Coulter maintains its high time the various Churches united to combat the influence of fundamentalist anti-vaxxers within the faith.
‘Depart from me ye cursed’; the words of Christ Himself taken from the New Testament Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 25 verse 41 should be the ethos of a united front by the various Christian denominations against the false prophets peddling conspiracy theories about the vaccines to combat the Covid pandemic, a pandemic which has claimed millions of lives across the globe, including thousands in the island of Ireland.
And to inappropriately misquote the words of a former Sinn Fein president in relation to Covid 19 and its variants - ‘they haven’t gone away, you know.’ Ireland is still gripped by the pandemic.
The full verse from Matthew states: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
I’m a mainstream Presbyterian minister’s son married to a Baptist pastor’s daughter. The Christian Church has been a major part of my life since I can remember.
I know how important the Christian Church still is in the lives of many folk on this island. That’s why the Christian Church needs to step up to the mark in terms of its moral duty in combating the pandemic.
So let me state categorically as a born-again Christian where I stand on the pandemic. I fully support the vaccination programme and indeed whatever measures the Stormont power-sharing Executive takes, and especially the health department, to curb the spread of a virus which makes malaria, yellow fever and even ebola look like a mild common cold.
I am double vaccinated and as I write, I have already booked my date for my Covid vaccination booster. I’ve also had my flu jab.
The anti-vax movement within Christianity fires out its ludicrous conspiracy theories as if they have just had an all-expenses paid trip to Area 51 in the United States to see alien spaceships.
In Ireland alone, how many fundamentalist preachers have mouthed off against vaccination, or the contents of the vaccine, or how the vaccine was conceived, and then succumbed to Covid or worse still, told someone not to get the vaccine only for that person to get Covid - and die?
If you want a conspiracy theory - how’s about the danger of the supposed anti-vax movement being infiltrated by Far Right extremists who want to ‘milk the gullible’ for their own devious ends?
As a journalist with 43 years’ experience under my belt, I fully support the concepts of a Free Press and freedom of expression. Both are solid pillars of any proper democracy. But as a society, it is our moral duty to take a stand against the myths being peddled by the anti-vax movement, especially those emanating from our Christian Churches.
Such heresy must be stamped out once and for all in our Churches. The vaccination programme has been implemented for a purpose - it's simple, to combat a killer virus which, historically, will probably rank as one of the biggest killers of the 21st century.
Mind you, the so-called Christian anti-vax movement is dangerously subtle in its propaganda, mixing the pro-life campaign with the anti-vax message by pushing the myth that the vaccination was based on an aborted baby.
This so-called Christian anti-vax movement also likes to twist Scripture to try and convince people the Covid jabs are the ‘mark of the beast’, as foretold in the New Testament Book of Revelation Chapter 13 and verse 18: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast for it is the number of a man.”
The Book of Revelation deals with the end times of the world, so fundamentalist anti-vaxxers will want to push the interpretation of this chapter as suggesting the Covid vaccination programme is the ‘mark of the beast’ and that prayer alone will protect you from the virus.
I wonder how many of these fundamentalist myth peddlers have had a flu jab or an anesthetic injection at the dentist and not moaned about having the ‘mark of the beast’?
Now under freedom of thought, these anti-vaxxers are perfectly entitled to have their crazy conspiracy theories. The problem as always for the Christian Churches is when they start ramming these myths down folks’ throats and people start falling ill, and dying. Quite often, when these supposedly Christian anti-vaxxers are challenged about their conspiracy theories, their retorts are blunt - read your Bible!
So let’s play the supposedly Christian anti-vax movement at its own game - the Bible.
As a born again Christian who has been vaccinated, I take my Biblical stance from the New Testament guidance from First Corinthians Chapter 6 and verse 19: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God and ye are not your own?”
In practical terms, God has given me a body and I have a Christian duty to look after it as best I can. I got the vaccine because it has been proven to protect me from Covid, and equally importantly to protect my fellow human beings if I am vaccinated.
No doubt, the extremist fundamentalists on reading this interpretation of this text from First Corinthians will be furiously flicking through pages of Scripture to find verses which will contradict this and supposedly justify their ridiculously silly anti-vax stance.
Put bluntly, the supposed Christian anti-vax movement is no better off than the spiritual weirdoes who dance about with poisonous snakes as part of their worship.
This single article will not shut up the supposedly Christian anti-vax movement. Tragically, it may take a situation when they, or a loved one, are dying of Covid because they didn’t get vaccinated to convince them of the stupidity of the anti-vax propaganda.
‘Depart from me ye cursed’; the words of Christ Himself taken from the New Testament Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 25 verse 41 should be the ethos of a united front by the various Christian denominations against the false prophets peddling conspiracy theories about the vaccines to combat the Covid pandemic, a pandemic which has claimed millions of lives across the globe, including thousands in the island of Ireland.
And to inappropriately misquote the words of a former Sinn Fein president in relation to Covid 19 and its variants - ‘they haven’t gone away, you know.’ Ireland is still gripped by the pandemic.
The full verse from Matthew states: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
I’m a mainstream Presbyterian minister’s son married to a Baptist pastor’s daughter. The Christian Church has been a major part of my life since I can remember.
I know how important the Christian Church still is in the lives of many folk on this island. That’s why the Christian Church needs to step up to the mark in terms of its moral duty in combating the pandemic.
So let me state categorically as a born-again Christian where I stand on the pandemic. I fully support the vaccination programme and indeed whatever measures the Stormont power-sharing Executive takes, and especially the health department, to curb the spread of a virus which makes malaria, yellow fever and even ebola look like a mild common cold.
I am double vaccinated and as I write, I have already booked my date for my Covid vaccination booster. I’ve also had my flu jab.
The anti-vax movement within Christianity fires out its ludicrous conspiracy theories as if they have just had an all-expenses paid trip to Area 51 in the United States to see alien spaceships.
In Ireland alone, how many fundamentalist preachers have mouthed off against vaccination, or the contents of the vaccine, or how the vaccine was conceived, and then succumbed to Covid or worse still, told someone not to get the vaccine only for that person to get Covid - and die?
If you want a conspiracy theory - how’s about the danger of the supposed anti-vax movement being infiltrated by Far Right extremists who want to ‘milk the gullible’ for their own devious ends?
As a journalist with 43 years’ experience under my belt, I fully support the concepts of a Free Press and freedom of expression. Both are solid pillars of any proper democracy. But as a society, it is our moral duty to take a stand against the myths being peddled by the anti-vax movement, especially those emanating from our Christian Churches.
Such heresy must be stamped out once and for all in our Churches. The vaccination programme has been implemented for a purpose - it's simple, to combat a killer virus which, historically, will probably rank as one of the biggest killers of the 21st century.
Mind you, the so-called Christian anti-vax movement is dangerously subtle in its propaganda, mixing the pro-life campaign with the anti-vax message by pushing the myth that the vaccination was based on an aborted baby.
This so-called Christian anti-vax movement also likes to twist Scripture to try and convince people the Covid jabs are the ‘mark of the beast’, as foretold in the New Testament Book of Revelation Chapter 13 and verse 18: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast for it is the number of a man.”
The Book of Revelation deals with the end times of the world, so fundamentalist anti-vaxxers will want to push the interpretation of this chapter as suggesting the Covid vaccination programme is the ‘mark of the beast’ and that prayer alone will protect you from the virus.
I wonder how many of these fundamentalist myth peddlers have had a flu jab or an anesthetic injection at the dentist and not moaned about having the ‘mark of the beast’?
Now under freedom of thought, these anti-vaxxers are perfectly entitled to have their crazy conspiracy theories. The problem as always for the Christian Churches is when they start ramming these myths down folks’ throats and people start falling ill, and dying. Quite often, when these supposedly Christian anti-vaxxers are challenged about their conspiracy theories, their retorts are blunt - read your Bible!
So let’s play the supposedly Christian anti-vax movement at its own game - the Bible.
As a born again Christian who has been vaccinated, I take my Biblical stance from the New Testament guidance from First Corinthians Chapter 6 and verse 19: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God and ye are not your own?”
In practical terms, God has given me a body and I have a Christian duty to look after it as best I can. I got the vaccine because it has been proven to protect me from Covid, and equally importantly to protect my fellow human beings if I am vaccinated.
No doubt, the extremist fundamentalists on reading this interpretation of this text from First Corinthians will be furiously flicking through pages of Scripture to find verses which will contradict this and supposedly justify their ridiculously silly anti-vax stance.
Put bluntly, the supposed Christian anti-vax movement is no better off than the spiritual weirdoes who dance about with poisonous snakes as part of their worship.
This single article will not shut up the supposedly Christian anti-vax movement. Tragically, it may take a situation when they, or a loved one, are dying of Covid because they didn’t get vaccinated to convince them of the stupidity of the anti-vax propaganda.
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Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter Listen to commentator Dr John Coulter’s programme, Call In Coulter, every Saturday morning around 10.15 am on Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM. Listen online. |
"First Corinthians Chapter 6 and verse 19: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God and ye are not your own?”
ReplyDeleteSo Coulter's God is saying that doesn't matter what you do, say or think, your ass belongs to Jesus? Then there is no free will.
And wouldn't that ownership also apply to Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot? So who's really responsible then?
But this is easily neatly sidestepped by not being allowed to question his God.