One of the reasons we stopped going to the church we were going to in Florida was that way to many folks were going to church sick. Seemed like no matter how they felt, they were going to attend Sunday AM Service. Bad, bad thing to do!!
That’s your choice and your opinion Cody. I don’t fault anyone for their choice to refrain from going to services the same as I do not fault anyone for being faithful. One small church I know of here remained open even through the close down mandates. They weren’t challenged and as of yet, not one person who goes to that church has succumbed to CV. Bad idea? Good idea? That’s between you and God. Note: It’s been my personal observation that people who live in fear (anxiety) seem to get sick a lot easier than those who avoid being fearful.
For those who might need some affirmation of this, see Stress Weakens The Immune System or search on "fear and anxiety weakens immunity".
A church in a town near here did that as well. Without making a fuss, they just quietly continued meeting for worship and prayer, as if the governor wasn't in charge of the church. No problems.
In our little rural church, we had several hospitalizations post vaccination, but none from the disease itself as far as I know. Ironically, they are now finding that singing actually helps you recover from Covid, something that was banned by most churches in the nation during the height of the pandemic--allegedly due to increased air exchange.
The UMC church I was going to banned singing once the government took its boot off of our neck. Then we were allowed to go outside to sing...but we had to keep our masks on. Hymnals were dropped off on a table to be sanitized so they could be used the following week. These rules were applied state-wide, regardless of any individual church's Capacity vs Attendance numbers or ratio. Regarding singing as a way to maintain your maximum oxygen uptake...I've heard some folks state since that the virus is transmitted through our exhalations, the Nasal Swab Test may verify "exposure," but it is an invalid test for actually "being infected" vice testing our exhaled lung gases.
I think the main attribute to singing is the release of dopamine and serotonin. In stressful times, the release of those two chems helps us to not only feel better but help with brain and intestinal functions, expand on lung capacity as well as a myriad of other attributes. To be sure, in many respects it’s simply a part of that “I love you Jesus aspirin” that many look forward to when they (we) go to church.
I've stated before that I stopped going to my church because it was no longer a sanctuary from the world, and that the secular things I wished to escape were actually amplified there. Your observation brought into focus for me that the church is not only bereft of the safety and comfort it has a duty to offer, there is palpable fear there, brought about by a submission to the secular world. None of the things you cite (vaccinations & masking) are for our "health & safety." The Virginia episcopal region of the UMC spent $1,000,000 on legal fees just in our state to come up with the rules I've cited earlier for no reason other than to mitigate the corporate church's financial exposure to lawsuits.
True enough. We actually get to sing out loud around other humans who can carry a tune no better that we can, and no one's gonna say a thing about it. It is unifying.
Ironic that the churches are going along with the Progressive agenda as one of the tenets of that agenda is to unite all the denominations under one umbrella where they can be more easily used for propaganda. Hitler tried that, too, and if any of you have read anything by Bonhoeffer you know what the result of that was.
I know that I’ve written before that the virus hasn’t really changed my lifestyle very much and it really hasn’t. But….the way the government has handled and bullied the citizens of this country has dramatically changed the way I think. The propaganda, the closures, the outright lying to us and the manipulation that not only the Federal Government has featured but a major portion of State Governments as well. Before the virus hit I always knew that those in professional government positions were manipulative but they at least did it in such a way that it seemed almost childish. A little pork here, a little ear mark there, here a pork, there a mark everywhere a mark, mark. Now however, I have absolutely no trust that the powers that be won’t literally burn the Constitution of the United States and force their personal whims and wants on the public. I have never fully trusted the government just as I don’t fully trust anyone (but my wife and the Lord) but now, I have no trust at all. It’s gone, kaput, deceased and dead. It’s not a good feeling.
Not to pile on your attitude, but look at every single institution. I posted an article where the American Heart Association is providing cover for anticipated infant vax deaths (years 2025 thru 2035) and heart issues by blaming it on climate change!!! This is beyond parody. This is beyond betrayal. And where is the AMA in standing up for doctors and nurses who don't want to have this substance injected into them, or who demand the right to prescribe certain care for their own patients? People can't even trust their own doctors anymore. What was created for "oversight" was really put in place to control and destroy. Then there's the way our churches have allowed themselves to be bullied. The Separation Clause fire-walls the state off from religion, yet it's been deceitfully used to keep churches out of politics. Now when there's a true violation, churches yield to government. This is intentional. This is part of the plan. Just like knowing what sex a child is at birth, there are things that "just are" and that can be trusted. Not anymore. All such things must be destroyed so the New Reality can be forced upon us with no vestige of a sane frame of reference.