RELIGION
Two asides:One, When I say religion, I am going to be specifically referring to Christianity. This is a required by the limits of my own knowledge (all I know is Evangelical Christianity). This is also required since I think that much of the nonsense being pushed in the media about the current pandemic. I will try to do a post later with perspectives of other modern religions, but it will probably be worthless.
Also, we will also take a look at secular perspectives later. I am knee deep in some Heidegger right now. Once I figure out what the hell he was writing about, I will check back in.
Social Media Chicken Littles
If you follow evangelical friends on social media, you may have come across a few biblical posts with dire warnings from the Bible. The COVID-19 pandemic has sent people diving for their bibles and looking for passages to explain our current crisis. Even Kourtney Kardashian chimed in with a reminder from 2 Chronicles -pay attention children.
In addition to crazy posts on social media, I have seen Bible verses quoted on news sites' comment sections, blog posts, and even in spots for government feedback. Now, let's just take a minute and think of the type of person that decides to go on to a website and start copying and pasting Bible verses in the comment section. Yeah.
So, what has people so worked up?
Signs and Wonders
Many of us grew up inundated with this mentality. We gathered in churches multiple times a week and a preacher would tell us to interpret the signs all around us. He would tells us look out upon the world through the filter of scripture.Let me tell you, those scriptures definitely affected the picture of the world that we saw. The coloration was darker, more foreboding, and full of potential destruction! We would see evidence of the world hurtling toward destruction. The fabric of society was falling apart. The forces of Satan were conspiring against the Church of Christ and evil ran amok in the halls of power. Arrayed against us were principalities and demonic influences in high places.
In my last post, I mentioned how some people are drawn to conspiracies. Their minds translate the mysterious and the unknown in a way that stitches together different pieces of data and forms a picture that can only be understood via a particular key or code. Of course, the church provided this cypher. Bibles in hand, we sorted through the signs and wonders all around.
Now, remember, this was our perspective when there was no pandemic! When stuff actually happens, we would get really crazy. During the days after September 11th, I was a young minister in training. The members at my church were concerned and prayerful. Their questions centered around End Times and assurances of personal salvation. Some people who were "saved" previous to those events, got "saved" all over again, just in case.
The point is, people have been primed. For years, some of us have heard constant exhortations to looks for "signs of the times". We should prepare ourselves for judgement of almighty God upon this Earth and the people therein.
Gravedancing
You may have noticed that it is not all doom and gloom from your fundamentalist friends and neighbors. They may seem quite excited for the End. In the midst of warnings about pale riders and brimstone storms, they may remind everybody about the glory of things to come.This is not just grave dancing. This is the hope that we have been taught to maintain. The hope is rooted in the idea that Jesus will return and will not only bring judgement and devastation, but also rewards for the faithful.
Where did these strange ideas come from? What is the source for this perspective on the world? Well, some of it comes from the Bible, for sure. However, the Bible has been jammed into a perspective and that perspective is extremely important in understanding the mindset of our apocalyptic friends.
I will try to trace some history in the next post.
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