In response to those who insist on calling COVID-19 the “Chinese-virus, Eugene Cho, the incoming President of Bread for the World, an evangelical organization that lives out the Bible’s commission to care for the poor, recently tweeted:
This is not acceptable. Calling it the “Chinese virus” only instigates blame, racism, and hatred against Asians—here and abroad. We need leadership that speaks clearly against racism; Leadership that brings the nation and world together. Not further divides.

Here are four reasons why I urge followers of Christ not to call COVID-19 the “Chinese” or “Wuhan” virus.”

It’s unnecessary
The most obvious reason is that the virus already has a name that is widely accepted and recognized around the world. It’s not as though we need to come up with something to call it so that people will know what we are talking about. We use names to identify things, and since this disease is easily identified by its official name, those who insist on calling it the “Chinese” virus must have some other purpose for doing so. I fear that it is usually a thinly veiled effort to make a political point, to infuse our shared struggle with racist division, or to align oneself with a political movement rather than an effort to identify the illness.

It’s unAmerican 
Let us consider the ideals inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. The inscription is taken from the The New Colossus, a poem by Emma Lazarus, in which she personifies America as:“A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame / Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name / Mother of Exiles.”  

It’s especially interesting to note the context in which the poem was written. Lazarus penned the poem in 1884, one year after the Chinese Exclusion act of 1883. 

​Lazarus’s vision of America resonated with Ronald Reagan, a president once adored by the very constituency that now insists on blaming China for this virus. In a speech given on the eve of his first election he said: “I believe that Americans in 1980 are every bit as committed to that vision of a shining city on a hill, as were those long ago settlers … These visitors to that city on the Potomac do not come as white or black, red or yellow; they are not Jews or Christians; conservatives or liberals; or Democrats or Republicans. They are Americans awed by what has gone before, proud of what for them is still a shining city on a hill.”

This wasn’t just a passing theme in his bid for election; Reagan came back to this ideal in his farewell speech to the nation, saying: "I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don’t know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That’s how I saw it, and see it still.”

Calling COVID-19 the “Chinese” virus stigmatizes the very people being welcomed by Lazarus and Reagan. I love the America that embodies their vision.

Its unChristian
These aren’t just patriotic ideals; they were, in Lazarus’ case, Jewish, and in my case, Christian, ideals. They are values that reflect the teaching of the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus.

Using “Chinese” to identify COVID-19 isn’t unChristian in the sense that anyone who has used this phrase can’t be a Christian, but in the sense that it doesn’t comport to the teachings and example of Jesus. It doesn’t line up with the vision he proposed for life in the Kingdom of Heaven; nor with the manner in which he called his people to live. The issue isn’t can I use this term; the issue is should I use this term—does using it reflect the heart of Jesus?

The term “shining city on a hill” isn’t merely a patriotic or political phrase, it’s a reference to the words of Jesus, who in his most important sermon said, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden.” Clarifying what it means to be a shining city on a hill, Christ added, “In the same way [that a city on a hill casts a welcoming light], let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  The point that Jesus is making is that by doing good deeds we help people find their way into the Kingdom of Heaven. The heavenly city in Christ’s mind is a place where strangers are greeted as family, and where even our enemies are loved (Matthew 5:43-47). 

It’s unhelpful to the Gospel
COVID-19 is an opportunity for Christians to exemplify selfless love and to attract people to the gospel message of Jesus Christ: a message of selfless love, forgiveness, and redemption. We need to rid our language and behavior of racism such as this and anything that makes it more difficult for people to come to Christ, as well as anything that makes it more difficult for us to come to Christ. 

I think that the current situation with COVID-19 offers Christians a wonderful opportunity to point a frightened world to Jesus Christ, and to offer them his comfort. I urge followers of Christ not to use language that may defeat this purpose. Let us aspire to the words of the Psalmist who wrote, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

* A version of this post was published by Red Letter Christians

I’m doing a series on tough issues facing the church in the decade ahead.  Last week our topic was Truth in an Age of Disinformation. Who’d have thought that a 30 minute sermon on the ultimate nature of truth in the universe would be so hard to do? It’s a deeply philosophical topic and I am not a deeply philosophical person. I only remember one thing from the philosophy class that I took in college.  One day the professor, a wise old man revered on campus, looked out the window and in a very somber tone asked, “What makes a cow a cow?”  Then he answered his own question, “Cow-ness.” I grew up on a farm where we raised a few cattle and I already understood the nature of cows. I got a “C” in the class.

That being said, my approach to this topic is more practical than philosophical.  
My question was, “How do we know what is true in a world that bombards us with disinformation?”

I always identify the “big ideas” of my messages up front and for this message I settled on two.

Philosophical Big idea: God is the source of truth and he will help us to know it.
Practical Big Idea: We need to have our guard up to disinformation, and form our opinions based on what is actually true.

Some think that we are entering a major new era in history similar to the Renaissance, or the Enlightenment.  They call the new era an era of post-truth. In 2016, The Oxford Dictionary picked “post-truth” as the word of the year, its usage increasing by 2000% in 2016 alone.  The definition of the post-truth era is a time when objective facts are less influential in shaping our opinions than emotion, ideology, or personal belief.” It’s time that coined the term, gaslighting, burying people in misinformation.

This is the air that we breathe. How do we as Christians live in a post-truth world?

Some Practical Advice 

Understand the tendency for emotions to obscure facts.  The more emotional we are, the harder it becomes for us to perceive facts and allow them to shape our opinions.

Understand confirmation bias, the tendency to seek information that confirms our pre-existing beliefs.  A 2016 study by PEW Research analyzed 376 million Facebook users’ and their interactions with over 900 news outlets.  The study confirmed that we seek news outlets that confirm our existing beliefs, and discount facts or news that challenge our views.

Learn to recognize disinformation. The BBC interviewed a panel of 50 experts about the major challenges of the 21st century and many of them named the “breakdown of trusted information sources” as one of the biggest challenges facing the world. Much of this misinformation is designed to incite our emotions and obscure the truth. Cable news. social media, talk radio, and even Russia are appealing to our emotions, not to do what is best for us, but to do what is best for them.

The Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Russian attempts to sow discord and division in the United States found that 2016 alone, Russia generated 3,400 Facebook and Instagram advertisements, over 61,500 Facebook posts, 116,000 Instagram posts, and 10.4 million tweets, to deceive and divide us.

As an example of the impact of false information PEW cited a fake news story about the death of a CEO which caused market value of his company to drop by $4 billion.

The onslaught of disinformation is fueled by bots, software that interacts with the internet to feed us information, including misinformation, that conforms to our preexisting opinions and interests.  The Intelligencer reported that over 60% of all internet activity in non-human, clicks generated by bots. 

Snopes, FactCheck, and PolitiFact are great sites for testing the accuracy of sensational claims found online or in social media.

Don’t share sensational information that you can’t verify. Did you know that Bill Nuy the Science guy got arrested for selling drugs to children? NOT. False stories like this spread like wildfire on the internet.

According to a study by MIT of 126,000 stories, tweeted by 3 million users, “Falsehoods almost always beat out the truth on Twitter, penetrating further, faster, and deeper into the social network than accurate information.”  In fact, they found that false stories reach 1,500 people 6X faster than true stories. 

Just this week a FaceBook “friend” posted an article falsely claiming that Christianity Today is funded by George Soros. Another example of fake news that spreads rapidly online. The same is true of a picture of a Congresswoman supposedly receiving training in a terrorist camp, another story shared by a friend that is easily debunked. 

Sharing obviously incendiary material about a person or organization is bearing false witness, a sin making God’s top ten list, wait, make that the top six!

Biblical Principles Related to the Living in a Post Truth Era

God is the source of truth.  Truth does exist and God is its source. In John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” 

Suppressing the truth messes us up.  In Romans 1:18-25, Paul writes “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness….They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.” 

It is possible for us to suppress the truth and when we do it always leads to destruction and disobedience.  In the case of Romans 1, it led to idolatry and all that went with it.

Embracing truth sets us free. The following verses attest to the fact that there is freedom in accepting what is true.

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”    John 8:31,32 

We can discover God’s truth by:  

Praying for guidance. 
“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:4-5
 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5 

 Studying our world 
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.”  Psalm 19:1,2

“And the heavens proclaim His righteousness.” Psalm 50:6

“...since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made…” Romans 1:19, 20

Reading the Bible 
“The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.” Psalm 111:7 

“All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.” Ps 119:160

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17 

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God  may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” IITimothy 3:16

Listening to the Holy Spirit
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” John 16:12,13

Following Jesus Christ.   John 1:14,18:37; 1 John 3:18
“ ...speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ...” Ephesians 4:15

Jesus answered, ”...the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” John 18:37

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” I John 3:18
​
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Next Week's Message Polarization & the Age of Outrage

Okay, put down your whips.  No need to flip over tables. There are ways to follow Jesus that are less drastic, and also less likely to land us in jail.  The title of this post was to get your attention, to draw you attention to the issue of payday loan .
Payday lending may seem like an odd topic for a Sunday morning sermon but that’s where we found ourselves this past Sunday at my church in Springfield, Ohio (Its also why we are planning a Community Forum on Predatory Lending in Springfield on May 25). There are four reasons why we felt that this is an issue that Bible believing churches should be discussing.
 
Why should Christians actively seek to reform payday lending
 
First, it’s a Bible issue.  The bible makes a strong case against sexual immorality. There are approximately 50 passages dealing with that topic.  By contrast there are over 300 passages talking about the poor.  This should cause us to be at least as concerned about the needs of the poor as we are about different forms of immorality. Here is a sample of the Biblical references to our duty to care for the poor:
 
Psalm 12:5
Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord.
“I will protect them from those who malign them.
 
Psalm 82:3
Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
 
Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
Titus 3:14 And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need...

Some of you may say, That’s fine but does the Bible really care about interest rates?”  Apparently it does:

Proverbs 28:8
Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.

Leviticus 25:35-37
If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.

Second, this is a Jesus issue.  In the busiest, most important week of Jesus’ life, the week leading up to his crucifixion, he took time to confront people who gouging the poor by charging them exorbitant rates to purchases sacrificial animals, or to exchange their currency. By chasing those who were oppressing the poor out of the temple and disrupting their means of business he made a bold and costly statement about his priorities as the Messiah.  His actions at the end of his life were consistent with the very first statement Jesus made following his temptation in the wilderness.

​Luke 4:18,19
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
o proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
 
Third, real faith leads to action.  James, the half brother of Jesus Christ and the Pastor of the first Church in Jerusalem made a reputation for himself as a defender for the poor.  It didn’t go over well. James, who had the nickname, “Old Camel knees,” because of his consistent discipline of prayer, upset the powers that be by confronting the wealthy who were oppressing the poor in Jerusalem.  They threw him from the top of the temple, and when he survived the fall they finished him off with clubs and stones.  James’ life was committed to one central message, real faith leads to action.  He went a step further; He said faith without action is dead

Spiritual maturity isn’t measured by how pious we are or solely by the lack of sin in our lives.  The spiritual maturity that Jesus sought was measure by action.  Doing things that are consistent with his example and with the values of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Fourth, God tells us to seize the moment.  Ephesians 5:16 tells us that we are to redeem opportunities to do good or to oppose evil because the times are evil.This is one of those times.
 
We are at a critical moment.  Our opportunity to oppose a specific form of oppression will pass quickly.  What we do in the next month or two can make a difference.  It’s our chance to follow the example of Jesus Christ by standing up to an industry that is designed to oppress the poor, the payday and predatory loan industry.
 
Here are a few facts about this industry

• It is larger than McDonalds. There are 6,000 more payday loan centers than there are McDonalds.  Worldwide revenue for McDonalds is around $22 billion.  Worldwide revenue for predatory lending was almost $47 billion.
• Most of this revenue comes from the poor.  The profile of the typical payday borrower is a young divorced or separated woman of color with children who earns less than $40,000.  In fact, 80% earn less than $30,000.
• They charge excessive interest 390-665% interest.
• The average borrower will pay $520 in fees on an initial loan of $375.
• Rather than being in debt till their next payday, they will be trapped in debt for over 6 months.
• They will take out 10 additional loans before they can pay off the original amount borrowed.....