Nothing in the entire universe of Social Justice Warriorism has come close to damaging the Christian church like the China Virus has. From the moment the “Two Weeks to Flatten the Curve” was launched, the vast majority of Christian pastors enthusiastically went along with church lockdowns, social distancing that made it impossible to hold a service, and other restrictive measures. Now, with the advent of vaccines, a new tool of control has been eagerly adopted by some churches.
Archbishop John C. Wester
On May 20, the Archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico, John Wester, sent out new guidelines that only vaccinated people could sing in church choirs, and only priests or laity who have been vaccinated could distribute communion on the tongue. We don’t need to get into the failure rates of the vaccines or side effects:
- For cancer patients-- for the fact that none of the vaccines were tested for side effects.
- For their ineffectiveness
- Side effects from the CDC
- Brain fog
- Heart disease in teens
- “Rare” clotting with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine
- Skin reactions and other side effects from Moderna and Pfizer
- Or shingles, just to name a few
Now why in the world would anyone not want a vaccine that is not FDA approved nor has ever been tested on animals?
Most churches meekly complied, always under the auspices of “caring” for the health of their congregations. Those who didn’t were shamed, persecuted, and attacked. Mark MacDonald, the head of the Anglican Church in Canada, called the refusal to disband a “very unwelcome activity” that was contributing to a “toxic mix, rather than the healing.” A desire to meet in person in violation of national rules was blamed on “right-wing” elements and Q.
Canadian Police Arrest Pastor Artur Pawlowski For The ‘Crime’ Of Holding A Church Service
One heroic pastor, Canadian Artur Pawlowski, the head of Calgary’s Street Church in Alberta was arrested and charged with “organizing an illegal in-person gathering” for not complying with “social distancing” rules. A more successful heroic stand, taken by Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church, occurred in July 2020 when his church met indoors, at full capacity. In February, the Supreme Court eventually blocked California from enforcing its ban on indoor services. But in its wisdom, the Supreme Court also denied a Nevada church’s request for clarification on whether houses of worship were to be treated the same as secular entities. But such stands were rare. And in November 2020, a judge ruled against a Louisiana pastor who defied the China Virus rules.
What should stand out is not the relative handful of pastors who courageously fought the China Virus restrictions but the armies who did not. Rather than tangle with the state, they meekly went along or convinced themselves that they were advancing national health. Much of this attitude came from the conditioning of pastors who, like all other Americans, have been propagandized into thinking that every bad thing that can happen is preventable, that disease can be completely eradicated, that we can even compensate for solar flares and sunspots. It may not be surprising, but it is depressing, and despite what pastors may think, it is driving people away from Jesus.
Case in point: a friend who has been steadily drawing closer to becoming a committed Christian had been attending a somewhat moderate church in an unnamed state. When the China Virus hit, he asked the pastor why he wasn’t defying the state and keeping the church open—this from an as-yet non-believer! The pastor replied that he had to take into consideration the health of the congregation. “Wasn’t that the job of individuals in the congregation?” my friend replied. The pastor had no answer but to mask up. Anyone who thinks this message of submission to earthly authorities isn’t a part of the spiritual warfare taking place in this country and probably needs a refresher class in Jesus Christ.
But don’t ignore the impact of Social Justice Warriorism (Ja-Wennie-ism). When Christian pop/rock stars such as John Cooper, the lead singer for “Skillet,” says that “I think we’re seeing a civil war in the American church over social justice,” a trend he saw developing in 2012, then perhaps we need to pay attention to what’s happening in our churches.
Christian rock star says critical theory, woke ideology is sparking a 'civil war' among Christians in the US
Cooper said secular terms such as “social justice” began to seep their way into the Christian language because the Church took on a timid posture about social-justice issues. Cooper cited a recent Christian bestselling book by a black “Christian” woman and professor of theology, Chanequa Walker-Barnes, A Rhythm of Prayer. Her book includes a prayer saying, “God, please help me to hate White people.” He also pointed out that the recent fatal shooting of a 16-year-old who was caught on camera charging an unarmed teen with a knife was viewed by “my woke pastor’s friends [who] also think it’s systemic racism.” Cooper, wise beyond his years, said “there is no such thing as unity outside of the truth. . . It’s make-believe, it’s pretend . . . .” Or, to use the terminology from a previous age, it’s satanic.
The United Methodist Church just appointed its first transgender deacon. Does this attract or repel “seekers” from the church?
Ask the mainstay of all Protestant denominations, the Southern Baptist Church, which has suffered a historic one-year decline in membership of more than 400,000. Baptisms declined as well.
Analysts such as Scott McConnell of LifeWay Research, who pinned the decline on the China Virus... “The last year Southern Baptists saw this few people follow Christ for the first time,” he noted, “was 1918 and 1919 when the influenza pandemic was sweeping the world.” There was one major difference between 1919 and now; however: churches did not voluntarily shut their doors in 1919. McConnell also noted the increased secularization among Americans—which hasn’t been helped by churches’ weak attempts to “blend in” to the landscape. For example, one Southern Baptist church in Centerville, Ohio, dropped “Southern Baptist” from its name altogether, calling itself a “community” church.
Beth Moore Leaves the Southern Baptist Convention.
Just how deep is the Ja-Weenie-ism? The Southern Baptist Convention has proposed “Resolution 9" which defines Critical Race Theory as “a set of analytical tools that explain how race has and continues to function in society” and holds that it can “aid in evaluating a variety of human experiences.” One assumes it refers to such human experiences as race hate, murder, and seeking forgiveness for being white. Baptist doctrine prompted Living Proof Ministries head, Beth Moore, into leaving the SBC, claiming, “I don’t identify with some of the things in our heritage that haven’t remained in the past.”
No church is immune. In the 1990s, I worked with a powerful, mostly black megachurch in Los Angeles. It was definitely growing, with one of the largest indoor gathering places in America. But the otherwise erstwhile pastor dove into racism, substantially blaming whites and endorsing reparations. One-third of the mostly black congregation left—that was how repugnant the notion of racial division was even then. Since then, the church has significantly withered.
The point at which the church—and its pastors—draw a line and say “no more” is still somewhere in the distance, if at all. The MacArthurs and Pawlowski's are apparently vastly outnumbered today by a larger group of ministers ready to bend the knee to Black Lives Matter and the CDC’s latest restrictions, but not to the Lord.
