Joseph Prince seems to be assuring biblical immunity from physical harm arising from the coronavirus.
In one of his recent messages, he urged his congregants not to forsake the assembly of the people, but he did add that if you are sick, unwell, ”don’t come for the sake of men”.
And, as an immunity chant, he cited Psalm 91 to justify it: -
“I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.””
Prince preached with debonair confidence that no plague can and will infect his people who are the chosen ones, because angels (in the plurals) surround just one soul forming a hedge of protection against any virus that threatens him or her.
Well, imagine the protection every believer will receive with ”Innumerable” angels covering them from the swelling epidemic.
Alas, running parallel with that is the worrying news that another Church, Grace Assembly of God, has been suspended for the next two weeks. It emerged that it is the fifth cluster of the coronavirus infection.
A total of seven cases has been confirmed since yesterday, a concerned jump in infection. And one of them is the newly appointed reverend Wilson Teo. He is currently being quarantined at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (since Tuesday).
This is what Rev Teo said, in quiet assurance: -
“This is a very difficult time for the church. While we have received many questions and heard many concerns, some of these are beyond our immediate ability to respond.”
“I am moved by the courage of Gracians who have offered themselves to send meals and buy groceries for those who served with the home quarantine orders.”
Lesson? One.
This is sensitive time and I strive to be sensitive. But what is disconcerting for me is, when I juxtaposition Prince’s clarion call of gifted immunity and Rev Teo’s rally call of prayer and unity side by side, I find that Prince is being disingenuous when he said “God is in the protection business” by taking (in my view) Psalm 91 out of context and plunging it into the unscientific realm of personal convenience and expediency.
Like one friend of mine said, it is tantamount to challenging his congregants to test God at such time with the immunity that Psalm 91 does not confer or is not meant to offer.
Because if you think about it, the reality is that we have two churches with two different outcomes, at least for now. In fact, there is another church, that is, the Life Church and Mission being also identified as an infection cluster last Saturday.
By the way, the main question is this: at such time, is that the message a responsible pastor would want to preach over the pulpit in the face of thousands of believers, many of whom are credulous enough to put his words above the words of sound, scientifically based agencies?
The sad reality is that such preaching only encourages, on a semi-conscious level, an elevated sense of “I-am-safe-here-therefore-my-church-is-more-godly-favoured-than-yours” - intention however otherwise notwithstanding.
Now, I want to be fair to NCC, because I have heard the selfless acts they as a church have been performing especially during such time. Kudos to them.
But my gripe is only restricted to the words used at the pulpit, especially during this time of uncertainty. Is it prudent then to apply a scripture in that way and risk it being perceived as some sort of “medical talisman” when it was not meant to be interpreted that way?
I mean, what do we then say to the believers of Grace Assembly and Life Church? If God is in the “protection business”, has his hands of protection not wide enough to cover all believers, or anyone who cites psalm 91 the way Prince cited it with panache?
In the end, the real testing for me comes in the unity of faith to overcome adversity, and not the cowardice of men’s hearts to run from it. None of the disciples and apostles of Christ turn away from what is before them, and many gave their lives for what they believe in.
It is not about ensuring we have a stake in God’s business of protection, but it is joining hearts together in a bonfire of faith and hope to pull through as a body of Christ.
Is God then in the “protection business” or one where His believers stare in the face of death and declare, “where is thy sting”?
In any event, I am very much more encouraged by the words of Gracians, when they said this: -
“Congregants have been very supportive and certainly, the church leadership has requested them to pray for the church, the affected members, and their families, as well as for our nation.”
Now, that is to me the apostolic faith of overcoming and hope, and not one soaked in its own murky spring of self-delusion and scriptural bravado.
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