The church and coronavirus have been engaged in a battle of sorts.
We have seen certain religious leaders from many parts of the world claiming that they are immune or protected from corona virus due to their faith in God.
For example,one of Nigeria's most famous and influential church leaders,Pastor Adeboye of the Redeemed church,was caught in a media spat as young Nigerians attacked him for saying God's children were not going to be affected by the virus.
Personally,i found it quite insensitive to the
families of thousands who have been killed or struck by the pandemic.
JUST ONE PLAGUE!
By Mike Bamiloye
Only one Plague,
And the World stood still.
Only One Plague,
And the World Government is humbled.
Only One Plague,
and the World Powers are confused.
Only One Plague,
And Everyone is scampering for Safety.
Only One Plague,
and all Economy shut down.
Schools shut down.
Offices shut down.
Streets were deserted.
Only One Plague,
And Mecca sent back Worshippers.
Jerusalem turned back their Tourists.
And Vatican City closed down.
Just One Plague.
Churches are shut down.
Mosques are closed up.
All Sports are postponed.
Clubs are sealed.
Only one plague and the Entertainment Industry is groaning mournfully.
Just One Plague.
"Don't shake hands again!"
"Don't hug each other again!"
"Step away a metre space"
Just One Plague!
Before the Plague,
There were nations threatening nations for war.
There were countries bullying countries.
There was war in Syria,
There was revolt in Iran.
There was crisis in Turkey.
There were protests and Political Unrest.
But the Plague surfaces and quieted Everything.
Wars ceased for the Plague
Unrest stopped for the Plague.
Olympic is shutting down for the Plague.
Everybody ran into their houses.
Everyone is hiding away for
Just One Plague!.
BUT WHAT SHALL YOU DO ABOUT PLAGUES UPON PLAGUES, UPON PLAGUES,
When the Trumpet sounds and Jesus has come and gone with His own blood Washed Saints??
WELCOME TO A DRESS-REHEARSAL!
Mike Bamigboye.
What follows is a reply by Tavian Oladapo.
My response
A Dress Rehearsal to what?. What an insensitive and nauseating post at a time when humanity is facing a collective crisis. 13,000 people are dead and thousands more are bemoaning the loss of their loved ones. It did not take long for some christians to display a lack of empathy and humanity that always simmers underneath an ideology that purports to be benevolent,some of you just cant help it. An ounce of compassion or decency would tell any decent person that this is not the time to crow about your religion...but a time for all humans of all persuasions to come together and fight this latest pandemic.
If you actually understood a damn thing about zoonotic pathogens and how viruses like SARS-Cov-2 spillover into human populations..you would be ashamed to attach it to any religion. If you had the tiniest knowledge about the history of spillovers,epidemics,and pandemics in the natural world-you would not be so keen to ally it with your religion...unless of course a lack of empathy and indifference to the suffering of others, is underpinned by your religion.
The Spanish flu killed an estimated 30 million in 1918,Smallpox killed an estimated 300 million in the 20th century alone,The Black Death wiped out a third of Europe,Asia,and parts of North Africa between 1348 and 1351, whilst an ancestral strain of the same bacterium killed an estimated 20 million during the Justinian plague in the 6th century CE.
HIV has killed an estimated 25 million whilst Ebola has killed tens of thousands. Malaria has killed more people than any pathogen and still kills 400,000 people a year-most of these are African children under the age of 5. I guess thats a dress rehearsal too. If the writer of this post had any empathy or a smidgen of understanding about viral diseases outside the narrow and often distorted view of his religion..and understood the biology of disease and mechanisms of disease..he wouldn't be so quick to link these disasters to an ideology that is alleged to be benevolent and compassionate.
That anyone could deign to display such tasteless indifference to human suffering says a great deal about some of the pernicious effects of religion. You could be religious and still understand that anything that harms some of us -harms us all. You could be religious and realise that this affects us all..it is no coincidence that only the Abrahamic religions are crowing about a pandemic and trying to credit their ideology..that you cannot see how this contradicts your alleged ethos of "compassion and humanity" says it all.
Pathogens predate humans and pathogens blight all organisms on earth. Even the agents of disease have their own pathogens. Viruses are preyed upon by viruses,and bacteria are preyed upon by viruses that specialise in eating bacteria- on a magnitude that is simply unimaginable. We actually have a good understanding why pathogens emerge, and it has nothing to do with religion..that you think so ,and sink so low as to crow about it says so much about how some religions dehumanise us .
Many are bemoaning the loss of loved ones, and many more will still do so ,and we may well be amongst them. And even if we are lucky enough to not lose a loved one..we should bemoan the loss of those who have died..and not seek to demean it, and display the kind of indifference displayed by this post. The author should be ashamed, and I am disappointed you saw fit to post this .
A repugnant and insensitive post like this should offend us all,whether you are religious or not. We are all human first!!!
I personally feel this is a time when we should all come together and show compassion and empathy.Not a time for one group or people to think they are more special than others or sit on a holier than thou throne judging others.
We hope whatever your faith or belief is that you are sending a positive vibration through for us to get out of this as soon as possible.Because,make no mistake,none of us are safe or immune.
Wale Morads
For Naija Queen Olofofo blog.