by Curt Anderson on July 28, 2021 3:46 pm
(Wapo) Some churches and Christian ministries with large online followings — as well as Christian influencers on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube — are making false claims that vaccines contain fetal tissue or microchips, or are construing associations between vaccine ingredients and the devil. Others talk about how coronavirus vaccines and masks contain or herald the “mark of the beast,” a reference to an apocalyptic passage from the Book of Revelation that suggests that the Antichrist will test Christians by asking them to put a mark on their bodies.
“In the summertime, I thought, these are just fringe beliefs. But the further we got into the pandemic, I realized, these are very widely held, and I was surprised by how many Christians and churches subscribe to this,” said Emily Smith, an epidemiologist at Baylor University, a private Christian university in Waco, Tex. She runs a large Facebook page dedicated to discussing covid-19.
Smith, who is Christian and married to a Baptist pastor, said her posts trying to disavow anti-vaccine sentiment have been met with hostile responses and threats.
washingtonpost.com
by HatetheSwamp on July 28, 2021 4:20 pm
(Wapo) SOME CHURCHES and Christian ministries with large online followings — as well as Christian influencers on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube — are making false claims that vaccines contain fetal tissue or microchips, or are construing associations between vaccine ingredients and the devil. Others talk about how coronavirus vaccines and masks contain or herald the “mark of the beast,” a reference to an apocalyptic passage from the Book of Revelation that suggests that the Antichrist will test Christians by asking them to put a mark on their bodies.
While I don't consider myself an evangelical Christian, nearly all of my friends and acquaintances are evangelicals. I have tons of existential knowledge of evangelicalism that is current and is of people from several parts of the country.
NPR and WaPo reporting notwithstanding, based on experience, I don't buy it!
by HatetheSwamp on July 29, 2021 3:23 am
Curt,
It strikes me that the way you can make your point is to link to articles in which evangelicals say they're not getting vaxed is because to do so would be to accept the mark of the beast.
Fascinating. 