Religion no excuse to hurt others

This is for those who use religion as an excuse not to get a COVID-19 vaccine or wear a mask and to those who appreciate history.

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The recent video of Pastor Matt Shea in Spokane and the riot that shut down the recent school board meeting are frightening. What will we die of? COVID-19, the delta variant or mob violence?

It’s been just a little over 100 years since the acceptance of the germ theory and even before that people knew to wash their hands — except for Mary Mallon, a cook who professed to never wash her hands and refused to follow the rules sent down by society and then by the law.

Her behavior similar to today’s actions I’m writing about are known by all. She became Typhoid Mary.

She was civilly committed and, after promising to never work as a cook, was released. She reneged, starting more typhus outbreaks and was civilly committed for the last 22 years of her life. She had the ability to go on outings but lost her freedoms because she was too bullheaded to listen.

Texas in 2015 civilly committed a tuberculosis-positive man who was highly contagious and not real eager about getting treated. He was caught and committed for the safety of the public.

People who know they are HIV positive, don't tell others and infect them are sent to prison. In Mississippi if you test positive for COVID-19 and don’t isolate, you could go to prison for five years.

Tuberculosis, once known as consumption, was the disease of famous outlaw lawman Doc Holliday. But poet Lord Byron wrote, “I should like to die from consumption," helping popularize tuberculosis as an artist’s disease. That illustrates how it matters when well-known people (like presidents) say things or don't say things about disease.

Reagan was accused by many of being silent about HIV/AIDS, but during his time in office funded nearly $5 billion in research. His staff, however, laughed about AIDS, calling it the gay disease and refused to take it seriously.

How have pandemics been solved? Well, London burned down over four days in 1666, killing rats, mice and fleas — pretty much ending the plague.

The plague of Justinian starting in 541 CE, killed between 30-50 million people. Survivors somehow obtained immunity, that is herd immunity, the hard way.

In 1347, the plague returned to Europe, thus the quarantine was invented by forward-thinking officials. The Venetian port city of Ragus kept incoming sailors isolated until they could prove they were not sick. It started at 30 days and ended up being 40 days or quarentino. The practice began in the Western world because they knew proximity to sick people caused it to spread.

Smallpox, a scourge for several centuries, ravaged the New World since no one had natural immunity. In Europe, 30% died and survivors had pock-marked faces. Smallpox became the first disease to be stopped by vaccine, developed in the 18th century by Edward Jenner. In 1980 it was announced that smallpox had been eradicated from the Earth.

The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic ended when enough people developed immunity. Places that isolated during the Spanish flu had lower death rates. In San Francisco, being caught without a mask resulted in a $5 fine ($100 in today's money).

It wasn’t until 2008 that scientists were finally able to discover what made the Spanish flu so deadly: A group of three genes enabled the virus to weaken a victim’s bronchial tubes and lungs and clear the way for bacterial pneumonia. There have been three other flu pandemics between the Spanish flu and COVID-19 but with lower death rates.

Trump and the first lady secretly got the vaccine upon leaving the White House, as reported by The New York Times. Also The New York Times reported a study in which counties where Trump had the highest votes in the last election also have the lowest vaccine rates and the highest amount of COVID-19 cases.

Now for the religion.

You think you're the first person to throw down the God card? Snake handlers and poison drinkers beat you to it by about 100 years, and the most recent case law from 60 years ago said you can't do that — it's too dangerous and people die. No cases about this have made it to SCOTUS.

Snake handling, as practiced by some misguided churches, is not a biblical endeavor. Mark 16:17–18 is used by some as a basis for handling snakes: “These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will … pick up snakes with their hands.”

Churches that practice snake handling have special services in which people actually handle venomous snakes, supposedly giving evidence that the church members are true believers empowered and protected by God. It’s true that Mark 16:17–18 says Jesus’ followers will “pick up snakes,” but there are several problems with the modern practice of snake handling.

First, the practice of handling snakes to prove one’s faith (or proving God’s protection) is a violation of God’s command not to put Him to the test: “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Matthew 4:7; cf. Deuteronomy 6:16).

Trying to force God’s hand by requiring that He perform an obvious miracle is more than foolish; it is sinful. To test God’s presence and power by purposely placing oneself in an unsafe situation is expressly forbidden in Scripture.

Daniel did not seek out the lions, but when he found himself surrounded by them, through no fault of his own, he found God was there. Likewise, we trust God in dangerous situations, but we never purposely seek out danger.

So, to all you anti-vaccine and anti-maskers like pastor Matt Shea and his followers, and others hiding behind religion as your battle cry, stop putting yourselves and others in danger by trying to force God to save you. We'll need to save our prayers for the masses too ignorant to get vaccinated or to wear a mask, people who are hospitalized and dying and draining precious resources. We'll need to pray for the innocent children struck down because of ignorant adults.

The price and picture of freedom today are hospital ICU beds filled with the unvaccinated, trying to survive.

Practice what you preach. Do not test God.

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Randy Tetzner of Coeur d'Alene is a retired commercial pilot/flight instructor and autism advocate.