Vaccinations have become a curious hill in the culture wars, with many choosing it to be the one they are literally willing to die on to prove their own freethinking bonafides. This is particularly true of White evangelicals, who are among the least likely Americans to get vaccinated according to some studies. However, research also suggests that faith leaders are among the most effective advocates for convincing the vaccine skeptical to get the jab. And when it comes to faith leaders, Beth Moore’s in a league of her own.
The author and preacher took to Twitter to urge her fellow Christians to resist the temptation to make COVID-19 an exercise in political signaling. “If we are in Christ, it is unconscionable for us to in any way politicize this virus. What on earth are we doing???” she asked. “Our sides are not more important than lives. We are Jesus people called to serve sacrificially. For the love of God, we gotta love our neighbors. Even our enemies!”
For all our Jesus-talk, where on the ever loving earth is our Jesus-walk? If you are not a Christian, I’m not talking to you. But if you are, Jesus wasn’t playing when he called us to a whole different ethic from the world. We’re not loud mouth boasters. We’re servants. We SERVE.
— Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) August 10, 2021
“For all our Jesus-talk, where on the ever loving earth is our Jesus walk?” she continued. “Jesus wasn’t playing when he called us to a whole different ethic from the world. We’re not loud mouth boasters. We’re servants. We SERVE.”
Medical experts agree that getting vaccinated is our best defense against the virus, and this includes the vexing Delta variant which is driving a deadly new wave of cases across the U.S. — particularly in the American South, where vaccination rates remain low. Vaccine skeptics have pointed to “breakthrough cases,” in which fully vaccinated individuals have come down with COVID-19, but the fact is that such cases remain vanishingly rare and, even when they do happen, are overwhelmingly mild. In Florida, for example, 99 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations are among the not fully vaccinated. In Texas, 99 percent of COVID-19 deaths were among the unvaccinated.
Still, skepticism remains high, particularly among the religious, so people like Moore speaking out makes a huge difference. “Stare in the face what some of you are saying: MY RIGHTS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR LIFE. SORRY, NOT SORRY,” she urged. “If you’re not going to get vaccinated, for the love of God, PUT ON A MASK IN PUBLIC PLACES WITH VULNERABLE PEOPLE. Go ahead & unfollow me. I don’t care. FOLLOW JESUS.”
Stare in the face what some of you are saying:
MY RIGHTS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR LIFE. SORRY, NOT SORRY.
If you’re not going to get vaccinated, for the love of God, PUT ON A MASK IN PUBLIC PLACES WITH VULNERABLE PEOPLE.
Go ahead & unfollow me. I don’t care. FOLLOW JESUS.
— Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) August 10, 2021
Masks are effective as well, and many states have reintroduced mask mandates in public places while various states debate the merits of masking students when they return to school in the fall.
Moore has made waves in recent years, criticizing the Trump Administration when few of her fellow Christian leaders would and announcing that she no longer could identify as a Southern Baptist after enduring waves of criticism for her stances on things like racism and misogyny in the Church.
