Why Worship Is Enforced Even During a Pandemic and What the Bible Says About Conduct in a Pandemic
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This study examines biblical guidance for Christian conduct during pandemics and evaluates historical and contemporary church responses. Leviticus 13–15 and Numbers 5 establish quarantine and staged reintegration as community-protecting norms rather than punitive measures. In the New Testament, Jesus affirms these norms while fulfilling them through healing and embedding them within the law of love; the apostles ground civic cooperation in neighbor-care and public good. By contrast, certain medieval practices (mass processions, flagellant piety) and some modern churches' insistence on uninterrupted gatherings—often entangled with organizational and financial incentives—misread Scripture by absolutizing form over love and justice (Matt 23:23). The paper concludes that pausing or restructuring in-person services in a public-health crisis is not unbelief but faithful obedience to God's command to protect life, and it urges churches to adopt transparent, health-informed, theologically grounded decision-making.
DOI: 10.17613/phvwb-65k18
Author: houn hong, seok
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7077474882
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