Evangelical Response To The Coronavirus Lockdown

Our world has been divided into two distinct eras, the pre-coronavirus era and the post-coronavirus era. In the post-coronavirus era, everything is changing about how we live, think, work, study, travel, worship, do business and socialize. Our dispositions to the changes will determine what the post-coronavirus world will look like for us. Rigidity will be a great undoing for many in the days to come. We all have to prepare to learn, unlearn and relearn new skills in order to survive the impact of the pandemic. The church in Africa, and, indeed, ECWA is not immune to the changes taking place. If the church in Africa and beyond is to survive and be of impact in this new-normal era of the world, then it must be like the men of Issachar, ‘who understood the times and knew what Israel should do . . .’ (1 Chronicles 12:32). This book examines the effects of the coronavirus lockdown on corporate worship in ECWA. It discusses the response of ECWA to the same and extrapolates the implications to the church in Africa. These implications are important for the future of evangelical Christianity in Africa so the church can strategise to minister in the face of the new realities introduced by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Superbly written, utterly Bible based. . . Do not hesitate!’ Archbishop Justin Welby What are we supposed to think about the coronavirus crisis? Some people think they know: ‘This is a sign of the End,’ they say. ‘It’s all predicted in the book of Revelation.’ Others disagree but are equally clear: ‘This is a call to repent. God is judging the world and through this disease he’s telling us to change.’ Some join in the chorus of blame and condemnation: ‘It’s the fault of the Chinese, the government, the World Health Organization...' Tom Wright examines these reactions to the virus and finds them wanting. Instead, he invites you to consider a different way of seeing and responding – a way that draws on the teachings and examples of scripture, and above all on the way of living, thinking and praying revealed to us by Jesus.

The COVID-19 crisis suddenly changed everything in the world, including the celebration of the Eucharist. This small volume addresses existential questions concerning Christians amid the pervasive threat of COVID-19. Each author shares his personal experience during the crisis while reflecting from a Christian perspective within his personal responsibility each with a different focus. All four see meaning in the crisis as Pope Francis expresses in the foreword: it has yet again made us aware of our transience, frailty, and mortality. The crisis he says invites us to derive new hope, courage, energy, and happiness from the sources of life and faith, and to stand by those suffering hardship and difficulty. The writings in A Christian Response to COVID-19 speak to the decisions Christians are making in these days to reconcile our lives more fully with God, as we seek solidarity in our common vulnerability as human beings and place our lives into the service of other people.

Why bother with the interpretive categories of biblical faith when in fact our energy and interest are focused on more immediate matters? The answer is simple and obvious. We linger because, in the midst of our immediate preoccupation with our felt jeopardy and our hope for relief, our imagination does indeed range beyond the immediate to larger, deeper wonderments. Our free-ranging imagination is not finally or fully contained in the immediacy of our stress, anxiety, and jeopardy. Beyond these demanding immediacies, we have a deep sense that our life is not fully contained in the cause-and-effect reasoning of the Enlightenment that seeks to explain and control. There is more than that and other than that to our life in God’s world!

This volume explores how Christians around the world have made sense of the meaning of suffering in the context of and post-COVID-19. It interrogates the question of God, suffering, and structural injustice. Further, it discusses the Christian response to the compounded threats of racial injustice, climate injustice, wildlife injustice, gender injustice, economic injustice, political injustice, unjust in the distributions of the vaccine and future challenges in the post-COVID-19 era. The contributions are authored by scholars, students, activists and clergy from various fields of inquiry and church traditions. The volume seeks to deepen Christian understanding of the meaning of suffering in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the fresh ways the pandemic can contribute to reconceptualizing human relations and specifically, what it means to be human in the context of suffering, the place of or justifications of God in suffering, human place in creation, and the role of the church in re-articulating the theological meanings and praxes of suffering for today.

Religious Responses to Pandemics and Crises explores various dimensions of the interrelations between the individual, community, and religion. With their global scope, the contributions to this volume represent reflections on the rich and multifaceted spectrum of human responses in a variety of different religions and cultures to the current SARS-2-COVID-19 pandemic and similar crises in the past. The contributions are organized in three thematic parts focusing on strategies, rituals, and past and present responses to pandemics and crises. They reflect on the intersection of personal or communal responses and state-mandated policies relative to SARS-2-COVID-19 while outlining different strategies to cope with the pandemic crisis. Timely questions explored include: How do individuals connect with or disconnect from religious and spiritual communities during times of personal and collective crises, including pandemics? How do religious practices such as rituals bridge individuals and communities? How do religious texts from past and present highlight and represent crises and pandemics? Dynamic and multidisciplinary in its inquiry, this volume is an outstanding resource for scholars of religion, theology, anthropology, social sciences, ritual theory, sex and gender studies, and contemporary medical science.

COVID-19 has transformed our everyday lives. It’s as if another world has arrived in the blink of an eye. Yet life is not on pause. We still need to live. The pandemic, like any other time, is a moment both of opportunity as well as challenge. Healthy Faith in the Coronavirus Crisis is a briefing on how to thrive in a world of restrictions. Twenty leading Christian thinkers have come together to help you begin to navigate this strange reality. Each contributor writes on their area of expertise, and topics covered include prayer, loneliness, work, singleness, marriage, parenting, grief, death, imagination, conversations, humour, and much more. They offer practical advice as well as helpful perspective from Scripture. This is an essential resource for anyone looking to cultivate a healthy faith which infuses all areas of life during this disorienting time. Early Reviews This really is an excellent book... informative and useful, and I would not hesitate to recommend it widely to believers and unbelievers alike. - Eddie Arthur, Kouyanet “Healthy Faith is essential reading for any Christian.” - Terry Wright, Spurgeon’s College “beautiful and arresting” - Johan De Young, Before Leaving Earth blog, Oak Hill student CONTENTS Section One: (re)orientation 1. Orienting to the New Reality (Luke Cawley) 2. Homecoming: The Art of Being Human (Kristi Mair) Section Two: fragile life 1. Viruses and God’s Good Creation: How Do They Fit? (Paul Copan) 2. The Art of Dying Well: Reflections of a Christian Medic (John Wyatt) 3. Dancing with Uncertainty: Lessons from the Persecuted Church (Eddie Lyle) 4. Grief and Comfort: Understanding and Responding to the Experience of Loss (Richard Winter) 5. Navigating Loneliness: Why It Hurts and How We Can Respond (Ed Shaw) 6. Healthy Fear: Keeping Calm and Considering Christ (Dan Strange) Section Three: connected life 1. Stable Disruptions: Furlough, Unemployment, Front Line, and Our Constant Call (Ed Creedy) 2. Working in God’s World: A Time for Recalibration (Cal Bailey) 3. Connected Singleness: Distance Without Isolation (Kate Wharton) 4. The Shape of Marriage: Scriptural Principles (Dianne & Derek Tidball) 5. Communicating With Your Other Half: Tips from the Marriage Coaches (Julie & Keith Johnson) 6. Parenting: The Opportunities of Being Trapped With Your Kids (Rachel Turner) Section Four: growing life 1. Church, Crisis and Creativity: A Chance for Revitalization (Krish Kandiah) 2. Prayer in Confinement: Postures and Practices for a Flourishing Faith (Jill Weber) 3. Encountering Scripture: Turning to the Psalms in Times of Trial (Matt Searles) 4. Viral Conversations: Extending the Hope of Jesus to Friends (Andy Bannister) 5. The Liberated Imagination: Realities Beyond Restrictions (Mark Meynell) 6. Infectious Laughter: Humour in an Age of Tragedy (Andy Kind) Afterword God With Us: A Paradigm for Life During the Pandemic (Tom Wright) Appendices 1. A Psalm in the Epidemic: Trust Triumphs Over Fear (Pablo Martinez) 2. How Hope & Patience Embrace Each Other: A Reflection (Pablo Martinez) 3. Advice for Carers & Relatives: Practical, Medical, & Pastoral issues (John Wyatt) 4. Current legal framework for end-of-life decisions (John Wyatt) 5. Sample Statement of Wishes and Values for a Christian Believer (John Wyatt) 6. Safeguarding tips for churches (Thirtyone:Eight) 7. Guidance for working and communication safely online (Thirtyone:Eight) 8. Ten Tips for Working From Home (Luke Cawley)

“This is a time when the fragile form of this world is felt. The seemingly solid foundations are shaking. The question we should be asking is, Do we have a Rock under our feet? A Rock that cannot be shaken—ever?” —John Piper On January 11, 2020, a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) reportedly claimed its first victim in the Hubei province of China. By March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization had declared a global pandemic. In the midst of this fear and uncertainty, it is natural to wonder what God is doing. In Coronavirus and Christ, John Piper invites readers around the world to stand on the solid Rock, who is Jesus Christ, in whom our souls can be sustained by the sovereign God who ordains, governs, and reigns over all things to accomplish his wise and good purposes for those who trust in him. What is God doing through the coronavirus? Piper offers six biblical answers to that question, showing us that God is at work in this moment in history.