In just a few short weeks, everything has changed in this country. We know so much more about Covid-19, government overreach and religious liberty. While states like NY, CA, VA, KY, and MI continue to govern with authoritarian and restrictive measures, GA, TX, TN, FL and elsewhere are working tirelessly to reopen their economies.
The impact has been devastating on the economy and, more significantly, on our first freedoms.
The media has shamelessly promoted a propaganda campaign about the deadly impact of the virus. No doubt, certain places in our country have been greatly affected, but in many remote areas across the country hospitals have sat empty while patients stayed home.
During a CBN interview Friday, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr. said, “We have to be savvy and can’t be duped by all the politically correct nonsense … The real numbers are starting to come out about this virus… [it is] very close to the flu.”
It has been 8 weeks since the White House originally announced public health guidelines based on the best available data at the time. Of course, that information would change, but sadly the strategy in many states has not. We now know that the fatality rate of 3.4% set by the World Health Organization (WHO) is more likely 0.1-0.3%, especially for those outside high-risk categories.
Every loss of life is tragic, without exception. This is always true whether by a car wreck, heart disease or cancer. But in our cautionary effort to preserve and protect life, we cannot ignore facts or reality. Many public measures have been reactionary and ill-advised; based on speculative modeling by a privileged few who do not face consequences for poor counsel. While epidemiologists were contradicting each other, the media did little or nothing to inform the public.
While some are responding rationally to these new revelations and working to reopen the economy while still protecting the vulnerable, others are doubling down on the tyranny of safety at any price.
One of those groups most affected are communities of faith, which are paying the high price of discrimination under the auspices of safety and protection.
On Sunday, Samaritan’s Purse shut down its Central Park field hospital after the New York City Council speaker called on them to leave the city because they were, “notoriously bigoted, hate-spewing.” This was for their deeply held religious conviction about marriage, not medicine. This had nothing to do with their ability to lend treatment to anyone in need.
But some evangelicals have either been too aloof or slow to respond to changing information. In an article published on May 2, Jonathan Leeman at 9 Marks ministries said, “I see no reason to think the government will single out churches – and again, it possesses a compelling reason to ban all gatherings in order to fulfill its basic function at preserving life. So churches should submit to government restrictions on gathering for the foreseeable future.” Really? The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in such a case where Maryville Baptist Church in Kentucky was targeted for holding drive-in services.
Similarly, prominent evangelical Ed Stetzer published an article in Christianity Today chastising evangelicals for “spreading coronavirus conspiracies” on China, government overreach and media bias. A significant portion of the article was later altered and deleted by Christianity Today without explanation.
Meanwhile, everyday evangelicals are witnessing alarming government overreach.
We have an unassailable right to freedom of assembly and the free exercise of religion. Some evangelical thought leaders must not be aware of what is happening in Greenville, MS; Louisville, KY; Harris County, TX; LA County, CA; Kansas City, MO, Maryville, KY. These examples multiply by the day.
Evangelicals deserve better arguments from their leaders that focus on reality and the common plight of everyday pastors. The Bible clearly teaches that ruling authorities are given by God to adjudicate justice against evil for our ultimate good (Romans 13:1-7). But their authority is not absolute, especially when our government continues to unreasonably forbid what scripture commands, namely our gathering together and the practice of the sacraments (Hebrews 10:25).
Even Paul exercised his rights as a Roman citizen by appealing to Caesar in Acts 25:10-12. How much more so should Christians exercise this right in a constitutional republic where we have the right to speak?
In order to appropriately and effectively push back at government overreach, Christians need to know their rights and responsibilities as citizens. Civics are seldom taught today and churches do little to inform congregants. The U.S. Constitution is a document that limits the power of government and recognizes the God-given unalienable rights of citizens.
In First Amendment jurisprudence, a common legal test is that laws that discriminate against religious practices usually will be invalidated unless the law “is justified by a compelling interest and is narrowly tailored to advance that interest.” Can we truly say that every governing institution in our country is acting in a “narrowly tailored” fashion or in the “least restrictive means necessary?”
In other words, is the state protecting a Christian’s religious liberty when it says that you can safely walk down a grocery aisle or even obtain an abortion, but you cannot walk down a church aisle or sit in a pew? Some churches have stepped up to legally challenge discriminatory “stay-at-home” orders which have already led to favorable outcomes for religious liberty. We can do more.
The post-mortem of Covid-19 could not come soon enough. We face far greater threats of our own making than the virus could ever achieve. One thing is certain, it is time for evangelicals to wake up.
Ryan Helfenbein is the Vice President of Communications and Public Engagement at Liberty University and Executive Director of the Falkirk Center for Faith & Liberty.