I’m Cool With Public Health Policies, So Why Should I Bother With Opposing Mandatory Vaccines?
If you are like most people in America, you have no problem going along with the government’s vaccine schedule or other public health programs. You likely never spent time investigating vaccines and don’t feel the need to do so. You don’t share the beliefs of those who choose not to vaccinate, so you feel no reason to join in their battle. I mean, life is busy enough without picking up a cause that doesn’t even affect you or your family. I get it. But, as the body of Christ, I’d say that you are in fact called to join your brothers and sisters in this battle. The principle of this battle encompasses more than just compliance to the vaccine schedule or some other public health order de jour – it is the choice to give the government authority over an area that is unquestionably outside of their purview.
By God’s design, parents must maintain authority over their children in every area, including health and education. We can choose to delegate some areas of this care to outside entities, such as schools or doctors – but the final, decision-making authority over a child’s life must always remain in the hands of the parents.
Most people, Christians included, want to avoid conflict. We don’t want to be boat-rockers or feather-rufflers. We recall the passage in Romans 12 that tells believers to, “live peaceably with all men.” We try to keep our heads down and mouths shut when it comes to controversial issues. Paul was well aware that Chrisitans are called to be significantly different from the world, which would make peace and cooperation impossible sometimes. He included the caveats necessary for counter-culture existence when writing that verse, which, in its entirety, reads, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
We cannot take this as if it means we are to ignore the struggles of our brothers and sisters in Christ because we don’t want to seem to be at odds with the world! This would negate the very command of Jesus to “love one another as I have loved you.” He calls us to love as HE loved us, with a love that is distinctly self- sacrificing, others-focused, uncomfortable, and would compel us, if necessary, to stand against the world and its governmental overlords. Let us not forget that all but one of the 12 apostles were martyred, killed for speaking a truth forbidden by their governments.
Parental Rights are Critical to Christianity
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” Psalm 127:3
I have never heard a Christian challenge the principle of the parents’ role in raising their children, but in this age of entitlement over other’s decisions, I’m sure there are scores of believers who feel they have justifiable reasons for wanting to take some children away from their parents. And I have seen many churches over the last 19 months impose medical mandates on children, which paints a disturbing picture of solidarity with the statist philosophy that it is acceptable for just about any entity to override parental rights to enforce something that is culturally popular.
It is certainly understandable that when abuse or neglect are present, intervention is needed. However, nowhere in the Bible will you find justification for or condoning of taking children from their homes and giving them to the government. Government programs are fraught with corruption and cause harm beyond measure as they are incentivised to take children from their parents – and children diagnosed with a disability or from an Indiginous family fetch a higher payout. Most agents in state departments of ‘Child Protection’ have minimal education and experience, but great power to remove kids from their homes. “Medical neglect” is grounds for removal of children from their home in many states – and simply choosing not to follow doctor’s orders or the CDC’s precipitous and untested vaccine schedule could be grounds for the state to take children from a safe and healthy home and into the nightmare of the government care system.
I witnessed this nightmare first hand with a mother in Philadelphia who had her children removed after refusing the Hepatitis B vaccine for her newborn in the hospital. CPS was contacted by hospital staff, charges of drug use were fabricated against the parents, and all 5 of her children – including the newborn – were taken by the state. By the grace of God, this mother has the strength and resources to fight through the dehumanizing and spirit-crushing Philadelphia family court system and, after 6 months of hoop-jumping, won back her children. She continued fighting the system that tried to destroy her family, and successfully exposed the corrupt agents in her case and took actions that led to the judge from her case being disbarred. She won in the end, but the pain and scarring from that tragedy will scar those parents and children for life. The mother now suffers from PTSD, and we don’t know how the children will emotionally recover in the long term. It was an extraordinary journey to walk through, but that type of justice is not the typical end. The ministry website MedicalKidnap.com extolls the ever-present danger of this type of medically-justified, government-led, child stealing.
Christians who want to exercise their God-given parental authority to govern their children as they see fit – which for many may include skipping some or all childhood vaccines – may easily become targets of this corrupt and harsh medical-state tyranny.
The message is becoming stronger every year – parents are to do what the doctor/government says, or we will take your kids.
In recent years, we have seen policies created that overtly increase the diminishment of parental authority. While most states still allow for parents to exercise their religious right to refuse vaccines for their school-age children, six states have laws that now deny children the right to a free public education if they do not follow the state vaccine requirements. The egregious silence from the church on the removal of religious freedom in this area creates the impression that Christians’ accept the growing trend of persecution and discrimination toward families who choose to raise their children outside of the medical-state guidelines. These policies pass without much opposition because of the pervasive belief in the vaccine gospel, “It’s only vaccines, and vaccines save lives.” Followers of the vaccine gospel, which includes the vast majority of Americans, continually overlook the removal of religious freedom (parental rights) when vaccines are involved, because they have been trained by mass media and the government-medical-industrial complex to accept that vaccines are the highest priority. It is culturally acceptable to remove freedom in exchange for the mythical health security of vaccines.
A new tactic to eliminate parental authority is to dissolve the historic, protective delineation separating children from adults. I believe that the term “minor” will soon be eliminated from political speech, and children will only be referred to as persons of a specific age. For example, Pennsylvania Senator Amanda Cappelletti, released a memo stating her plan to introduce legislation to “allow people age 14 or over to consent to CDC recommended immunizations”. Notice the choice of words. This same Senator, who has no children of her own, enjoys boasting about her Master’s Degree in Public Health, which she seems to believe qualifies her to direct the health care of all children in the state.
MANY states already have laws allowing minors to consent to various medical treatments including abortion, STD & birth control treatments, gender transition therapies, and vaccination. Included in these laws is the prohibition of sharing a child’s medical information with the parents without express permission from the child. Philadelphia has allowed children age 11 & up to consent to vaccination without their parents’ consent or knowledge since 2007. Recently, the District of Columbia added minor consent for vaccination into its law book, but thanks to the awareness created by advocacy groups, parents are pushing back.
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. “ Romans 12:9-10
Jesus’ new commandment to love one another is pointedly given to the body of believers – the brothers and sisters in Christ. He does not tell his followers to love everyone or love the world. He tells them to love one another – and that this supernatural ability to set aside their individual nature and selfish ambition, will set them apart,
“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35
The people on the inside of this tribe, this little community of counter-culture Jesus-followers, are to be devoted to one another in such a way that it attracts attention from those on the outside.
The brothers and sisters in Christ are further instructed, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2. Paul knew that loving one another would be challenging, and the believers, after a bit of sacrifice, would likely want to go back to keeping our heads down. With this in mind, he encourages perseverance later in the chapter, writing, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Threats, discrimination, and punishment of parents who choose to care for their own children in a way that they believe honors God but defies the government is a form of persecution of the church. These families are bearing a burden that you are supposed to help carry.
Families and individuals who choose not to comply with public health policies are often suffering a burden because of it, and loving them means sharing that burden. If a family or individual in your church is being threatened by the government because the Holy Spirit has convicted them not to take a vaccine or wear a mask, or whatever policy the government wants to inflict upon them in the name of public health, then it is the duty of every member of that body to help defend the parental authority of that family. Whether you agree with their choice or not is irrelevant. The agreement on the Biblical role of parents is what you are called to defend, not the details of the parenting decisions.
If you are unwilling to defend a brother or sister’s right to have authority of health decisions for their own children, then you might have a pride issue to look at. I don’t mean to be rude, it’s just a fact that we humans are very prone to having pride issues! Is your conviction that your healthcare decision is the right one, and that others should be forced to comply with it, preventing you from deeply loving your Christian family? Is it more important to you to be right than to be loving? Self-reflection in this area can be very freeing!
Another obstacle to the love that is required of you might be fear. Are you fearful that if others are allowed to make their own decisions, they will choose unwisely, and possibly cause you harm? Or cause their children harm? This line of thinking starts with the enemy, who has fooled you into thinking that you can control people and outcomes, and that safety and security can be attained if you can just control all the variables. My experience in recovery programs taught me a lot about this self-destructive thought process. The need to control is a huge issue for people in recovery, most of whom have had defining experiences where their lack of control did cause them harm. In working through the 12 step process, we learn that there are actually very few things that we can control, and the only way to save ourselves from the perpetual anxiety of trying to control uncontrolables is to surrender to Christ and His control.
It can feel scary to think that other people might make choices that you see as dangerous, but the fact is that this is happening all around you every day – people choose to text while driving, drink or take drugs before driving, not wash their hands after blowing their nose, and so on. Laws won’t change it, regulators can’t fix it, and you can’t either. Your best bet is to lean on the promises of God, daily put your trust in Him, and look forward to the day when we will all finally be free from the trials of this life!
Do you want to have a faith that the saints will boast about? Consider how Paul speaks of the believers in Thessalonica in his second letter to them:
“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.”
We must live in the reality that we are at war with a formidable enemy – one worthy of study? If we are connected to our brothers and sisters in Christ, as an arm is connected to the body, then an attack on one member is an attack on the whole body. If someone comes along and attacks you, aiming a fist at your shoulder, your whole body must take action to avoid harm. But the body of believers in America doesn’t respond in unison. We have been completely enculturated to trust the world’s institutions and prioritize comfort. Living without an awareness of the battle for our souls has rendered us vulnerable. Our enemy employs the wisdom recorded by infamous Chinese war general and military strategist Sun Tsu in The Art of War, “Be extremely subtle even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.” The author also points out that, “Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” American Christians seem to think they achieved a final victory over the devil in 1776, and since then, have given up the practice of resistance.
Charmaine Rusin 