Posted on 12/28/2006 12:40:31 PM PST by blam
Churches May be Forced to Close if Bird Flu Strikes
HEMET, CA (ANS) — There are plenty of threats facing people in this world today, from high cholesterol to global terrorism. But one of the most dire threats is getting the cold shoulder from the Christian community. That threat is an avian flu pandemic. The avian flu, commonly known as the Bird Flu, is brewing in the bodies of millions of birds around the world right now, and breaking through biological barriers to kill people in places like Vietnam, Indonesia and Egypt.
DVD helps Christian families, churches prepare for Bird Flu threat “As Christians, we are rather casual and careless about the problem,” said Christian journalist Donald L. Hughes, producer of a new documentary called, “The Bird Flu Plague,” released by Theatron Films (www.TheatronFilms.com).
This abdication of responsibility is a sad thing, according to Hughes, because the Bird Flu has the potential to explode overnight and kill millions of people in a very short time. “If individual Christians and local churches were prepared, we could do much to help alleviate suffering,” he said.
Many Christians are cynical about the Bird Flu threat, Hughes said. “They equate it to the Y2K thing, think it’s some kind of liberal plot, or believe God will spare them just because they’re Christians. Pundits may minimize the threat, but health officials around the world are scared silly, and we in the Christian community must take our cue from the health officials.”
Hughes said, “When the Bird Flu reaches pandemic levels, life as we know it will change. Even the World Bank, pretty conservative forecasters, have said they believe the Bird Flu has the potential to kill 70 million people and put a $2 trillion dent into the world economy. Local officials are likely to use quarantine laws to inhibit spread of the disease, and that means churches, along with stores, offices and factories, will be told to close.
Hughes fears that local churches will wake up to the threat too late. “People think that the Bird Flu must infect poultry here in the U.S. before it spreads to people, and nothing could be further from the truth. The greatest threat is when travelers, who may not even know they are ill with the disease, bring it in on airplanes. Upon arrival they fan out to different locations and spread the disease as they go.”
As winter comes, the number of Bird Flu cases is increasing around the world, both among domestic poultry and humans. Today, Viet Nam is struggling to stamp out an epidemic among domestic poultry. However, efforts by officials are being thwarted by village people who are killing diseased birds then throwing them in rivers, which has the potential to spread the disease even further.
The same thing is happening in Egypt where 3 people have died of the Bird Flu this past week. Villagers there have been hiding their poultry under beds to keep them from the hands of officials trying to eradicate the disease. Twenty cases of human infection have been identified in northern Egypt so far, and more cases and deaths are expected.
Hughes says that many in the Christian community may be failing to prepare because they may be open to criticism if the threat does not materialize. “We have been reminding people to be prepared for the coming of Christ for over 2,000 years, but somehow preparing for the likelihood of an immediate threat like a Bird Flu plague is not allowed,” Hughes said. “If we’re prepared on the family level and the local church level, we will be in a position to encourage the living, minister to the dying and help the grieving. Without preparation, we’re going to be in the same bad situation as everyone else.”
Hughes believes that the Christian community should be at the forefront of preparedness for the Bird Flu and other threats. “We have produced the “Bird Fu Plague” documentary DVD precisely to let people know the magnitude of the threat, how the influenza spreads, and what they can do as families and as local churches to prepare. The documentary is not designed to scare anyone, but hopefully it will jolt people into reality about this issue.”
In addition to the 48-minute documentary, the DVD also contains text resources including a family preparedness guide, a church preparedness guide, a Bible-based group discussion guide, steps for caring for the grieving, and a guide to sharing your faith in crisis times.
Hughes said, “In 1918 there was influenza pandemic, and 25% of the U.S. population got sick and 3 million died. According to records, people got up in the morning feeling fine, began feeling sick at mid-day, and died that night. People have no concept about how lethal Type A pandemic flu can be. People think science will come up with some “magic bullet” to save us, but that’s not likely. We need to prepare now in practical ways, and we also need to prepare our minds and hearts for a possible Bird Flu plague. Once it hits American shores the disease, or the panic, will spread so fast that opportunities to prepare will be lost.”
Well put, and I also cannot know that the bird flu is going to be the pandemic....I worry about it because avian flu is particularly suited to jump to humans.
I don't suggest anyone freaking out, but it is smart to respect the possible danger. Anything one does to protect themselves from bird flu applies to biological attacks as well, and that is definitely a threat.
Yup. At Thanksgiving each of my family members were asked to cite one thing they were thankful for. Mine was: "of the six billion people that have come before me, I was lucky enough to have been born in the best time and place that humans have ever lived."
I agree, it won't last forever.
Another good point. OK we have a threat of a pandemic. More likely it will be thru some bio agent brought in by radical islam - whether or not that will be "bird flu", I don't know.
That IS one threat that I do not dismiss. The threat that radical islam will raise its evil, ugly head in this country. Yet, this is the one THREAT the Government would send us all through "sensitivity training" for so we don't worry about it.
When this countries politicos quit kow towing to the likes of CAIR, and quit telling me that islam is a peaceful religion, and quit sending TSA employees through sensitivity training, THEN - and only THEN will I believe them about a supposed bird flu.
But that's just me.
Back to their mosques in their segregated communities.
It's a question of when, not if.
Okay. 70m is a maximum, worst case scenario number. The best case number from this point forward is zero.
As a population function, 70m won't be devastating; but, of course, the loss of the individual persons will be devastating to those who love them and know them.
A product is being promoted by relying on fear of a maximum possible number. Meanwhile, large numbers of individuals will die from plain old flu this year, just like every year. Why get excited about a possibility when regular old flu is guaranteed to be a killer of large numbers today?
Everybody should wash their hands often during cold and flu season.
How young/old were these people? Funny how none of these articles ever mention that...
"Parents, for the most part mind-numbed gratification-seeking machines..."
You're a wordsmith.
The 1918 flu likely killed at least if not more than 70 million; for anyone to say that a flu pandemic only as bad as that one will kill only 70 million is wishfully thinking.
Swine flu = Ebola = Bird Flu = Y2K problem = SARS.
Their ages were roughly 15 to 30.
Yeah, I thought 70m was kind of a small projection for a pandemic. Of course, if we were to go through it, it would probably seem incomprehensibly huge.
"Three people have died of bird flu in Egypt in the past week. All three cases belong to one extended family in Gharbiyah province, 80 kilometres northwest of the capital city, Cairo. They included a 30 year-old woman, a 15-year-old girl and a 26 year-old man. "
Bad things do happen.
Historical Review: Megadrought And Megadeath In 16th Century Mexico (Hemorrhagic Fever)
The epidemic of cocoliztli from1545 to 1548 killed an estimated 5 million to 15 million people, or up to 80% of the native population of Mexico (Figure 1). In absolute and relative terms the 1545 epidemic was one of the worst demographic catastrophes in human history, approaching even the Black Death of bubonic plague, which killed approximately 25 million in western Europe from 1347 to 1351 or about 50% of the regional population."
"The cocoliztli epidemic from 1576 to 1578 cocoliztli epidemic killed an additional 2 to 2.5 million people, or about 50% of the remaining native population."
Apart from the tendency for younger people to get it, it is worth noting that:
A) It almost exclusively affects people who handle birds, and/or keep them in their households,
and
B) It cannot, barring a very unlikely mutation, spread from human to human
This is just the latest "sky is falling", "we're all doomed", "life sucks" story from the DBM.
Worried?? Don't fret. You can use your debit card to contribute to the coffers. They'll send you a copy of the Sermon you missed!!
"B) It cannot, barring a very unlikely mutation, spread from human to human..."
Could you cite some sources for that? I know Michael Fumento, a non-scientist, has said that. Anyone else?
Many virologists say the opposite.
And, just think: would you rather have a bit of extra stored up so, say H5N1 does start spreading human to human easily, with a fatality rate only as high as the 1918 flu, you could avoid going out to the store and catching it? Or would you rather assume that everything will continue as it is, with the possibilty that if you are wrong, you will be much more likely to catch a possibly fatal illness?
I suppose you don't stock up a little extra in case of elecritc power outages from snow, falling trees, hurricanes, etc.
It's kind of like insurance that you can use, one way or the other.
10 out of 10 people die..... btw, I thought we were gonna die from SARS! Is SARS not popular any more?
BWAAAHAAA!
When will we ever learn??? Remember the swine flu scare of the late 70s that was predicted to kill millions???? Remember Global cooling and a new ice age????
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.