My landlady is an evangelical Christian, and part of the reason she doesn’t want to get the vaccine is because she sees a lot of similarities between it and the Mark of the Beast in Revelation.
What do I even say to that? I’m looking for honest answers. Is there some biblical counterpoint I can make?
Not a clue, though as I understand it, the mark of the beast was a physical mark so they could visually identify those with the mark and those without - the vaccine doesn’t leave any external marks. [and unless they couple the vaccine with a dot of tattoo ink, it won’t. I have tiny little period sized black tattoos they used to line up for radiation, didn’t feel a thing getting them done. I could see a dot for the initial pair of tattoos to indicate they were actually done but to verify it is real and not a self done fake would be to have an RFID chip implanted where the dot is. Not happening.]
There are specific instructions in the old testament about dealing with communicable diseases - stuff like isolation and cleanliness precautions, and fuming the house with sulphur. One could make the whole mask mandate, and vaccinations a requirement more acceptable by pointing out that laws on public health and safety are biblical, and if they had known about vaccinations they probably would have mandated them too.
If she is getting these ideas from her religious leaders, there is absolutely nothing you can do.
You could point out to her the various ways in which vaccination is not like the mark of the beast a described in Rev 13.
It’s not a mark.
It’s not born on the forehead or on the right hand.
It does not consist of the name of the beast, or of the number of its name.
In fact, it doesn’t resemble the mark of the beast as described in scripture in any point at all.
Borne, not born. (Mentioned in the friendliest way possible.)
Yeah. The “mark of the beast” thing is the end of a very long series of instructions and prevarications about the government, the CDC, and probably ‘globalists’ and atheists.
There is no biblical counterpoint you can make that won’t be readily countered by three other verses. You cannot engage an evangelical on that battleground unless your knowledge of number and verse is as good as hers. And since you’re here asking, it probably isn’t.
There is no form of logic that can reach someone who expects that a Beast of Revelation is coming. You don’t arrive at that place by being someone who’s amenable to the rational consideration of new evidence.
Beside, the whole book of Revelation was in fact an allegorical critique against contemporary Greco-Roman society. It was the anti-big-government epistle of its time. So even if you get down to first principles, she will still see it as a validation of her anti-government position.
Tell her not to be one of those liberal folks who interpret the Bible figuratively (spit) - the book says hand or forehead, and it means hand or forehead.
1:Cor 13:8 Love never fails. That is a scriptural promise backed by God. Unlike most diseases, combatting Covid was more about protecting others, which would indirectly help you by helping society, love for one’s neighbor. If that is the motivation for getting the vaccine it can not fail regardless of the intention of giving it.
2 Timothy 1:7 - For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. People wearing masks and vaccines are taking action to help others combatting a real threat to society. . Others are sticking their head in the ground pretending COVID is not real, or a flu, they are easily manipulated by anyone who states anything that lets them continue in denial and accept lies that support that. They are casualties of war on the virus who have been co-opted into spreading death. That last one nails it. anti-maskers and anti-vaxers are on the side of death which is not the domain of God as God is the God of the living.
These anti-vaxers are doing the work for the horse of the apocalypse that brings plague.
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God judged the heart (not the act). If the mark is spiritual (not physical) and if it’s related to the vaccine, getting the vaccine for love of others would be accepting the mark of the lamb if anything, while taking it to go out to dinner would be accepting the mark of the beast. Again God judges the heart and it is very like God to use one physical thing to separate the sheep from the goats.
Agree.
I have found it’s futile to try and reason with people who are anti-vax. They will just dig their heels in even further.
And they have got verses ready that tell them the exact opposite. That is what is so great/terrible about the Bible-Almost anything you want to believe, there are Bible verses to support that belief.
You interpret the Bible, they do the same.
Maybe she’d watch this video and get into the 666 math.
Seems like you already have the bible all figured out then.
It’s good of you to try to help your landlady. Don’t be immediately discouraged by the haters-of-religion. There are thoughtful, rational, devout Christians, and there are atheists who have made up their mind on a topic and are immune to logic and reasoning. You don’t know whether she’s willing to consider her position until you try.
Do you know whether she is in a church that relies heavily on authority, or is more a “read it yourself” type? Because you would use different arguments based on which style of religion she follows. Also, do you know if she is a Biblical literalist or not?
Answer those questions, and then read Revelations thinking about her perspective and how Revelations relates to vaccination. Go into this with respect, both for scripture and for her.
If she relies on authority, and her trusted pastor is anti-vax, your best bet is to talk to the pastor, directly. For instance, while I agree with kanicbird, that the anto-vaxxers sure appear to be on the side of the horseman of plague (one of the four horses of the apocalypse) if you lead with that, and you are implicitly telling her that her trusted pastor is a force for evil, she’s not going to believe you. But if she’s been reading anonymous Facebook stories that ring true to her, I think that’s an excellent point to bring up.
fwiw, I have convinced a couple of devout Christians that abortion isn’t Biblically prohibited. It’s a sin, but a much lesser sin than murder, and it’s forgivable and other issues are more important and more central to the Christian message. So I’m not just blowing smoke. I think if you have a good relationship with your landlady, and do your research, and enter into this conversation with respect, you have a decent chance of convincing her that vaccines are okay, perhaps even a gift from God.
(It’s relevant both that the Bible DOESN’T forbid abortion, and also doesn’t speak to vaccination at all – but does view plague as a bad thing.)
Might it also be argued that by not getting the shot, you’re putting God to the test of protecting you, something you’re not supposed to do? (I’m paraphrasing an argument I read elsewhere, but it may well be garbled).
Nope. They hunger for the Apocalypse.
I am not the one who thinks they have found the definitive Bible verses and have interpreted them correctly. People who believe this “666” malarkey also have Bible verses they quote and interpret, just as you did, so so a stranger quoting verses will not have an impact on their beliefs-you will just be another “devil quoting Scripture” to them.
She and her husband do believe the Earth is only 6,000 years old, and that rock formations such as (formerly) the Old Man of the Mountain aren’t pareidolia but actually petrified examples of ancient giants like the biblical Goliath. Her husband is big into collecting rocks that look like lungs and livers and hearts, and claiming that they actually are petrified organs. So, yeah, biblical literalists, and more than a little batshit.