ADRA is now the new COVID-19 pandemic police.
There is an ever growing list of examples on how the church is doing a wonderful job of undermining the faith from within. Soon we may not have to worry about all the external enemies and threats when so many within the church seem to be dismantling our movement. This latest news is almost too unbelievable to mention. In the city of Chillán, a major municipality located in central Chile, Seventh-day Adventists have partnered with the local government to enforce social distancing orders and mandatory mask mandates.
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is now enforcing the government’s coronavirus health mandates. ADRA is now the new COVID-19 police. They have been authorized by the state to enforce social distancing laws amid the coronavirus pandemic. And they are doing it for free. The local news reported that ADRA is “volunteering” to do this service for the government. However, we know that ADRA’s services are not free because they are funded by the church. The church is subsidizing this new COVID-19 social distancing police force.
The local news reported:
“A collaborative alliance between the Ministry of Social Development and Family and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Chile will allow up to 70 volunteers to be deployed in the streets of Chillán to collaborate in the measures implemented by the Regional Government to maintain the social distancing, especially in offices and public services, after the quarantine was lifted.” [1]
“At the request of the Regional Government, today we had volunteers to maintain social distance and precautionary health and hygiene measures between people who attend the different public services in the downtown area of Chillan.” [1]
“The young volunteers will work from 08:30 to 14:00, in shifts of 15 to 25 people, and were previously trained in the specific role that they will fulfill and in the work of coordination with the authorities.” [1]
This is a “collaborative alliance” between church and state to enforce the COVID-19 mandates. ADRA has been trained to look for coronavirus violations and social distancing infractions. We are no longer just handing out masks and hand sanitizers. Adventists now have the authority to enter businesses and stop people on the streets while enforcing state-implemented social distancing orders.
This presents a serious problem because every day we see more and more examples of state leaders becoming drunk on political power and control while many innocent people and businesses are paying a heavy price. Under the pretext of “keeping people safe,” many mayors and governors have suspended our constitutional freedoms and rights and are turning our communities into internment camps.
In the United States, COVID-19 social distancing orders, mandatory closures, mask mandates and mandatory quarantines have become unconstitutional and unfair. These new COVID-19 measures are being applied impartially on one segment of society, while others are not subject to the restrictions. Ordinary people are punished, while the politically connected and politically correct receive complete immunity.
Closing Churches
In America, city and state officials have placed restrictions on church attendance. And they are imposing heavy fines on those who do not comply. [2] But in these same communities you can still have Black Lives Matter protestors marching and congregating by the thousands, and that’s OK? Why is that? This is not only unfair, but it discriminates against people’s beliefs and views. This is the government basically saying, “If you are meeting to protest, that’s fine, but if you want to worship, it’s not okay.”
It is inconceivable that many cannot go to church due to COVID-19 mandates, but those same people are allowed to gather and protest on the streets by the thousands? This makes no sense. Why can thousands of people congregate in the street marching and protesting, but congregating in church is illegal? Simply put, those in control don’t care about the church or their message. They do care about the Black Lives Matter movement and message. So one is allowed and the other is not. This is perhaps the most explicit case of discrimination. We have rules, fines and threats that apply to churches, but not to protesters and rioters. This is the very definition of tyranny.
Bleach Washing Your Masks?
Are you wearing masks? Well that’s not enough. The CDC wants to know if you are practicing proper mask hygiene? The CDC says you have to use bleach to wash your mask. [3] How many people are actually doing this? I doubt not many. Tragically, this means that millions of people are walking around with dirty, sweaty, saliva-laden and germ-infested rags on their faces. How healthy can any of this be?
Millions of people are wearing these dirty masks every day because of the COVID-19 mandates. This alone can create its own potential health crisis. Also, according to experts, wearing a mask is not a proven science to stop coronavirus infections. Take a look at what the New England Journal of Medicine recently published. This comes from the world’s most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journal:
“We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.” [4]
Denying Funeral Services
Funeral services for US Congressman and Civil Rights leader, John Lewis, were held at 10 different locations in 5 cities in 3 different states (if you count Washington D.C). There are photographs of packed crowds who attended his memorial services. But most Americans are forbidden from having funeral services for their loved ones. Funerals for the average American are prohibited. [5] Why? Because the CDC says it’s a high risk for COVID-19 contamination.
You see, coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions only apply to certain people, not all. The mandatory 14-day quarantines apply only to a segment of society. Those quarantines were not applied during the funeral of Congressman John Lewis. Of the 50 members of Congress who flew to Georgia, none were quarantined for 14 days. The same thing happened with George Floyd’s funeral. All coronavirus restrictions were lifted as hundreds of people crowded together to attend.
Why are some allowed to have a big funeral during the pandemic while most Americans are not extended the same opportunity? It is simply because not all lives are equally important or politically expedient. Justice is not blind and the COVID-19 mandates are not being applied equally. This is unconstitutional, unfair and arbitrary. When mandates and executive orders are applied selectively, they become a violation of our freedoms. It is during this time that we have to recognize that human laws that are arbitrary and unjust are not absolute. When unjust laws are applied, it is time to judge the law and the political hacks who design them.
“True it is, God has commanded kings to be obeyed; but likewise true it is, that in things which they commit against His glory, He has commanded no obedience, but rather, He has approved, yea, and greatly rewarded, such as have opposed themselves to their ungodly commandments and blind rage.” – John Knox, 16th Century Reformer
“We are subject to the men who rule over us, but subject only in the Lord. If they command anything against Him let us not pay the least regard to it.” – John Calvin, 16th Century Reformer
“Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual … Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.” – John Hancock, Patriot of the American Revolution
“One may well ask: ‘How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?’ The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that ‘an unjust law is no law at all’.” – Martin Luther King, Jr., American Civil Rights Leader
All this is leading to the criminalization of those who have not blindly accepted the COVID-19 propaganda. And Seventh-day Adventists are in bed with the tyrannical COVID-19 political agenda. Bible-believing pastors have been jailed and fined through the new coronavirus persecution laws. And as more and more unjust and anti-church laws are passed, more people will be unfairly targeted. Whose side are we on and what are we doing?
We are part of the coronavirus compliance committee. Seventh-day Adventists are working to bring compliance with government issued, COVID-19 mandates. What bold-faced hypocrisy! How about helping to enforce compliance in the church on women’s ordination? There are plenty of violators. Sadly, it seems that we would rather enforce unscientific political agendas by government leaders, while COMPLETELY ignoring the noncompliance that takes place in the church.
This is just the most recent example that many of our people are losing their way. Power corrupts, but the power of church and state corrupts even faster. Our hope and trust must be in God and not in the state with its little dictators who are using this pandemic to gain all the power and control they can. These church-state partnerships that have been created to monitor the public for COVID-19 violations are extremely dangerous to our civil and religious liberties.
What will ADRA be policing next? Compliance to COVID-19 vaccines whenever they are available? Will they be monitoring carbon emissions during the implementation of Laudato Si’? Or will they betray us to the Catholics during the mark of the beast? This is exactly what inspiration says will happen:
“I saw the nominal church and nominal Adventists, like Judas, would betray us to the Catholics to obtain their influence to come against the truth. The saints then will be an obscure people, little known to the Catholics; but the churches and nominal Adventists who know of our faith and customs will betray the saints and report them to the Catholics as those who disregard the institutions of the people; that is, that they keep the Sabbath and disregard Sunday” (Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 1).
Sources
[3] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-to-wash-cloth-face-coverings.html
[4] https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2006372
0
0
0