Concerning COVID-19: An Agnostic’s Call for Courage

How great is the COVID-19 threat to human life? If you trust almost any news outlet, then you must believe COVID-19 is a terrible threat to our society. The threat is so severe that if you dare to leave home, you should wear a mask and keep a distance of 6 feet from other humans. If you believe the politicians, then we are in a state of emergency that requires closing ‘non-essential’ businesses, forbidding public worship, and even cancelling Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. Friends and family from other states are viral threats to be avoided.

Imagine, if you can, that you somehow escaped all media coverage of the pandemic and your personal experience of sickness in the past year was all you had to go on. Would you think you were living in the midst of a plague? Ponder that question. If you never heard of COVID-19, you might know this family or that family had ‘some virus,’ but they all recovered in a few days. You might know your neighbor’s elderly grandmother contracted ‘some virus’ and died of pneumonia, and mourn her passing with them. You may even have had ‘some virus’ that knocked you down for a week, but you are better now. These events, however, would not be extraordinary or alarming. This is a common experience in life.

If you don’t trust the media, the politicians, or your own experience, how can you know the nature of the threat? You could look at the CDC’s best estimate of the infection/fatality ratio for COVID-19. Here are those numbers (Dec.13, 2020):

0-19 years: 0.00003

20-49 years: 0.0002

50-69 years: 0.005

70+ years: 0.054

Update 6/10/2021

0-17 years: 0.000002

18-49 years: 0.0005

50-64 years: 0.006

65+ years: 0.09

According to the CDC’s best estimate, if you are under 20 years old, you have a 99.997% chance of surviving COVID-19, and if you are under 50, you have a 99.98% chance of surviving. To the layman this sounds like pretty good odds. The courageous layman might even be willing to return to life, scrap the mask, and risk hugging a friend.

One might object: According to the CDC 301,679 people died with COVID-19 in 2020 (as of Dec.30,2020). Isn’t that an extraordinary number of people? First, it must be noted that these are deaths involving COVID-19, not deaths from COVID-19. Second, 243,132 of those deaths were people over 65. Third, this number must be understood in the context of the usual number of annual deaths in the United States. In 2019, a total of 2,854,838 resident deaths were registered in the United States, with 2,117,331 being people over 65 years old. In 2017 the average daily death rates for January, February, and December were 8,478, 8,351, and 8,344, respectively. All the scary numbers the media parades before us must be understood in this context.

How severe is the COVID-19 threat? Your answer depends on who you trust. Since I do not trust the media or politicians, I am going with my own experience and the CDC’s infection/fatality ratio. I think this is reasonable, but I could be wrong. So, ultimately, I am a COVID-19 Agnostic. I do not know the severity of the threat. If, however, you disagree and you ‘know’ we are in the midst of a plague of terrible proportions, what I’m about to say still applies. Whatever the threat to human life may be, God calls you to courage. So, what follows is a COVID-19 Agnostic’s call to courage.

When a man asked Stonewall Jackson how he could be courageous in the face of death, he responded: “Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. Captain, that is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave.”

General Jackson was not for living recklessly, but he believed the Sovereign God of the universe required him to do his duty, even in the face of death. If his duty took him into battle, he did not let that mortal threat deter him. He said, “Duty is ours: consequences are God's.”

This is how courageous Christians live when life is threatened. They trust the Lord and do their duty. They say to the Lord: “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” They tell others: “Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked.” (Psalm 91:2-8)

Christians should not fear or promote fear among believers. They should trust their Sovereign Lord to preserve them in the line of duty. If Christ calls you to a good work that involves a mortal threat, you do your duty and leave the consequences to God. Let this reality bring the threat of COVID-19 into perspective and help answer some questions.

“Should you gather and encourage the saints in corporate worship?” Scripture says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb. 10:24-25) Does your duty call you to assemble for corporate worship and encourage the saints? Do saints assemble all over the world in the face of much greater threats? Do your duty, and leave the consequences to God. Should the ‘non-essential’ ministries of the church be curbed or cancelled? (That word 'non-essential' should make you mad!) Do your duty and leave the consequences to God. Could someone contract a virus and die? Yes, and that will always be the case.

You may say, “I’m not concerned for my own life. I don’t fear death; I’m concerned about others, my mother, father, grandmother...” Put yourself in their places. What kind of life do you want to live? Do you want to spend your last days alone in fear of a virus? If not, do not encourage others to that fate.

Instead say to Grandma: “You are 75 years old. Go worship with the saints! Go celebrate the Lord’s birth with all the family at Christmas. Gather at the Thanksgiving feast and give thanks to the Triune God. Snuggle with your great granddaughter on her birthday. You are mortal and some disease or accident will eventually bring your days to a close. With the days remaining to you, serve the Lord and live life to the fullest. Can I guarantee your safety? Absolutely not, but what good is a life unlived? Live courageously to the glory of God, knowing that whenever and however death overtakes you, it is Christ’s chosen pathway into His presence. (2 Cor.5:6-8)

Some will say this is reckless advice in a pandemic. This COVID-19 Agnostic says, "Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)