“Life Interrupted?” or “Life Inspired?”

This blog entry has been inspired by our granddaughter, Kiara Salyers; and, by two encouraging virtual worship services we heard this morning, complete with messages from sacred Scripture.  Kiara is doing her best to remain calm and positive during the COVID-19 pandemic while completing her courses online.   But her disappointment is typical of thousands of high school and college seniors who have seen their hopes of enjoying junior-senior proms and banquets, and commencement celebrations dashed by policies to combat the virus pandemic.

“Life Interrupted”
Disappointment, frustration, and fear exist all around us.  Families are unable to get together.  Many senior adults are isolated in nursing homes unable to see their loved ones.  Businesses and industries are closing down and laying off workers.  Many who had scheduled surgeries and other appointments are forced to postpone and face uncertainties about their health.  Meanwhile, our hospitals and other medical facilities join businesses and industries in wondering how and when they will ever get up and running again.  The American economy that had been setting records is now on life support like a hospitalized COVID-19 patient.

It seems that many of us are living a “life interrupted.”  Slogans meant to encourage us, like “We’ll Get Through This Together,” often fall on doubtful ears.  Even familiar words from the Bible, such as Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials… (James 1: 2) seem hollow and uninspiring in the face of “life interrupted.”  But, for those who believe that Jehovah God is real and personal; and, that He exercises sovereign control over all things, this “interruption” of life is not as much an interruption as an opportunity to apply our faith lessons.  Note that James 1: 3-4 gives a reason we should pursue joy in trials.  There is joy in … knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Context for “Life Interrupted:” Creation Groans
The messages we heard online this morning offer good reason and instruction for people of faith who want to turn “life interrupted” into “life inspired”-- inspiration to get up and grow spiritually. The first of the two messages was presented by our own senior pastor, Zach Swift at West Hill Baptist Church, Wooster, Ohio.  It is entitled, "Eden Interrupted: Weeds and Waiting."  Pastor Zach explains how the abundant life God had intended for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden was “interrupted.” God had placed them into the Garden as stewards to cultivate it and develop its fruitfulness in a sustainable manner (Genesis 2: 15).  He said, “see, you are free to eat from any of the many trees in the Garden (Genesis 2: 16).  But, if you want to have an abundant life, you will demonstrate your love for me by choosing not to eat from one tree—the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2: 17).

In response to Satan’s lies, Adam and Eve chose to violate God’s moral order and the ground was cursed because of them (Genesis 3: 17).  Thorns and thistles, representing various weedy plants, will defy Adam’s efforts to grow crops and symbolize a creation that is broken and groaning under the curse of sin (Romans 8: 18-25).  Creation has remained under this curse and under the dominion of Satan who has blinded the minds of mankind (2 Corinthians 4: 4).   Those who choose to live in violation of God’s moral order earn the “wages” of human conflict, disease, and death (Romans 6: 23). 

But, according to Pastor Swift, there is good news.  The curse has an “expiration date!”  When we find ourselves groaning among the weeds of this life, Romans 8: 19 describes the posture we should have as believers in the Risen Christ:  we are to wait “with eager longing or anticipation” of our own resurrection and life in a new Heaven and an new Earth (Revelation 21: 1).  Pastor Swift concludes, based on Romans 8: 18, that “our present suffering does not compare to the joy that awaits us in heaven, and we can wait expectantly for that hopeful promise to be fulfilled!”

“Life Inspired:”  Young Daniel’s Example
But, you may be thinking, “The words of the Bible sound all well and good—in theory.  But when it comes to a ‘life interrupted,’ how am I supposed to live in joyful anticipation?  Tomorrow, I may be infected with COVID-19, or lose my job, or just continue to feel anxious about everything.”  If this describes you, then please listen to the second message from this Sunday morning, entitled “Hope in Hostile Times: The Life and Legacy of Daniel,” presented by Pastor Craig Miller, Grace Baptist Church, Cedarville, Ohio. 

Pastor Miller’s text is from Daniel 1 in which the author, an aged Israeli prophet named Daniel, recounts how God kept his promise that if Israel chose to live in continual violation of God’s moral commands, He would give them over to captivity in a foreign nation (Deuteronomy 28-30).  While he was still a youth, Daniel became a “life interrupted” by the conquering Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar.  Suddenly, Daniel was separated from his family, worship, and culture; and from all the moral constraints that he had learned to follow in obedience to Jehovah God.  In place of these familiar life supports were new pagan associations, strange gods, and a more sensual, immoral culture.

But, in the midst of his “life interrupted,” Daniel makes choices that place him on a path to “life inspired,” leading to his greatness as the Book of Daniel recounts.  Pastor Miller explains that Daniel’s secret to a “life inspired” was his first choice once in captivity in Babylon.  In Daniel’s own words (Daniel 1: 8), he made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank…  Daniel’s choice was to make up his mind that God was still as much in control in the affairs in Babylon as He was in faraway Israel.  In Pastor Miller’s words, Daniel believed that “God is in control of who’s in control.” 

Daniel made a choice not to change his Hebrew dietary standards, not out of some prideful, self-righteous disdain of Babylonian culture, but because he wanted to continue the disciplines of his life that would foster his ongoing personal relationship with God.  Although Daniel could not control many of the forces around him in this pagan culture, he could and did control his diet and his close walk with Jehovah God.  According to Pastor Miller, Daniel’s choice to make this small step to please God made his life an example of us to follow as we face “life interrupted” by trials like the COVID-19 virus.

In conclusion, I have summarized two messages and referred to examples of adolescents like our granddaughter, Kiara, all of which inspire me to reject “life interrupted” in favor of choices that promote “life inspired” and growing in my faith.  But there is another example to which both messages this morning referred.  This is the example of Jesus Christ who was in the beginning with God--Eternal.  But because God so loved the world He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3: 16).  The eternal relationship of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit was “interrupted” so that those who believe may live an “inspired life” bound for Heaven.

For the only time in eternity, Jesus left Heaven’s glory, was incarnated within the body of Mary, was born in a stable as a human being, lived a sinless life, and suffered and died on a Roman Cross while wearing a “crown of thorns” signifying His identification with the curse upon creation, its creatures, and all mankind.  Christ took upon Himself the penalty of sin and the curse of creation and paid it in full by His death and resurrection.  God offers eternal Life to all who will repent, confess their sin, and commit their lives to Him as Savior and Lord.

How About You?
Are you living a “life interrupted” by the pandemic or by other factors operating in your life?  As Pastor Miller suggested, maybe you feel as if you are not even in control of your life, let alone believing that God could be in control of happenings around you.  If this describes you, may I invite you to choose the path to an “inspired life,” the Life transformed and filled by God’s Holy Spirit.  Please check out this booklet online, entitled “Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery of the Spirit-Filled Life?”  In it you will learn how you can surrender your life to Christ and be filled with His Holy Spirit.   If you have additional questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.  Just post a “Comment” below or e-mail me at silviusj@cedarville.edu   

COVID-19 Policies & Outcomes: Learning Online

As the third month of the war against the COVID-19 pandemic draws to a close, we are learning more and more about our “invisible enemy” and how best to defeat it.  Many will acknowledge that the strategy of “flattening the curve” of infections and hospitalizations has bought us time to manufacture or otherwise acquire and distribute necessary medical supplies and equipment, and time to organize the medical front lines to cope with the number of COVID-19 cases.  It appears that this strategy is preventing hospitals, dedicated doctors, and nurses from being overwhelmed. 

How Fast to Restart the Economy
However, as scientists obtain more and more data, sharp disagreements are emerging about how we should proceed from here. The Coronavirus Task Force Team, and in particular, physicians Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, recommend a gradual startup of the American economy.  They are concerned that if we are not cautious, our gains in curve flattening could be reversed quickly. However, a significant number of influential people are questioning the wisdom of a prolonged, gradual startup.

Like many Americans, I am concerned that the indirect effects of social distancing and the economic shutdown may have more devastating long-term effects than the COVID-19 virus itself.  So, I have been wondering which strategy for restarting our economy will be wisest.  This decision requires answers to many questions, many of which need more data.  Especially, we need to know the extent of COVID-19 infections already represented in the US (and in other nations) and the rate of spread.  Thankfully, answers appear to be coming almost daily.  

Online Learning in Science, Technology, and Politics
There is no doubt we are living in a high-anxiety period.  As elderly, “at-risk persons,” Abby and I can easily feel anxious.  From a distance, there is anxiety within the homes of our son and daughter.  We have talked about our faith and how we need to draw upon our belief in God and His Word and learn how to apply it daily.  The Judeo-Christian Scriptures teach us that the wise do not “bury their heads in the sand.” 

In 1 Chronicles 12: 32, there is a praiseworthy reference to the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do.  If we want our children and grandchildren to develop into men and women who “understand the times” and know what to do, we ought to encourage them to learn from the various media available and to help them to mentally and spiritually process the information.  The best medicine against anxiety is good information integrated with a biblical worldview.  In an earlier article, I discussed some factors that we need to take into consideration in an effort to understand COVID conundrums.

One lesson that primary school and college students, and all of us can learn from news broadcasts and online data is the amazing speed of progress in the “war” against the virus.  Within a few weeks, American industrial capacity has been harnessed into the manufacture of masks, ventilators, and other medical supplies.  At the same time, there has been an explosion of testing for infection, antibody and antigen testing, and distribution of equipment and methodology to thousands of locations across the country.  Reports and a great volume of data, updated in real time or daily in many cases, are available with the click of your computer mouse.

A case in point of science and technology in action was the excellent presentation by Bill Bryan who leads the Science and Technology Directorate at the US Department of Homeland Security. Bryan reported on the progress of laboratory studies in which suspended COVID-19 virus particles were subjected in contact with various media and subjected to treatments such as disinfectants, light, and ultraviolet light to determine how long it would take to kill the virus.  By watching this session, viewers can see science and technology in action.  A very interested and engaged President Trump and members of the news media questioned Mr. Bryan  about how their results should be factored into safe human practices and policy for restarting the economy.  If you are interested, go to C-SPAN recording of Mr. Bryan’s presentation (skip forward 20 minutes if you don’t care to watch the introductory presidential report).

Approach to Restart Economy:  Lesson from Sweden?
As part of my personal effort to learn more about how our economy should be restarted, I asked a question, “Which nation has followed the wiser strategy in dealing with the COVID pandemic, the United States or Sweden?”  Here’s some of what I am finding and some links for you to do more of your own research.

First, for some background on Sweden’s approach to combat COVID-19, check out this interview on the Laura Ingraham Angle, on April 23.  She presents virus mortality data from Sweden which has instituted a very loose lock-down policy compared to other European countries and with the United States.  Therefore, Sweden is considered an outlier in its policy but no so much in regard to the outcome.  While Ingraham makes it clear that the overall outcome remains to be seen, she advises against ignoring Sweden as the US decides its path to “normal.”

Then, Ingraham interviews Johan Norberg, senior fellow at the Cato Institute.  He points out that, in spite of a much more rigid tracking and data recording of deaths in Sweden, a larger percentage of adults at age 70 or older, and a large number of deaths in nursing homes, the mortality in Sweden, though slightly higher than that of the US, is much lower than neighboring European countries with more stringent lock-downs.  Norberg claims that the lock-down approach to “flatten the curve” may have the unfortunate effect of prolonging the deaths due to COVID-19.  In other words, in the final analysis, the disease is going to do what it does and the number of deaths will not be affected even if we try to affect the timeline by behavioral modification.  The prediction is that Sweden will reach “herd immunity” in approximately 2-3 weeks and then they will be finished with the virus.

Will Norberg’s prediction bear itself out?  Is “herd immunity” a factor that will also be verified by the passage of time and more antibody testing?   What can we learn from differences in how effective the reopening policies of different states (e.g. Georgia) are in avoiding infections and deaths.  I will leave you with these questions and refer you to excellent source of data to consult.  One source which is updated at least daily is the Our World in Data website for COVID-19.  This site provides abundant charts and tables with explanatory notes and commentary.  Another source is the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

How About You?
Are you confused, anxious, or just tiring of the constant flow of information and not being sure what to believe.  I recommend that you be sure to maintain a strong faith by daily time in God’s Word and whatever connections that are possible with other people of faith.  In this way, you will not miss important lessons on the power of prayer and faith that God may want to teach you during this time.  Obviously, this pandemic is not the first great challenge Americans have faced.  A great book to gain a wider perspective on the hand of divine providence in American history is Michael Medved’s The American Miracle (Crown Forum). 

Also, try to stay informed by using a variety of news and online data sources.  Develop your own questions and do the research by examining the current data for yourself.  In this way, maybe we can exemplify and help our children and grandchildren to develop into men and women who “understand the times” and know what to do.

Considerations for Our COVID-19 Conundrum

Indications are that the 3-month “war” on our “invisible enemy,” the COVID-19 virus, is beginning to show signs of success in flattening the “curve.”  Many states with minimal COVID-19 cases are working on plans to reinstitute “normal” operations of services and the economy.  However, there is much controversy over how and when to proceed.  Some medical experts still favor delay of opening to avoid more serious spread of the virus.  Others want to use personal tracking of the virus, a potential new invasion of our privacy.

While living under this very different experience, I am realizing that my disposition should be characterized by several attitudes or qualities.  These include thankfulness, repentance, realistic outlook, informed discernment, and intercession.

Thankfulness
In everything [even in a Coronavirus pandemic] give thanks for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5: 18).  As of this writing, I am thankful for the health of our family and friends, and for the following:
(a) recovery statistics are outpacing deaths by either direct causes (presumably by an overactive-immune system) and indirect causes (through pre-existing health factors in at-risk persons) causes. 
(b) infections and hospitalizations are far fewer than that of the swine flu (H1N1), in 2009-2010, and much smaller than other major causes of death (see table below).
(c) wise leadership of our president and the Coronavirus Task Force led by VP Pence, state governors, doctors and medical health care staffs, our armed forces, law enforcement, and church and para-church organizations (e.g. Samaritan’s Purse) deserves our thanks to God.
(d) alternative means of staying connected with our families and churches abound. Meanwhile,  we should recognize that many Christians in places like the Middle East, in China, and in North Korea cannot freely meet to worship even apart from the COVID-19.

Repentance
Repentance, confession of our sin, and worship should be an ongoing part of the lifestyle of a dedicated Christ-follower.  How blessed are the poor in [their] spirit (Matthew 5: 3).  We can be humbled to our knees when we read again the accounts in Scripture of how people reacted in repentance and worship when they bowed before the Living God.  Repentance and spiritual awakening often occurred when God’s people faced great challenges, opposition from mighty armies, or threat from pandemics.  Could it be that God lovingly desires to draw America back to a greater trust and obedience to Him through the pandemic? 

God’s Spirit and His Word revealed in Scripture cause us to humbly repent of our sin.  Of course the invitation to repentance stated in 2 Chronicles 7: 14 is very appropriate as we seek God’s face on behalf of our nation at this troubled time:  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Realistic Outlook
Repentance leads to cleansing from confessed sin, restored fellowship with God, and the clearer vision needed in difficult times.  Every day, many lives are spared by the herculean efforts of those listed in (c) above, functioning within an amazing social structure and enabled by a sovereign God.  However, in reality, people still die for various causes including what we call “accidents” (est. 169,936 deaths/year).  Nothing like a pandemic to help us realize the limited human ability to produce perfect outcomes, even when battling such a tiny, invisible enemy as a virus.  Death is inevitable for us all.

The likelihood of a person dying from a COVID-19 infection depends upon his or her health, particularly the condition of their immune system and respiratory system.  By analogy, violent wind passing through a forest usually does not equally damage and fell all the trees.  The older trees with weakened roots and trunks due to prior storm or lightning damage, internal infection, or decay, are most likely to be toppled or otherwise damaged. 

Like the wind passing through a forest, every pandemic operates by natural selection to cause greater mortality among those predisposed to the disease because of their age, genetic deficiencies, nutritional deficiencies, prior accidental injuries, or history of prior moral choices that had promoted or diminished physical and emotional health.  Some ethnic minorities experience higher mortality due to a history of discrimination and unfortunate moral choices that lead to disrupted family structure, poor education, and lack of spiritual development. 

Considering that death is inevitable and that any human population includes a wide range of susceptibility to, in this case, COVID-19, the question should be as follows: “In an attempt to protect as many people as possible from COVID-19 infection, how strict can a policy of social isolation be without weakening the entire population by causing socioeconomic disruption and physical-emotional effects that lead to increased addiction, crime, and deaths?

The table above reveals the seemingly inevitable high mortality due to influenza during most years, and particularly from the Swine Flu (H1N1) in 2009-2010.  Although Swine Flu caused a much higher case load of infections and hospitalizations than COVID-19 has to date, the response to the threat of Swine Flu did not include imposed social isolation leading over 22 million jobless claims (to date).

As of this writing, it is clear that President Trump and his team, and the nation’s governors need much discernment as they establish policy that limits deaths from COVID-19 infections without increasing deaths indirectly resulting from social isolation and disruption of our economy.

Informed Discernment
Difficult times test our faith.  We need to be informed of both current events and grounded in God’s Word.  These two disciplines can help us to exercise what I will call “informed discernment” to make wise decisions.  When I was employed by the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, my laboratory chief would say, “You will always make the best decisions from the point of maximum information.”  Now, I will add, “having the best quality information.”  Here are some areas needing our discernment as American citizens in regard to policies on COVID-19:

(a)  News sources should report events with objectivity.  They should separate commentary from objective reporting of the news.  With the rapidity of news cycles, good news analysis includes timelines of unfolding events—e.g. the decisions and actions toward COVID-19 from December, 2019 to the present.  Who knew what, and said what, and when?  How have opinions changed?  Who was correct from the beginning, even when receiving opposition.

(b)  Scientific data and statistics:  I have already written of the importance of “good science.”

(c)  Responsible parties behind the COVID-19 pandemic need to be identified.  Why did the World Health Organization (WHO) and Chinese Communist leadership fail to lead with information that might have avoided the pandemic?  Some are recommending a stiff economic retribution for China.  But we need to consider how any penalty aimed at the tyrannical Chinese Communist leaders will indirectly affect the innocent Chinese people.

(d)  Scriptural ethics and understanding of the need to protect our 1^st Amendment right to privacy in any strategy to defeat the virus. For example, should personal smartphone tracking be used to track the spread of COVID-91?

(e)  Worship services been altered by social distancing policies. What are we learning from alternative approaches to “corporate worship” that can positively affect our worship afterwards?  The same is true of how we educate, how we do health care, and how we maintain our personal health. (e.g. preventive medicine).

(f)  Our view of death, pain, and suffering (physical and emotional) needs to be brought under the authority and insights of God’s Word.  For example, Jesus said, In the world, you will have trouble, but be of good cheer.  I have overcome the world (John 16: 33).  In 2 Corinthians 4, the Apostle Paul wonderfully addresses the realities of the present world and the promise of Eternal Life:
  i.    Ruler of this world (Satan) has blinded us (1 Corinthians 4: 3-4).
  ii.   Christ-followers are to be light and salt (v. 5-7).
  iii.  Christ-followers will suffer affliction (v. 8-15; Luke 21: 12-13).
  iv.  But we do not lose heart for very good reason (v. 16-18).
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8: 37).

Intercession in Prayer
If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”
The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven… - Psalm 11: 3-4a

Historically, during times of trouble, men and women of faith have prayed to God on behalf of their own personal sin and the sin of their nation.  Here are several examples from God’s Word:  Psalm 51, Psalm 130, and Isaiah 6: 1-7 involve individual repentance; Daniel 9: 1-19 which is Daniel’s intercessory prayer for his nation; and the Apostle John’s call to repentance in 1 John 1: 5-10.

How should we pray?  Here are some prayer promptings that Abby and I are using, and that I have been using with a virtual prayer “meeting” with several men of our church:
(a)  Churches and their Pastors as they lead efforts to proclaim Truth and maintain the local body. 
(b)  People – that their hearts will be open to God’s Word, active in ministering to the needy.
(c)  Missionaries—to powerfully present the Gospel during times of opportunity
(d)  Government leaders— for humble submission to God’s wisdom in important decisions
(e)  Medical professionals— for renewed stamina, wisdom, professionalism, and compassion
(f)   Personal opportunities to assist materially, emotionally, and spiritually in this unique period.

What Do You Think?
If you’d like to leave a question or comment, please use the “Comment” link below.  Or, you may contact me at silviusj@cedarville.edu.

An Unscientific War on COVID-19?

Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai, an Indian-American scientist and engineer, and Fulbright Scholar, has serious objections to the current strategy of the Trump administration to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a Fulbright scholar and entrepreneur who holds four degrees from MIT, including a Ph.D. in biological engineering.   Dr. Ayyadurai was recently interviewed on the pandemic.

According to Dr. Ayyadurai, the strategy of President Trump and his Coronavirus Task Force to combat the COVID-19 pandemic is wrong-headed at its very root.  My purpose here is to urge you to listen to an interview with Dr. Ayyadurai given on April 10 which has already drawn nearly 5 million viewers.  I am aware that Dr. Ayyadurai is a very brilliant but controversial figure.  His strongly held viewpoints have made him a threat to many in the medical and pharmaceutical fields.  But many controversial figures throughout history have turned the tides of error and saved lives—think of John and Baptist, Jesus Christ, or Martin Luther King.

Ignoring Our Immune System
Dr. Ayyadurai claims that the Coronavirus Task Force is ignoring the valuable function of the human immune system.  Historically, the chiropractic approach to medicine has been to view the human body as an integrated system that has been designed to promote health and wellness in mind, body, and spirit.  Thus, the chiropractic strategy is to work with the body.  The focus is upon getting proper nutrition, physical exertion, and rest while practicing habits that foster good mental, emotional, and spiritual health.  Disease is viewed as the result of imbalance or disruption within the properly functioning bodily systems.

The strategy of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx, and others advising President Trump is in sharp contrast to a holistic, chiropractic approach.  According to Dr. Ayyadurai, these experts are either underestimating or are purposefully silent about the valuable role of the human immune system in protecting us from viral infection.  Dr. Ayyadurai alleges that the president is being influenced by a philosophy that is aligned with Big Pharma, the pharmaceutical industry which harvests hundreds of billions of dollars from its drugs, vaccines, and other medical supplies.  We should also note that President Trump has already taken steps to lower pharmaceutical drug costs.

Any strategy that promotes wellness through support of our immune systems will be at the expense of pharmaceutical drugs?  Even access to lower cost drugs can affect profits when they compete with newer, more expensive drugs.  A case in point:  Dr. Ayyadurai believes that Big Pharma is behind the opposition to doctors prescribing hydroxychloroquine.  This anti-malaria drug has shown promise against COVID-19 in preliminary trials.   And, you may have guessed it.  Hydroxychloroquine is an inexpensive and long-used drug compared to expensive, new drugs and vaccines that can turn a larger profit for Big Pharma.

Absent or Misleading Data
I have already explained in “Pandemic—or Policy without “Good Science?” that we lack data on the number of people who have already developed COVID-19 immunity through production of antibodies as a result of prior exposure.  In addition, according to Dr. Ayyadurai, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has advised hospital administrators to instruct doctors to “code” under COVID-19 all patients with respiratory-related symptoms in addition to those who test positive for the virus.  In this way, even deaths that are caused by other causes are attributed to COVID-19, thus inflating the death rates.

We should be asking with Dr. Ayyadurai and the tens of thousands others who are questioning current polity, when will we actually have accurate mortality due specifically to the COVID-19, and what is the “denominator,” the percentage of us who have already been exposed and have immunity.  Meanwhile, hospital administrators get money as well as help to obtain ventilators by logging a larger number of cases as COVID-19-- and, getting the benefit of more financial help to obtain ventilators.  [Dr. Ayyadurai also explains in the interview that ventilators are doing more harm than good.]

Underestimating the Damage of Social Isolation
Dr. Ayyadurai wrote a letter to President Trump on March 23 in which he explained that “we live in an era of personalized medicine.” He calls the current lockdown a one-size-fits-all approach that follows the “medieval model of medicine.”  Instead, Dr. Ayyadurai recommends that we isolate those who are infected or who are immunocompromised and treat them with immune-boosting Vitamins, A, D, and C.  

Emotional stress from social isolation, according to landmark studies he cites, leads to “upregulation of inflammatory compounds in the body and downregulation of anti-viral compounds.”  Social isolation and the associated lessoned exposure to the sun and great outdoors can cause vitamin D deficiency and, among other results, a weakened anti-microbial status in the body.

Dr. Ayyadurai recommends that we go back to work while isolating those who are infected or at-risk; and, focusing on boosting the immune system for everyone with Vitamin A, C, and D through proper diet of dark green vegetables and fruits.  He notes that “the ‘V’ in vitamin is anathema to the ‘V’ in vaccine, and to the ‘V’ in ventilators.

What Do You Think?
Conspiracy theory?  Could be.  But I for one don’t want to write off important voices during a “war” in which there are so many unanswered questions.  Please listen to the Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai interview and comment.  You may even want to write to your president, VP, and governor.

Music: Comfort and Inspiration During Isolation

After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives
                                                                 - Matthew 26: 30.

Today, we celebrate the Risen Christ.  But on that first Resurrection Sunday, Jesus’ disciples were still feeling the same confusion and fear they had experienced on that terrible Thursday night when He was taken from them.  On that night, in the “upper room” their anxieties and fears must have been calmed at least somewhat when they joined with Jesus in singing a hymn together before they all “went out” to the Garden of Eden (Matthew 26: 30).

Although we celebrate the Risen Christ today, much uncertainty and fear still hovers over us and people around the world as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten our lives and way of life.  But once again in the midst of sadness and confusion, music can lift our souls. 

Recently, Stelios Kerasidis, a 7-year-old Greek musical prodigy applied his gift of music to relieve the anxiety from social distancing during the pandemic.  Please take a moment to enjoy his “Isolation Waltz.”

Far beyond its entertaining value, there is something about music that brings a calming, soothing effect to our souls.  It is interesting to imagine how we might have felt if we had been there with the men or women who broke bread, drank from the cup, and then sang with Jesus in that “upper room.” I wonder if Jesus sang along with His disciples.  How did His voice sound? 

As you imagine Jesus singing, we ought to realize that Jesus is the Divine Creator of the physical vibrations of sound and music.  In fact, do you realize that Jesus was present and working in the creation, likely singing along with the angels as an expression of His joy over His work?  In what may be the oldest book of the Bible, God speaks to Job with these words:

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
     Tell Me, if you have understanding,
Who set its measurements?  Since you know.
     Or who stretched the line on it?
On what were its bases sunk?
     Or who laid its cornerstone,
When the morning stars sang together
     And all the angels shouted for joy?  - Job 38: 4-7

Even more amazing and assuring in times of trouble is the fact that God is a “Mighty Warrior” to protect His own from the enemy; and, He rejoices over His own with singing.  Zephaniah writes (3: 17),

The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.

Likely, Jesus did sing with His disciples on that dark night as He anticipated His suffering and death.  How would it have been to experience those final hours Jesus spent with His disciples?
What expression was on His face?   Was it assuring to the disciples even though His heart was heavy?  Which if any of the psalms recorded in our Bibles might they have sung?  (Note that Psalms 113-118 were traditionally sung by the Jews during Passover.)  If they chose Psalm 118, who among them chose it?  Especially Psalm 118: 24 is meaningful for us to consider in light of why Jesus came and what He would be facing in the hours ahead: 

This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

As we awaken each day, Psalm 118: 24 is a great verse of acknowledgement that God is giving us another day to live.  Even in the midst of pandemic, music from the Scriptures or from inspired writers and composers can lift our souls and give assurance of our faith in the Everlasting God.

Finally, an important part of God’s plan for His beloved human creatures is that we unite with others in a community of worshipers—i.e. disciples (willing learners and followers of Christ), mutual encouragers, and witnesses of God’s Gift of salvation.  Inviting the Word of God into our lives daily and making music together continues to be an integral part of the worship and service of dedicated Christ-followers.  Colossians 3: 16 instructs us (emphasis mine):

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

What Do You Think?
Musicians among readers of this article are welcome to add insights from your understanding of music as God’s creation and gift.  Or, maybe one of you is inspired to imagine and express how you would have felt during the Last Supper with Jesus.  Just use the “Comment” link to add your thoughts.

I Hope You Will Take Time to meditate on the significance of this Easter Season, especially in light of the pandemic that is upon us.  If you feel anxious, you will find that the music and lyrics of great hymns and Gospel-based contemporary music will comfort your soul.   Maybe you will find comfort and blessing from a couple of my favorites for this Easter as follows:

Your Grace Finds Me by Matt Redman
Behold The Lamb (Communion Hymn) - Keith & Kristyn Getty
Power of the Cross - Keith & Kristyn Getty
Is He Worthy? – Chris Tomlin

The Psalms are a key part of the music and worship of Jewish people, and of the Christian faith that God has established through Jesus Christ.  Today, many are finding peace and assurance in the psalms.  I have found comfort and encouragement lately from Psalm 61-63, 73, 91, 139, and 130.

If you do not have a personal relationship with the God who created the universe, including music itself, you can come to “know Him” personally through repentance and faith in Jesus.   Acting by faith to surrender your life to Jesus as your Savior and Lord is necessary to find true peace.   See Steps to Peace with God."  Or, you may contact me at silviusj@cedarville.edu.

I Humbly Dedicate this article to four friends and former colleagues at Cedarville University whose lives and music have been a blessing to Abby and I for many years:  
Lyle Anderson, Senior Professor of Music
Chuck Clevenger, Senior Professor Emeritus of Music
Michael P. DiCuirci, Senior Professor Emeritus of Music
Mark Spenser, Associate Professor of Music

Pandemic—or Policy without “Good Science?”

The past two months have demonstrated an amazing response by many sectors of our nation joining in a coordinated effort to defeat the Coronavirus pandemic.  But the more Americans listen to the health experts and policy advisors, the more reason there is to question whether the policies of our government leaders are consistent with “good science.”  If they are not, we may find that the “medicine” they have prescribed in the form of very costly social and economic upheavals was much worse than the COVID-19 disease itself.

Most agree that any successful policy to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic must “follow the science.”  Or better, “must follow good science as I have defined the term elsewhere.  I will briefly list a few aspects where good answers are needed from “good science:” 
1.   Therapeutic Options:  What drugs or other therapeutics are safe and efficacious?
2.   Predictive models:  Are the data and assumptions that drive the models accurate?
3.   Death rates:  Do we have an accurate number of deaths actually caused by COVID-19?
4.   Epidemiology:  What proportion of specific populations already have COVID-19 immunity?
5.   Justification for Current Policy:  Does the science justify the policy actions taken so far?

Therapeutic Options
As of April 7, there were “no drugs or other therapeutics approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to prevent or treat COVID-19.  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Interim guidelines for the medical management of COVID-19 will be provided soon by the Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel.”  Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine both have been shown to be efficacious and may have saved lives according to preliminary trials and antidotal reports.  A particularly newsworthy report from the Detroit Free Press and USA Today featured a State Representative Karen Whitsett (Democrat) of Michigan who credits President Trump’s support of doctors prescribing hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 for saving her life.  It would seem of utmost urgency to establish whether hydroxychloroquine is a viable therapeutic option for treating the virus.

Predictive Models
The predictive accuracy of epidemiological models is only as good as the data and assumptions that are used to produce the model.  The Trump Administration Coronavirus task team has relied on the model created by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, and funded by the Bill Gates Foundation.  However, this model conflicts with many other models in prediction of mortality and projected peaks.  The IHME had estimated that the epidemic would kill 93,000 people nationwide.  However, the projections have since been revised downward, presently predicting only 60,400 U.S. deaths by August.  The model forecasts the peak of those deaths to arrive in just four days, April 12 instead of April 16 as previously projected.   Considering the magnitude of the downward adjustment was up to a 75% reduction does not lend a great deal of confidence to model precision.  Nor is it clear that social distancing alone accounts for the unexpected lower mortality.  Most needed is a denominator of total community infections.  Bamba Gaye, et al writing in European Heart Journal explains how important the denominator is in estimating COVID-19 mortality rates.

Death Rates
To date, deaths associated with positive tests for COVID-19 are not distinguished between people who have died with COVID-19 from those who have died because of COVID-19.  Dr. Annie Bukacek, a 30-year practicing Montana physician has had the routine role of signing death certificates.  Dr. Bukacek is concerned that “the decision for unprecedented government-mandated lockdown has been based on the alleged death rate of COVID-19.”  But she asks, “Is this death rate based on truth?  Are the reported deaths from COVID-19 truly deaths from COVID-19?” Dr. Bukacek adds that being tested positive for COVID-19 does not mean you have the disease.  She explains how the CDC and the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) are instructing physicians as follows: “COVID-19 should be reported on the death certificate for all decedents where the disease caused or is assumed to have caused or contributed to death.”

Dr. Bukacek asked her Facebook audience the following question:  Do you know anybody personally with baseline good health who has been hospitalized for COVID-19 alone, or who has allegedly died from COVID-19?  She found, out of 350 comments, only 3 or 4 answered with a definitive “yes.”  Certainly not a scientific study, but who knows what the actual mortality due to COVID-19 is?  Why isn’t the CDC and NVSS pressing for more accuracy on death certificates?  Which leads us to the epidemiology factor.

Epidemiology
Epidemiology deals with the incidence, distribution, and strategies to control of diseases and other factors affecting health.  Maybe the most important still missing piece in the COVID-19 pandemic is the proportion of any given population that already has developed COVID-19 immunity through production of antibodies as a result of prior exposure.  Not only would widespread antibody testing which has begun in some countries already give us the denominator of total community infections, but it would identify donors of antibody-containing blood serum that could be used to treat patients infected with COVID-19.

“Good science,” if it is truly valued and used, ought to be aimed at answering other questions.  For example, Dr. David Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, questions the projected timeline of the outbreak of COVID-19, and believes it occurred before late December. He cites the CNN report that New York, the epicenter of the outbreak, has reported 32 times as many deaths per 100,000 residents as California.  His explaination:  “Californians developed some degree of herd immunity through earlier exposure to the virus than the rest of the country.”  Fascinating hypothesis and worthy of testing—and soon it will be tested.

Speaking of antibody testing, in Germany where “good science” seems to be progressing much faster than in the US, the so-called Heinsberg Protocol study has been launched in the town of Gangelt where the first fatalities occurred.  Health officials had estimated that approximately 5% of the population had been infected, but antibody testing revealed a surprising 15% had already had COVID-19!  These results suggest that the virus had spread three times faster than predicted and was only one-third as virulent.

Justification for Current Policy
We have briefly cites four areas in which “good science” is either lacking or is seemingly being ignored or rendered ineffective in guiding public policy toward the COVID-19 pandemic.  The results are unsettled debates about therapeutic treatment, models that disagree widely in their predictions, uncertainty of death rates with little interest in making death certificates more accurate, and an epidemiological gold mine of data still waiting to be collected—and so necessary to forming good public policy.

Given the areas of uncertainty that I have outlined above, many wonder what justifies the current policy of social distancing and isolation, and the resultant economic and social upheaval we are now experiencing with 10 million people filing for unemployment and $2 trillion being spent through the Coronavirus Relief Bill.  Most disconcerting is an analysis by the Mises Institute which compares total death statistics for all causes in March, 2018 with March, 2019 with the result that the deaths attributed to COVID-19 in March, 2020 (likely inflated as explained above).  The COVID-19 deaths this March was only 1.6% of the total deaths in March of last year; and, this 1.6% was smaller than the difference between March, 2018 and March, 2019.

In a March 30 article for The Spectator, former UK National Health Service pathologist John Lee writes what may be the question of 2020 if not this decade or century:

Total COVID-19 deaths could still increase significantly this season, but even then we must ask what percentage of total deaths warrants an international panic. Is it 5 percent? Ten percent? The question has never been addressed, and so far, a figure of 1 percent of total deaths in some places is being treated as a reason to forcibly shut down the global economy.

How About You?  
I welcome “Comments,” and meanwhile stay safe, be encouraged by this season of Hope in the Resurrection of Christ, keep investing time to be informed.

Prayer, Pandemic, and Passion Week

A Guide to Prayer
This is a prayer guide based on the Scripture-fed, Spirit-led prayer approach of Daniel Henderson.  God has been using this approach to prayer in my life and in the lives of men with whom I am privileged to pray.  I hope you will find it helpful both in your ongoing prayer life, and as a way to bring your apprehensions and anxieties over the COVID-19 pandemic into perspective with God’s plan for you and for the world.

Theme: “God’s Plan and Our Plan”
Scripture:  John 11: 17-44

A couple of weeks before His triumphal entry which we celebrated on Palm Sunday, Jesus raised His friend Lazarus from the dead.  In John’s account in John 11, after Jesus purposely delayed His arrival, we see that Lazarus’s sisters were overtaken with grief, failing to see that Jesus’ plan was much greater, and much better, than theirs.  Coincidentally, our senior pastor, Zach Swift, preached online from the account of Christ’s triumphal entry (Matthew 21), teaching us that we should not focus on “our plan” to the exclusion of God’s greater Plan—i.e. preach the Gospel and make disciples.

Praying according to this guide helps us submit “our plan” and ourselves to God in reverence toward Him and His Plan for us.  We will follow the pattern of Christ’s “model prayer” which we call The Lord’s Prayer:

REVERENCE -- toward God in the spirit of Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name

Read John 11: 17-37, and meditate on this powerful scene representing God, as a humble servant, clothed in human flesh, meeting two women representing us all, broken because their plan has died with their brother.  Can you relate to Martha and Mary:  Lord, if you had been here…  Open your prayer with reverent praise to our sovereign God who can seem late, uncaring, insufficient--yet is eternally “on time” and is eternally sufficient for our individual lives…and for international happenings like COVID-19. 

RESPONSE:  Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In their sadness, Martha and Mary struggled with doubt-- “God’s will be done on earth?”  They had seen Jesus’ power and love, but where is He now?  If you are questioning “Where is God?”, ask Him through His Spirit to search your heart to locate any doubt or other encumbrances to your faith.  Then, respond in confession and surrender. Note that doubt and encumbrances are not necessarily sins (Hebrews 12: 1), but unchecked, they can lead to sin.

REQUEST:  Give us this day….forgive us as we forgive…lead us not into temptation…deliver us from evil..
Spirit-led meditation on God’s Word may have brought you to conviction and grieving over certain areas of your life that require repentance and confession (John 11: 33-38).  If so, ask God to “remove the stone” and cleanse your heart from the “stench” of sin and death (v. 39) and to bring you forth into the light of His righteousness (v.43).  Then, devote time to intercession for our…
a.     Our pastors:  
        That they will focus on the Cross: lead their wives and families
b.     Churches and their shepherds in America & the World:
        preach the Gospel; that God will open hearts to the Gospel
c.     Missionaries:
        Powerfully present the Gospel; personal safety against the virus
d.     Government leaders:
        Seek God's wisdom for the pandemic; their hearts transformed
e.     Medical professionals:
        Christ followers to testify of their faith; for their personal safety
f.      Personal opportunities to evangelize in this unique situation
g.     Other personal requests

READINESS:  For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.  Amen!
Focus your readiness and preparation to go forth in spiritual victory by affirming that God has heard your prayers (v. 41-42) and will make you useful as His clean vessel to reflect His power and glory during this important week in the Christian calendar.  Praise God as we celebrate JESUS death and resurrection, God’s greatest act of love and compassion—“that they (family, friends, etc.) may believe that Thou didst send Me (v. 42).”

Thank you for using this prayer guide.  May God bless you and yours!

Acknowledgement:   I want to thank Kirk Fairhurst who is Chaplain at West View Healthy Living here in Wooster, and serves on the pastoral staff at NorthWinds Church, in West Salem, OH.  In 2016, Kirk introduced praying over Scripture with hearts submitted to the inspiration of God's Spirit.