LIVE TALK: ANSWERING COVID-19 QUESTIONS TO CHRISTIANITY

APOLOGETICS DISCUSSION ON CHRISTIAN RESPONSES TO COVID-19

TOPIC: Intelligent Design VS Irrational Disease?
Join Dr. Mark Boone, Rev. Luther Li,Dr. (Sr.) Mudita Sodder, Dr. Joseph Hiwale, Bro. Keneth Pervaiz, Dr. Domenic Marbaniang, and Dr. J. B. Jeyaraj on a Live Conversation on Covid-19 questions for Christianity that rage across the globe.

Posted by Faith and Philosophy on Friday, August 28, 2020

Moderator: Dr. Domenic Marbaniang
Panelists:
Dr. Mark J. Boone (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Rev. Luther Li (Emmanuel Christian Church)
Dr. (Sr.) Mudita Sodder (RSCJ, Sophia College, Fellowship of Indian Missiologists)
Bishop Dr. Joseph Hiwale (Koinonia College of Theology, Koinonia Church Fellowship)
Bro. Keneth Pervaiz (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Dr. Domenic Marbaniang (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Dr. J. B. Jeyaraj (Jubilee Institute)

QUESTIONS:
1. Did God create malevolent viruses?
2. Should we consider COVID-19 as God's judgment of international sin in the world?
3. What does the Bible say about suffering from natural causes?
4. Are Christians immune to the virus, provided they have "strong faith"?
5. What does God expect of Christians in the midst of such a crisis as the present one?
6. Should Christians regard laws forbidding public worship at churches (though not shutting down supermarkets) as a problem of "obeying God or man"? How do Catholics and Protestants respond to this?
7. In a preface to a book, Pope Francis wrote: "“The presence of the Risen Lord in His Word and through the celebration of the Eucharist will give us the strength we need to resolve the difficulties and challenges that we will face after the coronavirus crisis.” Yes, but if Christ is risen, why do Christians need to go through suffering? Is Christian hope only about the hereafter or the coming world? How do we experience Christ's resurrection power in this life?
8. N.T. Wright has written a book "God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and its Aftermath". He explains that when natural disaster hit the early church, they didn't ask theological questions but focused on collecting and sending help to the ones in need. How would you comment on that?
9. There are many ways in which Churches have gone online (Zoom, Google Meet, Livecast, FB streaming, etc). How do explain its theological significance in light of the New Testament?
10. How can a pastor fulfill his pastoring ministry during a lockdown situation?

POST-SCRIPT:
Cremation of bodies by government. What does the Bible say about funeral and resurrection?

Sexuality, Nakedness, and the Original Sin: Discussion Points & Questions

Illuminated parchment, Spain, ca AD 950–955,
depicting the Fall of Man (Wiki)

Why was it that when Adam and Eve ate the fruit, the first thing they became aware of was their own nakedness?

Of all the sins, hasn't only the sexual one to do with or against the body? (1Cor. 6:18).

Why is it that following the Original Sin, nakedness is considered shameful? Even the heavenly hosts appear clothed in all visions.

[There is no mention that Adam and Eve were covered with a glorious light. If they were, it would have been mentioned so - that they were naked but were not ashamed because they were covered with a glorious light; however, it only says that their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked.]

From the above, do we infer that the first consequence of sin was ALIENATION?

Alienation from God resulted in Fear (because of nakedness, Gen.3:10)
- They hid.
Alienation from Fellow humans resulted in Shame (because of nakedness, Gen.2:25; 3:7)
- They sew aprons of fig leaves. They were the only two humans; the rest was the animal world. So, why did they sew fig leaves to make aprons?

"Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons" (Gn 3:7). This is the first sentence of the Yahwist narrative, which refers to man's situation after sin and shows the new state of human nature. Does not this sentence also suggest the beginning of lust in man's heart?...

....Genesis 2:25 emphasizes that they "were both naked, and were not ashamed." But Genesis 3:6 speaks explicitly of shame in connection with sin. That shame is almost the first source of the manifestation in both man and woman of what "is not of the Father, but of the world." - Pope John Paul II, Theology of the Body, April 30, 1980.

Why does sexual sin feature first in most places? (Gen.6:1,2; Rom.1:24,26,27; 1Thess.4:4,5,7) (Augustine couldn't ignore it; neither could Freud; but, Frankl noticed that in adverse conditions, when things are not Edenic (like in the Concentration Camp), the desire was forgotten-- but, what if all things were well; and, for instance, when power was absolute, like in war-time...Gen.6:1,2).

Suppose now that there were two such magic rings [that on turning made the wearer invisible], and the just put on one of them and the unjust the other; no man can be imagined to be of such an iron nature that he would stand fast in justice. No man would keep his hands off what was not his own when he could safely take what he liked out of the market, or go into houses and lie with any one at his pleasure, or kill or release from prison whom he would, and in all respects be like a god among men. - Plato, The Republic

The original sense of nakedness, however, is beyond the sexual sense. For why would they need to cover themselves from each other, if the sexual sense was all that was to it; since they were husband and wife? But, they weren't afraid of each other, for both were guilty; they were afraid of God. (To note: Modern man neither fears God nor is ashamed of nakedness)

• Clothing is not just a symbol; it is a remedy… it is a basic need.
• Physically it covers against the antagonistic physical forces.
• Psychologically it remedies shame by hiding nakedness.
• Nakedness needs to be hid because man has become a private being.
• Nakedness relates to the organs primarily associated with sexuality.
• “Culture” (concepts and customs) play important rule in defining “nakedness” and “shame”
• “Cover” indicates the need for privatization of sexuality in a world that has grown adverse. It symbolizes the first instance of alienation and threat of privacy and dehumanization by bestial humans. “Uncovering” is only permitted where mutual self-giving has occurred through a nuptial covenant. To “uncover” would mean to bare the private areas; to “know” would mean to experience the privacy of the other through union. These are terms conditioned by the culture of shame. (Theology of Clothing: Discussion Points and Questions)

Further Reading
Theology of Clothing: Discussion Points and Questions
The Culture of Shame and the Shame of the Cross
Nakedness, Shame, and Shamelessness