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LINK COVID-Denying Pastor: Wearing Face Masks Means Promoting a Secular Religion | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos

For months now, we’ve been talking about the COVID denial of Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in California. This is the person who openly celebrated the lack of social distancing and face masks in his congregation, once telling a packed house, “the good news is you’re here, you’re not distancing, and you’re not wearing masks.” In August, he falsely claimed, “There is no pandemic.” And then, of course, in October, there was an outbreak at his church. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed three cases had been traced back to the ministry. That number soon grew larger.

MacArthur denied the seriousness of this, basically writing off a small handful of positive tests in a congregation of thousands. By mid-November, whatever temporary restrictions the church had instituted were gone.

But by December, reporter Julie Roys spoke with a church leader who told her that multiple members of MacArthur’s staff had caught COVID. MacArthur, has not surprisingly denied all of this.

Now that denial is going even further. The church is currently battling the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, which has banned them from meeting indoors and demands that they respect social distancing guidelines if they meet outdoors. This, to MacArthur, amounts to Christian Persecution rather than life-saving measures… so he’s fighting it in court.

The county even submitted Roys’ recent article about COVID infesting church leaders as evidence for why their demands need to be taken seriously. So late last week, MacArthur submitted a legal rebuttal to all that. MacArthur rejects all the dots that Roys connected before going on to explain his religious arguments against wearing face masks. (As if Jesus had a specific rule against protecting yourself from an airborne virus.)

snytiger6 9 Apr 8
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11 comments

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1

I would also include going to the doctor or hospital and taking medications.

2

He speaks of "secular religion"? He is crazier than a cut rattlesnake!

3

Long may he suffer most painfully for his OWN idiocy and stupidity when he contracts C-19, may his lying tongue shrivel and rot, may those whom his flock have infected sue the arse off of him and his church, may he become impotent and destitute beyond imagination,

4

WTF?
Have this NIT WIT inhale DEEPLY...contract COVID....and then
let's hear what crock of s##t he makes up...

LMMFAO!! True!!

4

Is there a secular religion? Being secular is denoting attitudes, activities, and other things that have no religious or spiritual nature. Look it up.

3

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

2

Imagine the level of stupid you have to reach to listen to and follow someone like this. It is almost unfathomable to me.

4

i feel that believing in religion promotes bigotry and social violence. People should stop believing now and start respecting all other living creatures

3

🎵dum, dum DUMB🎶

2

I wonder, how much is Pastor John MacArthur willing to pay personally in damages for contributing to the deaths of anyone in his congregation? The facts are awfully clear after all. The science of the transmission of the disease is well understood, and history such as the experience a year ago in South Korea when half of the nation's COVID cases occurred within one Christian church which discouraged masks and social distancing and insisted members attend indoor services. Mr. MacArthur's church is no different - regardless of how special he believes his particular brand of Christianity is. He simply represents a danger of infecting his members and others when they go out into the greater community.

I, too, wondered that

2

Oh fuck him. Moron.

You go first, I'll watch 😉

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