{"id":1704,"date":"2021-12-17T15:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-17T14:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mylampblog.com\/?p=1704"},"modified":"2021-12-17T15:49:59","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T14:49:59","slug":"pauls-opinion-on-the-vaccination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/pauls-opinion-on-the-vaccination\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul\u2019s opinion on the vaccination"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Bible\u2019s opinion on corona and the vaccine is a delicate topic. Opinions vary widely as Christians debate whether or not they should get vaccinated. In my opinion, the Bible does have something to say about our current situation, as I will explain in this blog post.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the camp of the unvaccinated, names of famous personalities get fired into the air as suspected masterminds behind the whole thing. Bible verses get quoted and thrown at the opponents. But some build their position on purely medical grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The vaccinated camp dismisses the opposing side as crazy conspiracy theorists and unreasonable people who endanger the general health of society. Moreover, medical arguments get invalidated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Referring to the biblical arguments, both sides agree on one point: The respective other side misinterprets the Bible. At least something. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One week ago, I published a post about the vaccination on my German Instagram page <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CXTUGB-sOM3\/\">@seinwortmeinlicht<\/a>. I argued that the debate among Christians should not lead to divisions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-divider stk-block-divider stk-block stk-bed2fe8\" data-block-id=\"bed2fe8\"><hr class=\"stk-block-divider__hr\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>Paul repeatedly emphasized the importance of unity in the church. <\/strong>Several times he tried to ward off looming divisions and pointed believers to what is at stake: Christ. Unity in him. \u2800<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I find one particular verse very pertinent to our situation today:\u2800<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.<\/em> Galatians 3:28<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today we don\u2019t differentiate between Jews and Greeks or slaves and free in the church. But at that time, believers from diverse backgrounds met at church. Paul repeatedly admonished them that they had only one identity; that in Christ.\u2800<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>I think Paul would write the following line to us today, &#8220;There is neither a vaccinated person nor an unvaccinated person. You are all one in Christ Jesus.&#8221;<\/strong>\u2800<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have your own opinion, but let&#8217;s not lose sight of the most important thing while debating: We are all one. It&#8217;s all about Jesus.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-divider stk-block-divider stk-block stk-5c81691\" data-block-id=\"5c81691\"><hr class=\"stk-block-divider__hr\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>After I published my post on Instagram, the comments piled up in no time.<strong> My original goal was to use Paul&#8217;s thoughts to move us believers toward unity. <\/strong>Many readers commented sweetly and constructively. I loved that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, some took my words as an opportunity to engage in heated, even toxic, discussions. Instead of responding to the call to refocus us on Christ, they went after their opponents.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To be honest, I felt a little bit like Paul. There I was, talking about unity and wanting to point people to Christ, but somehow it didn\u2019t get through to everyone. Poor Paul! I can&#8217;t imagine how hurt Jesus must be to see his people divided and hostile. <strong>What about the command to love one another? Where is unity lived out despite differences of opinion?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I believe Paul would have cared about the vaccine as much as he cared about the food sacrificed to idols (1. Corinthians 8). The church at Corinth asked the apostle Paul if they\u2019re allowed to eat the meat that was previously sacrificed to other gods. At first, Paul addresses that there are no other gods than the one God (verses 4-6). In doing so, he especially urges the &#8220;strong&#8221; in the faith to be considerate of the &#8220;weak&#8221; and accept that they do not want to eat the meat sacrificed to idols because of their conscience. (I highly recommend reading through 1 Corinthians 8 a few times).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In conclusion, Paul explained that both are allowed: Eating food sacrificed to idols or abstaining from it. Food has nothing to do with how we stand before God (verses 7-8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I can imagine that Paul would argue similarly today. <strong>Whether we get the vaccine or not has nothing to do with how we stand before God.<\/strong> It is much more important that we take care of one another and live in love.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paul even goes a step further in 1 Corinthians 9. He, who is free, made himself a slave to all (verse 19). To the Jews he became a Jew, to the weak he became weak, all in order to win as many as possible for Christ (verses 20-22). In other words, Paul adapted. <strong>Instead of arguing aggressively for or against the vaccination, he would have radically subordinated the issue to Christ.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, it is pure speculation what exactly Paul would have done in our situation. But I can imagine that the matter itself, namely the vaccination, did not play the main role for him. Definitely, I stand on solid biblical ground when I say that <strong>Paul favors unity over division, exhorts us to be considerate and love one another, as well as tries to refocus our gaze on what truly matters: Jesus. <\/strong>We are all one in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dear brothers and sisters, I know that this topic arouses many feelings. Paul would certainly advise us to go to God with our emotions and pray for those who disagree rather than attack them. Let&#8217;s keep the love commandment in mind. It is all about Jesus.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-divider stk-block-divider stk-block stk-245fc19\" data-block-id=\"245fc19\"><hr class=\"stk-block-divider__hr\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-divider stk-block-divider stk-block stk-4e2d472\" data-block-id=\"4e2d472\"><hr class=\"stk-block-divider__hr\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read more articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/about-waiting-and-being-content\/\">About waiting and being content<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/why-i-dont-read-the-news\/\">Why I don&#8217;t read the news<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/dealing-with-disappointment\/\">Dealing with disappointment<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-divider stk-block-divider stk-block stk-50640a9\" data-block-id=\"50640a9\"><hr class=\"stk-block-divider__hr\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2b50\ufe0f Do you want to know how to study the Bible for yourself? Get my free 19-page-long Bible Study Basics Guide by subscribing to my newsletter down below.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2b50\ufe0f Follow me on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mylampblog\/\">Instagram<\/a> for more encouragement&nbsp;<\/p>\n<strong>Share This:<\/strong><br><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-follow synved-social-size-32 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-twitter nolightbox\" data-provider=\"twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Follow us on Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mylampblog\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:32px;height:32px;margin:0;margin-bottom:20px;margin-right:20px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"twitter\" title=\"Follow us on Twitter\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-follow\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" style=\"display: inline;width:32px;height:32px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/addons\/extra-icons\/image\/social\/clearslate\/64x64\/twitter.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-follow synved-social-size-32 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-pinterest nolightbox\" data-provider=\"pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Our board on Pinterest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/mylampblog\/\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:32px;height:32px;margin:0;margin-bottom:20px;margin-right:20px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"pinterest\" title=\"Our board on Pinterest\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-follow\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" style=\"display: inline;width:32px;height:32px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/addons\/extra-icons\/image\/social\/clearslate\/64x64\/pinterest.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-follow synved-social-size-32 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-instagram nolightbox\" data-provider=\"instagram\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Check out our instagram feed\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mylampblog\/\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:32px;height:32px;margin:0;margin-bottom:20px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"instagram\" title=\"Check out our instagram feed\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-follow\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" style=\"display: inline;width:32px;height:32px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/addons\/extra-icons\/image\/social\/clearslate\/64x64\/instagram.png\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Bible\u2019s opinion on corona and the vaccine is a delicate topic. Opinions vary widely as Christians debate whether or not they should get vaccinated. In my opinion, the Bible does have something to say about our current situation, as I will explain in this blog post.&nbsp; From the camp of the unvaccinated, names of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.0","language":"es","enabled_languages":["en","es","de"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"de":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Pauls-opinion-on-the-vaccination.jpeg",1137,853,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Pauls-opinion-on-the-vaccination-150x150.jpeg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Pauls-opinion-on-the-vaccination-300x225.jpeg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Pauls-opinion-on-the-vaccination-768x576.jpeg",580,435,true],"large":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Pauls-opinion-on-the-vaccination-1024x768.jpeg",580,435,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Pauls-opinion-on-the-vaccination.jpeg",1137,853,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Pauls-opinion-on-the-vaccination.jpeg",1137,853,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Pauls-opinion-on-the-vaccination.jpeg",1137,853,false],"twentytwenty-fullscreen":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Pauls-opinion-on-the-vaccination.jpeg",1137,853,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"<p>The Bible\u2019s opinion on corona and the vaccine is a delicate topic. Opinions vary widely as Christians debate whether or not they should get vaccinated. In my opinion, the Bible does have something to say about our current situation, as I will explain in this blog post.&nbsp; From the camp of the unvaccinated, names of famous personalities get fired into the air as suspected masterminds behind the whole thing. Bible verses get quoted and thrown at the opponents. But some build their position on purely medical grounds. The vaccinated camp dismisses the opposing side as crazy conspiracy theorists and unreasonable&hellip;<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"<a href=\"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Madeleine","url":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/author\/mylampbloggmail-com\/"},"comments_num_v2":"7 comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1704"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1708,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1704\/revisions\/1708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}