Sermon Video: Heaven: Only Jesus look-alikes allowed - 1 Corinthians 15:44b-50

Having established our upcoming transformation at the resurrection, the Apostle Paul now focuses on the differences between our earthly beginning in Adam and our heavenly destination in Jesus.  The conclusion is stark: Our current state (flesh and blood, earthly, in Adam = rebellious state alienated from God) cannot enter the Kingdom of God (heaven).  Who can enter Heaven?  Only those who look like Jesus.  What picture of Jesus is painted in the Gospels?  Compassion, zeal, commitment, purity, love, humility, obedience, self-sacrifice, integrity, faith, hope, etc.  What chance have we of achieving this on our own? ZERO, NONE.  Our only hope is to accept God's grace through faith in Jesus.  Then, and only then, can we look like Jesus.
Have you put your trust in Jesus?  Have you turned from sin/evil in order to follow Jesus?  If you haven't, it is your only hope, as Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, the life, no one comes to the Father, but by me."  If you have, please get connected to a local church, become a part of what God is doing here in our midst.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Is COVID-19 a sign of the End Times? The danger of being The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

As the global pandemic from COVID-19 continues to disrupt our world in ways not seen since the Spanish Influenza, the predictable sermons referring to this particular outbreak as a sign of the End Times have also begun to multiply.  There are however, important reasons rooted in proper biblical interpretation, history, and evangelism to caution any Christian, let alone a minister of the Gospel, from declaring that he/she sees current events as a sign of The End.

Biblical Interpretation: The proper foundation for interpretation of Scripture, or of any written or spoken statement for that matter, is exegesis.  That is, drawing out from the text what its author intended to be there, rather than eisegesis, which is putting into the text our own thoughts or biases.  The need to do this is especially acute regarding the Word of God, as our primary focus must be to determine what message God intended to send through the human authors he inspired.  If we ignore the intended message, and replace it with an interpretation that is derived from what we want the text to say, we not only disrespect the Scriptures, but are functionally denying the doctrine of inspiration as well.
The danger of eisegesis is very present when seeking to interpret prophetic texts whose prophecies we believe to have not yet been fulfilled.  The reason is simple: every generation is tempted to see these prophecies as being fulfilled in their own lifetimes through the set of circumstances they are living through.  We need only look at the period of history before the life of Jesus to see this in action.  Numerous false Messiahs rose to prominence, exciting the people's expectations that the messianic prophecies were being fulfilled in their midst, only to have those expectations amount to nothing when the 'signs' turned out to be falsely interpreted.  Part of the problem revolved around this reality: There could be only one Messiah to fulfills God's promises, all others must needs be false alarms, either willing or unwitting charlatans.
So it is with the prophecies concerning the End Times.  Since they were given, an unknown but sizable number of those who believe in the validity of the prophecies in question have thought themselves to be living in the times in question.  There is evidence that some of the Apostles themselves believed that Jesus would return in their own lifetimes (John 21:22-24 for example), but they were wrong, the desire of God to further spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth continued beyond them.  When Rome fell, it was interpreted as the beginning of the End, but it was not.  And so on throughout Church History, as crisis after crisis and unexpected event after unexpected event were viewed through the lens of the End Times, and would-be Antichrists were 'identified', all to no avail.  The End had not yet arrived, the various interpretations of Scripture that claimed it had was faulty.  Only one generation can be correct on this matter, each and every preceding one will be wrong.
What differentiates this pandemic from the Spanish Flu or Black Death as being a 'sign of the End Times'?  What makes this government response a plot of the Antichrist as compared to previous government actions?  The only answer can be an act of eisegetical interpretation.  "Because I say so" is not a stable foundation upon which to understand and apply the Word of God.

In the end the words of Jesus must be authoritative.  I will be scoffed at by those who claim to 'see' what is going on, called a fool or a patsy perhaps as well.  But there is no way possible to get around the explicit statements of Jesus on this topic, the only workaround is to ignore them.  Immediately AFTER a detailed series of signs about the beginning of the end, Jesus says, "But about that day our hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36)  And then the very next statements of Jesus are multiple instances of warning about being in a constant state of readiness, no matter what, precisely because nobody knows when The End will come.  Hear this: It was not Jesus' purpose that one specific future generation would hear his words, interpret them correctly, and thus guess what "only the Father" knows.  How could they?  Rather, Jesus' purpose throughout the passage in question is that EVERY generation to come who would walk by faith would do so knowing that The End will one day come, as a surprise, and that each and every generation must live as if it will be interrupted by these cataclysmic events, and as if they will live out their days to a natural conclusion.  It is the tension of not knowing for sure when, but still knowing for sure, that we as disciples of Jesus are to embrace.

History: When looking back on history, we are not remotely living in times that justify a, "how could things get much worse?" attitude.  During the Middle Ages, the Church endured countless invasions of murdering barbarians intent upon taking women and children into slavery, who also regularly desecrated churches and slaughtered priests, as well as the unprecedented horrors of the Black Plague.  But these in time faded, with missionaries converting many of the pagans, and life improved. At the end of World War I, with the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires crumbling, Russia in the throes of Revolution, and four years of bloodshed on a scale unimaginable previously fresh in the collective nightmares of much of the world, Spanish Influenza swept the globe killing more than the war had.  And yet, it was not The End.  In those generations, there were many who 'saw the signs' and yearned for the Second Coming, but such was not the will of God.

One popular interpretation of the Apocalyptic literature in Scripture revolves around the notion of a One World Government (referred to these days as the New World Order).  In a previous generation, the United Nations was the sign of the One World Government, but the UN has sadly proven unable to prevent either war or genocide, let alone bring the world's nations together.   The European Union was supposed to be the harbinger of this, but now that unity is fracturing and far more likely to weaken than strengthen.  Nationalism is on the rise once more, not cooperation.  And yet, the response to COVID-19 will usher in a New World Order?  This is not the direction that the world is heading in, and even if it was, the interpretation of Scripture that sets forth this One World Government/New World Order as a 'sign' reflects the political/philosophical views of those promoting it (what they fear), not an exegetical interpretation of the relevant prophecies.  Remember, that the writers of the New Testament lived in an Empire spanning the entire Mediterranean world, and that our concepts of civil rights, personal freedoms, and constitutional liberties are foreign to their frame of mind, as is the fear of a government spanning multiple peoples/ethnic groups.  The history of the Ancient Near East was a history of multi-ethnic empires.  Therefore, when the interpretation of Apocalyptic literature in Scripture supplied by post-modern American Protestants happens to focus heavily on the this very fear, with a strong Isolationist and Libertarian element, how is it that this is supposed to reflect the original intent of authors to whom these concepts would be foreign?  How is this interpretation supposed to be one that could have been understood by the original audience?
Long story short, if the current interpretation of Scripture is more reflective of our own worldview than that of the authors, how can any 'signs' that we may see, even if they're seen correctly, be valid?  In other words, the 'sign' that you think you see is no sign at all if it has nothing to do with what the Word of God was actually predicting.  History has shown that even great theologians of the Church are not immune to reading God's Word through their own perspective and coming to erroneous conclusions because of that bias.  In the case of COVID-19, those who proclaim certainty regarding the End Times are guilty of both a recency bias (where current events outshine past ones in our minds) and the interpretation of Scripture through a post-modern American lens.

Evangelism: What, in the end is the danger of shouting, "The sky is falling!" prematurely?  We know The End is coming, what's the harm if we jump the gun?  The most immediate impact will be a distrust of our own government (not exactly a commodity with room to spare), as well as international medical associations, treatments, and vaccines that will lead people to, erroneously, balk at safety measures that they now view as tools of the Antichrist to institute the One World Government.  If this leads to violence, it will be doubly dangerous, but it will almost certainly lead to unnecessary deaths from this pandemic, especially if a vaccine is developed and refused by millions.  As dangerous as the implications may be in the public health/political sphere, they extend further.  What danger does it pose to the reputation of the Church and the sharing of the Gospel?
You don't want to be the next Millerites.  Who were they you ask?  The baptist lay preacher William Miller used calculations of Daniel's 2,300 Day prophecy to determine that the Second Coming of Jesus would occur on October 22nd, 1844.  When that day passed, those who had believed Miller's prediction suffered The Great Disappointment, and while most returned to their lives as they had been before, some sought explanations as to why Miller's calculations were slightly off, offering new dates in the near future.  Miller had tapped into a feeling of expectation that would be continued by the Adventists (whose doctrine of the Investigative Judgement is an attempt to explain the delay), the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Mormons.  While one of those three retains orthodox trinitarian beliefs, the Witnesses and Mormons have left behind the teaching of the Apostles.  Church History has shown that 'certainty' about the date of the Second Coming is NOT a positive for the people of God, but a danger.

1 Peter 3:15 New International Version (NIV)
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect

We are called upon to offer a explanation for the faith that we have.  That explanation becomes less comprehensible to those outside of the Church if they witness those acting in the name of Christ repeatedly proclaiming that they see 'signs' of the End, only to have the crisis pass and life return to some semblance of normal.  When the boy cried, "Wolf!" the villagers at first rushed to assist.  After several more false alarms, they ignored his final call.  The message of the Gospel is far too important for us to place an unnecessary barrier between ourselves and those with whom we hope to share the joy of faith in Christ.

An analysis of Rev. Danny Jones, "Is this Coronavirus a Sign of the End of the World?": 1 part very poor interpretation of Scripture, 2 part conspiracy theory = a danger to the Church

Recently the YouTube video of a sermon by the Rev. Danny Jones of the Northlake Baptist Church (GA) has exploded in popularity, and is currently being shared throughout my Facebook feed by various people.  So I watched the whole thing, took notes along the way, and offer this analysis:

If you want to watch the video, use the link below as it is from the church's own YouTube channel (thus no fear of editing) and the time signatures will match up with my comments {bold bracketed in italics}.  Note: I have no prior knowledge of this minister, am making no comments about his ministry as a whole or that of his church.  The matter at hand is the techniques, focus, and conclusions of this particular sermon.

Is this Coronavirus a Sign of the End of the World? - by Rev. Danny Jones, Northlake Baptist Church (GA)

24:30 - The sermon begins with a reading of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 with only a few comments
28:30 - Matthew 24 is referenced
29:30 - Daniel 2 is mentioned
30:24 - The interpretation of Daniel 2 is that no world empire is possible after Rome. {Daniel makes no mention of other empires beyond the 5 in his dream interpretation.  The Babylonians were certainly not a global empire, only a regional power.  Knowing that something will happen in the future does not preclude other things from happening.  This interpretation is adding to the limited point that the prophecy is making; perhaps not egregious, but a sign of things to come.}
30:30 - Daniel's 4th empire is connected explicitly with Western Civilization {Another eisegetical leap, while Daniel makes a connection between the empire of iron (typically thought of as Rome) and its follow-up, that of iron mixed with clay, to say that this must be something derived from Western Culture is not from the text itself.  Western Christians have always assumed that the Antichrist will be one of their own.  Is this a weird form of pride, as if our culture is the only one important enough for Satan to work through against God?}
30:44 - The terms "final world empire" and "One World Government" are first utilized in connection with Daniel 2.  {Daniel's prophecy says nothing about the prophesied empire being one that spans the world (the previous ones in the vision did not), thus is makes no claim that the empire of iron/clay will rule the whole world under one government.  This conclusion from Rev. Jones likely is drawn from other texts, such as Revelation, but not from Daniel 2.  Note the exact text of Daniel 2:39-43 below}
30:47 - "It will be weaker than the other empires, because they're going to try to build their New World Government by mixing and mingling the various ethnic groups around the world is what Daniel tells us."  {If this isn't a not very subtle critique of mixed-race marriages and other forms of integration, I'm not sure what to make of it.  Daniel is saying nothing of the sort; his text makes no mention of ethnic groups, and certainly isn't saying that an empire of mixed ethnic groups is weaker.  What kind of mixture will the people be, what will keep them from being united?  The assumption that this is about race/ethnicity is from Rev. Jones.  This is certainly eisegesis, hopefully it isn't racism too.}

Daniel 2:39-43 New International Version (NIV)
39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.  

31:30 - Daniel 7 mentioned
32:10 - Daniel 8 mentioned
32:40 - "This Antichrist will be a diplomat, a politician." {The text of Daniel 8 calls him, "a master of intrigue...He will become very strong but not by his own power." (Daniel 8:23-24).  This is a minor point, but part of the pattern of making assumptions and taking the prophetic texts further than what the authors are actually saying.}
32:55 - Daniel 11 mentioned
34:02 - Revelation 13 mentioned with respect to a "world government"
34:35 - Daniel 12, "transportation and information will increase, we've witnessed that during our lifetime." {Was Daniel talking about cars, planes, and the internet?  The text of Daniel says, "Many will go here and there to increase knowledge." (Daniel 12:4)  To state that Daniel was talking about the 20th century's technological increases is once again reading into the text what isn't there.  Why not the invention of the printing press, public education, steam trains and ships; why right here and right now?  Because it fits the overall narrative, not because it fits a proper exegetical interpretation of Daniel.  FYI, transportation and information have been increasing significantly for a thousand years, and have been on the rise since the time of Daniel.  Was Marco Polo a sign of the End Times?  He went 'here and there to increase knowledge'?  The point is simple: Making Daniel's words about "our lifetime" is entirely arbitrary.}
34:55 - "We've watched this Mystery of Iniquity in our time, for at least the last 100 years, billionaire bankers and businessmen have been trying to sell the world on a One World Government."  {A reference back to 2 Thessalonians 2, but once again one that makes huge assumptions.  #1 That Paul is talking about businessmen (and super rich ones at that) rather than any other type of influential person, #2 that Paul is talking about human beings at all, what prevents the 'secret power of lawlessness' from being from the spiritual realm?  #3 and that the Apostle Paul was talking in this text about a OWG.  Where in the text are the billionaire bankers trying to set up a OWG?  They are there in his interpretation because he needs them to be here to fit the narrative, not because Paul wrote anything to imply it.  Again, why now, why in our generation as opposed to a previous or future one?  Paul's words are no help in answering that question.}

2 Thessalonians 2:7 New International Version (NIV)
7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.  

Here ends the interaction with Scripture, roughly 1/3 of the way through the sermon, 8 texts have been mentioned in 11 minutes, none have been examined in detail.  What the listener is left with is an impression of a broad Scriptural foundation for the next 2/3 of the message, but is in reality only a cherry-picked collection of references that are not nearly as connected, nor as clear, as the specific interpretation offered by Rev. Jones is claiming.  Significant questions are not touched upon: Are the texts of Matthew, Daniel, 2 Thessalonians, and Revelation all talking about the same time period?  The same person?  If previous generations of Christians saw these passages differently (and they did, some equally applying the interpretation to their own times, also using eisegesis), what makes this interpretation better than theirs? (given that they were wrong, Napoleon wasn't the AntiChrist, the Reformation wasn't the start of the Millenial Kingdom, etc.)  Daniel's prophecies are 2,500 years old, those of the NT are 2,000 years old; on what basis is the conclusion made that they are being fulfilled right now, and that this is the only interpretation of that fulfillment?  Context matters, authorial intent matters, original audience interpretation matters; none of which have been examined here.  The perspective is us, here, now.  If we don't start our interpretation with them and there before considering its implications for us, here, our conclusions will reflect our circumstances and our priorities, not those of the Word of God.

From 35:44 to 1:02:37, Rev. Jones issues a string of conspiracy theory culprits, workers in the vast web of the OWG that he is weaving together to call into question everything about the COVID-19 pandemic.

35:44 - Marxism and the Hegelian Dialectic are posited as the lens through which the conspirators are operating.  It is insinuated that 'globalists' are the cause of terrorism, the global warming 'hoax', and various pandemics, all to be able to offer 'pre-packaged' solutions of more government control.
36:50 - Trump's presidential election {See 100:00:05 for the conclusion that no politician can stop the OWG.  That being the case, why would the globalists try to impeach Trump if he is powerless against their plotting?}
37:33 - When impeachment fails, the globalists next move is COVID-19 {Just one problem with the timeline, COVID-19 was already spreading BEFORE the impeachment process began.  Later, Rev. Jones states that COVID-19 was in the works even earlier as part of the globalist plot.  The 'globalists' are portrayed as nearly all powerful, able to shape the world, yet unable to remove one politician standing in their way?  Consistency is lacking, that's not a good sign.}
37:40 - Rockefeller, George Soros, Bill Gates, and Henry Kissinger listed as part of the conspiracy {Two Jews in the list of headliners, I don't know if this is a coincidence for Rev. Jones, but it isn't for many who agree with him.}
39:10 - Warren Buffet, Oprah Winfrey, and Ted Turner added to the list; along with the start of an anti-vaccine stance that will grow toward the end.
39:45 - The Davos meeting mentioned, will be repeated, as the cabal where billionaires plot to take over the world
40:20 - The US Army is involved (through DARPA)
40:40 - Bill Gates' Netflix movie, Pandemic (2017), "Is Bill Gates a prophet or is it a plan?" {The idea that Bill Gates planned and put into motion a global pandemic is hinted here, not with subtlety.}
41:15 - Johns Hopkins work with a Chinese doctor is mentioned, "interesting to note" {More guilt by association, more inferences for the true believers to nod at and say, "Oh, I see."}
42:00 - World Military Games in Wuhan in 2019 {Why mention this if not to imply that the US Military is part of the conspiracy?}
42:50 - Dr. Anthony Fauci mentioned, primarily as a dupe of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
45:01 - "Novel means Corona didn't come crawling out of the woods, makes you wonder where it did come from?" {It takes 30 seconds and Google to show how much nonsense this sentence is.  Novel actually means: not previously identified.  It says nothing about the origin of the virus, simply that we have not previously experienced it.}
45:50 - "I was planning on being a doctor, I was a pre-med major" {Less excuse for the last statement then.}
47:45 - "Something is going on there..." {Conspiracy theories, insinuations, these are not fitting for a preacher of the Word of God.}
48:10 - Bill Gates calls for a shutdown
48:45 - Where did it come from?  Either man-made by China or U.S. {Clearly a false dichotomy, one that dismisses the natural cause for a nefarious one, without proof.}
49:15 - "Bottom Line: This novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is a manufactured crisis, designed to deceive people to accept a radically different world" {First question: What has any of this to do with the text of 2 Thessalonians?  Second question: How does he KNOW, not suspect, not think, know?}
49:35 - Not saying people don't get sick or die from COVID-19 {Something, at least.}
49:45 - Flu comparison {Debunked over and over by real doctors, real professionals.}
50:25 -  30k deaths compared to a "low flu year" {The problem, of course, is that this sermon aired on April 19th, the number in the US has doubled since then, and is only going higher.  The flu comparison was wrong when he made it, is getting worse each day.}
50:35 - "Why are we being deceived and where are we going with this?"  According to Daniel and Paul: The Mystery of Iniquity to prepare for the Antichrist.  {Daniel and Paul said nothing of the sort, that's your conclusion being paraded as the fulfillment of their prophecy; this sermon doesn't serve the text of Scripture, it uses it as a prop.}
51:15 - Former President Obama thrown in for good measure
54:45 - With sermons now given online, "All of our words are being saved and stored in the NSA's new and huge data center in Utah, which as long as we have a government that's ok with Christianity is ok, but what if our New World Government is more like China?  Then our very words will be used against us in a criminal trial."  {Where to begin, evidently Big Brother is coming for us all too; and soon.  My sermons are public, always have been, I'm happy to have anyone hear them, including the NSA, if they're listening, which they are not.}
100:35 - Will you take the vaccine when it comes out?  The vacccine for COVID-19 is connected to biometric tattoos, Bill Gates, MIT, Davos, etc.
101:10 - Revelation 13, no longer about the vaccine, now about the Mark of the Beast with the U.N. named as the One World Government.  {The anti-vax movement is growing, and it will cost lives worldwide from preventable diseases.  If millions refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine because of conspiracy theories like this, people will die.  The 'this is the Mark of the Beast' false cries have been repeated endlessly; terrifying to know that now they will be used to scare people about life saving medicine.  This is entirely irresponsible, and morally repugnant.}
101:40 - Roman Emperor Domitian's persecution cited as a parallel, those who get the vaccine (it is implied) are one step closer to denying Christ.  {If that isn't the implication, why bring up that moment in Church History when Christians were given a choice between obeying the government and holding to their profession of faith?  Those who believe Rev. Jones would be fools if they accept the COVID-19 vaccine if/when it is a reality; if they believe him and refuse, some of them will die of COVID-19.}
1:02:37 - Is COVID-19 a sign of the End?  Don't know {A surprising conclusion given the past 45 minutes, but actually the correct answer.}

In the end, the interpretation of the Biblical passages is both brisk and faulty (eisegesis), 2/3 of the message has nothing to do with Scripture and everything to do with politics and conspiracy theories.  This message is dangerous, and there are many more like it.  Why?  Because it has real world implication for people's health and well being, AND it portrays to the Lost that followers of Jesus are anti-government, anti-vaccine, and not to be trusted regarding facts and truth.  COVID-19 is a controversial topic, but handing the Word of God this way in response is helping no one, and potentially harming many.

Sermon Video: When the dead are raised to new life - 1 Corinthians 15:35-44a

Having striven to establish confidence at the church in Corinth regarding the reality of Jesus' resurrection, and the certainty of our future resurrection, Paul now explains a little bit about what that resurrected life will be like. Four things will disappear: perishable, dishonor, weakness, and natural body. Four things will replace them: imperishable, glory, power, and spiritual body. What exactly does this mean?? Beyond our comprehension, but rest assured that which makes immortality as we are now a curse not a blessing will be removed, to be replaced with glorious Christ-likeness.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

When the storm is raging at sea, ask a sailor for help, not a taxidermist: How can we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic?

Given some of the private conversations I've been having, let me issue a clarification: I do not now, nor have I previously, had issue with those who have different opinions from myself {unless they be outright immoral views, i.e. antisemitism from anyone or heretical views, i.e. denial of the resurrection of Jesus from a self-professed Christian}. As a firm believer in ecumenism within the Church {treating non-Baptist Christians as true brothers and sisters in Christ}, I take seriously the need to separate the Majors from the Minors {something I was taught by excellent professors at Cornerstone University like Andy Smith and Dr. Ronald Mayers}. That is, to see what is essential/eternal vs. what is opinion/preference/cultural/changing. The Majors are worth striving/fighting/dying for, the Minors are not even worth losing a friend over. I thus have Christian brother and sisters whom I love and respect who are Republicans, some who are Democrats, and some who couldn't vote for either. I have friends who believe in public education, those who champion private education, and those who home-school.

That being said, in regards to the current COVID-19 pandemic. If you believe that the government should re-open the economy now, that is an opinion based (hopefully) upon currently available facts. If you believe the government should wait, or re-open with caution, that is also an opinion based (hopefully) upon currently available facts. Americans clearly disagree about this issue, and that's ok, it is part of being citizens in a republic with free speech rights.

What our rights as Americans (and for myself, the superseding rights and responsibilities of being a Christian) do not grant us are: (1) Our own set of 'facts', or the right to ignore the facts when they don't suit us. (2) Expertise in areas that we do not possess education, training, and experience. For example: I have opinions about war, and have formed them having read widely on the subject of both ancient and modern war, its methods, purposes, and affects. My opinions are not based on nothing, but I recognize their limitations. Thus, if a combat veteran, a professional soldier, has an opinion, I will give it added weight; his/her training and experience has earned it. When the topic is Education, I am on firmer ground, having spent ten years as a public school teacher and having the education/training that proceeded that. I will thus weigh the opinion of other teachers as being similar to my own. Lastly, when the topic is Religion, specifically Christianity (more specifically Protestantism, American Protestantism, Baptists, and finally American Baptists) it is precisely within my education, training, and experience to share opinions that ought to be given more weight {A measure of common courtesy and decency that we reciprocate topic by topic and allow those with education/training/experience in the issue at hand to be shown respect} (3) Therefore, in the case of a global pandemic, such as COVID-19, our go-to response ought to be to give more weight to the opinions (based hopefully on solid facts) of ER physicians, epidemiologists, public health officials, and various others whose education/training/experience helps elevate their viewpoints toward being more consequential than that of the average citizen. Have medical professionals disagreed about COVID-19? Certainly, and that too is to be expected from such a complicated issue whose details continue to evolve as new studies and new data come to light (and old ones are revised or proven to be accurate). What do we do when the experts can't agree? The same thing you do when one mechanic tells you that your car needs an expensive repair and another says there is an easy fix. Look beneath the surface, seek additional opinions, check to see if your own bias is affecting your judgment about who to trust.

What this perspective doesn't do: Make everyone who isn't an expert in a field shut up and obey. That's not the point at all, hopefully it isn't what you're thinking while reading this. My point is not elitist, not by any stretch, it does not require an Ivy League education to become and expert, just a real one.

What this perspective does do: Allow those who have the best chance of being correct on an issue (thanks to education/training/experience, this do matter) to rise above those who have the least chance of being right on an issue.

When the plane I'm on is in danger of crashing, I want a pilot to be in charge, not a preacher. When faced with an angry bear in the woods, I'd rather have a park ranger next to me than a stock broker. When I need to understand something about God, let me look to someone who has dedicated his/her life to the service of God. And when people are dying of a new disease by the thousands, let me first turn to the doctors who has chosen to spend their lives trying to heal the sick.

God bless you all, I know our viewpoints on regarding COVID-19 are far ranging, and that animosity has been dangerously boiling up in our political life as a nation. Please, we can do better, we have to try.