Pandemic Public Health And The People Of God

What does public health have to do with Christianity? How should Christians and churches in Atlantic Canada and beyond respond to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic? In this first volume of East Coast Theology, the faculty of Acadia Divinity College reflect biblically and theologically on these questions. Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health for Nova Scotia, offers his insights as well. This book provides church members and leaders with theological foundations and practical ideas for ministering through health care. As a result, we hope that followers of Christ will be at the forefront of efforts for relief and healing on Canada's East Coast both today and in the future. As people called by God to care for others, our vision should be nothing less than this.

What does public health have to do with Christianity? How should Christians and churches in Atlantic Canada and beyond respond to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic? In this first volume of East Coast Theology, the faculty of Acadia Divinity College reflect biblically and theologically on these questions. Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health for Nova Scotia, offers his insights as well. This book provides church members and leaders with theological foundations and practical ideas for ministering through health care. As a result, we hope that followers of Christ will be at the forefront of efforts for relief and healing on Canada’s East Coast both today and in the future. As people called by God to care for others, our vision should be nothing less than this.

‘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.

Towards the end of 2019, I started to feel that the Lord, our God, had had enough of the stubborn and stiff necked people as their wickedness, rebellion, and disobedience continued against him and his son. These actions were a resemblance of the days of Noah, Sodom, Gomorrah, and Nineveh. I felt that Jesus, the son of God, no longer had a home here on Earth. There was no place for him in homes, playgrounds, workplaces, and sadly, no home in the churches that worshipped his holy name. I witnessed the wrath of God against Satan, beginning with the apocalyptic fires in Australia that killed millions of animals and destroyed the beautiful land. I began to warn the world through my posts starting on January 5, 2020. I knew his wrath would continue, this time by way of an apocalyptic pandemic that would kill thousands of people. I began to dream about the looming crisis and started to share with the world through my social media. I decided to write my first post on January 30, 2020 relating to the pandemic, calling for a worldwide chain of prayer. I knew the Coronavirus pandemic could not be treated and that many casualties could be expected. I could feel that God was angry while Satan was elated at the state of our world. Following my posts in January of 2020, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic began evolving. I continued to cry out to the world, but was attacked, mocked, and threatened as people accused me of spreading rumors. I was told to stop, as people said, “This virus is nothing. It’s just another flu.” Others said, “You’re supposed to be a scientist and should know that the seasonal flu takes the lives of thousands every year. This Coronavirus is no threat.” I wished that they all would see what I see and hear what I hear, but few did. I decided to record all of my thoughts, dreams, nightmares, prayers, reflections, and predictions about this dangerous and lethal pandemic that the world was trying to dismiss. This book consists of 73 chapters across under ten sections, contain all of my posts in the order that they were written as well as my notes regarding what I have seen beginning in January 2020 until now, including my thoughts on the post-pandemic era. Some of my predictions have already occurred while others have yet to be seen. I believe that the message we should receive from all of this is that the world must look to our God, the almighty, and his son, Jesus, our Savior. The son shall return and God will lift his wrath as we all go through our journey of repentance here on earth for our salvation lies with the blood of Jesus. Only recently I have started to receive calls in which the people that doubted me have apologized that they did not listen sooner. They have seen that I knew what was coming and tried to warn them. While the Coronavirus pandemic continues, I pray that the Lord will have mercy upon our people and upon the face of the earth.

As we witness the mounting illness and death toll of the coronavirus, the messages of the Old Testament prophets offer comfort and truth. They call us to repentance and affirm God's faithfulness. Doman Lum crafts twenty-one sermons which preach the good news of God's love. The story of the great pandemic involves the impact of COVID-19, President Donald Trump, the murder and killings of African Americans, and the 2020 presidential election. The Old Testament prophets and contemporary biblical theologians share spiritual insights, faith, and trust. Lum encourages the reader to become involved in the public response, the public health programs, and government responsibility to cope with this health crisis as citizens of the United States. This book features the reading of Scriptures, profound and thoughtful sermons, and pastoral prayers. It is for the individual, family, community, and nation who seek spiritual counsel in the midst of the pandemic.

This book investigates the role of religion in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Southern Africa. Building on a diverse range of methodologies and disciplinary approaches, the book reflects on how religion, politics and health have interfaced in Southern African contexts, when faced with the sudden public health emergency caused by the pandemic. Religious actors have played a key role on the frontline throughout the pandemic, sometimes posing roadblocks to public health messaging, but more often deploying their resources to help provide effective and timely responses. Drawing on case studies from African indigenous knowledge systems, Islam, Rastafari and various forms of Christianity, this book provides important reflections on the role of religion in crisis response. This book will be of interest to researchers across the fields of African Studies, Health, Politics and Religious Studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

This book critically examines the intersection of religion, public health and human security in Nigeria. Focusing on Christianity, Islam, traditional religions and "intra-religious" doctrinal divergencies, the book explores the impact faith has on health-related decisions and how this affects security in Nigeria. The book assesses the connection between religion and five contemporary major health and medical issues in the country. This includes the issue of epidemics and pandemics such as the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccines, contraception, blood transfusion and the controversies associated with "miracle healing". In particular, this book explores situations where individuals have the power of choice but instead embraces faith and religious positions that contradict science in the management of their health and, in the process, expose themselves and others to personal health insecurity. It investigates aspects of human security including the wider international ramifications of health issues, approaches to cures and the interpretation of causes of diseases, as well as the ethno-religious connotations of such interpretations. Exploring key issues that have brought religion into the politics of health and human security in Nigeria, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in the field of African Religion, African Politics, African Studies, public health, security, and Sociology.

God and Gaia explores the overlap between traditional religious cosmologies and the scientific Gaia theory of James Lovelock. It argues that a Gaian approach to the ecological crisis involves rebalancing human and more-than-human influences on Earth by reviving the ecological agency of local and indigenous human communities, and of nonhuman beings. Present-day human ecological influences on Earth have been growing at pace since the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, when modern humans adopted a machine cosmology in which humans are the sole intelligent agency. The resultant imbalance between human and Earthly agencies is degrading the species diversity of ecosystems, causing local climate changes, and threatens to destabilise the Earth as a System. Across eight chapters this ambitious text engages with traditional cosmologies from the Indian Vedas and classical Greece to Medieval Christianity, with case material from Southeast Asia, Southern Africa and Great Britain. It discusses concepts such as deep time and ancestral time, the ethics of genetic engineering of foods and viruses, and holistic ecological management. Northcott argues that an ontological turn that honours the differential agency of indigenous humans and other kind, and that draws on sacred traditions, will make it is possible to repair the destabilising impacts of contemporary human activities on the Earth System and its constituent ecosystems. This book will be of considerable interest to students and scholars of the environmental humanities, history, and cultural and religious studies.