God’s Gift of Prayer and Science
Most Reverend Allen HB Jones, SRL, Victoria
Volume 35 Issue 4, 5 & 6 | Posted: July 8, 2021
The Editor:
Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit:
As a bishop, I hold strongly to my faith in, and commitment to the life and teachings of Christ as revealed in the words of Scripture and the sacred traditions of the Fathers and Mothers of our spiritual history. In addition to Scripture, I also believe in reason. The mind is a gift from God and science is a wonderful development of that gift which has prolonged lifespans and increased our understanding of how the world works.
I am greatly distraught by the many Christians who are going against sound medical advice by perpetuating elaborate conspiracy theories and shrouding it in the language of our Holy Scriptures, particularly the writings of the Book of Revelation. The unhealthy beliefs of Biblical literalism and inerrancy have caused many clergy and lay people to take these words of scripture, these sacred writings that were developed over many thousands of years spanning multiple cultural and religious groups which provide for us a compass to guide our lives and paths as we navigate our world today, and forcibly interpret modern events and narrow-minded prejudices into the Scriptures. This is exactly what the writer of Revelation meant when he said “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in his book.”
Through stirring of paranoia in the hearts and minds of well-meaning people with escapist teachings like the Rapture that paint the world as irredeemable, you turn the Gospel of Christ into a Gospel of fear. This is the direct contract to the Greatest Command of Christ to always love God and neighbour.
Through stirring of hate and prejudice, you turn the Command to Love into a command to dominate and subjugate the culture under the authority of the church, masquerading as the authority of Christ. This false teaching only exists as a way to control people.
The Church has always taught and still teaches, that Christ will return, but saying that his return means that sound medical advice or scientific developments to prevent diseases should be ignored because “Christ will rescue us” is not only un-scriptural, but it’s horribly unethical. When this virus is defeated, it will not be only because of prayer, but through the gift of science which God has given us.
Most Reverend Allen HB Jones, SRL, Victoria