Despite Prayers and Fasting, Pastor Whose Church Downplayed COVID Dies of COVID | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos

Tim Parsons, the pastor of Center Point Church in Lexington, Kentucky, has died of COVID two weeks after catching it… even though his congregation prayed and fasted for him.

I don’t take any delight in his death. It’s just sad that these people thought prayer and fasting would help him without urging everyone to get vaccinated and wear face masks. It’s not new for them. According to a snapshot of the church’s website, on a page that has since been deleted, these Christians never took COVID that seriously. On an FAQ page, a hypothetical question asked, “SHOULD I BE WORRIED ABOUT COVID-19?” Their response was troubling:

We don’t want to be worried because the Bible tells us not to worry. We know that God is in control and that He can use all suffering to draw people to Himself. We do want to be wise by practicing what the CDC calls “safe distancing.” We can also look for opportunities to turn Coronavirus conversations into gospel conversations.

While safe distancing was and is a good idea, nothing on that page promoted vaccinations or urged church members to stay home and watch a livestream of services. Instead, they celebrated the virus as a way for God to “draw people to Himself” and a chance to convert people.

It’s not clear if Parsons was vaccinated. If he was, the church isn’t saying anything. If he wasn’t — despite leading a congregation and having a wife and three kids — it was an utterly irresponsible and ignorant way to die. I have very little sympathy for anyone who decided catching COVID and spreading it to who-knows-how-many-people was preferable to getting a safe vaccination.

(Screenshot via WKYT)

This content was originally published here.

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