above, the early church was dealing with governing authorities, such as Rome and the Jewish authorities, ordering them not to meet. They risked legal issues, fines, jail time, prison, and violence. Yet, the author of Hebrews, inspired by the Holy Spirit, directly and absolutely states “NOT GIVING UP MEETING TOGETHER”.

Conclusion

We see that Jesus went to the sick and physically touched them and heal them.
We see that the Apostles went to the sick and physically touched them to heal them.
We see that the early church, and the church all throughout history did NOT close their doors (willingly) for government authorities and plagues.
Irenaeus of Lyons didn’t pause his ministry during the Antonine Plague.
Cyprian of Carthage didn’t pause his ministry during the Cyprian Plague.
Dionysius of Corinth didn’t pause his ministry during the Cyprian Plague.
Martin Luther didn’t pause his ministry during the Second Bubonic Plague.
The St Bride’s Christian community didn’t pause ministry work during the Great Plague of London.
Charles Spurgeon didn’t stop public ministry work during the Broad Street Cholera Outbreak of 1854.
The Church is commanded to be devoted to each other and to meeting, and not giving up in meeting. And no exceptions to this command were given.
The Church is to obey, show respect and honor, to worldly authorities, as so long as the authorities are doing what is good and just – as defined by God. But, by commanding the Church it disobey God, the worldly authorities are no longer due respect and honor. The Church is commanded to always give God what is always and forever God’s, which is obedience and worship; even if it requires disobeying worldly authorities.

We see throughout scripture the duty and responsibility for believers to care for the sick, physically. We see God commanding the church to NOT give up meeting, but to remain devoted to meeting together; no matter what the governing authorities impose or what worldly sickness is around. That closing churches and not meeting together, in fact, reveals a lack of faith and fear of worldly pressures over the duty of what God is owed; obedience and worship.

sources:

The American Peaceful Slavery

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The modern American cultural identity is now more clear than ever. The ideology that the left has fought so hard for has been accepted by the majority of Americans. Yes, even Republicans and a lot of Libertarians and Independents have warmed up to this way of life. What is this cultural identity and way of life? Authoritarian Collectivism; the greater good, defined by the State, outweighs the individual freedom. Continue reading →

The Coming COVID-19 Aftermath

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There will be some last effects even after COVID-19 fades out. Correctly understanding the CAUSE of the negative side effects is key to not repeating the same stupidity next time, and there will be a next time. Continue reading →

Be An Independent, Free, Individual

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The COVID-19 exposed a lot of people in society as nothing more than government-dependent leaches. Whereas even the government deems them and their occupation as “non-essential.” Italy’s government run healthcare system has even deemed the elderly lives as “non-essential,” and stopped treating them. Americans, are only as free as the federal government allows them to be. Don’t be a government slave, be an independent, free, individual and become SELF-RELIANT. Continue reading →

Because The Government Said So

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Well, it’s officially obvious, a majority of Americans desire peaceful slavery over a dangerous freedom. They are willing to obey a system that puts their human rights on hold for the flu. They are so easily influenced by constant media that they are thrown in to a panic over toilet paper. They claim to hate socialism and the bullying of the moral majority, yet praise a president that is exerting extreme government control and influence. Government officials declaring that churches can’t meet. Government officials telling you where you can and cannot go. This is reality. Continue reading →

The Corona Body Blast Home Workout

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A home workout that does not need gym equipment and builds muscle! Straight body weight workouts but not just your normal body weight workouts. There are some tweeks in how to do them that will make a huge difference. Come out of quarantine with a ripped physique! Continue reading →

COVID-19 and The Gym

Stop being such a weak mental sissy! The big bad scary Coronavirus is revealing to be no worse than the seasonal, annual, flu. There are simple measures you can take to prevent getting it. It’s flu SEASON people… how are any of you surprised by this? Here are the facts of the virus, and what you can do to hit the gym safely: Continue reading →

The Coronavirus

With the politicians and media outlets constantly pushing news updates on the Coronavirus, we all by now are aware of it, but what is it, how dangerous is it, and why the hype? Continue reading →

Wearing a Mask

Why Wear A Mask If You Touch Things?

Who Should Wear The Mask?

What Do Studies Say?

So are some masks better than others at reducing the risk, even though there is still a risk with all masks?

The Real Problem

Wash your damn hands.

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The Supreme Court Justices

Is targeting a certain group and forcing them to do something against their will and in violation of their rights; moral and ethical?

Were Japanese Internment Camps unethical and immoral?

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The Data

Why would anyone want to politicize The Coronavirus?

Don’t By Into The Hype

Wear a mask. Wash your hands. AND GET OUT AND PROTEST!

Or just sit at home, as ordered, like a weak-minded bitch, and be a good little peaceful government slave and repeat after me: “tHe nEw nOrmAl, lOweR tHe cUrve, sOciaL DiStAnCiNg, fOr tHe gReAter GoOd.“

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The Gift of Prophesy

So, how can we know if someone is a true prophet of God or has the gift of prophesy?

True Prophets and prophesies.

Did anyone prophesy the coming COVID-19 pandemic?

The Gift of Prophesy and Office of Prophet are NOT functioning.

The Gift of Healing

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What Did Jesus Do Around Sickness?

The Apostles and Sickness

Israel and The Church’s Historical Reaction to Epidemics and Pandemics

God’s Word

Is risking infection unloving to your household?

What Does The Bible Say About Quarantine?

Government Orders to Close Churches

Corporate Worship and Fellowship

Conclusion

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