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No matter how far the world progresses, scientifically, there will always be people it leaves behind. For example, the world is round. We know this, and have known it for centuries. In more recent years, we have invented technology that can literally leave the world and prove it. Yet, members of the flat earth society can be found all over the globe.
Another example more relevant to today's culture is Covid denial. Does Covid-19 actually exist? Personally, I believe it does. Yet, I'm more than willing to admit I have no way of proving that, and there are people out there who are more than willing to claim it doesn't. I also happen to have a policy. I do not publicly profess beliefs I'm not confident in my ability to defend. Therefore, since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, I have refused to weigh in on whether or not Covid-19 exists, or whether it was made in a lab, or anything else.
So, when my mother asked me if I believed in Covid-19, I told her the truth: I don't know. What I do know is, regardless of what it is, there is indisputably something plaguing our world that is called Covid-19. Therefore, regardless of whether Covid-19 actually exists, or it's just a scary name being given to some other disease, I'm going to act like Covid-19 exists.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is called "healthy scepticism". I'm not being taken for a mug by either side. I'm not hoovering up any old trash I find on social media like some gullible little toddler, nor am I swallowing the fearmongering being spat at me by the fake news media. Rather, I'm doing what I can with what little information I have available. But imagine if I treated Covid-19 the way atheists treat God.
If you press hard enough, it is actually possible to make atheists admit that something like God definitely exists. With specific regard to Jesus, many atheists will admit that He was a real, historical character whose deeds were considered miraculous, and who was crucified. At the scholarly level, there are a certain number of facts that no credible historian denies (though of course, at the popular level, many of these facts are also denied).
Yet, though it is often possible to push an atheist into admitting these things, even that can often be a struggle. Making them take the next step is like squeezing water from a stone. Take, for example, an atheist I recently saw in a Facebook post, who said "Just because something looks designed doesn't mean it was", before following it up with "But apparently, you're too much of a dolt to realize that". That's not just denial, that's aggressive denial, complete with childish, ad hominem attack.
But why is the appearance of design not at least evidence of design? Even if you don't take the next step, you acknowledged that something looks designed, so can you at least understand why someone might think it is? And if you're going to deny that it is designed, can you not bring evidence of your own?
Imagine if we took a similar approach to Covid. It's undeniable that it looks like there's a pandemic going on. Perhaps you've even met people who had the virus. Perhaps you've even lost a loved one to it. Personally, thanking God for His mercy, I have yet to experience that. I know people who know people who either died to the virus, or at least had it, yet I myself have neither had it, nor am I particularly close to anyone who has. Even the one person I know for a fact has been diagnosed with Covid in the past suffered no ill effects from it. Now, Devil's Advocate: What if I therefore denied it existed?
I've never seen Covid-19. In fact, most people haven't. It's invisible to the naked eye, and most of us don't have access to microscopes or Covid-19 samples. Even if I personally demanded proof of the virus, scientists don't exactly hand out samples like smarties. So, not only have I never seen the virus, but there are some very good reasons I never will. Is the logical conclusion of this matter "Covid-19 does not exist"?
Now, I'm not going to defend Big Tech's censorship of dissenting information. I think it is one of the greatest evils of our time, and it needs to stop now. Nevertheless, while I thoroughly disagree with their methods, I know full well that if I treated Covid-19 like atheists treat God, I would be prevented from expressing that opinion in the public square. Yet, it appears Christians are alone in calling atheists out for their irrational approach. You can say what you like about God on Facebook. Call Him a sky fairy, call His prophets "bronze age goat herders", compare Him to Santa Claus, cuss out His modern followers and call them some grotesque names, all of this is permitted on most social media platforms. Even threats of violence against Christians do not face the same level of censorship as Covid denial.
Now, as much as I hate this, I'm actually ok with it. God declares "vengeance is mine", and tells me to love and pray for even my enemies. Therefore, I want the censorship gone completely. I don't want to see atheists censored. But I don't want to see them die in their sins, either.
So, my point for today is simply this: Treat God the way you treat Covid-19. You may not have seen Him, and there are various reasons you won't on this side of the grave, but no sane person can deny that something like God exists. Mocking Him is as insane as thinking you can safely neglect your personal hygiene habits. If you get sick, that's on you. But since God is not worthy of mockery, perhaps He is worthy of your consideration. Consider the evidence, and you will soon see that the thing that looks like God is, in fact, the God who walked among men, was nailed to a cross, was laid in a tomb for 3 days, then on the third day He stood up and walked out into the sun. All this, He did for you. If you confess Jesus as Lord, and believe He rose from the dead, you will be saved. Therefore, wash your hands in His blood, and the deadly virus of sin will not lead you to the second death.
Note: Since this article was published, I did get Covid-19. The point of the article still stands, and if anything needs to change at all, we can simply suggest that while I got sick, I have no proof it was Covid-19.