Theology of Plague

[mindlight]

Throughout history there have been plagues. Black death wiped out whole towns in Christian Europe and posed a major theological problem for Christians at the time. Why had God struck whole towns dead? The Spanish Flu following a world devastated by World War 1 may have killed 50-199 million people at a time when the worlds population was only 1.8billion.
Now we have Corona Virus which is still an unknown when it comes to how deadly it will be but is happening now and growing in our consciousness every day.

For about a century we have been insulated from the impact of major pandemics by a medical system that has proven very effective in dealing with most situations. Outbreaks have been contained and indeed deadly diseases like Small pox eliminated. Family size has fallen as we no longer need all the spare children that probably would not have survived childhood previously. The cycles in our economies have been defined by economics rather the occasion random mass extinction of a third of the population of a city or a country.

But since this latest plague is now in full swing and even medical professionals seem hard pressed to contain it, many of them heroically dying in the effort to heal us and there will be no vaccine at least until the end of the year we are suddenly confronted with an uncomfortable reality. Many of us could die from this and there appears to be little that the doctors can do except slow its spread by quarantines and by trying to track audit trails that are increasingly random.

So maybe it is time to revisit our theologies of plague. We have scriptural examples of wicked nations having plagues sent to them until they cooperate with Gods plan e.g. Exodus - 10 Plagues. We have plagues that wiped out enemy armies that blasphemed God, plagues that followed sins of the King. But what kind of plague is this?

So my questions are these:

1) Can a plague be a judgment or is it just a random feature of a broken world?

2) Is Corona Virus a judgment of sort (beginning in a godless state which tried to cover it up, spreading through Blasphemous cults in South Korea and onto a major false religious centre in Qoms and then to an increasingly secularised and self sufficient Europe) or just a symptom of a broken world?

3) Is the fear that accompanies plague itself a feature of a judgment , a judgment magnifier or just the reaction to a situation that falls too far outside our comfort zones?

Basically can plague teach us anything about God and what might the current Pandemic be saying to us?

 

[summerville]

Throughout history there have been plagues. Black death wiped out whole towns in Christian Europe and posed a major theological problem for Christians at the time. Why had God struck whole towns dead? The Spanish Flu following a world devastated by World War 1 may have killed 50-199 million people at a time when the worlds population was only 1.8billion.
Now we have Corona Virus which is still an unknown when it comes to how deadly it will be but is happening now and growing in our consciousness every day.

For about a century we have been insulated from the impact of major pandemics by a medical system that has proven very effective in dealing with most situations. Outbreaks have been contained and indeed deadly diseases like Small pox eliminated. Family size has fallen as we no longer need all the spare children that probably would not have survived childhood previously. The cycles in our economies have been defined by economics rather the occasion random mass extinction of a third of the population of a city or a country.

But since this latest plague is now in full swing and even medical professionals seem hard pressed to contain it, many of them heroically dying in the effort to heal us and there will be no vaccine at least until the end of the year we are suddenly confronted with an uncomfortable reality. Many of us could die from this and there appears to be little that the doctors can do except slow its spread by quarantines and by trying to track audit trails that are increasingly random.

So maybe it is time to revisit our theologies of plague. We have scriptural examples of wicked nations having plagues sent to them until they cooperate with Gods plan e.g. Exodus - 10 Plagues. We have plagues that wiped out enemy armies that blasphemed God, plagues that followed sins of the King. But what kind of plague is this?

So my questions are these:

1) Can a plague be a judgment or is it just a random feature of a broken world?

2) Is Corona Virus a judgment of sort (beginning in a godless state which tried to cover it up, spreading through Blasphemous cults in South Korea and onto a major false religious centre in Qoms and then to an increasingly secularised and self sufficient Europe) or just a symptom of a broken world?

3) Is the fear that accompanies plague itself a feature of a judgment , a judgment magnifier or just the reaction to a situation that falls too far outside our comfort zones?

Basically can plague teach us anything about God and what might the current Pandemic be saying to us?

Do you really think God would send a plague or a hurricane or tsunami or earthquake to punish people?

 

[Dave L]

Throughout history there have been plagues. Black death wiped out whole towns in Christian Europe and posed a major theological problem for Christians at the time. Why had God struck whole towns dead? The Spanish Flu following a world devastated by World War 1 may have killed 50-199 million people at a time when the worlds population was only 1.8billion.
Now we have Corona Virus which is still an unknown when it comes to how deadly it will be but is happening now and growing in our consciousness every day.

For about a century we have been insulated from the impact of major pandemics by a medical system that has proven very effective in dealing with most situations. Outbreaks have been contained and indeed deadly diseases like Small pox eliminated. Family size has fallen as we no longer need all the spare children that probably would not have survived childhood previously. The cycles in our economies have been defined by economics rather the occasion random mass extinction of a third of the population of a city or a country.

But since this latest plague is now in full swing and even medical professionals seem hard pressed to contain it, many of them heroically dying in the effort to heal us and there will be no vaccine at least until the end of the year we are suddenly confronted with an uncomfortable reality. Many of us could die from this and there appears to be little that the doctors can do except slow its spread by quarantines and by trying to track audit trails that are increasingly random.

So maybe it is time to revisit our theologies of plague. We have scriptural examples of wicked nations having plagues sent to them until they cooperate with Gods plan e.g. Exodus - 10 Plagues. We have plagues that wiped out enemy armies that blasphemed God, plagues that followed sins of the King. But what kind of plague is this?

So my questions are these:

1) Can a plague be a judgment or is it just a random feature of a broken world?

2) Is Corona Virus a judgment of sort (beginning in a godless state which tried to cover it up, spreading through Blasphemous cults in South Korea and onto a major false religious centre in Qoms and then to an increasingly secularised and self sufficient Europe) or just a symptom of a broken world?

3) Is the fear that accompanies plague itself a feature of a judgment , a judgment magnifier or just the reaction to a situation that falls too far outside our comfort zones?

Basically can plague teach us anything about God and what might the current Pandemic be saying to us?

Both the OT and Revelation say it is God's wrath on sinners.

 

[summerville]

Both the OT and Revelation say it is God's wrath on sinners.

We aren't living in the Bronze Age.

 

[Dave L]

We aren't living in the Bronze Age.

Revelation spans our times too. Who created germs? Who controls all? Who assigned everyone's time and manner of death?

 

[grasping the after wind]

Throughout history there have been plagues. Black death wiped out whole towns in Christian Europe and posed a major theological problem for Christians at the time. Why had God struck whole towns dead? The Spanish Flu following a world devastated by World War 1 may have killed 50-199 million people at a time when the worlds population was only 1.8billion.
Now we have Corona Virus which is still an unknown when it comes to how deadly it will be but is happening now and growing in our consciousness every day.

For about a century we have been insulated from the impact of major pandemics by a medical system that has proven very effective in dealing with most situations. Outbreaks have been contained and indeed deadly diseases like Small pox eliminated. Family size has fallen as we longer need all the spare children that probably would not have survived childhood previously. The cycles in our economies have been defined by economics rather the occasion random mass extinction of a third of the population of a city or a country.

But since this latest plague is now in full swing and even medical professionals seem hard pressed to contain it, many of them heroically dying in the effort to heal us and there will be no vaccine at least until the end of the year we are suddenly confronted with an uncomfortable reality. Many of us could die from this and appears to be little that the doctors can do except slow its spread by quarantines and by trying to track audit trails that are increasingly random.

So maybe it is time to revisit our theologies of plague. We have scriptural examples of wicked nations having plagues sent to them until they cooperate with Gods plan e.g. Exodus - 10 Plagues. We have plagues that wiped out enemy armies that blasphemed God, plagues that followed sins of the King.

So my questions are these:

1) Can a plague be a judgment or is it just a random feature of a broken world
2) Is Corona Virus a judgment of sort (beginning in a godless state which tried to cover it up, spreading through Blasphemous cults in South Korea and onto a major false religious centre in Qoms and then to an increasingly secularised and self sufficient Europe) or just a symptom of a broken world.
3) Is the fear that accompanies plague itself a feature of a judgment , a judgment magnifier or just the reaction to a situation that falls too far outside our comfort zones.

Basically can plague teach us anything about God and what might the current Pandemic be saying to us?

1) both. To be a judgment it must be pronounced as such by God or His prophet in advance of it happening. That being the case coronavirus would not qualify even if it were a plague.
2)Neither. It is a virus. A naturally occurring organism.
3) An overreaction

 

[summerville]

Revelation spans our times too. Who created germs? Who controls all? Who assigned everyone's time and manner of death?

Bronze Age. The period between the Stone Age and the Iron Age when humankind made implements of an alloy of copper and tin.

In Greece during this era kingdoms produced glorious arts and crafts, typified by the golden masks found on the site of ancient Mycenae.

This was the temporal setting and backdrop for the stories of Greek mythology.

mythweb.com/encyc/entries/bronze_age.html

 

[Dave L]

1) both. To be a judgment it must be pronounced as such by God or His prophet in advance of it happening. That being the case coronavirus would not qualify even if it were a plague.
2)Neither. It is a virus. A naturally occurring organism.
3) An overreaction

So God has nothing to do with the things he created?

 

[grasping the after wind]

So God has nothing to do with the things he created?

Where did you get that idea from?

 

[Dave L]

Bronze Age. The period between the Stone Age and the Iron Age when humankind made implements of an alloy of copper and tin.

In Greece during this era kingdoms produced glorious arts and crafts, typified by the golden masks found on the site of ancient Mycenae.

This was the temporal setting and backdrop for the stories of Greek mythology.

mythweb.com/encyc/entries/bronze_age.html

What about death and sickness then? Did it just happen?

 

[mindlight]

Do you really think God would send a plague or a hurricane or tsunami or earthquake to punish people?

Christians definitely interpreted black death in this way. But that is the question of the thread and I am looking for answers here

 

[Dave L]

Where did you get that idea from?

Your post led me to think this.

 

[summerville]

What about death and sickness then? Did it just happen?

You mean bacteria, germs, viruses.. or normal wear and tear of old age?

 

[Dave L]

You mean bacteria, germs, viruses.. or normal wear and tear of old age?

all death and disease

 

[mindlight]

1) both. To be a judgment it must be pronounced as such by God or His prophet in advance of it happening. That being the case coronavirus would not qualify even if it were a plague.
2)Neither. It is a virus. A naturally occurring organism.
3) An overreaction

There have been a great many denunciations of godless Chinese communism and of false religion in Iran and of the secularism of modern Europe and of the blasphemous cult in South Korea so are you sure about this.

What distinguishes your commentary and answers from a godless secular commentator on these events

Do you believe in the Sovereignty of God?

 

[grasping the after wind]

What about death and sickness then? Did it just happen?

God creates the universe as He sees fit. it includes death and sickness. That does no make death or sickness from the coronavirus a judgement on a particular person or society. You may blame Adam if it pleases you to do so and say that death and sickness in general are a judgement upon Adam's sin but the OP is being more specific and asking if coronavirus is a judgement on the current populace not just a normal result of Adam's fall.

 

[summerville]

Christians definitely interpreted black death in this way. But that is the question of the thread and I am looking for answers here

There is a story (true or not) that the Church condemned cats as familiars of satan.. So people killed the cats and the rat population exploded and brought plague.

Look at lack of sanitation, crowded dirty cities, contaminated water, spoiled food.. Its a wonder we survived at all, but I don't think God did it.

 

[Dave L]

God creates the universe as He sees fit. it includes death and sickness. That does no make death or sickness from the coronavirus a judgement on a particular person or society. You may blame Adam if it pleases you to do so and say that death and sickness in general are a judgement upon Adam's sin but the OP is being more specific and asking if coronavirus is a judgement on the current populace not just a normal result of Adam's fall.

In the OT sin always resulted in God's 4 sore judgements. War, famine, plague, and beasts (rats spreading disease) included.

 

[grasping the after wind]

There have been a great many denunciations of godless Chinese communism and of false religion in Iran and of the secularism of modern Europe and of the blasphemous cult in South Korea so are you sure about this.

What distinguishes your commentary and answers from a godless secular commentator on these events

Do you believe in the Sovereignty of God?

Yes I not only believe in the Sovereignty of God I believe in the perfection of god and a perfect being is not irrational. I think I explained what I believed about how God uses plague when passing judgement upon a place, time or society, He makes it perfectly clear in advance . He does not do it secretly so that people are unaware that He is passing judgement. That would defeat the purpose wouldn't it?

 

[mindlight]

Both the OT and Revelation say it is God's wrath on sinners.

I tend to agree plague is usually interpreted as a judgment. But of course that flies in the face of modern medical knowledge of viruses and bacteria and the natural roots of corona virus in the unnatural practice of Chinese people eating bats for instance. God created a world that was good where the RNA of viruses caused us no harm. Yet now in a broken eco system and with our broken DNA they can be incredibly harmful. Does this mean God still directs his creation or has he abandoned to it to the decay that is already in motion. Is prayer useless in the face of plague or can it make a difference?