“Particular providence is that Divine interference and control which is required by the exigencies of moral government; this theory maintains that God is directly or indirectly, actively or permissively, concerned in every event.”
— C. G. Finney
CHARLES G. FINNEY, born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, 1792; an American theologian and popular preacher: died, 1875. An American Presbyterian minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening in the United States. He has been called the "Father of Old Revivalism."
“Providence has a wild, rough, incalculable road to its end, and it is of no use to try to whitewash its huge, mixed instrumentalities, or to dress up that terrific benefactor in the clean shirt and white neckcloth of a student in divinity.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
From January 20, 2020 to January 20, 2021 at least 23,923,938
American people of all walks of life tested positive with a pathogen, seemingly arising out of the clear sky, to become a global pandemic of what could be described as of Biblical proportions. And 392,428 died in that time period, and although primarily those elderly or with health complications, young people in their prime also succumbed. Up to 17% of the afflicted developed symptoms of long Covid, with a variety of debilitating symptoms. The last similar pandemic had occurred over a century before, in the so-called Spanish Flu, which may have its start in actuality in the American Midwest.
The time period listed above corresponds with the time of Donald J. Trump in the office of the United States presidency, in a position of responsibility for the safety of over 330 million Americans. This man was proclaimed by the white evangelicals in 2015 as the second biblical Cyrus, ordained by God to take his place as the leader of the Christian nation. The disheavel and mobs of the January 6, 2021 failed insurrection notwithstanding, [Side-note on mob violence; Acts 21:35…When Paul got to the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because the mob had become so violent] the loss of so many Americans from a plague while “Cyrus” ruled should perhaps have indicated an event of Divine Providence to many who profess to read the holy signs of worldly calamity, and its possible biblical meaning, as scripture had implied in ancient times.
While it did not show the depravity and possible harmful effects in the minds this movement as a transgendered athlete, a drag queen show or a LGBTQIA+ teacher might have, one would have thought that the significance of a worldwide pandemic would have been addressed by the ordained to God’s truth, and wish to gain a teaching from it all. However, this seemed not the case in my observation of the Sunday twitter posts of the professed followers of the Christian religion, who unflinchingly post scripture on that day for all to witness.
The dislike of mask wearing, of its perception of a loss of personal freedom, and the distrust of vaccination was what consisted of the commentary of that time from this political/religious group. The deeper meaning of a pandemic was not addressed, that which this author ever noticed. The same group who talked of the smiting of the New Orleans' sinful by the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, largely kept quiet of the significance over COVID-19, it seemed inconsistent, the inconsistency we are used to observing of the religious right over the years. The “thoughts and prayers people” have perhaps not studied the pandemic in the way it may be warranted, as a biblical plague might be on Sunday coffee around a table.
The conspiracy theory of Chinese weapon labs arrived quickly to a group who reflexively have disdane to the authoritarian communist Chinese government. It seemed that a scapegoat of some kind was a requirement for the adjusting to the reality of the pandemic, but again the supernatural, deeper meaning of the event avoided discussion. There has to be an divine initiation of a pandemic other than by a mortal man regardless, would there not?
At the same time there was the almost inconceivable notion that it was all only a hoax, while the death toll mounted across the United States. There was widespread confusion, primarily the result of an inept federal response, a group who wished to place the responsibility upon the individual state governments, as engrained ideology demanded that they do. And the foremost concern of many was the economic fallout from the effects of a novel respiratory virus shutting down much of the country. The sacrificing oneself for the stock market was actually spoken out loud, essential workers were deemed essential for a short time, it was of other worldly for quite some time, yet the possible biblical implications were never publicly discussed. An omnipotent God must have a say in such a widespread tragedy that befell so many millions most certainly.
A search of the internet does indeed show that the COVID-19 pandemic was considered in light of the Bible and its scriptures. In this article in Christianity Today is What Were the 10 Plagues that God Inflicted on Egypt and Is COVID-19 Similar? we find it addressed. In this article one comes to the crux of the meaning of the Covid pandemic in this way:
The heart of comparing COVID-19 to the 10 Plagues probably does not lie so much in the outward similarities but in the spiritual and emotional connotations.
When we ask whether COVID-19 is like the 10 Plagues, what we are asking, in essence, is this: Has God sent COVID-19 to punish us and turn us to repentance?
The article goes on to list of plagues over the centuries and discounts it in a way I find rather puzzling:
The point here is, this pandemic is not a new occurrence, nor does it point to a specific judgment on us. Other pandemics ran their terrible course and the world eventually recovered. Assuming that God is punishing us through COVID-19 is not the most logical conclusion.
Alyssa Rote, the author concludes with this:
Times like these remind us how fragile life truly is, and how little control we have. They remind us of where eternal life is found, and Who is in control. We must put our trust in God and follow Him. God’s people have stood strong through many a storm; let this be a time that we shine His light to the rest of the world, offering hope in a time of panic.
God knows what is happening and what is going to happen, and He loves us enough to die for us. Let us rest in that.
The logic expressed to the Covid 19 pandemic as well as the even deadlier plagues of the centuries seems a little perfunctory to me. Why would a God give us the stories of plagues in the Bible to not compare to any epidemic or pandemic which might strike?
As far as a broader more in depth writing is this from 2018. The following from Redlands Daily Facts breaks down the biblical concepts rather well I find. The author is Gregory Elder, a Redlands resident, who is professor emeritus in history and humanities at Moreno Valley College and a Roman Catholic priest.
There are nearly 70 references to plagues and pestilences in the Hebrew Bible and at least five Hebrew words are used for plagues. In Hebrew, the most common term is maggephah, although there are other related words used. It can mean slaughter, a disease, a strong blow or a death blow.
Another Hebrew term is debher, which more explicitly means a disease, and in the Hebrew Scriptures this is normally associated with divine anger. Sometimes this is translated as pestilence.
There are several Greek words in the New Testament that refer to plagues, the most common being plage, which means a blow, a wound or a disease. Another term is panoukla, which means a disease or illness. These words are often tied to the wrath of God, which inflicts the plagues. A common biblical Greek term for wrath that is unleashed as plagues on the earth is orgis, which can mean fury or a harsh punishment administered by a law court. Orgis can also refer to unrestrained emotion or desire, hence the English word orgy.
Another term used is thumos, which means an outburst of anger or expressed anger that has serious consequences.
I would have difficulty not equating a pandemic as some form of wrath from God, if my only guide was the Bible on which to rely upon and base in literal practical language to. Why is no one proclaiming God’s anger as the cause of the plague which is still with us today? This week the CDC reports 1,862 new deaths, with 2,855 average daily hospital admissions and with a total now of 1,119,762 American deaths in total at this date. There are now 103,672,529 cases reported, nearly one third of the country’s population. And a deeply Christian believer can discount this all as God’s plan and not worry as to what a higher power might wish to convey to mankind? I don’t get it.
“In time of calamity, search out the causes of God's wrath.”
— W. Smith
WALTER SMITH, born near Airth, 1650 ; a Scottish martyr; executed at Edinburgh, July 27, 1682.
Below a little more about Walter Smith, as I found his story a little compelling.
WALTER SMITH was the son of Walter Smith, in the parish of St. Ninians, near Airth, in Stirlingshire. He was an eminent Christian, and a good scholar. He went over to Holland, where he studied some time under the famous Leusden, who had a great esteem and value for him, as being one both of high attainments and great experience in the serious exercise and solid practice of Christianity.
And as to that expression, "The king should have been denuded [stripped] many years ago," he did not like the word denuded, but said, "what the king has done, justifies the people revolting against him." As to these words, where the king is called an usurper and a tyrant, he said, Certainly the king is an usurper, and wished he was not a tyrant.
My brief introduction of Walter Smith’s quote on God’s wrath seems more in order of making sense of the Coronavirus pandemic in a fundamentalist Christian manner. But the question which arises as to who the wrath is directed at is the sticky problem perhaps. To somehow think that it was directed at our 45th president who had the blessings of a segment of American Christianity may not be direct enough to arrive at. And certainly there was much more damage after Trump’s term from the virus. But the possibility was never even considered publicly that I can find. I find it rather perplexing that apparently politics is so closely entwined with fundamental Christianity that it precludes the consideration even.
I must end on what the worries in real life are to be from the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic according to the Lancet Planetary Health
| VOLUME 5, ISSUE 11, E840-E850, NOVEMBER 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic is intricately linked to biodiversity loss and ecosystem health
Summary
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused by zoonotic SARS-CoV-2, has important links to biodiversity loss and ecosystem health. These links range from anthropogenic activities driving zoonotic disease emergence and extend to the pandemic affecting biodiversity conservation, environmental policy, ecosystem services, and multiple conservation facets. Crucially, such effects can exacerbate the initial drivers, resulting in feedback loops that are likely to promote future zoonotic disease outbreaks. We explore these feedback loops and relationships, highlighting known and potential zoonotic disease emergence drivers (eg, land-use change, intensive livestock production, wildlife trade, and climate change), and discuss direct and indirect effects of the ongoing pandemic on biodiversity loss and ecosystem health. We stress that responses to COVID-19 must include actions aimed at safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystems, in order to avoid future emergence of zoonoses and prevent their wide-ranging effects on human health, economies, and society. Such responses would benefit from adopting a One Health approach, enhancing cross-sector, transboundary communication, as well as from collaboration among multiple actors, promoting planetary and human health.
The above certainly will never resonate with the modern American Right Wing. Many of the environmental problems of which to develop global strategies for are no doubt a nonstarter. So if this is the message which God is trying to deliver to us, of which I think it most certainly is, then be assured of ongoing opposition toward it at all costs.
Remember James G. Watt (b. 1938 in Lusk, Wyoming) who served a short time in the Reagan Administration. He sums up the other side still rather succinctly we all must agree. Having spent some time in Eastern Wyoming, I can easily imagine him as a native son, but the religiosity baffles me somewhat from those I know from the area.
“My responsibility is to follow the Scriptures which call upon us to occupy the land until Jesus returns.”
- “Watt Finds Time to Hear Audubon Society,” The Washington Post (May 24, 1981)
“If the trouble from environmentalists cannot be solved in the jury box or at the ballot box, perhaps the cartridge box should be used.”
- quoted in "The Earth's Storm Troopers," Phoenix New Times (August 7, 1991)
“That is the delicate balance the Secretary of the Interior must have: to be steward for the natural resources for this generation as well as future generations. I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns; whatever it is we have to manage with a skill to leave the resources needed for future generations.”
- Testimony before the House Interior Committee (February 5, 1981)
Genesis may have been as far as Watt got through in his Bible study as shown below.
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” [Gen 1:26–28].
It’s hard to top those quotes from Watt. That’s what we’re up against with future pandemics, God’s wrath to reappear ongoing but rejected due to ideological concerns, “it does not apply here.” One would hope for some common acceptance of science to break through all the ideology and fundamental Christianity, and some enlightenment to at least a low level might occur.
22nd posting, March 11, 2023