COVID-19 Is Not God’s Judgment | Christianity Today
This article was published in Christianity Today. I reference it here because others will read it. I have a term for it.
It’s baloney.
The two reasons the author gives for Covid-19 not being God’s judgement are arbitrary, illogical, and not supported by scripture. The judgement of God does not have to be miraculous in order to be judgement and “innocent bystanders” are often caught in the wrath. Consider the Flood that was universal except for 8 people. None of us are innocent, and none deserving of mercy. God would be right in judging the US. This nation is as deserving as Sodom.
There could be a case that this virus is God’s mercy though. He has taken away idols. He has made His gospel known more broadly than ever. He has given people time with their families. Mercy and judgement often go hand-in-hand (Habakuk 3:2).
If you want a reasonable statement about what we can and cannot say about this virus, read Kristopher Schaal’s article here.
[Kevin Schaal]
A prominent church where I live put up a billboard that drew citywide attention: “Is the coronavirus a judgment from God?” This is the most common question I’ve been asked since the pandemic began.It’s easy to quote the Bible in support of such positions, from plagues in Egypt to the destruction of Jerusalem to the Book of Revelation’s prediction that the world will be judged with “pestilence.”
However, these are not those days. We can know this for two reasons.
First, biblical judgments through disease are supernatural in origin.
When God sent “boils” on Egypt, they broke out instantly “on man and beast” throughout the land. The “pestilence” of Revelation will come by one of the “four horsemen of the apocalypse,” not a wet market in Wuhan.Everything scientists can tell us about COVID-19 is that the virus evolved from other viruses. It is natural, not supernatural. God did not cause this virus or the pandemic it has created. Like other natural diseases and disasters, it is a consequence of living in a fallen world.Second, biblical judgments are against specific sins and sinners.
From Pharaoh’s obstinacy to Miriam’s racial prejudice to Herod’s prideful idolatry, divine judgments of the past and future come to those who refuse his word and will. Throughout Scripture and history, God deals with us as gently as he can or as harshly as he must.No specific sins caused this virus.
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