What's A Person of Faith To Do?

Today I was saddened as I drove past two churches in my community that seem to have decided to go ahead and meet in person, as evidenced by the number of cars in the parking lots. I have friends in both congregations, and I know they are very committed to doing good in the world in God's name, but it appears that they are meeting the letter of the law but not the spirit of what is good for others. Yes, the Governor's office relaxed the restrictions of the freeze to include allowing faith organizations to meet in groups of 25. But just because you can, doesn't mean you should. The COVID numbers in Oregon are still sharply rising, and medical professionals are pleading with people to NOT meet with people who are not members of their immediate household, especially indoors.

On Wednesday, Providence Portland reported 82 COVID patients admitted to its hospital, with another 40 at Providence St. Vincent. According to an article in The Oregonian, both Providence hospitals in Portland, along with those in Milwaukie, Oregon City, and Newberg, will be drastically reducing surgeries, providing only " 'emergent and urgent surgery,' procedures 'which cannot be deferred for 4-6 weeks without significant risk to life of limb,' and urgent vascular, cardiac and cancer surgeries." (Oregonian/OregonLive, Dec. 2, 2020). So the increasing COVID hospitalizations are affecting not only those patients and their loved ones, but also anyone who might find themselves in need of other types of surgeries, such as joint replacement, spinal surgery, etc.

I deeply understand the pull of people of faith gathering together, for fellowship and worship. The faith group of which I am a part has not met together for the better part of nine months now, instead seeing each other each week on Zoom. And while we are grateful for the technology, the screen does not come close to taking the place of sitting next to someone, sharing a hug, singing as a group, bowing in corporate silence, sharing a meal. I cannot speak to the tenets of other faith groups, but people of faith who follow Jesus have been given the example of serving others before serving self. And when we put our own group's desires before the needs of others, it is time to step back and ask if we are truly following what we say we believe.

Everyone - EVERYONE - has been affected by this pandemic. It is hard. It is hard for children and teachers to not be at school. It is hard to work remotely. It is hard for adults to not go to the home of their parents, and for children to not see their grandparents. It is hard to shift a sit-down restaurant to take-out only. It is hard to not travel to see loved ones. It is hard to not attend the funeral of a dear one who has passed. It is hard to have a private marriage ceremony instead of a wedding with friends and family in attendance. And on, and on, and on.

It is hard to not engage in all the activities we used to do without a second thought, and we long to return to some semblance of normal. But before that can happen, this horrible, virulent virus that has the world in its grip has to be quelled. It appears that there is a vaccine on the horizon, and health experts are working right now on the most effective and efficient way to distribute the doses, beginning with healthcare and other frontline workers. Realistically, it will take many months for enough people to be vaccinated to start to achieve herd immunity. And in the meantime, right now, more and more people are getting infected each day - 308 additional cases in Washington County yesterday alone (The COVID Tracking Project, Dec. 6, 2020). Over 282,000 have died in our nation and almost 15,000,000 have been infected (ibid), and we are just starting to get an idea of some of the lasting long-term effects on those who survive. And the medical professionals are begging us to do three very simple things: stay home as much as possible, wear a mask whenever leaving home, and do not gather in groups larger than six, from no more than two households. Doing these things will slow down the spread of the virus. Doing these things will lessen the burden on hospital workers. Doing these things will help others.

Just because it is legal for people of faith to gather in groups of 25 indoors, doesn’t make it the right thing to do. Not when exercising an abundance of caution could make things better for so many others. For those of us who follow Jesus, the directive is clear: Love God, and love people. All the other laws are fulfilled through these. (Matt. 22:37-40). 

Stop being selfish, and show love for others by not insisting on your rights, but rather setting aside your rights so that others do not get sick.

Black Lives Matter, Marxism, and Confirmation Bias

As I was walking as part of my cool-down after my run this morning I passed by a person who was chatting with a worker from a nearby construction site. The worker was very animated in his talking, practically shouting "They're admitted Marxists! They're all f**king Communists!"

I assume this worker was referring to the Black Lives Matter movement, which was started in 2013 after the acquittal of the person who killed Trayvon Martin. One of the co-founders said in an interview in 2015 that she and one of the other co-founders are "trained Marxists", during the discussion of the backgrounds of the people who started the organization.

So what does that mean? What it DOES mean is that one or perhaps two of the founding members of Black Lives Matter have studied Marxism and identifies as Marxist. What is DOES NOT mean is that BLM is a Marxist organization. Think of it like this analogy: let's say a person who studied the catechism and identifies as a Catholic decides to open a restaurant with some partners, one of whom periodically attends Mass. What that means is that one, or perhaps two, of the owners are Catholic. That DOES NOT mean the restaurant is a Catholic business, or that the workers are all Catholic, or that the customers are Catholic, specifically. Or Christian, in general. It DOES mean that at least one of the owners studied Catholicism, and is probably influenced in their personal life by those teachings.  

The idea that BLM is a "Marxist organization" was expressed in a Facebook post from a group called PragerU that featured a video in which a former professor discussed the 2015 interview, pointing out the conversation regarding Marxism by one of the founders. In looking at PragerU as a source, it is important to note that PragerU calls itself "Prager University", but is not a university nor any type of institute of higher education. At the bottom of their front page is this line: "Prager University is not an accredited academic institution and does not offer certifications or diplomas. But it is a place where you are free to learn". PragerU is a forum written by a self-described conservative talk-show host and his producer/writer.

A good place to check out the veracity of internet statements is PolitiFact, which gathers its information from a wide range of sources. In checking out this Facebook allegation, PolitiFact cites sources ranging from the Hoover Institute (Stanford University) to Brietbart to the New York Times to the Foundation for Economic Education, and more. Their short take? 

•  Black Lives Matter was founded by community organizers. One of the three co-founders said in 2015 that she and another co-founder “are trained Marxists.”
•  Black Lives Matters has grown into a national anti-racism movement broadly supported by Americans, few of whom would identify themselves as Marxist. (7/21/2020 – PolitiFact)

Want to know more? I’ve included the links to the PolitiFact article, and to the Black Lives Matter website. In my experience, checking out information from primary sources and trusted research sites is always preferable to simply accepting what I read in a post, even if it is a post made by someone I like and with whom I agree. Always sticking with information from like-minded people and organizations leads to something called “confirmation bias”, which is defined by Lexico/Oxford as “the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories”. Although it is more comforting to sit with information that doesn't challenge one's beliefs, it is vitally important to search out accurate facts when trying to determine the accuracy of information. An article published in Psychology Today states "Disconfirming instances are far more powerful in establishing the truth" (Shahram Heshmat, Ph.D., University of Illinois – 4/23/2015 – Psychology Today)

Black Lives Matter is not a Marxist organization, nor are those who associate with it Communists. Black Lives Matter “is not an organization, but a fluid movement; it doesn’t actually matter if one of its founders was a liberal, Marxist, socialist or capitalist." (Miriyam Aouragh, Westminster School of Media and Communication, London – 7/21/2020 - PolitiFact)

PolitiFact article

Black Lives Matter website

Psychology Today article

Lexico/Oxford definition