Good morning and happy Saturday! I hope that you had a safe and productive week.
The New York Times (which masquerades as a legitimate new source) had this as their headline this week:
Churches were eager to reopen. Now they are a major source of Coronavirus cases.
The virus has infiltrated Sunday services, church meetings and youth camps. More than 650 cases have been linked to reopened religious facilities.
Oh no, the sky is falling! We need to close those evil churches. As the headline says, “they are a major source of Coronavirus cases.” Really? What is your definition of “major”? This week, in the United States, we are having 60,000 cases every single day. There have now been more than 3 million cases since the pandemic began. To say that 650 cases is somehow a major source is absolutely ludicrous. Would it be great if churches, synagogues, mosques, weddings, funerals, camps and other activities (which are included in that 650 count) were completely exempt from cases? Yes, but that would have been a miracle that only God could have done. Wherever people gather in numbers greater than one, there is a risk of being exposed to the virus. Every store, restaurant, gas station, bank, office, warehouse, school, sporting event, gym, hair salon or barber shop, nail salon, hospital, doctor’s office, grocery store, liquor store, etc. all have something in common. Someone could work there or visit there that has been exposed to the virus. Short of ceasing all human interaction, everything carries varying degrees of risk. That is why it is important to understand that and do your part in keeping yourself and those around you healthy.
Anyway, back to the headlines. In the story, the author cites several clusters that make up the 650 cases. One church in Oregon accounts for a little over 350 of those cases. Interestingly enough, it is believed that it started with a wedding held there with guests from out-of-town. Another church in Texas accounts for 50 more cases. Kan-a-kuk camp in beautiful Branson, MO had 80 cases. Let’s stop there for a moment and do some math. 350 + 50 + 80 = 480. The three highest number clusters they cited account for 74% of their total. That would mean that the other 170 cases or 26%, are spread out over the hundreds of thousands of other churches and religious gatherings. Btw, since we are in math class right now, 650 religious affiliated cases divided by the 3,000,000 cases in the US = 0.000217. So I ask, is that really a “major source”? Obviously, the answer is “no”. The author and/or the paper simply was trying to make people think this is one of the big problems facing the country as we grapple with the Covid-19 crisis. What I really want you to get from my Ramblings is that we need to start thinking beyond the headlines and the sound bites. We are living in a time when people will believe almost anything that is in the headlines, tweeted, posted, or quoted. Many will do so without giving second thought to the validity of the source or the intent of the author. Every day we are bombarded by information about the Coronavirus, the economy, politics, race relations, sexuality, the police, and a gamut of other hot button issues. Please remember that everything you read, see on the newsfeed, or hear, is not always 100% true or unbiased. Do yourself a favor, don’t accept everything at face value. There are a lot of people with completing agendas that are dispensing information in mass quantities. Maybe an easy example of this is relative to the stock market. The other day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down for the day. One news source indicated that the Dow plunged on that day. Another source said something to the affect that the Dow was down slightly on the day. Overall, it was like 1%. How that could be considered a plunge is beyond me. But the point it, read beyond the headlines and make sure you think through what is being told.
Btw, I don’t believe for a minute that there are only 650 cases of Covid that have occurred as a result of religious gatherings as cited in the article. I imagine it is far higher than that. Based on our personal experience, we know several families that have dealt with the virus. As I have said, whenever and wherever people gather, there will be a risk. We will continue to do what we can to monitor the situation in our community and prayerfully adjust our services accordingly. Of course, getting accurate guidance from the “experts” takes us right back to where we began with this Ramblings.
Deception is a tool of the devil. Discernment is a gift from God. Choose wisely my friends.
You are loved, appreciated and prayed for,
Larry
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