No excuse to persecute

When things get difficult, people start looking to see who is to blame. Everyone knows that the epicenter of COVID-19 was Wuhan, China. Somewhere along the line, it became inappropriate to mention the origin of this global pandemic. Unfortunately, the visceral tendency to assign blame has shifted from the obvious, China, to a less convincing target -- the Evangelicals. Are evangelical Christians responsible for the spread of the virus?

Evangelicals are defined as a group within Christianity that is conservative, has definite beliefs and tries to convince others of their beliefs. According to Katherine Stewart of the New York Times, it is OK to blame evangelical Christians for the spread of the coronavirus. She has gone on the offense against Evangelicals by writing columns with scathing titles such as, "The Religious Right's Hostility to Science is Crippling Our Coronavirus Response." Another column is titled, "The Road to Coronavirus Hell Was Paved By Evangelicals." She implies that all Evangelicals deny science because they voted for President Trump. Like many who oppose the current administration, she makes blanket statements about everyone who voted for this president.

As one who is targeted by such brutal statements, I must address this accusation. Most evangelical churches have closed their buildings for services. Why is it OK to attack Christians? What if we replaced the terms "Evangelical" or "Religious Right" with any other religion, race or political affiliation? Marxism teaches that it is always OK to attack those who are in the majority or who hold power. Perhaps that is what motivates some people to target majority groups in a way that is unfair and dishonest?

Rodney Howard-Browne, pastor of The River at Tampa Bay Church, was arrested at his home Monday. His crime was holding church services Sunday in a county where a social distancing order was in place. Stewart previously singled out Howard-Browne in the New York Times. According to an article by Liberty Council, who is representing Howard-Browne, the church had several measures in place to protect attendees from contracting COVID-19. It will come down to a matter of interpreting the Hillsborough County's administrative order. Apparently, that order includes 42 paragraphs of exceptions.

Evangelicals are among those who are going to extreme measures to follow scientific guidelines by closing their places of worship and learning to use technology as a temporary substitute to large gatherings. A rare exception is Rodney Howard-Browne. He holds to a belief system that is on the fringes of Christianity. I am not sure he would call himself an Evangelical, and I don't know how he voted in the last election. His actions have opened the door for enemies of religion to take control.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio threatened to permanently shut down churches and synagogues that do not comply with the government guidelines that forbid gathering. This is a temporary situation, yet the threat is that the government can take away the free exercise of religion from certain groups.

Persecution by the government is nothing new to Christians. First century Christians faced persecution under Nero. Rome had caught fire, there was much damage, and someone had to be held responsible. The unpopular Christians were an easy target. Once blame was assigned to them, they were harassed, imprisoned, and executed. Things were so gruesome that the deceased bodies of Christians were used as torches to light Nero's garden parties. Thankfully, we have yet to see that kind of out of control hatred in the United States.

Do not blame evangelical Christians for the coronavirus. If China would have handled this outbreak properly, we would not be facing a pandemic. Churches would be able to meet Palm Sunday to commemorate Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Next week, our churches would be open for Easter services -- usually the largest gathering of the calendar year. Religious leaders would not be targeted for arrests or permanent closures for holding religious meetings.

We need to pray for those who would use this pandemic as an excuse to persecute any group or race of people. We live in a fallen world where bad things happen. We need to pull together as a nation and pray for each other regardless of our religious, racial or political differences.