Double Standards Applied During COVID-19
No one will argue that 2020 has been a year of layered disruptions that has altered our normal rhythms for years to come. Our cultural norms are in the way of the current pandemic dialogue. Who would have believed that all centers of worship would go dark overnight? Who would have believed that home-life rhythms of parents would take on the role of Schoolmaster, Digital Career, and keep the normal atmosphere of home life alive? Who would have believed that End of Life Celebrations would be limited to a handful of people and live streamed to others that are not permitted to attend because of COVID restrictions? Who would have believed that COVID-19 does not impact peaceful protests that has caused an estimated $6 billion in community damage while churches are still being forced to either stay shut-down or meet with severe restrictions because of the fear of churches becoming “super-spreaders” of the coronavirus? Who would believe that protests over wrongful death would morph into the deliberate death of those we ask to protect our communities?
To a pathogen, one crowd is very much like any other, no matter how righteous the cause or how justified the protest. If a handful of people protesting lockdowns were a cause for concern, the much larger protests sweeping America—with exponentially more potential vectors of transmission—should have been met with the offer of safer options for making one’s voice heard. African Americans have already suffered disproportionately from Covid-19; failing to protect them by implicitly encouraging large public gatherings is a display of cynical disregard for black lives.[1]
It is interesting how history past proves the future. The German Jewish poet Heinrich Heine wrote in 1821; “Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.” More than a century later in 1933, Heine’s books would be burned in Berlin’s Opernplatz, presaging the murder of six million Jews in a vicious calculated campaign of genocide.[2]
“Cultural Genocide” as a conversation descriptor for current activity has been revived by numerous authors and faith leaders. In an article in 2018 by Facinghistory.org it was stated that cultural genocide involves the eradication and destruction of cultural artifacts, such as books, artworks, and structures, as well as the suppression of cultural activities that do not conform to the destroyer’s notion of what is appropriate.[3]
YES, cultural norms will change! Biblically speaking, church culture must change because of the spirit of antichrist that is so obvious in our world now. We see its manifestations more clearly. You cannot read the Bible books of Daniel and Revelation without understanding that days of devastation will come. Yet our hope is not in cultural institutions, but in an eternal message of hope in Christ Jesus. This is a battle between good and evil, heaven and hell, Christ and Satan. Do not weep over lost cultural institutions, rather weep over the spiritual lostness of mankind!
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[1]Chris von Cseflvay, Distrust Is Infectious Too. www.City-Journal.org. Accessed 19 September, 2020
[2] Edward C. Luck. Cultural Genocide and The Protection of Cultural Heritage. (J. Paul Getty Trust: Los Angeles Ó2018) p.5
[3] Cultural Genocide. www.facinghistory.org. Accessed 19 September, 2020.
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