Good! The more people that speak out the better.
That reminds me, I was going to take Pastor Niemöller’s poem and change it to fit today’s circumstances.
But since I’m really not that clever with words I was hoping posters here would fix it up.
Now I need to find the file that I put the poem in :-)
Just one of many things that I started to do and then forgot to finish it. I really need a nanny.
So, my son and I are drafting his religious exemption letter. Here is what we have so far. Any thoughts?
1. I believe that life has worth to God in all stages, from conception to death. In Jeremiah 1:5 ESV, the Bible says that God knows us even while we are in our mother’s womb. Psalm 139:16 says, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them”. Psalm 139:13 says, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”
Fetal stem cell lines have been used in the development of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, and fetal stem cell lines have been used in the testing of the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines. According to James Lawler, MD, the fetal cell line HEK 293 was used during the research and development phase. All HEK 293 cells are descended from tissue taken from a 1973 abortion (2021). Regardless of when the abortion happened, I believe there is no statute of limitations on the evil of abortion. It does not matter if the abortion took place in 1973 or 2020. It is a matter of conscience for me to refuse to consume or inject any substance into my body which has been developed in a way that is unethical based on Biblical principles.
2. The second reason I reject the vaccine is because of the potential of putting something harmful in my body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and as such I should honor God with my body. This includes eating right, exercising, and abstaining from illegal drugs and any other substance harmful to me. I believe the Covid-19 vaccine is potentially harmful to my body.
This vaccine is experimental, and no long-term studies have been completed. Historically vaccines have been made by injecting an attenuated virus into the body to help it create an immune response. However, these vaccines are genetic in nature. According to the Mayo clinic, “They use messenger RNA, which tricks the cell to make one protein of the virus, the so-called spike.” This type of vaccine has never been used in humans before and is genetic engineering. In addition, adequate testing on these vaccines has not happened. Vaccines normally take over ten years to develop, including 3 stages of trials, to gain FDA approval.
There have been many studies now on the side effects of the vaccine for a person of my age (26). The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database lists 139,498 total adverse reaction reports for ages 20-29 to vaccine, including 152 deaths for that same age group (VAERS, 2021). The World Health Organization database lists 902,896 adverse reactions to the Covid vaccine between the ages of 18-44 (Vigiaccess.org).
There have been 5,490 hospitalizations out of 270,669 cases in the 20-29 age group in Georgia, a rate of 2.0%. For the vaccinated, there are 324 hospitalizations of 12,331 breakthrough cases of Covid for those aged 18-34, at a rate of 2.6%. The total deaths of my age group for the entire pandemic are only 199, approximately .07% of cases, and most of those deaths had co-morbidities. Based on my research, I believe my risk from the vaccine is higher than my risk of Covid-19.
Personally, I have done contract work daily in healthcare environments since the beginning of the pandemic, including in Covid wards, and sometimes in Covid patient rooms, and have had close contact with several Covid positive people. I have never gotten sick. My God-given immune system appears to be working regarding this virus and I do not want to compromise that. There are 81 research studies that support the naturally acquired immunity to Covid-19 (Alexandar, 2021). I take care of my health with a good diet and exercise, and I do not want to put my health at risk with an experimental vaccine.
3. I believe that the Bible teaches the importance of work and providing for family (1 Timothy 5:8). Being forced to take a vaccine to be able to work is a kind of slavery as it removes bodily autonomy. Vaccine mandates also violates my liberty of conscience, which is granted by God and not by the government. The idea of the liberty of conscience helped shape religious liberty in the United States and was foundational to Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. This statue was as a forerunner to the First Amendment’s protection of religious liberty (Purves, 2021).