In the age of Covid-19, it increasingly feels like there are two very different planet earths. Sadly, a major public health crisis that should have brought an already polarized nation together, has deepened the divide, and separated us even further. Perhaps you are struggling with the gaslighting of the various conspiracy theories. Maybe you are encountering difficulty with setting personal boundaries regarding social distancing or foregoing holiday events. You aren’t alone in this chaos. The response of the Christian Conservative church is maddening and dangerous for us all.

What is the Response of the Christian Conservative Church?

During a sermon on November 14th, Bart Spencer, a senior pastor at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Holland, Michigan encouraged his congregation to contract Covid-19 on purpose to get it over with. He specifically said,“COVID, it’s all good. It’s OK. Get it, get it over with, press on.”

It’s difficult to read a report like this. It’s even more difficult to investigate the beliefs of this church only to discover that they are exactly what you were raised to believe. This pastor’s rhetoric is a product of the belief system of the religion in which I was raised. The congregation is listening to their pastor, like they’re indoctrinated to do, and his words are putting not only them in danger, but all of us.

Unfortunately for everyone, this church isn’t the only one spewing this dangerous hyperbole.

There are churches in California such as the Godspeak Calvary Chapel that are classifying themselves as strip clubs so that they may remain open. Below is a video of Pastor Rob McCoy doing a little strip tease in an unmasked, non-socially distanced church with congregants seemingly comfortable waving dollar bills in the air, begging us all to question if they’ll be paying taxes like strip clubs do?

There are thousands of Christian conservative churches across this nation just like Lighthouse Baptist and Godspeak Calvary. These churches are fueling the narrative that Covid-19 is a left conspiracy brought about by the godless liberals trying to persecute them and keep them from worshipping. This false narrative has inspired worship leaders like Sean Feucht to hold massive “Let us Worship” rallies with little to no masking and social distancing. Sean Feucht is also selling a t-shirt on his website with a cute little graphic that says “Jesus Christ Superspreader”. In my opinion, he is using Jesus Christ to make money while mocking the fact that he is holding super spreader events. Meanwhile, we are on track in the United States to hit 300,000 deaths within the week.

Why aren’t they taking Covid-19 seriously?

Even though I don’t reside in their Christian conservative world anymore, and perhaps mentally never did, I understand it. Since birth, I was raised believing that there was a world outside that was evil. It wanted to destroy the church. We were taught to be vigilant about the present (perceived) and coming persecution. This discourse coincides with the doomsday, rapture doctrine which we were told we were on the brink of. We were reminded constantly with phrases such as “the end is near” and “the rapture is any day now”.

To make matters worse, we were taught that world wars, plagues, Christian persecution, natural disasters, and a sexual revolution (LGBTQ equality) meant Jesus was coming to get us, and leave everyone else behind to suffer in horrific ways until the grand finale of God destroying it all. Covid-19 fits nicely and checks the box on a conspiracy we were raised to wait for. To them, it’s Satan’s lie to shut the churches down. If you add in a vaccine with a microchip that is the mark of the beast, it fits the conspiracy even more. Satan is very real to them and he is using liberals for his agenda resulting in their persecution, and some believe it will be a violent persecution. Many Trump supporting Christians are attracted to his manipulation that he cares about their religion because of this fear of persecution they have been raised to have.

What can we do about it?

In order to combat this public health crisis, we need to understand their perspective and act accordingly. Our health and the health of our neighbors is our responsibility and this is truly a Noah’s Ark situation. I don’t know how many deaths need to occur before their cognitive dissonance becomes unbearable. However, in the last four years, Trump never hit the bottom with Christian conservatives. Therefore, it may be a very long time before truth wins.

I encourage everyone to continue sharing verifiable evidence surrounding Covid-19. It is also important to continue pointing out the propaganda that has no validity. If your church, family, spouse, friends, etc. are spewing this nonsense, you are under no obligation to nod your head in any sort of agreement. Yet, we are under moral obligation to condemn the dangerous rhetoric immediately. Now is not the time for peacemaking or bridge building for the sake of civility. It is the time for unbridled courage because actual living, breathing human lives are at stake,

including yours and your loved ones’.