Should your church be meeting during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic? That is something the members of each church should be able to decide for themselves. Will some people make poor choices? Yes. However, politicians don’t necessarily make better decisions. The majority doesn’t necessarily make better decisions. That is why we have a constitutional republic.
Consider (click on the link) California’s Gestapo COVID Church Restrictions: Eric Metaxas with John MacArthur (christianoutlook.com). Here Metaxas interviews MacAuthur. The subject? California authorities are trying to keep churches closed, and MacAuthur trying to keep his church opened.
Decide. Is this a health issue or a freedom of religion issue?
Citizen Tom 
And the numbers for covid (and all other) deaths here.
This I think offers some real perspective:
Very informative article:
https://lockdownsceptics.org/lies-damned-lies-and-health-statistics-the-deadly-danger-of-false-positives/
@Liz
Have you heard the false positive rate for the tests we are using. Wouldn’t be surprised if lots of the people who think they had COVID19 never did.
Yes, I’ve heard.
Actually, one of our boys had a roommate with a girlfriend who got a positive result. Can’t remember if I mentioned that before.
So they (our son, and his roomates) were quarantining until they were able to take the test. None of them had it. She never had any symptoms either. Pretty likely she wasn’t really positive.
@Tom
Apologies for my losing my calm yesterday evening, thanks for deleting that comment.
The core of my complaint stands: I consider frivolous comparisons of ones grievances to the actual suffering of Gestapo victims a grave insult to the memory of those, who actually were tortured, tortured to the death or sent on to concentration camps to their death by Gestapo in my country and occupied territories. I consider complaints about current restrictions on church services due to Covid-19 to be such a frivolous comparison and grave insult.
@marmoewp
Automation sent your original comment to trash. Certain words trigger it.
What about the reference to the Gestapo? I think you are trying to sidetrack the discussion. Nevertheless, I will put the discussion back on track by justifying the use of the term “Gestapo.”
When Hitler took over Germany, he used various crisies, some of which he created, to justify the seizure of power. Eventually, Hitler ruled completely by edict. Hitler’s word became law, and the Gestapo became his most notorious instrument of enforcement.
When governors use the Coronavirus (COVID19) as an excuse to seize power our existing laws deny them — especially when they immediately start abusing that power– we are obviously headed down the same track.
A friend of ours (SWA pilot) had a layover in Hawaii a couple of weeks back. He was sitting alone on a park bench by the ocean. Because he was alone, he took his mask off. The police saw from afar, came by and gave him a citation. His punishment is up to 5000 dollar fine and up to a year in prison.
Things like that make it very difficult to believe this is all about public safety.
Just rereading and thought I should add, for clarity, when I say he was “alone” I don’t mean there were people six feet away from him. There was no one within 100 yards. He is a liberal, fwiw. One of the few liberal pilots we know.
Pretty sure Biden lost that vote.
@Liz
Hope he fights that in court.
From the Hawaii Department of Transportation FAQ:
Looks like this incident was not about not wearing a mask but about breaking quarentine, (which your friend was clearly doing by either leaving the airport or his hotel room), which indeed comes with a fine of $5000 or prison. I would expect airlines to inform their passengers on this.
I’m kind of curious how the police would know a person sitting alone on a park bench was “breaking quarantine”.
Perhaps instead of complying, he should have told them he was protesting. Or reached for a weapon. Then Biden would bail him out of jail and football players could wear his name on their jerseys.
So you are doubling down on the frivolous comparison. Noted.
@marmoewp
It is frivolous because you say it is? Noted.😱
Perhaps you can understand then.
I think the same when people compare law enforcement trying to keep a mob from destroying a federal building to Hitler’s storm troopers.
Which our own Speaker of the house has done.
Religion is a human right, as compared to the “right to destroy others property” which doesn’t exist.
@Liz
MacArthur is old enough, crusty enough and well spoken enough that he is probably not the sort the Democrats want to take on. I suspect the are hoping he will catch the virus.
Telling people they can’t meet to worship is unconstitutional. The state has no authority to restrict our worship. Every time it’s challenged in court they lose. I think that MacArthur knows this and is not going to be bullied by the totalitarian Newsom gestapo. Fortunately, many states are not run by idiots. Our state has had worship in church buildings since June. Zero cases of Coronavirus from going to our church. 100% joy and fellowship and encouragement from not giving into fear.
Btw, I laugh when Biden blames Trump for high unemployment. About 50% of our current unemployment is California! Most of the rest is New York and NJ, who are also completely locked down. Probably not a good talking point for Dems. 🙂
@Mel Wild
The fact unemployment is concentrate in Democrat run states needs to be publicized, but the Liberal Democrat news media won’t do it.
At this point in the game, keeping churches shut down is immoral and wreaks of persecution. My church has been open for awhile, they offer a hybrid partial indoor/mostly outdoor seating venue which I’m sure the tyrant Governor Newsom would disapprove of. Oh well.
Honestly I’m sad for people like Newsom that don’t understand the importance of the church and it providing spiritual nourishment and community. “Just do it on line” they say like it’s a college lecture or the “church has no borders”. Yes, true enough but virtual church going has its limitations and continuing to tighten the screws on churches will not strengthen nauseas arguments.
Ha, meant to say naysayers not nauseas!
@Tricia
Was close enough.
Good interview, Tom. Thanks for linking to it. Church is essential! It really is a public health issue, as in church is as important to our well being as a grocery store or an emergency room. I’m really blessed, our pastor gets this truth! But most churches around me are now 7 months into a shut down. One has been trying to do church outdoors, but because of smoke and bad air quality, they got shut down. Can’t meet inside because of covid, can’t meet outside because of smoke. Facebook streaming is also now being really weird, so they got booted off. There is a real conflict going on, persecution, a show down between secular authorities and churches. I live where that truth is real obvious, very apparent, and it’s time for Christians to stand up. I’m really grateful for our pastor of course, but also for people like MacAuthur, Sean Feucht, and Franklin Graham, who are speaking up and fighting back.
@insanitybytes22
It isn’t really fighting back. It is just a matter of choosing to obey God instead of Caesar. Of course, some people are convinced the virus is extremely dangerous. They accept the hype for some reason. Don’t know God makes of that, but others are just abusing the situation. So, they must be resisted and put in their place, which isn’t being everyone else’s master.