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Churches Should have the Right of Self-Determination.

 We are living in a time of restrictions. Many people feel that their rights are being infringed upon. There are medical rights, and the rights of religious freedoms that come to my mind, in the mist of a global pandemic. Places of worship have guaranteed that people can still practice their faith, while at the same time guaranteeing the government that they will obey pandemic safety restrictions and public health measures. Many places of worship have had to restrict their congregations and some have had to close down permanently because of the restrictions. 


Like many small businesses that couldn’t stay afloat because of lockdowns and restrictions, many people of faith have had to stop attending religious services because they are considered a “gathering” by some, who are opposed to people of faith “gathering” because of fear of contacting or passing on COVID-19 or one of it’s variants. Many people of faith have stopped attending church or other places of worship, because they live with people who are against it, while others retain their freedom to worship because their situation is different from others. 


What is obvious is that our government has made it very difficult for religious people and leaders to be fair and impartial to their congregations and in some faiths like Christianity, have made pastors and priests go against the basic tenants and teachings of Christ and their bible. The same holds true in other religions, where their teachings teach one thing, but the government is holding them accountable to themselves rather than to their founders and religious leaders. How can they (religious leaders) be fair to the ones they are leading, and at the same time ensure that they are not contributing to the spread of this deadly pandemic? 


This is the question that religious leaders have been struggling with since the beginning of the pandemic and from the time that they were asked to close their places of worship by their respective governments worldwide. How can society exists without religion and free religious expression, and freedom? Is this pandemic a judgment of God against the very religions that they say you must believe in, in order to honour God? How could God send a pandemic and then say “You are on your own right now!” by having governments all over the world restrict the free exercise of the faith of millions? Shouldn’t religion provide us with the answers to all our problems, even the problems of a deadly virus? 


Surely this is a complicated situation because now religious freedoms are being witnessed and even judged by the very people who say they don’t believe in God and religious freedom! God is surely watching all this, and I believe feels very sorry for all those who feel their personal rights and religious rights are being trampled upon, despite the dire consequences of following them. Religions like Christianity teach that we are accountable for our actions this side of Heaven, and that one day there will be a Judgment Day, where everybody’s actions will be made visible, and will be judged by God! So do our actions matter? Yes, because in some religions the foundational beliefs are that there is a Just God, who is “recording” our actions, beliefs, and behaviours, and will one Day hold the entire world and each person who has ever lived in it accountable for what they have done! Pandemic or no pandemic, God is watching. This is Mike. 


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