SSDD
PSALM 8
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth!
You made your glory higher than heaven!
2 3 When I look up at your skies, at what your fingers made—
the moon and the stars that you set firmly in place—
4 who are we that you think about us?
Who are we that you pay attention to us?
SSDD
It's a somewhat crass acronym that usually stands for Same S--t Different Day.
Today I'm declaring a different meaning: Same Science Different Day.
I find that I am completely fed up with people--especially people who claim to be well-educated--who refuse to accept, admit, affirm, embrace, or even consider that the scientists among us may have important information for us. Information we can use to choose our course of action. Information that can guide our policy-making. Information that can save lives and reduce human suffering.
It is absolutely ludicrous that we in the United States are leading the world in the number of coronavirus cases AND the number of coronavirus deaths. We have 70,000 more deaths and Two Million more cases than the next country, Brazil. We have the resources to properly battle this disease...we just aren't doing a good job of it. And a lot of it comes back to our leaders ignoring the information and advice of medical scientists.
The very best, most experienced public health and infectious disease doctors in the country all saying: Stay at home. Wear a mask. Avoid crowds. Keep your distance. Wash your hands. And yet from our highest political leaders on down to the average guy or gal on the street, we hear an insistent message: Open the businesses. Open the schools. Forget about masks--they're for sissies--in fact, make fun of people who are wearing masks!
This kind of mentality is also present in too many Christian churches. When you couple the rejection of science with the belief that "God will protect us from the virus," you're setting up for trouble. Churches all over this country have become super-spreader locations that infect large numbers of people with coronavirus. A recent Baptist revival in Alabama infected at least 40 people--pretty much everyone in the church! The entire outbreak on the Navajo Nation started at a Pentecostal church revival.
I am very grateful to be a part of a church and a denomination that openly accepts and embraces the important information that medical science offers us. We understand that the scientific process involves continuous discovery, experimentation and developing understanding. Science is a process--and through this process, we learn stuff--important stuff--and sometimes even life-and-death stuff. The folks claiming to be miraculously protected from the virus, or claiming it will miraculously disappear are missing one very important miracle: The miracle that medical scientists ALL OVER THE WORLD are all working together to improve our understanding of this new coronavirus. We are learning how it spreads (and how to limit the spread), and how to best treat COVID-19 symptoms to help people survive.
In our UMC tradition, we understand that scientific inquiry and knowledge is complementary to our faith. As I like to remind folks: God gave us all brains and God expects us to use them. Our trust in God can be strengthened by our appreciation of the world around us--even when what we're learning is how to deal with a scary disease. I am grateful for all the scientists worldwide who are working tirelessly to provide us with information that will help us keep each other safe. These are the people who can help us move from Same S--t Different Day to Same Science Different Day. I pray that the leaders and decision-makers in our country and our community will stop wishing this disease will magically go away and embrace what our scientific inquiry is telling us. Now that would be a miracle!
Peace and all good,
Pastor Jean
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth!
You made your glory higher than heaven!
2 3 When I look up at your skies, at what your fingers made—
the moon and the stars that you set firmly in place—
4 who are we that you think about us?
Who are we that you pay attention to us?
SSDD
It's a somewhat crass acronym that usually stands for Same S--t Different Day.
Today I'm declaring a different meaning: Same Science Different Day.
It is absolutely ludicrous that we in the United States are leading the world in the number of coronavirus cases AND the number of coronavirus deaths. We have 70,000 more deaths and Two Million more cases than the next country, Brazil. We have the resources to properly battle this disease...we just aren't doing a good job of it. And a lot of it comes back to our leaders ignoring the information and advice of medical scientists.
The very best, most experienced public health and infectious disease doctors in the country all saying: Stay at home. Wear a mask. Avoid crowds. Keep your distance. Wash your hands. And yet from our highest political leaders on down to the average guy or gal on the street, we hear an insistent message: Open the businesses. Open the schools. Forget about masks--they're for sissies--in fact, make fun of people who are wearing masks!
This kind of mentality is also present in too many Christian churches. When you couple the rejection of science with the belief that "God will protect us from the virus," you're setting up for trouble. Churches all over this country have become super-spreader locations that infect large numbers of people with coronavirus. A recent Baptist revival in Alabama infected at least 40 people--pretty much everyone in the church! The entire outbreak on the Navajo Nation started at a Pentecostal church revival.
I am very grateful to be a part of a church and a denomination that openly accepts and embraces the important information that medical science offers us. We understand that the scientific process involves continuous discovery, experimentation and developing understanding. Science is a process--and through this process, we learn stuff--important stuff--and sometimes even life-and-death stuff. The folks claiming to be miraculously protected from the virus, or claiming it will miraculously disappear are missing one very important miracle: The miracle that medical scientists ALL OVER THE WORLD are all working together to improve our understanding of this new coronavirus. We are learning how it spreads (and how to limit the spread), and how to best treat COVID-19 symptoms to help people survive.
In our UMC tradition, we understand that scientific inquiry and knowledge is complementary to our faith. As I like to remind folks: God gave us all brains and God expects us to use them. Our trust in God can be strengthened by our appreciation of the world around us--even when what we're learning is how to deal with a scary disease. I am grateful for all the scientists worldwide who are working tirelessly to provide us with information that will help us keep each other safe. These are the people who can help us move from Same S--t Different Day to Same Science Different Day. I pray that the leaders and decision-makers in our country and our community will stop wishing this disease will magically go away and embrace what our scientific inquiry is telling us. Now that would be a miracle!
Peace and all good,
Pastor Jean
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