Coronavirus: A New God?
Historically, plagues have been considered a manifestation of god’s wrath, and as punishment for our sins. But what if coronavirus is, in fact, a god himself?
The coronavirus is invisible, powerful, ubiquitous, mysterious. This new god has reached every corner of our lives, touching almost every one of the 7.8 billion people living on the planet.
Like an intruder in the dark, the virus sneaks up on us with stealth-like precision. Yet, Coronavirus-God works its dark magic in broad daylight. Even as we engage in mundane, innocent tasks, interacting with our fellow humans, some of us are stricken down.
Coronavirus-God has humbled nations into submission. The best (and worst) laid plans of political leaders have been consigned to the shredder. Our old way of life has been suddenly, even violently, altered. We are weak and vulnerable in its face.
This god is mysterious. We know many things about it, but we don’t know a lot. Scientists are not able to determine exactly how, and why, it is transmitted. That is, what are the probabilities of getting infected through different types of proximity, different types of contact by going outside, with or without a mask? Of passing someone without a mask on the street? Of picking up my mail? Of eating food bought at the grocery store or delivered? Of being exposed to it just one time vs. ten times?
My wife has a cousin who lives with her husband and daughter in Rimini, Italy. The cousin fell ill, and was diagnosed with Covid-19. Her husband and daughter did not get it, or at least did not show any symptoms. (The cousin recovered.)
Another case: a distant in-law of my wife, in Germany, is a healthcare worker who contracted the virus. She had to quarantine herself and recovered. Her husband was tested, and found he was negative, even though he was obviously exposed before she knew she had been infected. They had been living and eating and sleeping together. How much more exposed to the virus can one be? Gods works in mysterious ways.
Gods, such as the Old Testament God Yahweh, have a track record (faithfully recorded in that tome) of cruelty and destruction. Pick any number of Old Testament stories. During the Flood, God destroys all of humanity, saving only Noah and his family, and as many species that could join them on their big wooden ship.
Indeed, many religions have gods of destruction, gods of plague, wreaking havoc on sinners and innocent alike. Perhpas coronavirus is a goddess in pathogen form? In many cultures, there are plague gods and gods of death. Kali, Hindu goddess of death and destruction, comes to mind.
In the past, natural disasters and plagues were attributed to God. The Black Death, the bubonic plague that devasted Europe and Asia in the 14th century, was seen by many as God’s punishment. Most people know better now, but among the faithful, the question of whether the coronavirus is an act of God is not clear cut.
Regardless, in the fight to develop anti-viral medication and a vaccine, this “god of death” is, for now at least, winning.
Coronavirus-God is targeting, among others, the people we rely on most, people who are doing good. From doctors and nurses and healthcare workers, and extending on down to workers in essential services who maintain order, provide us with care and food. It is targeting the elderly, people living their normal lives one day, suddenly taken from us the next.
Thus far, the new god does not have its own religion or its own worshippers. But it is asking us to sacrifice what we hold dear.
Will we prove up to the task and vanquish this new god of death? What good, or what evil will it reveal in us when its shadow passes?
Disasters like this help me understand what drives people into the arms of religion.
I am glad we humans were driven from Eden, that our eyes were opened, that we were able to learn about the world, and make it safer and better for ourselves, rather than being entirely at god’s mercy.
Pray to your god. Be comforted. But for me, the most important defenses we have are science, the rules we live by, and our common humanity.
The defense, the battle, really requires that massive amounts of assistance and resources be deployed to fight the virus. Many countries struggle to take care of their citizens in normal times. The coronavirus god has hit them like a hurricane hitting a rubber raft.
Médecins Sans Frontières (aka Doctors without Borders) — a highly respected international humanitarian NGO, to which I have been donating — is supporting health authorities in providing care for patients with COVID-19, keeping essential medical services running, among performing other critical work. The IMF itself is providing $1 trillion in lending support to help countries maintain liquidity. The World Bank is sending $160 billion in financing to 100 countries over the next 15 months to help them protect their poor and vulnerable strengthen their health sectors and economies, among other things.
The Bible says you cannot serve two masters, God and Mammon. And yet money is exactly what is needed. Not wealth to be worshipped, but money to help those who are struggling. Money for the vulnerable who are struggling to feed themselves. Money to buy the protective equipment healthcare workers need. Money to prevent the collapse of economies.
Of course, among most households, money is much now harder to come by than it was just a few months ago, before the new god descended upon us. Millions of jobs have been lost. Millions of shops and restaurants are closed, the future looks uncertain. This all leads people to save rather than spend.
So, who is left to fight this Coronavirus-God?
In Genesis 32:22–32, Jacob, grandson of Abraham, wrestles all night with a man, who turns out to be either God or an angel, depending on different interpretations. The struggle left Jacob limping, but also with a new name, Israel. He came to be considered the traditional ancestor of the people of Israel.
Here is a modern parallel: Let Jacob, founder of a nation, be the state, our government. And the world’s governments are being tested as never before. They are locked in an intense struggle with this Coronavirus-God.
Many governments (and the societies over which they preside) will come out of this period wounded and limping. But it also represents a chance to start anew. A chance to reflect on how we want to live in the new era that will dawn when this is all over.
Image by Omni Matryx from Pixabay