So God Created a Virus

“It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, remorse, or fear. And it will not stop, ever, until you are dead.” That quote from a 1980’s movie seems to sum up how a lot of people are feeling about this new virus. I believe that if you know the absolute truth about this virus, it will help you to understand what will work and not work, and what will have to happen for us to get past this disease. It is not an entirely pleasant truth, but at least surprises can be avoided.

I wrote an article several years ago while under the influence of a nasty cold called, “Noah and the Bugs”. I described the difference between bacteria and viruses, specifically that viruses require a living cell for their existence; they cannot survive outside the human body for extended periods of time. The virus invades a human cell, hijacks its DNA/RNA system to make copies of itself, and then after enough copies have been made, it ruptures the cell to spread to other cells— and people. The common cold is typically a rhinovirus or coronavirus, and there are hundreds of varieties of cold viruses, so it is impossible to become immune to all of them, explaining why we keep getting colds each year. If you have lived long enough and had several colds, you probably have had some type of coronavirus before. One advantage that we have with viruses is that once infected with a virus, our bodies develop antibodies to it, preventing a recurrent infection. You can get a bacterial infection over and over with the same bacteria, but that is rare with viruses. Once infected, we become immune, sometimes permanently. Some people, uncommonly, can carry a virus, and develop neither symptoms or immunity.

So, when Noah loaded up the ark to preserve all of the species, I don’t know where he kept the viruses, except in himself and his family. In theory, the bacteria could have been kept alive in cultures, but the viruses needed a human host. Noah, Ham, Shem, Japheth and their four wives would have had to carry not only several hundred cold viruses but all of the other horrible diseases—Ebola, Yellow Fever, and so forth. God would have had to spare their lives from these deadly illnesses, so I presume they were the first carriers.

Which brings us to the new coronavirus. If you are exposed to the new coronavirus, there are four possible outcomes. You will get the disease and recover, becoming immune, get the disease and die, or get the virus and become a carrier (rare). The fourth possibility is that you may have had enough coronavirus exposure in the past to have enough immunity to the new virus that you will not become infected.

The virus is not going to give up and go home because of our public health measures. Handwashing, social distancing, or quarantining will not make it go away. There are only two things that will make the virus go away. It is not a bacterial disease or plague that can be eliminated by sanitation or antibiotics. The virus can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, remorse, or fear. It will not stop, ever, until there is enough global immunity to the virus. There is a second possibility that there will be a vaccine, which will probably prove difficult to develop and probably not be available soon enough to blunt the epidemic.

Enough people HAVE to be infected so that there are enough people immune to the disease so that it doesn’t have anywhere to go. It is unclear how many people have to be immune to stop the viral spread. This depends on how contagious the virus is, and it doesn’t have to be 100% of the population. I have seen estimates as low as 60%, but more typically 80%. This explains how the flu goes away each year. Some people have had enough prior flu attacks that they are immune to the new flu strain that year, and that year’s flu vaccine taken before the epidemic may help provide immunity. But until enough people are immune, the flu keeps spreading.

So, you can go live in a cave and wash your hands, but when you come out of your cave, if enough people have not been infected and developed immunity, the virus will still be out there circulating for you to catch. The purpose of all of our current public health measures is not to stop the new coronavirus. It is to slow the spread of the virus. By doing this, our hospitals and health care system can handle the huge numbers of critically ill patients. We will save lives if we have the capacity to treat the sick, but if we overwhelm that capacity, many without care will succumb.

The bad news is that this slowing will delay not only the spread of the virus, but the development of global immunity. We prolong the epidemic. Instead of a raging inferno, we have a smoldering burn; exactly the same number of trees shall be ignited, but perhaps our firefighting resources will be able to douse more of them. The virus will not stop, ever, until this global immunity has been achieved. Whereas the flu reaches a rapid peak, immunity is quickly developed and flu season comes to an end in a few months, by blunting the coronavirus peak we may be looking at not a season but year or years, and instead of a single “curve” there may be waves, with each successive peak getting smaller. Slowing the spread of the virus may also allow time for a vaccine to be developed.

God is our eternal creator, designer, sustainer, and sovereign master. Before the sin of Adam, I presume that man and microbe coexisted peacefully in the Garden. But since that sin, suffering has been unleashed on the world. Although we do not understand why, all that God has decreed is for His glory. What we do understand is that we are here to glorify God in what we do and how we live. As Christians, this and other sufferings, trials, and catastrophes are an integral part of our existence. The Christian is concerned, but not living in fear or panic. We pray for those who are ill, and for those who are at most risk to avoid the illness. Our conduct must honor God; we take what we need but leave some for others. We will need to endure some privations, and what may appear to be Draconian restrictions. The hospital beds will fill, but hopefully each and every patient that needs one will be able to get one. God has not gifted us with foreknowledge of when this will all come to an end, but for those of us who have accepted His Son as Savior, He has given us the assurance that He will sustain us, comfort us, and bless us now during this season and the infinite seasons to come in eternity.

The Proud Christian

There is a Far Side cartoon that shows a dog in the back seat of a car as he is being driven past the dog in the yard next door.  The dog in the car leans his head out the window, and with his tail wagging, boastfully declares, "Ha ha ha Biff.  Guess what? After we go to the drugstore and post office, I'm going to the vet's to get tutored."

It seems that the fleshly part of us would like nothing more than for us to think better of ourselves than others.  That sin nature is lifted up by another's misfortune.  This is despite Paul's strict warning, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself" (Philippians 2:3). 

This is simply not the way the world seems to work.  Our competitive drive becomes a comparative drive.  We judge how well we are doing by how others are doing.  A "zero-sum game" is a game where all of the players' gains minus all of the of the players' losses equals zero.  I can't do better unless you do worse.  Having played football in high school and college, I am fully aware of the competitive drive, and we couldn't win a football game unless the other team lost. 

The good thing about competition is that it fosters a drive to excel.  I believe that doing everything that you can do to be the best you can be is a Godly goal.  In the movie, Chariots of Fire, the British runner Eric Liddell explains his desire to be a champion runner to his sister saying, "I believe that God made me for a purpose.  But He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure."  He was able to run in Olympic races because his desire was to be the best and fastest runner he could be.  Winning a race meant that the other runners would lose, but the desire was not to defeat the others so much as to run the best race that he could.

Where we go astray in this urge to excel is when we decide that being a better person means better than someone else.  In fact, pride and humility form something of a "zero-sum game;" the more pride that you have, the less humility.  You must realize that you wouldn't be able to achieve anything if it were not for what God has given you.  Every bit of skill, talent, and fortune is from Him.  Yes, you must put effort into it, but even that ability comes from the Lord. 

So it is with our salvation.  As Christians, we can be prone to esteem ourselves better than others because we are saved.  We see the worldly success of others or are treated badly by them and we comfort ourselves in the knowledge that at least we will be going to Heaven.  The Apostle Paul clearly saw this tendency and deplored it in Ephesians 2:8-9, saying, "For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."  You are not allowed the least bit of pride at being saved, because you did not earn it, do not deserve it, and received it only as a gift from God.  You don't get to hang your head out the window and taunt the others because you are on the way to Heaven.

A surprising twist on this was seen in Mark 9:33-7, where Jesus caught the disciples arguing over who was the greatest.  Simply to be accepted into eternal life in Heaven should be a most satisfactory gift for anyone.  To desire more than this, to be ranked ahead of another Christian brother in the eyes of the Lord, is a selfish and prideful desire, a greedy ego seeking undeserved approbation.

When we think of our status as one of the saved, we must not think of salvation as a "zero-sum game."  In a football game, if one team wins, the other loses.  Yet because you are saved does not mean that another must be damned.  And it is much more than a game.  Those who do not accept Christ face an eternity of unimaginable suffering.  This is not a matter of sums but of division, with the condemned being permanently divided from God and their suffering divided by zero, meaning infinite.  Even if you are the least of those in Heaven, you will enjoy forever what will be denied to the best person in Hell.  When you look upon someone who denies Christ as their Savior, you must realize what awaits them. 

Our drive to excel must be in the service of God, and part of that service means helping others to know Him.  Being proud of your status as a Christian does not lead others to the Lord.  In fact, the higher you esteem yourself as a Christian the worse you are doing as far as He is concerned; the more you see of yourself as winning the more you are losing.  The Godly do not wish to see anyone suffer for eternity, and when we seek the salvation of others everyone wins. 

 

The Things That Cannot Be Said

The recent mass shootings have dominated the news lately: one in El Paso, one in Dayton. Far and away the most attention has been directed at the shooters and their ideologies; there was quite a race to see to which political candidates they were aligned. As one reads the news, listens to the broadcast media, or spends time on the social media websites, every single aspect of these deaths is analyzed, and responsibility is assigned to multiple different potential causative factors. I remember in medical school we were taught the ABC's of assessing a crisis situation that went awry. Not Airway, Breathing and Circulation, but Assess Blame and Criticize.

When ruminating over things such as gun control, left-wing and right-wing ideologies and the like, we are trying as humans to make sense of the often senseless. There are certainly decisions to be made to try and prevent such tragedies, and it is wise to try and understand which causative factors need to be addressed. Much progress is unlikely to be made if these factors cannot be agreed upon. If you believe that the most important issue to address in the shootings is gun control, and I believe it is the lack of societal morality, then it will be difficult for us to come to some effective solution, particularly if we deny each other's beliefs. As individuals, we will not be able to put in place either gun control or God back in schools but can only vote for politicians and judges that share our views. I would submit, however, that the most important part of all this discussion is entirely missing.

I have heard all week about Democrats and Republicans, Warren and Sanders and Trump, white supremacists and socialists, leftists and God. And although I have heard about "Christians" as a group, that term is often used as a pejorative. In all that I have heard and read this week, not once have I heard anyone mention Jesus Christ. Christians yes, Jesus Christ no. And from an eternal perspective, nothing is more important. Until Christ comes again, we will always have murders and tragedies befall our civilization. Tragic, senseless deaths began in the second generation of man when Cain slew Abel. We will always strive to prevent early death, whether it be from a bullet, sharks, a car accident, or a heart attack. We can certainly take steps to prevent mass murder, warn people about dangerous wildlife, make our cars safer, and reduce the incidence of heart disease. But we will never, ever obtain victory over death on our own as humans.

Listen to the words of Jesus Himself in Luke 12:16-21, the Parable of the Rich Fool. A man had acquired more than he needed and made many plans of his own. God, however, had different ideas, and "...God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'" Read that again: "This night your soul is required of you." The shoppers in El Paso, the Dayton night club patrons, that day their souls were required of them. They did not know that day; the question is, were they prepared?

A holy God cannot allow sin into heaven. Even worse, the wages of sin is death. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, man is condemned to die. We all wish to die of old age and are shaken when we see people die tragically and early. But know this, all of mankind is born to live eternally, and forever is an infinitely long time. The thirty or forty or seventy years these people were deprived of while living on earth is a pittance, a fraction of a millisecond, compared to the eternity they now face. God has decreed that because of sin, we are all condemned to die physically and eternally. If I was to say that all the people that died in El Paso or Dayton last week deserved to die and spend eternity in Hell, you would be shocked. But it is true. And not only that, but you deserve to die and spend eternity in Hell, and so does your mother, father, wife, husband and children. I deserve to die and spend eternity in Hell. God's justice demands that sin be punished by death, and we all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

Do not misunderstand and think that I am saying that God is the causative factor in these deaths. But His sovereign will, in which all things are under His control, allowed them to happen as the result of sin. There is no question that the killers were morally evil and committed immoral acts. And in a fallen world, sometimes God's creatures will mortally wound us, unlike in the Garden of Eden, and unlike in the heaven to come.

There is no way to avoid physical death, either after a long life or a short one. That cost is fixed, immutable. But God did give us a way to avoid eternal death spent in Hell, and only one way. He gave us His son Jesus Christ. And when we receive Jesus as our Savior, we change our eternal destiny. Yes, I am saddened that many people died in El Paso and Dayton last week, and sad for the loss experienced by their families. But it is a far, far greater tragedy that many died suddenly, only to in the next moment find their souls in eternal torment.

These are very unpleasant things that cannot be said these days. We can pray for the families that have lost loved ones. We can pray for our leaders to protect us. We can pray for the safety of our friends and families, and even ourselves. But the single most important thing that we must pray for here is for the lost. It is too late to pray for the victims of a week ago. Some may have been believers in Christ and are in the arms of the Father now. Others are not, and we can be fairly certain where the Dayton killer is residing.

God requires that no sin enter heaven, He requires that sin be punished by death, and He requires our souls. Are you and your loved ones prepared for your last day on earth, no matter when it may be? It matters not when or where you are when He requires yours, but it will matter for all eternity where you will be after He has required it.

The Grieving Christian

 I can tell from many of the posts here, as well as with our friends and acquaintances, that several have lost loved ones that were dear to them.  Although I cannot relieve their pain, perhaps I can lend some hope. Believe it or not, I will begin with a brief physics lesson.

"Annus Mirabilis" is a Latin phrase meaning "extraordinary year" (or "year of miracles"), and although it has been applied to many different years, one of the most significant was 1905.  It was in that year that Albert Einstein published not one, but four ground-breaking papers, on the special theory of relativity, the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, and mass-energy equivalence.  The last of these four yielded his famous equation, e = mc², but it is the first of these that I would like to explore.

In the special theory of relativity, Einstein took a good, long, hard look at existing physics and found it wanting.  Physics up until that time had been dominated by the theories of Sir Isaac Newton. He turned the world of existing Newtonian physics upside down by making a surprising assumption.  All the things that we think are constant in this material world, things such as size and shape, mass and time, are not truly constant depending on when and how the measuring is done.  The only thing that is constant is the speed of light.  This leads to some rather amazing conclusions.  For instance, as you accelerate an object, it actually shortens in length and gains mass.  For speeds such as we see usually see here on earth, this is imperceptible.  At speeds approaching that of the speed of light, the effects are profound; it is like dividing by zero.  An object at the speed of light would be infinite in mass and infinitely shortened.  And this explains why according to the theory of relativity, nothing can ever travel faster than the speed of light. The closest we can come is when scientists use particle accelerators, and by moving particles near the speed of light, these changes can begin to be detected. 

The word "relativity" was meant to describe events as they were "relative" to an observer.  If a person was in a spaceship accelerated to near the speed of light, they would not notice these effects.  It is the observer who measures the increase in mass and the shortening of length.  And time undergoes changes as well, when measured by an outside observer.  For the person in such a spaceship, they would experience the normal passage of time, and the outside observer would experience their usual passage of time, but these would actually be quite different.  Time would run much slower in the ship, the so-called "time-dilation" effect, and a journey that would seem only a few years in the ship travelling to and from Earth near the speed of light would last hundreds of years for the observer here on Earth.  Each would objectively measure the same event with different results.

People have used the word "relatively" to describe things a little differently than "relativity", and when applied to other matters "relatively" describes a subjective sense. It has been jokingly said that the duration of time is "relative" to which side of the bathroom door you are standing on.  Clearly some things seem to be over in an instant, and others drag on endlessly, but our clocks are not running faster or slower because of some phenomenon of "relativity", and it is only how we perceive the passage of that time in those circumstances.

When your loved one tells you that they are going to the store for fifteen minutes to pick up some milk, do you grieve?  Or if you came home and unexpectedly found a note from your spouse that they had run to the hardware store for a short time, would you be devastated?  I would expect not, for you know that they would return in such a brief time that their momentary absence would not make you feel deprived in the least.  It would hardly be noticed.

As a heart surgeon and physician, I occasionally must deal with the death of a patient, someone's parent or spouse.  I am of the age that occasionally friends and acquaintances pass away, and I have also lost loved ones.  I know the heart-wrenching grief and sense of loss that comes with this, and would never try and console someone by minimizing what they are experiencing or sugar-coating it.  But for the Christian, there is some hope in understanding the nature of God's time.

The saved Christian will spend eternity in heaven with God and other Christians.  Just as travelling at the speed of light causes changes that are like dividing by zero and infinite, God's eternity is like dividing time not by days or weeks or months or years, but like dividing by zero. Eternity is infinite time.  You may miss your loved one dearly, and depending on the time of loss, may miss them for years or decades.  But you will be reunited with them in heaven, and their absence will seem so very, very brief.  If you recall the final verse of "Amazing Grace":

                      

                        When we've been there ten thousand years

                                Bright shining as the sun

                        We've no less days, to sing His praise

                                than when we'd first begun.

After you have been reunited with your loved one in heaven for the first ten thousand years, the twenty years you were apart on Earth will seem like only a moment, that they had only gone for a quick trip around the corner to the store.  And after the next ten thousand, and the next, it will seem even shorter still.  The passage of those years of loss on earth will eventually seem like a split-second.  We can look to our future in heaven with the truest of joy, for eternity with those who have meant so much to us. 

Newton was right and Einstein was wrong. "Amazing Grace" was written by John Newton, and in this case I think that this Newton, not Isaac, described God's time.  Einstein was an agnostic, and although he did not deny the possibility of God, he did not believe in a personal God at all.  However, I think that some of his underlying assumptions are true. All the things that the world thinks are constant, mass and size and time, are really not constant at all.  They will all fade away when Christ returns.  It truly is only light that is constant, the Light of the Glory of God, which will shine forever. 

The Accused Christian, Part II

 It has become common parlance to label people with whom you disagree as having bad motives. This is a sloppy form of trying to win an argument or advancing a point. In logic, this is called the ad hominem fallacy, meaning that instead of attacking the opponent’s position, you attack the person. Today, Christians are accused of being “intolerant”, when nothing could be further from the truth. We are labeled with all kinds of ugly characteristics.

The first thing to get settled is whether or not there is an objective truth. This causes many people difficulty today, in our post-modern society where many have decided that each of us is allowed to determine what truth is for us; what is true for you may not be true for me. That leads to moral relativism, where we each get to determine our own moral laws. The logical law of non-contradiction prohibits this. That law basically says that a thing cannot be true and not true at the same time (or "A" and "not-A") in the same relationship. The animal is a dog or it is not a dog; it can't be a dog and a non-dog at the same time. This means that a truth is true for me and must be true for you as well. There are physical truths, mathematical truths, and even moral truths. The laws of particle physics are not different for you and me, and for both of us, four plus four must equal eight. The real problem arises when people claim that there is no objective moral standard. In that case, Mao, Stalin, and Hitler were justified in what they did because it met their moral standards. The next time someone claims that each of us is entitled to determine his own moral truths, take his wallet, and tell him that your morality thinks that it is just fine to steal.

A belief is one step removed from an objective truth. The truth is what it is, and a belief is what a person thinks is truth. We can certainly believe untrue things. Believing the wrong thing does not change the truth. My favorite example of this comes from Christian author Frank Turek, who asks, "If you decided that you didn't believe in gravity, would you just float away?"

The word tolerance comes from the Latin tolerantia, meaning to "endure". It means that if you tolerate something, you endure it or live with it. Generally, with regards to other people, you tolerate one of two things: their beliefs or their actions. Almost universally, we tolerate other people's beliefs, even if we consider them to be untrue. One of the foundational principles of our country was religious tolerance. As Christians, we tolerate the Hindus, the Muslims, the Buddhists, and so on, and we expect them to tolerate our beliefs as well. We do not always tolerate other people's actions; although we may tolerate the radical Muslims and their beliefs, we do not tolerate acts of terrorism.

Acceptance, however, is a totally different matter. I may tolerate your beliefs, but I am under no compunction to accept them as true. The sky is blue, you may believe it to be green, and I can certainly tolerate your viewpoint, but please don't demand that I also believe the sky to be green. And therein lies the problem where one group of people demands that another group of people not only tolerate their beliefs but accept them as true. I happen to get my moral truths from the Bible and God's instructions for us. Not everyone does.

And where these aggrieved groups fall off the lexicographic cliff is when they take those who do not accept their beliefs as true and label them as intolerant "haters" or “ists” or "phobes". Because I believe the sky to be blue does not make me a green-sky "hater”, a “greenophobe”, or a “colorist”, and you are not suffering because I do not accept your belief in a green sky. Please, do not even consider calling me intolerant.

You may believe that stealing is morally perfectly acceptable, but I will not tolerate your behavior, stealing from me, and I will not accept your belief in theft as morally correct or true. Although I am intolerant of your actions, that does not make me a hater, and I would reject your attempt to make me the moral villain. You may desire my DVD player and feel that you are suffering because you do not have one, but I am not causing you to suffer by denying you the right to take mine.

I am hopeful that at least some people will not accept the rampant name-calling today as a valid form of argument, whether they be called racist, bigoted, intolerant, or any kind of “-phobe”. An illusion is a deceptive appearance or impression, and those who would toss those words around are trying to create the illusion that not only do they have a valid argument, but the moral high ground as well. I would claim that they are actually suffering from a delusion, which is a belief that has no evidence in fact.

The Accused Christian

One of the charges occasionally leveled at Christian conservatives is that they are not compassionate.  This often wounds us as such, leading to confusion and even feelings of guilt because this is such a serious accusation.  Christians, who are supposed to be our brother's keepers, have a hard time responding to people who basically are saying that we do not care about others, and not only are we guilty of that sin, but we are also guilty of hypocrisy.  It is really two accusations in one.

The word compassion comes from the Latin "com", meaning "together", and "pati", which means "to suffer".  We are to come along side of those who suffer and do what we can to alleviate it.  For the Christian, our instructions are clear.  We are to be generous and helpful to those in need.  James 1:27 tells us to, "...visit orphans and widows in their trouble..."  In Matthew 25:35-36, Christ commends those who act out of compassion: "I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."  And Luke 16:19-31 tells us of the story of Lazarus and the rich man, and the perils of ignoring those in need.

Christian charity blesses both the recipient and the giver.  All of us are to be dependent on God, who promises us that our basic needs will be met.  For other needs, we are to pray, and for those who are needy, God uses charity to answer those prayers and meet those needs.  The giver is submissive to God's will, and God directs and moves his heart to be obedient, to give to those in need, and in doing so he is also blessed.  Those of us who are blessed more are to in return bless others.  This is the very essence of Christian compassion.

However, I can tell you what Christian compassion is not.  It is not socialism.  If you had a neighbor in great need, perhaps due to illness, you might be led to help that person financially.  But if you received a knock on the door with some official forcing you to turn over your earnings to pay someone else's medical bills, that would be a different matter.  The forcible taking of something from one person and giving it to another is not compassionate or Biblical.  In this situation, the government becomes God, and the command of God to be generous becomes the demand of the state to fork over money, to be distributed as the government sees fit.  Rather than God directing our hearts to give to those in need, the government decides how much it will take from one, and how much and to whom it is to be given.  Neither person receives a blessing from God; one receives a legal demand and the other an entitlement.

Our system of government is not perfect, nor is our capitalist economic system.  As Winston Churchill stated, "it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."  As for economics, you must remember that all the major religions originated outside of Western civilization (Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, etc.) and all the major economic systems came from the West (capitalism, fascism, socialism, communism).  Capitalism incorporates more Christian ideals than any of the other forms of economics, particularly in the concepts of individual responsibility to God for one’s choices and behavior.  Is capitalism compassionate?  Yes.  Of all the economic systems, capitalism provides the greatest benefit for all, the highest standard of living, the greatest freedom, the least dependency, and the greatest opportunity for charity.  The countries with the greatest differences in incomes, with great wealth and great poverty, are the socialist ones.  That is why great numbers seek to come here.  East Berlin had to build a wall to keep people in; we are going to need a wall to keep people out.  The Accuser points a finger and says, "How can you be a Christian and not want to give this or that government benefit?"  Christian compassion comes from the heart, not the Treasury. 

Christian compassion is not erasing the law.  We do not live in a theocracy, but rather God has ordained civil government to pass laws to organize society and protect citizens.  The morality of individuals is the church's concern, and civil order is the state's.  Laws are enacted to guard the public, and the Bible enjoins us as good citizens to obey those laws unless they clearly conflict with the Word of God.  A law that is not enforced or obeyed is no law at all.  We have many illegal immigrants in our country, who have not obeyed the laws of this land, and these laws are not being enforced as they should.  If there are good reasons in this country for passing immigration laws, and there are, then they are to be obeyed and enforced.  The illegal immigrant came here by choice, not obeying those laws; to allow this to continue, or grant amnesty, invalidates those laws, and encourages further lawlessness.  The Accuser condemns the conservative believer, "How can you Christians call yourselves compassionate and not want to help those who have come here to seek a better life?"  Christian compassion seeks to ease suffering, but does not enable law-breaking.

Christian compassion is not violating the Word of God.  God has given us His own set of laws, and where they are clear, we are not to allow misguided compassion to overturn His commandments.  God forbids the taking of innocent life, so no amount of compassion for a single mother allows us to support aborting her baby.  God forbids sexual immorality, and compassion does not permit us to endorse such immorality, even if those who desire it would consider themselves to be profoundly unhappy if they could not live in sexual sin.  The Golden Rule does not permit sin.  Do unto others as we would have them do unto us does not mean to help others to do whatever they wish.  The Accuser contests our beliefs, saying, "How can you Christians have so little compassion that you do not condone others living as they wish?"  Christian compassion understands the unhappiness of others, but does not compromise His Word. 

Compassion not considering Christian morals is devastating in its consequences.  Compassion that forces one to pay for another is theft, and this encourages further dependency.  Compassion that permits illegality invalidates the law, and this encourages further law-breaking.  Compassion that violates God's law is itself immoral and encourages further immorality.  Christian compassion is not socialism, does not condone crime, and does not compromise with sin.  Christian compassion is furthering God's kingdom with charity, according to His Word.  It is the ultimate in caring.

 

The Church and Fire

Much has been written and said on the fire at Notre Dame de Paris, the grand cathedral.  It took nearly one hundred years to build, from 1160 to 1260.  I have had the privilege of visiting it a few times, and it was always a magnificent experience.  For a fee, you could climb to the top and have a panoramic view of Paris, and pass many gargoyles as you walked on the upper levels.  As many have already remarked, the stained glass windows were the most impressive anywhere.  It was the pinnacle of architecture in its day. 

In the Catholic church, a cathedral is not just any church, it is the seat of a bishop. The builders of Notre Dame built a huge, soaring Gothic building, as an honor to God.  And the purpose of a church, any church, is  to provide a physical location and environment for people to come together to worship God.  This is primarily done by studying and hearing the Word of God, participating in sacraments, and prayer.  Worshipping in these means is assisted by music, as well. 

Thirteen million people visit Notre Dame de Paris each year, as tourists.  I am unable to find out how many people actually attend Mass or services there, but I suspect it is a fraction of that number.  And although the beauty and grandeur of the cathedral are immense, it was not built to be a tourist attraction.  The Catholic church does not own Notre Dame, it is owned by the French government.  Although it does still serve as a house of worship, for the French, it is more a symbol of national identity, rather like our Washington Monument or Lincoln Memorial.  In fact, in France, as well as the rest of Europe, there is a rapidly declining need for churches of any kind.

Church attendance in Europe has plummeted.  The Church of England closes 20 churches a year, the Catholic church in Germany around 50 a year.  In the Netherlands, two thirds of the Catholic churches will close by 2025 and 700 Protestant churches will shutter before 2020.  So what happens to those buildings?  They are often sold and converted to other uses, such as skating rinks, supermarkets, bookstores, or gymnasiums.  According to the Wall Street Journal, (the reference for much of this data), one church was even converted to a circus training facility. 

This is the result in a decline in Christianity in Europe.  Although 70% of Western Europeans identify as Christian, only a small number are actively participating Christians attending church. In 2014, only 4% of people in the UK went to a Church of England Christmas service.  The number of people identifying as Christian is declining, while that of Orthodox Jews is remaining stable, and the number of Muslims is increasing. 

We are seeing some of the same trends here in the United States.  The Presbyterian church has lost 40% of its members and 15% of its churches. About a third of Americans attend religious services between once week and once a month, down from 49% in the 1950's (Gallup, Barna), and "religious services" includes Jews and Muslims.  This data is from self-reporting polls, and when you look at the actual number by observational studies, it may be half of that.  We are seeing churches closing and being converted here in the United States, as well.

It is truly a tragedy that fire consumed Notre Dame de Paris.  It may be rebuilt one day, a tremendous building that will once again draw millions.  But it is also a tragedy that thousands of churches around the world are ceasing to exist, not from fire which consumes, but from a lack of fire in believing Christians who no longer devote themselves to attending houses of worship.  Millions wished to visit Notre Dame as tourists, many other millions would rather stay home from their churches on Sundays.  Salvation in no way requires church attendance, yet the believing Christian is commanded to join together with their local body of Christ, their fellow believers, to worship our Lord.  Unfortunately, there will be no tourists in Heaven.