Analyzing Some of the Christian Responses to the Coronavirus

In this article — and my apologies for its length, but there’s just so much out there — I’ll share some of those responses, from the downright wacky to the more seemingly mundane. By the way, this isn’t about “Christian bashing” at all. To be fair, a majority of churches — and Christians — are “doing the right thing” by closing down their services and staying home.

For example, Alan Bean stated in an April 1, 2020 Baptist News article that for the concerned Christian, maybe there are no good answers right now, and sometimes we just don’t know — but acting foolishly puts us in harm’s way. For a lot of Christians who are denying science in favor of faith, he says, much of this is based on the flawed presupposition that God will come to their rescue, when he has promised no such thing.

Bean maintains that Christians “tempt God when we place ourselves in harm’s way on the theory that God will bail us out. With ‘the deadly pestilence’ of COVID-19 stalking in darkness, the only faithful, rational and compassionate response is to stay home. When we insist on holding public church services, resuming college classes or curtailing the practice of social distancing on Easter Sunday, we are tempting God.”

While I no longer agree with his theology as I once did as an evangelical, it is heartening to see…