God Does Not Support Vaccines

By request, the original version of the most popular article ever written on the biblical argument against vaccination.

This post was originally published on Living Whole (which no longer exists) years before the COVID-19 pandemic began. It is, by far, the most requested article I’ve ever written.

Christians, we need to talk. If you are not a Christian, this post is not for you. I still love you. I still accept you. I don’t know what you believe, and I’m not trying to convince you to believe otherwise. To those who practice other religions — I am not well-versed in the art of your faith, so you’ll find little help in this post.

No judgment here, but I need to speak to my Jesus people. You see, there’s this little thing called a religious exemption, and it’s being threatened. A religious exemption is offered in 44 states and gives you the right to opt out of vaccinations if it is objectionable to your faith. In case you’re wondering, it is objectionable to your faith.

If you’re a Christian, here’s why you should care:

I can’t predict the future, but let me tell you what will happen if you choose not to care. First, they’ll go after the philosophical exemption. It’s the easiest exemption to get and the easiest exemption to get rid of.

Next, they’ll start infringing upon your right to a religious exemption by claiming “religious objectors are not constitutionally exempt from vaccinations.” Finally, they’ll tell you that you can get a religious exemption, but you’ll have to use the magic words and hope that the person who probably doesn’t believe in God and knows nothing about your faith is having a good day.

In other states, health departments are magically “misplacing” the exemption cards they’re required to have on hand — the same one your child needs to attend school. Eventually, they’ll do away with the religious exemption, like California, West Virginia, Connecticut, New York, Maine, and Mississippi already have. Your only recourse will be to homeschool. When enough people start homeschooling, they’ll come after you and your kids too.

When they can’t convince you with science, they will inevitably invoke Jesus by getting “physician” guest bloggers who claim to be Christians to paraphrase a few Bible verses and tell you to get vaccines in the name of “loving your neighbor.” The powers at large are banking on the fact you’ll refer to the “leader” held out as authority and not the “Word.”

If your pastor says it’s okay, then it must be okay, right? No, because your pastor isn’t Jesus and probably hasn’t read the vaccine package inserts or ingredients list — and he was probably told that God loves children who get measles more than vaccine-injured children. Chances are, like many Christians, your pastor hasn’t even thought about it.