Secular and religious commentators offer contradictory theories about coronavirus

I wasn't going to post anything about coronavirus, but I've seen a few items that are too good to pass on. Whenever a plague makes the news, it's only a matter of time before conspiracy theories spring up, and the current coronavirus outbreak is no exception. The explanations, unsurprisingly, are in line with the biases of those offering them.

Cliff Kincaid, a conservative Roman Catholic columnist with News with Views, believes that the coronavirus outbreak is a Chinese government plot against U.S. President Donald Trump:

Chinese Reds Set a Trap for Trump

February 29th, 2020

President Trump is in a difficult situation. If he were to disclose circumstantial evidence that the coronavirus virus is a Chinese bioweapon, there would be calls for retaliation against the Communist regime. Such a declaration could lead to more fear, the threat of war, and perhaps a global economic collapse. As it is, the virus is causing a market meltdown. He does not want to contribute to a panic and further collapse.

Politically, his reelection hangs in the balance...

Trump Has Been Sabotaged by the Medical Deep State

March 9th, 2020

The Chinese virus has been treated as just a natural occurrence or unfortunate incident that necessitates that we have to cede more power over our lives to what critics have long called the Medical Deep State. Under pressure from a foreign threat, President Trump has relied on these health care “professionals.” But the result has been stories from the Washington Post about “How the Trump administration lost control of the coronavirus crisis” and the New York Times about how “The Coronavirus Is Coming for Trump’s Presidency.” This is the new narrative designed to bring down Trump.

The President has another option: put the military in charge of the coronavirus response and move quickly to a war footing with Communist China, the source of the outbreak...

Meanwhile, Iranian authorities are claiming that the coronavirus outbreak is a plot by Mr. Trump against Iran, as reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz of Breaking Israel News, March 8, 2020 (links in original):

Fatemah Rahbar, a member of Iran’s parliament representing the capital city of Tehran, died on Saturday from Covid-19. Rahbar, age 55, was the second member of parliament and the seventh Iranian leader to die from the coronavirus.

The Iranian leadership has been hard-hit by the coronavirus. Rahbar, age 55, was the second member of parliament and the seventh Iranian leader to die from the coronavirus.At least 23 members of Iran’s 290-member “Majlis” or parliament have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to Iran’s Deputy Parliament Speaker Abdul Reza Misri. This includes the deputy health minister and one of the vice presidents. This figure represents about 8% of Iran’s government. One week after elections for the parliament, the government suspended open parliamentary sessions indefinitely.

On Saturday, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour announced on a televised news conference that there had been 21 new deaths and 1,076 new cases of coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 145 dead and 5,823 infected in Iran. He emphasized that 1,669 of the confirmed cases recovered from the illness.

“More than 16,000 people are currently hospitalized as suspect cases,” Jahanpour said during a televised news conference.

The government has taken serious measures to combat the spread of the pandemic. Iran temporarily released 54,000 prisoners from overcrowded jails. Mohammad Ja’far Montazeri, Iran’s prosecutor general, said on Sunday that hoarding or disrupting the supply of healthcare items could entail punishments as severe as the death penalty. Hassan Norouzi, the spokesman for the parliament’s legal and judicial committee, told the Tehran Times that the government had instituted a 3-year jail sentence for those who spread fake news or rumors about coronavirus in the country.

China, the epicenter of the outbreak, has so far reported 80,651 cases, of which 3,070 were fatal.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blamed U.S. economic sanctions for the toll the pandemic is taking on his country. President Trump “is maliciously tightening US’ illegal sanctions with the aim of draining Iran’s resources needed in the fight against #COVID-19 — while our citizens are dying from it” Zarif tweeted on Saturday.

The Iranian Student’s News Agency (ISNA) reported that Gen. Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said that the coronavirus may be the product of an “American biological invasion.”

“Today the country is engaged in a biological battle,” Salami said. “[The coronavirus] is American biological invasion that first spread to China and then to Iran and other parts of the world, and the United States knows that it did that.”

“America should know that this virus will return to it if it was behind it,” said Salami.

Iranian civil defense chief Gholam Reza Jalali echoed this accusation. Without naming the United States as the culprit, Reza said, that a “biological attack has been launched against China and Iran with economic goals.”

Religious commentators are also offering contradictory explanations of the reason for the plague. An Israeli Rabbi blames sodomite pride parades, as reported by Mr. Berkowitz in Breaking Israel News, March 9, 2020:

At a speech at his yeshiva (Torah learning institution) on Saturday night, Rabbi Meir Mazuz, a leading Sephardic Haredi rabbi in Israel, blamed the spread of the coronavirus to Israel on the gay “pride” parades in Israel.

“This pride parade is a parade against nature, and anyone who does something against nature, the one who created nature takes revenge on him. When you do things against nature, you place your hand in fire and pray that the fire doesn’t burn you, it burns you! Here they are doing [something] against nature in impertinence, the pride parade, what are you proud of?” Mazuz was quoted as saying by Israel HaYom.

Israel has reported 39 cases of the novel coronavirus in the country as of Monday morning.

The rabbi also claimed that the Arab countries have not been hit by the coronavirus because they are strictly against homosexuality.

He addressed the outbreak of the virus in Iran, the hardest-hit country outside of China. Though not an Arab country, Iran is strictly Shia Muslim and criminalizes homosexual activity. In his speech, Rabbi Mazuz blamed Iran’s outbreak on their “hatred of Israel.”

Rabbi Mazuz has blamed other tragedies on Israel’s acceptance of homosexuality. In November 2015 he claimed gay pride parades and other forms of “sinful behavior” were the reason terrorists murdered Eitam and Naama Henkin the previous month.

It should also be noted that the rabbi inaccurately predicted last month that the coronavirus would infect every country in the world but would not arrive in Israel.

In his recent speech, Rabbi Mazuz suggested that the holiday of Purim contained a cure for the coronavirus.

“If you pray for rain, the harsh judgment of the corona will also be cancelled. It is recommended that on the eve of Purim you also read the sections of the Torah describing the Temple service of the incense while praying for the plague to be dispersed.”

Laura Densmore of Hebraic Heritage Ministries and Bridge Connector Ministries, however, blames the outbreak on President Trump's Middle East peace plan, which proposes to divide Israel. As she states in Breaking Israel News, March 9, 2020 (bold, links in original):

I open this article with a question and then I want to examine the facts on the ground with you. Then you can come to your own conclusions.

The question I pose is this: Are we experiencing consequences from the God of Israel (the Corona pestilence and the Nashville tornado) due to America’s push for the “Deal of the Century” proposal to divide the land of Israel?

Now let’s look at the evidence and the facts on the ground together.

Here is a general principle in the bible. The God of Israel would often bring judgment upon the children of Israel through natural disasters, plagues, wars, and famines. These events don’t happen “serendipity” by chance or coincidence. Instead, these events are often associated to sin. There is sin in the camp and so the God of Israel gives “push back” in the form of a judgment. There are consequences to the sin. There is a “measure for measure” dynamic going on here. In other words, when the people “sew” sin, they reap judgment from God.

Bill Koenig of Watch.org has done a masterful job of tracking these consequences for attempting to divide the land of Israel in his book, Eye to Eye: Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel.

Keep this in mind: the purpose of the judgment from God is that He wants to see His people repent, turn away from their sin and return to HIM and to His word.

Now, let me be clear. I am a strong Trump supporter. He has done a lot of good for our nation in rebooting our economy, in bringing jobs back to America and getting America back to work. He has done a lot of good in recalibrating our international trade deals in America’s favor. He has done a lot of good for Israel in moving the US embassy back to Jerusalem and in declaring that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the state of Israel. I strongly support Trump and I am one of his biggest fans!

But in this one area, the “Deal of the Century”, I believe our President and Jared Kushner have missed the mark. They are looking at the problem from a pragmatic, reason and logic based perspective. But they have missed the spiritual perspective.

The Trump team took time to ask for everyone’s input on the peace plan: the Saudis, the Jordanians, the Palestinians, the Israelis, the Egyptians, the EU and the US. But they forgot to consult with the God of Israel to see what HE says about dividing the land of Israel:

For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land. Joel 3:1-2

The covenant that the God of Israel made with Abraham and his descendants to give them the land of Israel is eternal and everlasting. To go against that covenant is sure to bring down judgment upon any nation that “wields the knife” to cut/divide Israel.
Sadly, I believe that is what we are now seeing with the spread of the Corona virus.

I believe that the Corona virus is something that God has allowed as a judgment.
It came upon us in a BIG WAY just days after the Trump Peace plan (to divide the land of Israel) was announced.

Trump’s Peace plan to divide the land of Israel to make a Palestinian state was unveiled on 1.28.20:

Revealed: Trump’s “Deal of the Century” map for a future Palestine, Israel

Within three days, on Feb 2, 2020, Trump had to shut USA borders to travelers from China due to Corona virus:

Trump: US has shut down Corona virus from coming in from China

DO YOU NEED MORE EVIDENCE THAT THE GOD OF ISRAEL IS BRINGING DOWN JUDGMENT UPON THE USA FOR THE “DEAL OF THE CENTURY” PEACE PLAN?

Let’s connect two more data points of cause and effect that appear to be strongly connected to each other (kudos to Sara Ballenger for pointing this one out to me). On March 3, 2020, we read this headline:

At AIPAC, Trump’s Israel envoy Friedman pushes the peace plan.

And I quote from the article:

“US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman gave a scathing and highly partisan speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference on Monday night, castigating the American left for opposing US President Donald Trump’s Israel policies and Mideast peace plan.”

How did the God of Israel feel about this “push” for the “Deal of the Century” plan to divide HIS land? While David Friedman was promoting the Deal of the Century plan at AIPAC, here is what happened in Nashville TN on the SAME DAY, March 3, 2020:

Nashville tornado damage includes destroyed airport, collapsed homes as death toll climbs.

I don’t think the God of Israel was very happy to hear more news about the dividing of His land!

However there is GOOD NEWS! Intercession and prayer can change the course of a judgment from the God of Israel!

Here are some scriptures on pestilence and how intercession and action can change the course of pestilence:

In Exodus 32: 31-35, we see a plague came upon the children of people after the sin of the golden calf. After swift action is taken by the Levites to deal with the sin in the camp, the plague/pestilence stops.

In Numbers 14:11-20 , the children of Israel hear a the negative report coming from the 10 spies about the Promised land. They lifted up their voices against God and Moses, and walking in fear, doubt and unbelief. God threatens to send a pestilence, but Moses intercedes on their behalf. God does not wipe them out, but instead, they wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

In 2 Samuel 24: 12-16, David recognizes he has sinned greatly in numbering all the people and asks for God’s mercy. God’s response is that he gives David a choice:
David can have 7 years of famine, 3 months of enemy attacks , or 3 days of pestilence. David chose 3 days of pestilence. In the end, God had mercy and ended the plague.

In Numbers 25:1-9, we see a pestilence/plague that was rapidly spreading throughout the camp in the wilderness. The children of Israel had sinned by joining themselves to Baal, which was spiritual adultery and treachery to the God of Israel. To Israel’s shame and disgrace, an Israelite man was having sexual relations with Cozbi, a Midianite woman. The plague was rapidly spreading through the camp, claiming 25,000 lives. Phinehas speared them through… and immediately the pestilence stopped.

A CALL TO ACTION

This is a call to action for President Trump and Jared Kushner. It is time that they “walk back” on the “Deal of the Century” and retract it.

This is also a call to action to the people of God to pray and intercede, to seek the God of Israel and to ask for his mercy, asking that HE stop this pestilence, this cursed Corona virus.

As the people of the God of Israel, we need to plead and stand in the gap and ask for God’s FORGIVENESS for the release of the Trump peace plan to divide Israel and ask for His MERCY upon the USA, upon Israel and the upon all the nations of the world.

We can also pray into this as a prayer of protection:

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
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.
Psalm 91:1-7

And, to be prudent and practical we can also stay at home if sick, wash our hands frequently with soap and water, follow the guidelines of our local officials for preventing community spread.

In contrast to the view expressed by Ms. Densmore, a charismaniac "prophet" claims that the U.S.A. will be protected from coronavirus because of President Trump's pro-life stand. As reported by Christina Zhao of Newsweek, February 16, 2020 (links in original):

Conservative pastor Hank Kunneman recently claimed that God will save Americans from the new coronavirus because President Donald Trump's administration has "aligned themselves" with the right side of life.

Speaking to the Lord of Hosts church during a service in Omaha, Nebraska last Sunday, Kunneman prophesied that citizens in the U.S. will not have to fear the coronavirus because God will "give mercy."

"Listen to the words that I speak to you at this moment, says the living God. Why do you fear, United States? For I have spoken to you before and I will speak to you again, I have extended and opened a window of mercy to this nation at this time. Therefore, the virus that they speak of, the bright prognostication, the diagnosis, the fear, my mercy is the quarantine that shall be greater than what they have spoken to you, United States," the pastor said, before crediting the Trump administration for God's "mercy."

"And because of the administration that stands in this land, who honor me, who honour the covenants of your forefathers and of the Constitution. And because they have aligned themselves with Israel and because they have sided on the right side of life—life in the womb, life given outside of the womb—there I give life to this nation and I give mercy," Kunneman added. "Do not fear. This virus is the spirit of God."

Newsweek reached out to Kunneman via phone for further comment, but was unable to speak to the pastor before publication.

Chinese officials on Saturday confirmed 2,641 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of diagnosed to roughly 66,000 across the mainland, with the death toll at 1,523.

There have been 15 cases of coronavirus in the United States. One American citizen has died from the virus in China...

As is so often the case, the report is erroneous, or at least, imprecise, in describing the pastor as "conservative." A quick glance at the website of Lord of Hosts Church shows that Lord of Hosts is in fact a charismaniac church that's part of the New Apostolic Reformation, with the "conservative" pastor's wife listed with him as senior pastor, and the church promoting "prophetic words" and the prosperity gospel, with "apostle" Mike Keyes speaking in both services on March 15, 2020.

Quoth the "prophet":

Here's the "powerful word about what God is saying regarding the Coronavirus! This prophecy was declared on February 9, 2020.



It comes as no surprise to this blogger to see that veteran fraud and con man Jim Bakker isn't about to let the opportunity to cash in on the outbreak to pass him by; as reported by Hunter Moyler of Newsweek, February 12, 2020 (updated February 13, 2020) (links in original):

A guest on televangelist Jim Bakker's show suggested on Wednesday that a product sold on Bakker's website might be effective at protecting against and killing the novel coronavirus.

The guest, naturopathic Dr. Sherrill Sellman, said that Silver Solution—a product that can be purchased on Bakker's web store—has been found to be effective on viruses related to the one from Wuhan. Further, she said Silver Solution could bolster a person's immune system and potentially make their bodies less susceptible to the virus.

"Well, let's say [Silver Solution] hasn't been tested on this strain of the coronavirus, but it's been tested on other strains of the coronavirus and has been able to eliminate it within 12 hours," she said. "Totally eliminate it. Kills it, deactivates it. And then it boosts your immune system so then you can support the recovery, because when you kill the virus, then the immune system comes into action to clear it out. So you want a vibrant immune system as well as an ability to deactivate these viruses."

Newsweek contacted Sellman via her website for further comment and clarification but did not receive a reply before publication.

The novel coronavirus emerged from the Chinese city in late 2019. The virus has since spread to 24 other countries, including the United States, though the majority of those infected remain in China. As of Wednesday, the virus has infected over 45,000 people and killed at least 1,100, according to the World Health Organization.

According to its page on Bakker's website, Silver Solution is a product that "works faster, longer and more efficiently than other silvers to support your immune system." Information on the website does not state how the product is to be used. It currently sells on Bakker's website in a variety of packages with a 16-ounce bottle costing 40, but shoppers can purchase bundles of the product that cost up to $300. The label states that the solution contains deionized water, but no other ingredients.

However, similarly marketed products also include colloidal silver which according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) provides no known health benefits. Ingesting it can cause side effects including argyria, or discoloration of the skin or other tissue, and poor absorption of other medications by the body.

Newsweek could not verify the claim that Silver Solution supports the immune system or kills the coronavirus, nor confirm that colloidal silver is used in Bakker's solution.

Further, Silver Solution's page on Bakker's site contains a link to a warning specifically for residents of California. Under a California law, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (also known as Proposition 65), the store is required to warn that Silver Solution "contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm."

Sellman is a naturopathic doctor—a designation distinct from a mainstream medical doctor. Naturopathy, according to information from the alternative medicine university Bastyr University, is a "system of primary health care that emphasizes prevention and the self-healing process through the use of natural therapies."

Naturopathy's legitimacy is contested. Some professionals consider it to be based in pseudoscience, but 22 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. offer licenses to naturopathic doctors, according to the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC).

However, Dr. JoAnn Yanez, the executive director of the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges, clarified to Newsweek that Sellman has not met the educational standards that the organization requires.

Sellman "is neither a graduate of an accredited naturopathic medical program, nor has [she] obtained a doctoral level degree from a program recognized by the US Department of Education," Yanez wrote in a statement to Newsweek. "[Her] online profile mentions graduating from the Trinity School of Natural Healing (AKA Health), which is not accredited and confers 'degrees' not recognized by any governmental institution. 'Graduates' of these programs are not considered licenseable [sic] medical practitioners."

Yanez further requested that Newsweek reiterate that Sellman is not a graduate of any institution accredited by AANMC.

The Twitter account of Right Wing Watch shared a clip of the show on its Twitter account Wednesday afternoon. The full episode of The Jim Bakker Show, "A Close Look At What's Not Being Said About The Coronavirus (Day 1)" can be viewed on the program's website.

Bakker is an evangelist who has made headlines in the past for his involvement in a scandal in which he paid a church secretary "hush money" to keep quiet about a sexual encounter. He is also noted for his ardent support for President Donald Trump. He has repeatedly defended the president against criticism, and, as The Hill reported, stated in 2017 that there would be a second American Civil War if Trump were to be impeached.

The various views of the coronavirus outbreak expressed above can't possibly all be right, but they might all be wrong. A major weakness of the explanations offered above is that they're geocentric, as if the epidemic were affecting just a particular people or area, when in fact it's spreading throughout the world. I don't believe that the pandemic is itself an emergency, but I do believe that there are those who have been waiting for such a situation in order to use it as an opportunity to advance an evil agenda; George Soros and his puppet Justin Traitor Trudeau come to mind. One thing that is definitely right is the following prophecy from the Lord Jesus Christ concerning the end times just before His return to Earth:

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. Matthew 24:7

This blogger recommends sticking to the Bible as the only authority for faith and practice, rather than extrabiblical revelations allegedly given to those masquerading as "prophets" and "apostles."