FAITH & REASON IN THE COVID-19 GLOBAL PANDEMIC
Through the springing of our collective effort, there has been a sea-change in global awareness and scientific emphasis since the Coronavirus Pandemic began. The less-desirable attributes of our society, such as tribalism and uninformed assumption, are less tolerated than they were a month ago. All eyes are as peeled as the layers of this complex and rapidly-changing onion. However, spirituality during the COVID-19 public health crisis many times leans to those less-desirable attributes which are counterintuitive to communal faith and the gift of reason.
Flooding our feeds are memes with a lazy sense of abandon to God (who already gave us the gifts to handle it ourselves), crocodile leaders crying that the virus is a hoax against their golden idol or a selective punishment to other children of God, and evangelical high-horsing of all sorts. If these shallow oxymorons are repulsive to you, think of the people in desperate need of faith searching for the intersection between physical preservation and metaphysical reassurance. It's unlikely the "poor in spirit" are gobbling up that hubristic righteousness. It distracts us from being closer to each other while maintaining a rational 6" of distance.
Wisdom for situations that require spiritual faith combined with public action (or inaction) comes from all religions across the world. If I had the time to boil the the ocean, I would reference the Bhagavad Gita, the Quran, the Pali Canon, and the Torah in addition to the Bible to show universal examples of communal faith and reason. Instead, this is a simple list of 3 light bulbs that may help us find the cross between spiritual peace and collective awareness:
1.) Resist confirmation bias; Seek the Source and the Truth
This is a public health crisis. Instead of trusting an easy word, seek out and share credible facts from the communities who live everyday to address a public health crisis: the CDC & WHO, the epidemiologists, the virologists, the healthcare providers. I have no doubt that God is present in their work. Put a little extra work in actually reading the bills on the government websites written by our public officials before you regurgitate what your cotton-candy cable news network ranted. I truly believe that most politicians want to see this end with the public health intact but I'm also aware of their agendas and incentives. We all would do better to understand the questions better than when we had the answers. Doesn't it make sense to seek the truth from the source and follow the judgement of those best gifted by God for this pandemic?
"The need is emphasized for more rigorous evaluation of epidemiology/observation studies to avoid bias-led errors and repetition of past mistakes and ensure correct medical information." - - Reynold Spector, MD, Pharmacologist/Biochemist
"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding" -- Proverbs 2:1-2
"Teach me knowledge and good judgement, for I trust your commands." -- Psalm 119:66
2.) Don't be afraid; Do the right things
Yes, the perfect storm of a variant incubation period, easy transmission, and high severity/mortality rate makes this a very scary bug. When the terrible happens, people listlessly say "God has a plan" or "There is a reason for everything." It implies that God did not give us the gift of free will so why not just let the Charon coins fall where they may.
What if God's plan, the reason why challenging times happen, is to bring us closer to Him and to each other? If so, then we still have agency; the free will to choose the correct path of communion. And God keeps giving us choices until we get it right. Taking wide-spanning precautions, resisting the urge to hoard resources, actively caring for each other's welfare, healing our bodies, and educating the misinformed with compassion are all promising indications that we are choosing God's plan for us. I'm reassured by the efforts of the human collective to flatten the curve and comforted by the belief that God is present in our actions.
"The uninformed stay home and pray they are never infected with COVID-19, whereas the knowledgeable stay home and prepare the body for a possible future fight with the killer virus." -- Steven Magee, Radiation/Human Health Expert
"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline." -- 1 Timothy 1:7
"But Jesus spoke to them at once. "Don't be afraid," he said. "Take courage. I am here!"" -- Matthew 14:27
3.) Prevent a shutdown of the heart; Prepare for a new world
Are we so waiting for this to end that we're missing the opportunity to open our hearts right now? All indications point to April being a deadly and evolutionary month for our nation. The Bubonic Plague revolutionized hospitals by specializing medicine in Europe. The overhaul of our public health system will come with COVID-19. During this disruption, we have a chance to rally around our healthcare workers and help them in the care of patients. Are we planning to give compassion and support to those who will be forever changed by the peak of this pandemic?
Even if we don't have the same constitution as our doctors and nurses to fight this war, we still have no excuse to close our hearts to those around us. Technology and extra time at home make it possible for us to reach out more to our loved ones. I also don't believe that this Great Global Pause during Lent is a coincidence. If you're searching for spiritual answers, stop reading this blog and every other pontificating post out there. Take this time to go to a room, sit in solitude, and ask God the shit-ton of questions that weigh on you. Then sit in silence with an open heart for as long as it takes. As this material world changes, God's gift to us is the opportunity to choose Love and communal zeal over personal convenience, fear, and ignorance.
"We need an epidemic of kindness." --Ruth Faden, Bioethicist
"I think, collectively, we should be paying more attention to what is going on around us in the world among people who don't have the advantages that we have." -- Anthony Fauci, MD,
"Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble." -- 1 Peter 3:8
Stay safe & God bless your efforts!
