Religion is bringing out the coronavirus stupid in people

Not surprisingly, the coronavirus pandemic is causing religious people around the world to turn to superstition, fantasy, and unproven remedies. 

Naturally they'd be much better off if they paid rapt attention to the public health experts who are using science and facts in their advice about how to keep from being infected by the COVID-19 virus.

But religion often brings out the stupid in people. Especially when they're afraid of an unseen menace. Like a virus. Or the devil. The difference being that a virus is real, and the devil isn't, along with God and other imaginary supernatural entities. 

Today the New York Times has an interesting story, "In a Pandemic, Religion Can Be a Balm and a Risk." Below are some passages that focus on the risk of believing untrue things.

As I've frequently said on this blog, I have no problem with religious people believing in crazy stuff -- so long as their craziness doesn't adversely affect others. In other words, keep your weird ideas to yourself.

Unfortunately, dealing with the coronavirus requires that everybody follow recommended public health practices that are based on sound science. Just as with immunizations, if too many people fail to do this, then COVID-19 will keep on infecting more people at an exponential rate. 

So this is a great example of religion being a danger to society. There's no way to pray yourself out of getting the coronavirus. But hand washing and social distancing will help. A lot. 

Here's excerpts from the New York Times story.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Down on earth, the coronavirus outbreak was felling lives, livelihoods and normalcy. A nation-spanning blessing seemed called for. So up went a priest in a small airplane, rumbling overhead at an epidemiologically safe distance from the troubles below, wielding a sacred golden vessel from a cockpit-turned-pulpit.

Before his flight over Lebanon, a soldier at an airport checkpoint asked the Rev. Majdi Allawi if he had a mask and hand sanitizer.

“Jesus is my protection,” said Father Allawi, who belongs to the Maronite Catholic Church. “He is my sanitizer.”

Religion is the solace of first resort for billions of people grappling with a pandemic for which scientists, presidents and the secular world seem, so far, to have few answers. With both sanitizer and leadership in short supply, dread over the coronavirus has driven the globe’s faithful even closer to religion and ritual.

But what is good for the soul may not always be good for the body.

Believers worldwide are running afoul of public health authorities’ warnings that communal gatherings, the keystone of so much religious practice, must be limited to combat the virus’ spread. In some cases, religious fervor has led people toward cures that have no grounding in science; in others, it has drawn them to sacred places or rites that could increase the risk of infection.

In Myanmar, a prominent Buddhist monk announced that a dose of one lime and three palm seeds — no more, no less — would confer immunity. In Iran, a few pilgrims were filmed licking Shiite Muslim shrines to ward off infection. And in Texas, the preacher Kenneth Copeland braided televangelism with telemedicine, broadcasting himself, one trembling hand outstretched, as he claimed he could cure believers through their screens.

...People may have already unknowingly spread the virus in the name of piety.

Despite New York’s recent bans on large gatherings, several large weddings went ahead in Brooklyn’s Hasidic Jewish communities, which have reported a spike in confirmed cases in recent days.

Iran is home both to one of the world’s worst outbreaks and to dozens of major Shiite Muslim shrines, which have remained open to crowds for weeks even as the coronavirus left the country shellshocked.

...India has so far refused to call off an annual festival that starts Wednesday in honor of the god Ram, also known as Rama. In normal times, it draws as many as a million people to Ayodha, which some believe to be the birthplace of Ram, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

The state has asked devotees to celebrate at home this year. Organizers, however, are carrying on.

“People are getting the opportunity to have glimpses of Lord Rama,” said Vinod Bansal, a national spokesman for the group, Vishva Hindu Parishad. “It’s not appropriate to deprive them of this opportunity.”

...Amid the coronavirus anxiety, it was perhaps inevitable that some would interpret the pandemic as a divine missive. What it said was less clear.

Some Egyptian Muslims expressed certainty on social media that God was smiting non-Muslim countries by giving them the virus, apparently unaware that Egypt has registered nearly 200 cases and may have many more uncounted. Some Islamists, especially supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, cast the outbreak as punishment for the Egyptian public’s support of the military takeover that brought the country’s authoritarian leader, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, to power in 2013.

Some sought earthly remedies inspired by higher powers.

Video emerged last week of Hindu activists in India drinking cow urine to stave off the coronavirus. At the Lebanese government hospital where infected patients are being treated, a woman recently arrived carrying a mixture of holy water and dirt dug from the mausoleum of Saint Charbel, who is revered among Lebanese Christians. Some Christians were said to be drinking similar solutions as a precaution.

Comments

[Sonia]

Pandemics, panic and plagues conjure up the ghosts of medieval superstitions.

Mass hysteria lowers the collective IQ.

These are trying times...

[s*]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TbkN5BkxFg

<3

[Santosh]

People in India think that cow urine and cow dung will kill the virus.

Yesterday people were beating utensils on streets to generate vibrations which will kill the virus.

Though I am an Indian, I feel ashamed.

[Santosh]

Breaking-

White supremacists discussed using the coronavirus as a bioweapon, warns FBI-

https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.businessinsider.in/politics/news/white-supremacists-discussed-using-the-coronavirus-as-a-bioweapon-explosive-internal-document-reveals/amp_articleshow/74762039.cms?espv=1

https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/white-supremacists-encouraging-members-spread-coronavirus-cops-jews/story%3fid=69737522?espv=1

A video from Brussels-

https://mobile.twitter.com/Mous_taffe/status/1237061522117050371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1237061522117050371&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brusselstimes.com%2Fbrussels%2F99472%2Ffootage-of-man-smearing-saliva-on-brussels-metro-pole-goes-viral-stib-drunk%2F

[Sonia]

If karma was instant, would we have plagues or pandemics? If cause had instantaneous effects would people kill animals for food? Would there be wet markets? Effect is not instantaneous. If it were we would essentially have no free will. Maybe we humans don’t deserve “free will” (freedom of choice) and it takes a pandemic to teach us that.

[Steve Kinsella]

People in India think that cow urine and cow dung will kill the virus.

Though I am an Indian, I feel ashamed.

Posted by: Santosh | March 23, 2020 at 02:35 AM

Hey ASHAMED INDIAN

can you tell us all why the fuck there are two US registered patents on Cow Urine???

One - Use of bioactive fraction from cow urine distillate (`go-mutra`) as a bio-enhancer of anti-infective, anti-cancer agents and nutrients

Two- A pharmaceutical composition comprising an antibiotic and cow urine distillate in an amount effective to enhance antimicrobial effect of the antibiotic is disclosed. The antibiotic can be an antifungal agent. The antibiotic can be a quinolone or a fluoroquinolone. The antifungal agent can be azoles, clotrimazole, mystatin or amphotericin.

Will make it easy for you by giving the links as well.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,896,907.PN.&OS=PN/6,896,907&RS=PN/6,896,907

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,410,059.PN.&OS=PN/6,410,059&RS=PN/6,410,059

[🌜🌞💥💖🦸🦂🐸🤶😈]

Trust in God, But tie your camel.

This is an ancient Arab phrase attributed to the prophet Mohammed who, when one day he saw a Bedouin leaving his camel without tethering it, questioned him as to why he was doing this and the Bedouin replied that he was placing his trust in Allah and had no need to tie the camel.

Actually this phrase should be one of the guiding life principles but not because one identifies it as religious.

Even in these trying times too; for when applied it invites one to take stock of what it is one has control over, and to take action there if needed and wanted, and then to sit back, and trust the process.

Every Perfect Master says this including GSD. And I hope, in their own ways this is what all the others - the saints, true saints, religious heads, priests, rabbis, pandits, maulavis, etc are urging people to do these days.

[j]

I like the Peanuts cartoon. Turns out that Peanut's creator Charles Schultz was a very devout Christian. In his late 20s or so something happened that changed his thinking, and he largely became agnostic. "The Great Pumpkin" story always seemed to me to be his statement about his disbelief in a divine savior, though he never admitted that's what it was about. Not really possible in the 1960s.

[Sonia Taylor]

@Steve Kinsella,

Is cow urine vegetarian?

[Sonia Taylor]

“Trust in God, But tie your camel...

Even in these trying times too; for when applied it invites one to take stock of what it is one has control over, and to take action there if needed and wanted, and then to sit back, and trust the process...”

Posted by: 🌜🌞💥💖🦸🦂🐸🤶😈 | March 23, 2020 at 02:11 PM

One thing I’ve been made acutely aware of this year—I have very little control over my life. I never wanted to believe I was one of those people who became a victim of circumstances. I thought I was making my own choices. But even when I make my own choices, I don’t end up where I intended. It’s like being on a train track and someone somewhere changes the direction of the traction... you’re still go full speed but not in the same direction.

Anyway. It’s a bit disorienting.

And now I’m wondering if the world will as we knew it is over or if we will ever be able to have the same freedoms we once had—if we’ll be able to get out of these lockdowns and travel again.

Most people are being laid off or losing their jobs right now but I’m starting a new one March 30. It will get me out of the house and back into a routine which will hopefully make me feel more grounded and less disconnected.

Of course, meditation is helping...

Yale is offering one of their most popular courses for free right now to help people have a better sense of well being while they’re dealing with all these changes.

Learn the Science of Well Being:
https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being

[Sonia Taylor]

They are going to start treating people in NY with this drug tomorrow (this is what I and my mom and dad took to get better).

Whatever your bias is against Trump, think health first. We don’t want all the Democrats to die!! 😂

https://nypost.com/2020/03/22/florida-man-with-coronavirus-says-drug-touted-by-trump-saved-his-life/

[Santosh]

Steve Kinsella,

The patent was registered after someone approached the patent authority.

And one can get patents on any kind of medicine which has no scientific evidence. Patent law deals with business, not with food and drug safety.

Cow urine has no scientific evidence that it can cure so called diseases.

Seems like you don' t have basic knowledge of law. Lol!

Has the FDA approved the cow urine?

[Santosh]

Urine is a waste material producted by the body.

There’s no scientific evidence to support claims that drinking urine is beneficial. On the contrary, research suggests that drinking urine can introduce bacteria, toxins, and other harmful substances into your bloodstream. It can even place undue stress on your kidneys.

Drinking urine, whether your own or someone else's, introduces bacteria into your system that can cause gastrointestinal problems or other infections.

Source-https://www.healthline.com/health/drinking-urine

A man fell ill after consuming cow urine recently in India-

https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/thewire.in/politics/bjp-cow-urine-coronavirus/amp/

[Sonia Taylor]

Just to be clear, I’m not saying that hydroxychloroquine is the answer for everyone and besides, you can’t get it without a doctor’s prescription. If you are sick go to a doctor. Don’t drink swimming pool chemicals or hope that oregano oil is going to cure you when you can’t breathe. Serious illnesses require doctors’ care.

[Santosh]

Sonia,

Why did you and your family take that drug?

[Santosh]

Breaking-

Man dies after taking Chloroquine phosphate in Arizona-

https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/03/23/health/arizona-coronavirus-chloroquine-death/index.html

[Spence Tepper]

Religious organizations traditionally give out misleading, false and harmful information.

They are rarely a good source for accurate medical information, information about reality, or even information about God.

They have only one practical purpose, and that is to be a haven, a refugee, a source of strength and purpose for the weak, the poor, the injured, the disabled, and to awaken folks to the Divinity within themselves, the power within themselves to transcend all difficulties emotionally, psychologically, and Spiritually. At best they perform these functions. Folks learn a practical, portable method and lifestyle to develop that strength within themselves, and that lifestyle is prayer and meditation. But because this power, this love, this light and inner music, the subjective source of so much spiritual poetry and ecstacy, is subjective, it is rife with misunderstanding and false statements. We want our leaders to guide us with Truth, and Spirituality is a psychological Truth. But it has nothing to do with this physical world, in practical terms, and we should refer to the medical and scientific experts for all things medical and scientific.

Therefore we must be wary and reject all religious organizations when their statements of truth, their practices conflict, as they inevitably do, with healthy lifestyle and scientific facts. Just as their noble lifestyle values of universal brotherhood / sisterhood, universal harmony and helpfulness inevitably conflict with their stage actor leaders and Gurus lifestyles, and result in the exact opposite of their primary function and purpose: that result being to institutionalize prejudice, conflict, hatred and harm to innocent people.

[Santosh]

A very important video describing why the world's richest country is failing to control a pandemic-

https://youtu.be/sRtB-McrVQ0

So this is what happens when you have a fucking selfish, ruthless and psychopathic right wing government!!!!

[Sonia Taylor]

@Santosh,

Penicillin was a game changer. Penicillin is a group of antibiotics, derived originally from common moulds. But don’t go eating any old mold you find around your house. Some of that stuff can kill you.

BTW, I think both Steve and Trevor live in India. Pretty sure Trevor is Indian... don’t judge a book by its title.

[Santosh]

I use to think North Americans as some highly professional beings.

But finally it is proved that USA is just a shithole country with shithole people. No need for third world countries to take America seriously anymore I think.

Just keep making movies and porn or killing leaders of other countries. You can't do anymore.Seriously!

By the way this Governor Cuomo should become a temporary President of USA for a month.

[Sonia Taylor]

@Santosh

I think you would like Wuhan.

[Jen]

I'm reminded of the Mayan prophecy that the world would end in 2012. Well, it didn't happen but maybe that was the beginning. Now we are forced to isolate because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and for me it seems like the beginning of the end of the world as we know it. Can't touch anyone or anything, have to wear masks and not breathe in the air. It seems like we are living in a toxic environment on this planet. Wonder when it will end?

[Sonia Taylor]

@Jen

I definitely believe it will end eventually. Maybe sooner than we think but the lasting damage will always be to those who lost loved ones to this pandemic. We will learn a lot of good lessons from this, though.

Hang in there... 🐨

[Santosh]

Sonia,

No doubt China is also a shithole country who had hidden the coronavirus from the world from December 2019 itself. So there is no point of talking about a dictatorship like China.
I like South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Norway, Sweden.

Why it frustrates somebody from a third world country about the world's biggest superpower with the world's biggest economy, is that when it fails to protect the world. It is the responsibility of a world power to maintain peace and stability and help protect the world from apocalypse.

The US inteliigence warned Trump about a possible pandemic in beginning of January 2020 itself. But Trump failed to do his duty that American constituion gave him.

Ok if the government of US could not do anything then what was the CIA and NSA doing? They should have leaked this virus news in the media so that countries of the world could take necessary steps!

The CIA just wants to do surveillance and kill good people. But when it comes to helping poeple, it fails. Because it is just an organisation of buch of criminals.

While it may sound awkward as to why normal people like us should worry about the actions of our governments or intelligence but there is a thing called professionalism.

Professionalism is the key to be a statesman. Educated and sensible people with common sense stick to this thing everytime. While idiots and selfish criminals not.

The USA failed in its professionalism and duty.

Anyways you did not tell that why did you and you parents take hydrochlorroquine.

[Jen]

Revealing short video about the rise of the pandemic...

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Part 1 of a documentary about Covid-19, by Janet Ossebaard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFvCwdfoiH8&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0kKgRBiRtP78BUHyUzXrCQrxl3n3VQ2Dz0uVaDFE9I8xOriEiC_zwSsh8

[Sonia Taylor]

There is hope. :)

Our chairperson sent a text message briefly summarizing a call GSD had with a representative here in the US this morning. He said not to worry and that this will pass. Apparently he was very upbeat.

Just found that to be of interest especially considering this news release re treatment therapy to be approved for use in the US. France is now using it as well. As many of you know, this is the medication that I and my family took when we were very sick with the virus and it worked wonders. So, I’m especially happy that the FDA has approved its use now.

https://www.kron4.com/news/national/us-fda-issues-limited-emergency-use-authorization-for-two-drugs-usually-used-to-treat-malaria/