Random COVID Stuff from Around the Web

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Introduction

This will be a brief intro to a very brief collection of corona-related links from around the web. Maybe an editorial comment or two.

So That Was Nice of Them

Although His Answer Was True Enough

The governor of New Jersey gives us a peek inside their thought processes.

But at Least Facebook Has Our Back

I hope all of you feel lots better, as did the friend who sent me this.

How The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate is Supposed to Work

Some have had questions about how Calvin’s teaching on the lesser magistrates is supposed to look. He lays out that doctrine in Book IV of the Institutes, and it looks something like this.

Maybe This Attitude Is the Reason New York Was Hit So Hard

Please try to ignore the editorial effects — this is the only clip I could find.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhJDtrpotrI

And we should gather from this that the governor is unfamiliar with the doctrine of concursus Dei. We can gather a few other things also.

And the Queen of Overreach Lives in Lansing

And the good citizens of Michigan developed a new sort of protest.

Principles Adopted by the Christ Church Session

The Christ Church session has been making our decisions about what to do on a week-to-week basis. A couple days ago we adopted the following principles to help guide us in our decision-making.

“The elders of Christ Church affirm the following. Be it resolved:

• That no earthly government at any level or in any sphere (federal, state, local, familial, or ecclesiastical) has the authority to forbid all corporate worship of the triune creator God across the board;
• That God has given the keys of the kingdom to the church and therefore decisions to meet or not meet for worship properly and ordinarily belong to the elders of the church;
• That God has granted civil magistrates true authority concerning things around the gathered worship of the saints (circa sacra). This true authority of magistrates around worship includes the protection of life in real emergencies (e.g. fire, active shooter, quarantine of the sick in time of plague) which may temporarily interrupt corporate worship;
• That when submitting to the requests of a magistrate not to meet, the elders of the church do not relinquish their jurisdiction or responsibility in sacris but rather both church and civil authorities retain their respective jurisdictions under God and the relevant laws of the land;
• That there are times when the elders’ authority in sacris and the magistrate’s authority circa sacra will genuinely overlap, and in such times of tension, all parties are responsible to resolve the tension according to the law of Christ;
• That any earthly authority is capable of abusing their legitimate authority to such an extent that other governments may approve or direct their people to disregard that abused authority; 
• That unless a magistrate’s order is explicitly addressed by Scripture directly, if Christ Church determines to meet for worship against the request or requirement of a civil magistrate, no elder’s conscience will be bound by the decision of the majority, and the majority will uphold the right of the minority opinion to his conviction without prejudice.”

And a Letter from the Presiding Minister of the CREC

Virgil Hurt is the presiding minister of our denomination, and he released this letter after consulting with the presiding ministers of our six presbyteries.

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Kenneth Langley
4 years ago

Thanks. This will help our Board of Elderrs.

Robert
Robert
4 years ago

President Trump said any governor can open their state whenever they want to

Brendan
Brendan
4 years ago

“The good citizens of Michigan” Really??? I’ve been looking at their protests on the internet–armed citizens flouting health regulations which might endanger other people’s lives–to say nothing of their own. On the whole Americans have had it good materially, which, in my opinion, explains the impatience of the protesters in Lansing. Few of them have ever experienced the types of hardships that afflict less economically well-off citizens of many other countries, who are also struggling with unemployment and not being able to go to the hair salon, or to “buy what we want,” because of CoVid 19. A banner which… Read more »

Melody
Melody
4 years ago
Reply to  Brendan

Brendan, I don’t know what country you hail from but here in the USA, our pledge of allegiance still includes the words “under God”, not “under the state”. Our currency still proclaims “In God We Trust”. You state “…it is foolhardy…taking the law into their own hands”. Apparently you are unaware that this country is governed “…of the people, by the people and for the people”. You might find it enlightening to read our “Declaration of Independence” and “The Constitution of the United States”. Those documents require the ‘consent of the governed’ for any law to be passed. You cite… Read more »

Brendan
Brendan
4 years ago
Reply to  Melody

Hi there Melody, Thanks for your comments. I’m an Irish UK based Christian. I think it’s important to keep in mind, as I’m sure you do, that there is a difference between the American Constitution and the Law of God. They can’t be equated. The American Constitution is understood (wrongly I believe) to support the rights of citizens (i.e. individuals) to bear arms. But as Christians we have to ask whether the massing together of armed civilians does not at least imply, or symbolise, the threat of violence. And then we have to ask whether such action is something that… Read more »

Farinata
Farinata
4 years ago
Reply to  Brendan

Brendan, The point is that Americans have the right to make decisions about our own lives, and to the extent the government restricts that unjustly, citizens – note we are not subjects, here – have a right and a positive duty to resist. That is how the American republic is designed to work: people get a say when our elected representatives are being foolish or overcautious. Now perhaps you have a different idea about what measures might be appropriate to manage risk in Central Michigan. Fine. But you don’t live there; the decision of how to weigh economic concerns with… Read more »

Brendan
Brendan
4 years ago
Reply to  Farinata

Hi Farinata, I agree with you up to a point. The problem is some people won’t be in a position to wisely weigh economic concerns with public health and hygiene, and then, in the wake of something like Covid 19 land a lot of other people in serious danger. But the point I’d like to come back to, and which I also raised with Melody, is do you think that believers who give thumbs up to the people in Lansing who brandished weapons, in either a literal and/or symbolic fashion, brings glory to God and reflects the Spirit and mind… Read more »

Farinata
Farinata
4 years ago
Reply to  Brendan

I do – I think Christians should applaud good and righteous things, and people standing up to their would-be rulers is, under some circumstances, a very good thing. I am not at present under a government order that threatens to impoverish my family for little public gain. But if I were in that situation I would absolutely feel it my duty as a father and husband to defend my family through a non-violent demonstration. You as an Irishman should understand this from your own history – when peaceful remonstrance is disallowed, it does not lead to peace.

Brendan
Brendan
4 years ago
Reply to  Farinata

Thanks Farinata, I’m just pondering whether employing weapons, whether literally or symbolically, is consistent with the law of Christ.
i understand the necessity of standing up to aggression from foreign countries or homemade dictators. but it seems to me that the lockdown in America is fuelled by concern for the health and well being of the population, rather than anything devious and sinister.

Take care
Brendan

Farinata
Farinata
4 years ago
Reply to  Brendan

Sure, but you don’t need to read anyone’s mind here. It is not necessary for the argument to assume that the lock-down is part of a nefarious plot. The argument is straightforward: the governor of Michigan has imposed restrictions on the people, and the people are beginning to push back against it. They feel – very reasonably – that the cure is far worse than the disease, and want the governor to lay off. Their demonstration of political intent is a perfectly sensible and just remedy to their ills. Now if things come to shooting, that will be a different… Read more »

James Talbot
James Talbot
4 years ago
Reply to  Farinata

…and you can by lottery tickets (can’t sacrifice government revenue to the cause of social distancing) and an abortion, but you cannot get your teeth cleaned or buy a bag of mulch. The Governor massively over stepped her authority.

Brendan
Brendan
4 years ago
Reply to  Farinata

I think it’s questionable whether something like the historic Christian just war theory or Christian acceptance of the fact that some people are legally entitled to carry arms (e.g. army, police, farmers, etc), applies here. It’s unnerving, if even for symbolic reasons, armed citizens take to the streets brandishing weapons city halls or government offices. I can’t reconcile it with the Spirit of Christ, especially in this instance where it concerns the government’s genuine attempt to contain a virus that is infecting and wiping out thousands of people in the US as well in most other nations throughout the world.… Read more »

Farinata
Farinata
4 years ago
Reply to  Brendan

Christians taking to the streets to protest and defend themselves against governmental overreach may be unnerving to some, but it is also something that happens throughout Christian history in every Christian nation you can name. Christians throughout history have not objected to seeking peaceful means of redress to political grievances. Sometimes there are good reasons and the protesters – I had almost said protestants – are right, other times I suppose their motivations are venal or foolish. But to make the flat statement that such demonstrations are un-Christian means that your standards of piety exclude pretty much everyone else. That… Read more »

Brendan Devitt
Brendan Devitt
4 years ago
Reply to  Farinata

Thanks Farinata, Briefly, to take your three major points: a) I totally agree with you that Christians have the right (and over the centuries have exercised that right) to protest against their respective governments on many issues (e.g. abortion, same sex marriage etc). What I’m suggesting however is that it is questionable whether they have the right under God to bear arms in peacetime, certainly with regard to issues like buying paint etc., when the world is in the throes of a serious pandemic that is wiping out thousands of people. I can’t imagine Jesus giving the nod and wink… Read more »

Farinata
Farinata
4 years ago
Reply to  Brendan Devitt

Brendan, you keep making these kinds of declarations: “I can’t imagine Jesus giving the nod and wink to this type of behaviour, especially from his people.” But really, why is your imagination a litmus test for anything? We agree that a sovereign people has the right (I would say the duty) to petition the government for redress of grievances; in America (as with all civilized nations since the dawn of history) bearing arms is regarded as the natural right of a free man. That you dislike seeing these rights exercised, or disagree with those who do it, is not the… Read more »

Brendan
Brendan
4 years ago
Reply to  Farinata

Farinata, I’m interested that you say it is a “natural right”of a free man to bear arms. Would you equate “natural right” with “divine law?” I don’t believe you’ll find anything in the teaching of Jesus to justify violence or the threat of violence by his followers against their political or religious rulers. I don’t believe there is such a thing as “natural rights” in any case, as this is precisely kind of thing that abortionists and the pro-gay marriage lobby invoke to spread their cause. Protests or demonstrations are fine–we agree on that. But you speak of people such… Read more »

Farinata
Farinata
4 years ago
Reply to  Brendan

1. Natural rights. If there are no natural rights given by God to which we can appeal when a government entity does something we disagree with, then I don’t see how your politics admits a right of protest. If my rights are artificial, conferred by the state, I have no basis to object when the state takes them away. 2. Responsibility. The question about whether a given action is responsible, in the sense of good and reasonable and giving proper thought to consequences, is complex. Some things are more obvious than others – voluntary alligator wrestling is on one side… Read more »

Brendan Devitt
Brendan Devitt
4 years ago
Reply to  Farinata

Farinata, Thanks for your comments. Just a brief thought or two before signing off for now (I’ve had my say!). a) I meant there are no “natural rights” in the sense that everything is “grace.” Everything is rooted in God. Theologically “natural rights” or “nature” has often been understood as something separate from grace–something into which grace has to be infused. b) We need to be responsible in case we give people a false sense of security which might lead to sickness or possibly even death. That’s all I’m saying. c) I do indeed take serious and care about people… Read more »

William
William
4 years ago
Reply to  Farinata

Reasonable to you and some protesters maybe but not to the vast majority of American citizens. Bringing guns to a rally is antithetical to peaceful.

Farinata
Farinata
4 years ago
Reply to  William

I dunno – many North American jurisdictions call armed policemen “Peace Officers”. It is almost as if guns are just tools that sometimes are used for good things and sometimes for bad things… Nah, he explained – it’s different when the government has weapons.

soylentg
4 years ago

I had to double check the link to the Facebook article, thinking it may have actually been a covert link to a Babylon Bee article. Facebook’s “Guy Rosen, the company’s vice president for integrity ….”

Shades of George Orwell’s 1984 Ministry of Truth!

You just can’t make this stuff up.