Tuesday 17 March 2020

What C.S. Lewis and Martin Luther Would Say About Our Coronavirus Panic

What Martin Luther said during the bubonic plague.

“The 16th-century theologian Martin Luther had this to say during the bubonic plague, offering his thoughts in a letter titled "Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague" on how best to practically and spiritually overcome:
You ought to think this way: "Very well, by God's decree, the enemy has sent us poison and deadly offal. Therefore, I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. 

I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person, but will go freely."

To which I add:
1. Be hygiene conscious and keep yourself and surroundings clean.
2. Respect, and comply with, the directives of the government and public health authorities. They have a responsibility for your safety and the general good.
3. The developments show the frailty of man and the limits of science.
4. Keep looking up and pray fervently to God to intervene. Who told you there is no God? 
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬

0 comments:

Post a Comment