While the Country Sleeps!!!

If you are anything like me, you must be aware of just how quickly things are happening all around us these days - things that are both interesting as well as alarming. It’s really hard to miss what is now being referred to as the, “New Normal.” If you think back to the summer of 2019, think about what you were doing at that time – the folks you were spending some time with or visiting – the kinds of things you were planning to do – your goals and dreams perhaps.....does any of that come close to the reality you now find yourself in? If you really haven’t noticed or if you think the “normal” we used to have is just around the next corner – right after we meet the next set-by-government metric, you’re still sleeping and it’s time to wake-up!

Over the past year and a half, we all have been manipulated into conceding – bit-by-precious-bit – essential pieces of our liberty and freedoms. In much the same way that free-ranging cattle, destined ultimately for market, find themselves “suddenly” enclosed and milling about in a corral, we now find ourselves in quite a similar position. But how did we get here; what did we miss? In much the same way that a cattle drive doesn’t actually begin with a lone cowboy charging at a huge herd of free-ranging cattle, our current circumstances did not begin with some poor soul getting sick from eating bat-soup over in China. Surely, by now this much at least should be clear.

Rather than rehash a lot of the content from each step along the way, I’d like to take a look at the process... the history leading up to our present predicament. So, long before the Wuhan bat soup story, plans were already in the works for the scenario in which we now find ourselves. Let’s look a little deeper and see if we can connect the dots starting with “Event 201.”

By now most folks reading this have probably heard of Event 201 hosted by The John Hopkins Center. Here is a description (see link for more) “The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation hosted Event 201, a high-level pandemic exercise on October 18, 2019, in New York, NY. The exercise illustrated areas where public/private partnerships will be necessary during the response to a severe pandemic in order to diminish large-scale economic and societal consequences.”  **(editing note: The web page in question has been edited and altered after this writer first viewed it and included it in this article.)

Is the fact this event occurred just a couple months before the actual pandemic was declared just a coincidence – or was it a last minute actors meeting and rehearsal before Covid was sent to center stage?? Interesting question – but you might want to see how this plays perfectly into the so called “Great Reset” and Globalist agenda here: https://sociable.co/government-and-policy/timeline-great-reset-agenda-event-201-pandemic-2020/.

Did you know that Bill Gates, one of the chief organizers of Event 201, denied the event? I wonder why – but here we read the following:

“In October, 2019 Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who, together with his wife, runs the richest and most powerful foundation in the world, co-organised a simulation exercise on a worldwide corona epidemic. Videos were posted documenting the exercise. But intriguingly Gates now denies such an exercise ever took place.

Why? On April 12, 2020, Bill Gates said in an interview to the BBC, “Now here we are. We didn’t simulate this, we didn’t practice, so both the health policies and economic policies, we find ourselves in uncharted territory.”

This is the same person who, just six months before the outbreak of the pandemic, organized a series of four role-playing simulations of a corona pandemic with very high-ranking participants. Event 201 was a simulation of a corona pandemic conducted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Economic Forum and Johns Hopkins University in October 2019.” **(Find this quote and the rest of the article at: https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/international/why-is-gates-denying-event-201)

- Guess what, before Event 201 there were other activities that look very suspicious and must be considered. In 2015, leaked Chinese documents discuss a plan for unleashing Corona viruses: https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/leaked-chinese-document-reveals-a-sinister-plan-to-unleash-coronaviruses/news-story/53674e8108ad5a655e07e990daa85465

- In 2003 the CDC filed a patent for the SARS-Covid virus and it was granted in 2007. How this fact ties into today’s pandemic is being fiercely denied by government sources and much of the drive-by media - but it must be considered. It’s discussed at length in the video “Plandemic II” as seen here: https://www.bitchute.com/video/4u7rt61YeGox/

- There is compelling evidence that a patent for a vaccine was filed even before a “pandemic” was declared, suggesting it was being studied even before the virus was released. According to a New York Post article: https://nypost.com/2021/06/04/chinese-scientist-filed-covid-vaccine-patent-after-contagion-emerged-report/ 

“A Chinese Communist Party military scientist who got funding from the National Institutes of Health filed a patent for a COVID-19 vaccine in February last year — raising fears the shot was being studied even before the pandemic became public, according to a new report.”

- Finally there’s this gem which begs the question, “Is Fauci a prophet or did he know something was coming just around the corner?” In 2016, Dr Fauci predicted there would be a pandemic (just like we are experiencing) before the end of President Trump’s term in office. https://bestlifeonline.com/fauci-coronavirus-prediction/   **(editing note: It looks like this link has been taken down and mysteriously can no longer be found. Nevertheless the above quote was taken from that article when it was available.)

Alright, so most of us were largely unaware and asleep very early on. The stuff I’ve just mentioned went largely unnoticed and was possibly something we cared very little about. I mean, we’ve always believed we live in the best country in the world – right? All those social disturbances and periods of growing unease were just wrinkles that - with the right political leaders and influences - would get all ironed out – right? The radical social manipulation and engineering that we saw progressing right under our noses, was just a normal part of societal growth – right? Countries (such as ours - built on a system of religious freedom, morals, ethics, and liberty for all...countries that generations of hard working people poured their energy, allegiance and very blood into) are the very countries now facing concerted efforts for utter destruction. The effort to utterly destroy all we are and completely erase our history is just the way civilizations naturally go...right?

The fact is, that for those who study such things, this particular brand of EVIL goes back a long, long time and can be traced through various historic movements and cabals. While most of us have been blissfully unaware, there are those who have been sounding the alarm. Such EVIL is incredibly deceptive, highly calculating, exceedingly determined and very patient. Those pursuing this agenda, battle for the hearts and minds of the populace and know that as those hearts and minds are converted to their cause, there will be very little resistance and the people will naturally follow – even to the point of their own ultimate enslavement.

Think I’m just crazy? OK, forget that and let’s just look at some more facts from the history of this present “pandemic.”

1. My professional training and career for over 34 years was Nursing. This along with my ability to critically think led me to realize shortly after the “pandemic” was declared that, in my opinion, things just did not add up. Why? 

- Initial government insistence that what was being reported (from China and other countries where the illness appeared to have spread) was no cause for concern or screening of any kind. Indeed the active resistance (to prevent travellers carrying the disease from entering the country) was suspicious along with governmental pronouncements that we had all the necessary medical treatments and know-how to treat this illness. This tactic insured the “virus” got a good foothold and spread within the country. Question: Did the government act too late or did they act according to a script they were given and rehearsed in the Event 201 scenario?

- The near total fiasco surrounding PPE should be studied as to the (purposely caused?) initial shortages. The Canadian government gave much of our supply away early on. Early shortages of PPE for front line health-care workers led to an entirely predictable increased spread of the pathogen and helped the drive-by media generate even more public panic.

- The media helped turn up the heat within the public by promoting panic and near hysteria. They did this by non-stop 24/7 Covid reporting of the same stories over and over coupled with “scoreboard reporting” of case counts and deaths. Anyone who actually stripped away the panic and studied the reports quickly realized they were rubbish - empty, “nothing” reports. The public who had no point of reference or context for these numbers did not know what to do with them – and this context has never been reported. For example, were these numbers high? Comparable to other contagious illnesses we see every year? Were the percentages of “positives” low, normal or high when considering total number of tests done?

- Early-on, censorship was evident whenever any health care professional spoke out against the official narrative. Doctors and nurses were being shut-down and silenced. I remember watching alternative reports showing nurses speaking out about the blatant mismanagement of patient care. No physical assessment of patients. Improper isolation of identified C-19 patients by placing them amongst those who did not have C-19. Diagnosing patients as positive without a lab result. Coercing doctors to lie on death certificates. The obvious question to all this is, “Why?” Instead of attempting to answer, the consistent response was denial and censorship.

- How about the mask fiasco. (Many places are still in the midst of this one.) Masks are not a new invention, nor is their proper use, nor is the science behind proper isolation techniques. Yet every principle of this same “science” has been repeatedly violated. There has been inconsistency since day one concerning masks. The initial statements by Fauci were correct... i.e. there is no need for the general public to wear masks. Since then the way they have been used does absolutely no good and actually can be harmful. These statements have been supported by many disease and epidemiology specialists as well as numerous recent studies. Isolating healthy individuals and society has never been an approved medical treatment or practice – it does not work and has proven to do far more harm than good.

2. OK, Remember these gems?:

- Remember when doctors were removed from social media, their websites were taken down and they were booted from their jobs for speaking about therapies that actually worked? They (in some cases Nobel-prize winning scientists, leading medical specialists and peer reviewed published researchers) were suddenly being called quacks. Yet none of their patients died.

- Remember when people were dying of heart disease, cancer, and other disease because they couldn’t get proper care because all anyone was concerned about was Covid?

- Remember when the total yearly death toll was actually LESS in 2020 than it was in 2019? AND the flu along with most heart-attacks just mysteriously disappeared from the statistics.

- How about when businesses were shut down, fined and owners even jailed for trying to make a living – remember that? All the while Walmart & Costco were raking in the profits.

3. After wading through months of never before heard of restrictions, folks were relieved to finally have plans announced to reopen and see their freedoms returned. Let’s see how that worked out – certainly not as people had hoped.

- Remember watching ridiculous mandates like “wear a mask into a restaurant, but you can take it off when you’re seated?” Apparently that’s how science works.

- Remember watching teen suicide because the lock-downs and isolation from their friends and activities was too heavy a burden for their little souls to carry?

- Remember how our elected officials and politicians seemed to have “rules for thee, but not for me” as they violated their own mandates?

- Remember a vaccine being pushed out in less than a year and without adequate testing, when no such thing has ever been approved? I remember when everyone was shouting from the rooftops that it was safe and effective... all the while shaming, coercing, and bribing people into getting it with free donuts, burgers, fries, lottery tickets, free dope and all sorts of other nonsense.

- Remember how portions of the vaccine inserts are *intentionally blank* because these are still in clinical trials? Remember also that all the animals died when they tried to create these same kinds of shots in the past?

- Remember being made to feel stupid for not getting an experimental gene therapy that (at the same time) had caused the VAERS reporting system to be back logged 3+ months & has already increased 1200% in reactions/deaths since its inception in the early 90’s?

- And do you recall when anyone who didn’t comply was labelled a “super spreader, grandma killer” and treated like a leper for not wearing a mask in public?

- Remember how the idea for “vaccine passports” was dropped on the uninformed public and then support for it was continually being built and promoted (ginned-up, as it were) by the governmental media allies?

Now, let’s get back to the focus on the process at work in this pandemic.

At the same time Event 201 was being held at John Hopkins on October 18, 2019, the 7th World Military Games were being held in Wuhan, China and ran from October 18 – 27, 2019. Coincidence? Perhaps. This was the first international military, multi-sport event to be held in China and also the largest military sports event ever to be held there, with nearly 10,000 athletes from approximately 135 nations competing in 27 sports.

So, while the “Center for Health Security” and partners from the “World Economic Forum” along with the “Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation” were meeting at John Hopkins to discuss and plan impacts of a “world wide pandemic,” the actual pandemic itself was beginning in Wuhan at the Military Games. A large number of witnesses have come forward to confirm events and illness in the after math of those games - some of which actually began while military personnel were still in Wuhan.

According to Life Site News https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/did-soldier-athletes-returning-from-military-games-in-wuhan-bring-home-covid-19:

“A Canadian soldier has reportedly testified that up to a third of military athletes who participated in the World Military Games in Wuhan, China in October 2019 became violently ill.

The unnamed whistle-blower, who was interviewed by Rebel Media’s Keean Bexte and was identified only as a “senior Canadian Armed Forces member,” said that at the “tail-end” of the games, a lot of the athletes became “really, really, sick” with “lung issues, coughing, vomiting, diarrhea.”

In an article titled, “Did the Military World Games Spread COVID-19?” https://prospect.org/coronavirus/did-the-military-world-games-spread-covid-19/ we read:

“The October 2019 event, held in Wuhan, China, appears to have been a vector for spreading disease in the U.S. and around the world...

...Contrary to the Pentagon’s insistence, however, an investigation of COVID-19 cases in the military from official and public source materials shows that a strong correlation exists in COVID-19 cases reported at U.S. military facilities that are home bases of members of the U.S. team that went to Wuhan.

Before March 31, when the Pentagon restricted the release of information about COVID-19 cases at installations for security reasons, infections occurred at a minimum of 63 military facilities where team members returned after the Wuhan games...

...Athletes who participated from other nations—both U.S. allies like France and Italy and adversaries like Iran—have reported suffering from COVID-19 symptoms. Some Iranian athletes died from COVID-19, including some who were in Wuhan, according to news reports not verified by Tehran.

The Pentagon’s reluctance to test athletes returning from Wuhan was not unique. No other nation’s military appears to have tested their participants in the 2019 World Military Games specifically for COVID-19. French doctors examined their athletes upon their return from the games as part of overall exams.”

The final puzzle piece I want to drop into this tiny part of a picture (that is most certainly much, much bigger) is this:

Have you by any chance heard of “Self-replicating vaccines?” No, this is not just some crazy idea I or some other tin-foil hat character have come up with. This is a technology that has been worked on for quite some time now. The following comes from the following link where you can read the entire article: https://nexusnewsfeed.com/article/health-healing/johns-hopkins-on-self-spreading-self-propagating-transmissible-vaccines/

In 2018, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Health Security, published Technologies to Address Global Catastrophic Biological Risks. (This would be just a year prior to their hosting Event 201)

“Among the technologies discussed in the paper, are "Self-Spreading Vaccines." Vaccines that only need be given to a portion of the population, and are then become communicable between individuals, like a virus...

...Self-spreading vaccines—also known as transmissible or self-propagating vaccines—are genetically engineered to move through populations in the same way as communicable diseases...

...Self-spreading vaccines have already been used to protect wild rabbits from myxomatosis and to control Sin Nombre virus in rodent populations.

Additional work is targeting Ebola virus in apes and bats, Lassa virus in rats, and bovine tuberculosis in badgers...

...In the event of a grave public health threat, self-spreading vaccines could potentially be used to broadly inoculate human populations. Like the approach in animals, only a small number of vaccinated individuals would be required in order to confer protection to a larger susceptible population, thus eliminating the need for mass vaccination operations...”

I first learned of this technology and some of the potential uses in a video discussion where Dr. Lee Merritt is interviewed by Mike Adams. Among other things, the idea of self-disseminating and transmitting of specific antigens and spike-proteins (as is the case with the Covid-19 injections) is discussed. This video is located at the following link and is well worth watching: https://www.bitchute.com/video/E9gd8KdVCaek/

By now it should be obvious that this was never, and has never been, about the health of we the people. It has been about control and ushering in something else. What exactly? Perhaps a “New World Order” of some sort? - from day one? It is being promoted and spoken of quite freely these days.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While the Church Sleeps!!!

Alright, much of the world has been asleep and unfortunately, many continue to slumber. What about the Christian church community? What’s happening there? Are they asleep as well? Well, the answer is complicated – but basically it boils down to Yes...and No. Most certainly many are awake and this is particularly true in some regions and within some groups. Sadly this is not the case in many instances and I fear that far more are asleep than awake. I hope I am wrong.

Far too many within the church have been quick to accept the lies and deceptions from the very beginning “WITHOUT QUESTION” even when it came to ordering the churches closed. Initially this might be understandable...even while liquor stores remained open as did every big box store in the country. However when churches were never allowed to fully reopen – even with the availability of data and evidence proving that such a measure was not necessary – far too many within the church were unwilling to review the data or question the authorities. Not only that, many went to the extent of criticizing and condemning those who did. It seems they were sleeping comfortably and didn’t wish to be disturbed or awakened. Others looked to scripture where they proceeded to look for passages that would seem to support their lack of action.

An oft quoted passage is Romans 13:1 speaking of our obligation to obey those in authority. This principle does not stand alone however and Christians generally understand there are times when we must stand against the earthly authorities. Scripture is filled with many examples of resisting orders from authority.

My personal question on this topic is directed specifically to those who refuse to look at the validity or wholesomeness of tyrannical orders and directives. How do you know if such orders are within the bounds of what you should be following? Do you just assume, “the government said it, therefore it must be true?” If this is the case, you will be among those most easily deceived. We know we face the very greatest of deceivers – he is the one through whom EVIL has continued to grow through ALL aspects of society through ALL generations. Do you delude yourself by thinking his deception for you will come in the form of him challenging some doctrine you believe in? Or do you think that before attempting to deceive you, he will say, “I am now going to try to deceive you – get ready.” No, it’s called deception precisely because it works so well. In fact Matthew 24:24 talks about how effective the enemy can be with his deceptions.

I will end with two more links which serve to make this point. In this link https://pastorwagner.com/blog-we-ought-to-obey-god-rather-than-men/ Pastor Wagner writes:

“We are living under tyranny because the churches, who should have been holding up the banner of truth and freedom for others to see and follow, failed in their duty because of fear of a virus and tyrants. As Pastor Stephens said, “When the church is free to promote the good news of Jesus it will lead to freedom in the entire society. When you look at a society and there is a free church, there will be a free people.”

Some have made the argument that the Bible gives examples of quarantining people to stop the spread of an infectious disease, so therefore churches are obeying God when they shut down because of the decrees of public health departments. There is just one little problem with this argument: the Bible commanded the quarantining of sick people, not healthy people!

“If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days:” (Lev 13:4)

I’ve heard preachers say that this was not a hill they wanted to die on. If we are not willing to die on this hill, then which hill are we willing to die on? What we have experienced for the last year is the greatest assault on churches that we have seen in this country in our lifetimes, and probably since the 17th and 18th centuries before the founding of our republic when Baptist churches were still being cruelly persecuted by protestants in this land. Churches have literally been forcibly closed, had their assembly sizes dictated to them, and been forced to wear coverings over their faces which dehumanize us and do nothing to stop the spread of a virus.”

The second link is from Life Site News in a piece titled, “Christians must resist all COVID-19 restrictions. Here’s why” https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/christians-must-resist-all-covid-19-restrictions-heres-why

In this piece, among other things the author writes is this:

“Many people violated Nazi law in order to save Jewish lives: the ten Boom family, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Oskar Schindler, Irene Sandler, to name only a few. I’m not saying we should be able to pick and choose which laws to obey, but when the law is clearly anti-life, we have a duty to push back.

Given God’s overwhelming affirmation of life, can Christians do anything less than value life and resist anything that compromises human life, in all its forms?”

And now I will quote the authors conclusion and let it be my conclusion as well:

“Conclusion

In the very beginning of the “COVID crisis,” I kept saying that the numbers didn’t add up. Either things were much worse than we were led to believe, or they weren’t nearly as bad. Lockdowns, followed by mask mandates, followed by talk of vaccine mandates, convinced me that COVID-19 was not as serious as the government pretended, but that the response was going to be much worse. I was proven right. I don’t know why there is so much pressure for everyone to receive the jab: rewards, threats, coercion. Why do all of that if the jab is truly safe and effective? In fact, if it’s effective, then why worry about those who don’t get it?

And I guess that’s my big question. Why? The possible answers scare me, and they should scare every thinking person on the planet.”

Church Rifts, Unjust Laws and Six Objections

During this whole C-19 pandemic, I have been a strong and vocal opponent of the government measures supposedly taken to combat; first a presumed threat to our health-care system and second slow the spread of the contagion. During this time, divisions and rifts have formed between those supporting the measures and those opposed. These rifts have also been very evident as well within the Christian community. There is division with respect to how we respond to such things as obedience to newly imposed rules, protest and resistance to governmental over-reach and suppression of individual rights and freedoms. In this essay I want to focus mainly on the debates and divisions I’ve been aware of within the Christian church body. I must hasten to add however, these issues have moral and ethical aspects that impact all decent, upstanding folks across the board.

I’ve gathered a list of objections and arguments I’ve come across during this pandemic. These are often challenges to my personal beliefs and the position I, and many like me have taken. In no particular order, I will attempt to answer each point as best I can. So, here goes:

1. Making sacrifices for the benefit of others is exactly what Christians are called to do. The primary example that Christians are explicitly commanded to imitate is Jesus who gave up his rights when he came to earth.

- The point of this argument is to stress the fact that Jesus gave up his “rights” and there is no denying he did give up far more than we can even comprehend in leaving Heaven and coming to this sinful and fallen planet. This was his plan from the beginning and something he freely and gladly did to be joined with us forever.

This argument, in taking such a narrow point of view, ignores many of the aspects of the work Jesus did while here on earth. The implication is that in this instance we should willingly surrender our constitutional and charter rights so as to somehow be a benefit to others. This is of course the same media message given almost nonstop as part of the “we’re all in this together” governmental propaganda campaign. Of course the assumption is that by resisting the “rules” I am placing others at great risk. This is nonsense and completely lacks any supporting data or evidence.

In order for any government to limit or deprive anyone of their rights, the constitution holds that the burden of proof is on the government to demonstrate the absolute necessity of their actions. They must show that such actions are being taken for the briefest amount of time necessary, how other measures are not available and that they are taking the least intrusive/restrictive course possible. Quite simply the government has never met any of these tests – nor is there even any suggestion they even attempted to do so.

During his time on earth, Jesus was accused of breaking laws established by religious authorities, he never relinquished his right to speak freely and (at times) forcefully. He never gave up the right to assemble peacefully even though the crowds were sometimes seen as a threat to some in authority – and he never isolated himself and his followers from the sick, homeless and destitute.

Our freedom was not and is not free. It came at a huge cost. If you go to any cemetery honouring our war veterans, if you consider that every one of the thousands of markers represents the life of a young person who died for your freedom by surrendering their own, you might not be so quick to give it away. It’s as if every dying soldier hands to you this gift, “here, I gave my own life so you can be free” to which the response is, “No thanks, I’d rather accept the government assurance to be safe rather than free.”

2. We know that Churches have spread the virus through their gatherings. We know choirs have spread the dangerous disease through their joyous praise of God. We know the dangers of Covid-19 and how it is spread. Making sacrifices to protect others is exactly what we are called to do.

- My response to this is much the same as the previous response with respect to the assumptions alluded to in the comment about sacrifices (giving up rights and the alleged good such sacrifices might do). However the element here is the addition of the possible threat posed by in church gatherings. Frankly, this argument leaves me shaking my head with incredulity. That a contagion might be “caught” in church is not new anymore than it might happen anywhere else on the planet. In fact, periodically I hear news stories about where someone has “tested positive” from Walmart, Costco, Canadian Tire various grocery stores etc. Nobody has thus decided these all must be shut down. The real question is about defining what is essential and I believe should individuals should make that distinction not governments.

Let us, just for a moment, imagine that instead of government officials dictating that all churches must close (basically because they say so) – let’s suppose they asked for the churches to help in the effort to control the spread. Suppose they asked the churches to look at “best practices” for the prevention of a contagion and implement such measures within their congregations in the least disruptive (but still effective) manner possible. I’d be willing to bet that an overwhelming positive – perhaps unanimous compliance would result. Such an approach would demonstrate a reciprocal respect between both church and state.

It also should be noted, up until now best medical practices has always been about isolating the sick – never isolating the healthy. Never in our history have we implemented a kind of house arrest strategy for healthy people as a means of controlling a contagious illness – and such a strategy has never proven to be effective. This would be especially the case when the government selectively decides where people might congregate and where they may not.

By government designation, liquor stores and dope shops were designated essential while churches were not. Is this indicative that those who frequent different “essential” places somehow have more common-sense or are somehow more “safe” than those who might go to church? Personally, I believe churches (as well as other places where people might gather) are capable of maintaining their own safety standards. Everyone who is experiencing symptoms of illness can and should remain home. Those who are feeling a bit fearful can remain at home as well – each person can decide based on guidelines for dealing with contagious illness.

3. Our democracy values civil discourse. But there is a vast distinction between civil discussion and brazen law-breaking. Refusing to obey the law by having large gatherings for services is simply criminal. Perhaps even worse are the examples of pastors using their pulpits to spread conspiracy theories and lies about the reality of Covid-19 and its threat.

I guess that my first response to this objection would have to be to define some terms. I’d like to know what you (the objector) mean by “civil discourse” as well as “brazen law-breaking.” For the record, civil discourse can also include peaceful protest – at least in most western democracies and republics. Next, there are differences between “mandates,” public-health orders, rules, guidelines, directives and actual “laws.” In our democracy, the elected govern by the consent of the governed and the highest law of the land is not government decree but rather it is our constitution and charter of rights and freedoms. In fact the constitution places constraints on the government and what it is permitted to legislate.

The right to peaceful assembly is a guaranteed charter right and not a criminal act – period. There are times when the government may pass legislation that in some manner conflicts with the constitution - at which point the legislation may be legally challenged and if it does violate the constitution, it will not be allowed to stand and it must be tossed out.

There are exceptions, it is true, when the government faced by an emergency may temporarily restrict certain freedoms but even then the constitution remains the supreme law of the land. The onus is on the government to show cause why such extreme measures are necessary and where no other less restrictive measure could be used instead. Temporary means just that; the restriction must be for the briefest time period necessary. To keep that time period brief, governments are expected to review such restrictions after short intervals of time (such as every two weeks) at which point the order is open for debate as to the necessity to continue. These measures are in place to prevent a government from declaring a “necessary emergency” in order to dictate things they would not normally have the authority to implement.

In Ontario for instance, an abuse of power may be seen when Premier Ford twice determined IN ADVANCE to grant his government extraordinary powers for lengthy months long periods rather than the frequent reevaluation as is required by law. Not only that but no evidence has ever been produced to justify his actions beyond his initial “flatten the curve” measures.

In the meantime both provincial and federal legislatures were largely shut down as were the courts which meant the ability to challenge governmental measures, as well as the abuses of power, were severely curtailed. It has been said, and for good reason, that “justice delayed is justice denied.” Some of these cases are just beginning to come to light before the courts almost a year and a half after much government overreach. In numerous cases government has been found to act unlawfully.

The other part of the objection concerns, “pastors using their pulpits to spread conspiracy theories and lies about the reality of Covid-19 and its threat.” This of course presumes anything counter to the official narrative to be a lie...but what if the official narrative is the lie? There is a great deal of information and research to show that it very well might be. Perhaps these brave pastors are taking on a very important issue – one that seems to have targeted churches in particular – and are trying to expose the truth? Suppose they are standing up to a very particular present and pressing evil? Just some food for thought as I’m quite certain pastors are fully aware of their responsibility in relation to the words they speak.

4. There is a great value and need for Christians to gather together corporately. Corporate worship honours God and blesses people. We should not trivialize it. But we must not limit our view of the Church to such gatherings. There are countless other things churches could and should be doing in this time of crisis as they obediently operate under the limitations placed on them for the health of us all.

I’d like to address this objection by taking it one statement at a time:

a) “There is a great value and need for Christians to gather together corporately.”
- I agree.

b) “Corporate worship honours God and blesses people.
- I agree.

c) “We should not trivialize it.”
- I agree.

d) “But we must not limit our view of the Church to such gatherings.
- I agree.

e) “There are countless other things churches could and should be doing in this time of crisis as they obediently operate under the limitations placed on them for the health of us all.”

- I disagree to the extent that it is not an either/or question we are faced with. I would say that IN ADDITION TO gathering corporately, there are other things churches could and should be doing. And I would strongly dispute that the “limitations placed on them” are for “the health of us all.” That simply is not the case and there is much evidence to demonstrate the disastrous effects such limitations have had on far too many folks. As a number of experts have now stated, “the ‘cure’ was far, far worse than the disease.”

5. Jesus commands us to love our neighbor. Under the current circumstances we can (somehow) demonstrate love and compassion by suspending assembling together in church.

- One online posting made this argument in the following quote:

“In my mind there is not much good that can come of this. In my mind, gathering in large crowds during a pandemic will not produce much good nor does it look good. Romans 12:17 says that we should “Respect what is right in the sight of all men.” Even if you disagree with something, such as the quarantine, most people believe it is doing good. Thus, the Christian must at least respect it.

Additionally, protesting like this might ruin your Christian testimony. In my mind, only less gospel opportunities can arise from this. It will show to the world that Christians are just like them.”

In my opinion, this whole line of thinking is completely wrong headed. In the very beginning, before much was known, it was quite natural and wise to exercise much caution. Every church I know of did just that and cooperated fully with authorities in closing for several months. As more became known about C-19, as well as various strategies that had been employed, it became a lot more clear about what we were dealing with, how much it had been over-estimated and over-played. We also learned very effective measures that could be employed to treat those who required medical intervention. We also learned what severe damage was being done by the lock-downs and social isolation measures of healthy individuals - as well as how ineffective those measures actually are. Even to this very day, if people (as individuals) decided they still wished to remain cautious, that would be their choice and not unreasonable.

Governments that were very quick to grab near absolute power, soon (it seems) became drunk with such “authority” and proved to be very reluctant to give up what they had taken. Very quickly, they abandoned sound policy and stripped away civil and constitutional rights using the excuse of, “public safety.” That claim was and remains, a lie. Very quickly all the available data and numerous highly accredited experts stated the public health policies that were put in to place (up to and including the rush to “vaccinate”) were an over-reach, totally unnecessary and ineffective.

With the above statement in mind, it seems to me that for the church to enable the facade, to perpetrate the lie, is NOT a loving and compassionate response or act. Sometimes speaking the truth and making every effort to live the truth will not be appreciated by the world – indeed it may be received with hatred – but this is often the case when lies and fiction are preferred over truth. Sometimes the truth can be painful – and darkness is preferred.

With respect to the scripture passage, that is one of the major issues for the church (all of us who believe are the church). You can not assume that government edicts, and “what most people believe,” is automatically right and true. Indeed more and more experts (doctors, scientists, epidemiologists economists etc) are coming on board to say the actions taken by government have caused far more harm than good and are exactly the wrong actions to take.

I think one of the biggest mistakes many within the church make sometimes is contained within the last paragraph of Objection #5 above. These days there are many within the church who seem to place “public image” ahead of truth and seem far too willing to compromise our mission for public appeal. Within the church, Progressive Christianity has a gained a foothold and is the growing threat eroding from within.

6. “Obeying the government isn’t giving into panic.

The Apostle Paul commanded us to be in subjection to the governing authorities (Rom 13:1). Why? Because those who resist the government unlawfully are resisting God (v. 2). He warned that if you disregard this command that we must be warned for the Government is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil (v. 4). Thus, resisting authority brings about unnecessary wrath. The government is already against us, why make it worse?”

- I see this one quite often and have puzzled over it myself. I think there are several keys to first understanding and then applying this principle. The first thing that must be recognized is the very obvious differences in governance and the relationship of the authorities to the general population.

Our system of governance is radically different from Paul’s day. In our “western democratic system,” we the people elect our leaders. Our leaders in turn gain their authority by the “consent of the governed.” Their authority IS NOT ABSOLUTE but is quite limited by our constitution which holds freedom - our rights, freedoms and responsibilities as the supreme law of the land and to which governmental authority must be subject. Our system includes the provision to assemble and address/protest our grievances directly and we have the authority to remove our leaders from office. When a government attempts to remove or restrict all avenues of opposition (such as the courts and legislatures) and when they act in an unlawful manner, in my opinion we are under no obligation to obey their totalitarian dictates. Remember in the passage quoted above, the assumption seems to be that the government is acting rightly against those practising evil...or in other words, government authority rightly restrains and punishes those practising evil.

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So my concern with those of you - to whom this essay applies, is not just your complicity but your willingness to turn your backs on friends and neighbours who simply decided to continue exercising their rights and freedoms. They have broken no laws. I’m very troubled by those of you who were willing to report or use government snitch lines. Those of you who ridiculed and condemned folks who: 1. failed to “obey the rules” as you saw fit 2. questioned the “medical” decisions that were more political than scientific 3. refused to even consider the viewpoints and data you were offered by those whom you claimed as friends and family.... you will all have to answer for yourselves and the fractured relationships that persist after this ultimately ends.

Personally, I have maintained all along that if you want to wear a mask, isolate yourself, avoid all human contact, stay six feet away from everybody else or any other measure that made you feel safe – you are free to do so and I will respect that. If you don’t feel safe or comfortable coming to church, don’t come but avail yourself of some of the other available options. If you want to get the genetically modifying jab or any one of the other experimental options, that is ultimately up to you...but please, stop with the virtue signalling. Please respect those of us who, because of our own research and concerns decided to forgo the experiment – and please don’t expect that it should be a condition under which we may attend church. Ultimately we are all individually responsible for our decisions and actions.