COVID-19 and Religious Freedom

G. N. Barkman

The current COVID pandemic has affected almost every area of life in America, including normal church activities. Most churches cancelled every meeting initially, with some opening up partially and others completely after awhile, while still others remained closed. In many cases, these decisions were made by the churches themselves, but for others, decisions were forced upon them by governmental edict. Details vary from state to state and the situation highlights the issue of religious freedom with special focus upon the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Discussion

How Can We Simultaneously “Submit to Every Ordinance of Man” and “Obey God Rather Than Men”?

SI Filings

“…it seems necessary to amend the statement, ‘We must obey the government unless the government explicitly tells us to disobey God,’ to something like this: ‘We must obey the government (1) unless the government explicitly tells us to disobey God, or (2) unless the government exceeds its jurisdiction so as to speak authoritatively into a sphere regulated by another, God-instituted authority.’” -

Discussion

“Our personal convenience (for example, meeting in an air-conditioned building rather than outside in the heat) is never a legitimate reason for disobeying the government.”

SI Filings

“…there is one exception that is clear. When our biblical responsibility to obey government authorities (or any other earthly authority) conflicts with our responsibility to obey God, we must choose to obey the higher authority…..May we too have the grace to disobey government authorities when they command us to do things contrary to the clear teachings of God’s Word.” - P&D

Discussion

“Is Europe Christian? It’s a more complicated question than it sounds.”

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“…unlike so many other scholars, [author Olivier Roy] emphasizes the difference between Lutheranism (which, with its doctrine of the Two Kingdoms and vocation is ‘self-secularizing,’ giving religious significance to the secular realm) and Calvinism (which tends to seek Christian rule of the secular order).

Discussion

An old debate over religion in school is opening up again

SI Filings

“A major catalyst for division was the decision of the Cincinnati School Board in 1869 to end Scripture reading in classrooms. Having long objected to Bible study in the city’s schools, Catholics had established their own system of parochial schools.” - The Conversation

Discussion

David French explains how Pete Buttigieg's Mainline Protestant faith differs from evangelical faith

SI Filings

“…the Mainline vision of salvation is alien to the Evangelical mind. Without diving in depth into each of the ‘Five Solas’ of the Reformation, most Evangelical Protestants understand salvation not through works of compassion but rather through faith alone, by the grace of God alone, working through the atoning sacrifice of Christ alone.” - The Dispatch

Discussion