Young Hillsong Church congregant who mocked vaccine dies of COVID

[SomeRandom]

Yes it's tacky.

Perhaps. But true nonetheless

 

[Sand Dancer]

According to a Daily Beast article, Man Who Tweeted About Having '99 Problems but a Vax Ain't One' Dies of COVID. In particular:

He made memes about trusting the Bible over Dr. Anthony Fauci. But in late July, Harmon wrote that he was “on max oxygen” and “struggling to function.” His final tweet July 21 asked supporters to pray for him as he was about to be intubated: “Don’t know when i’ll wake up, please pray.”
​

Why are so many Evangelicals putting their faith in direct conflict with science? It's not as if science has lost any of these fights, ever. Vaccines are clearly demonstrated to be effective in preventing viral infections, and I think most Evangelicals would agree that god does not answer every prayer for healing.

Why not go with the reliable cure? Why are vaccines seen as such a threat? Why not also spurn glasses, for example, since praying to god will either fix your eyesight or not, and using unnatural ocular contraptions is surely an "affront against god's will"? Wouldn't such behavior be theologically consistent? I know many people have died for the sake of their religious identity throughout history. In this case, it seems so gratuitous and irrational. Unlike in prior religious struggles, I see no uplifting moral movement that is motivating this resistance. Only spite.

Part of me appreciates the sad irony of so many conservative Evangelicals winning Darwin Awards, but I really wish they'd just get vaccinated along with everyone else. This kind of virtue signaling is no virtue at all. It's of no benefit to anyone.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts. What am I missing here?

Don't they realize that Christians die all the time? They get sick, have accidents, etc, so I don't understand this attitude, except to say that maybe if they hold themselves up as the chosen ones and special, that people will want to convert.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Why are so many Evangelicals putting their faith in direct conflict with science?

Because nobody ever believes in just one bad idea.

 

[Wandering Monk]

I suspect it is a matter of proving their faith.
So far through their life, faith hasn't really let them down until this one time.

The need to have faith can be a dangerous message.

Kinda like snake handlers.

 

[JustGeorge]

I don't see why it never enters their minds that perhaps God has given us the means for a vaccine, why not take it?

 

[ElishaElijah]

Happens to survive? No. They survived because the virus dosent kill the majority of people it infects.

I know the gist of it though, and it's to do our best to help the vulnerable out which people are doing as evidenced by the vaccine.

Most will do fine. Some need the vaccines.

Singling out one who died by challenging the virus is tragic, but its simply not the majority of cases.

I do recommend taking the vaccine only through careful research and risk assessment.

Respect those who make their own decisions weither the end proves good or bad.

It's up to them as much as it is up to ourselves to make our own free choices on the matter.

This is true and on the other hand you could show the people that die from getting the vaccine or have had adverse effects. Give people all the accurate info and let them make their own decisions.

 

[Katzpur]

I'm curious to hear your thoughts. What am I missing here?

As far as I'm concerned, anybody who is eligible for the vaccine and refuses to get it deserves to get good and sick. And if they die, I don't give a damn. Even with the Delta variant, if everyone in the U.S. who could be vaccinated by now was, we would NOT be where we are today. I have ZERO patience with anti-vaxxers.

 

[Katzpur]

I'm sorry if you felt like I was grandstanding

Grandstand to your heart's content! You are 100% entitled to do so, and 100% correct in what you said in your OP.

 

[PruePhillip]

According to a Daily Beast article, Man Who Tweeted About Having '99 Problems but a Vax Ain't One' Dies of COVID. In particular:

He made memes about trusting the Bible over Dr. Anthony Fauci. But in late July, Harmon wrote that he was “on max oxygen” and “struggling to function.” His final tweet July 21 asked supporters to pray for him as he was about to be intubated: “Don’t know when i’ll wake up, please pray.”
​

Why are so many Evangelicals putting their faith in direct conflict with science? It's not as if science has lost any of these fights, ever. Vaccines are clearly demonstrated to be effective in preventing viral infections, and I think most Evangelicals would agree that god does not answer every prayer for healing.

Why not go with the reliable cure? Why are vaccines seen as such a threat? Why not also spurn glasses, for example, since praying to god will either fix your eyesight or not, and using unnatural ocular contraptions is surely an "affront against god's will"? Wouldn't such behavior be theologically consistent? I know many people have died for the sake of their religious identity throughout history. In this case, it seems so gratuitous and irrational. Unlike in prior religious struggles, I see no uplifting moral movement that is motivating this resistance. Only spite.

Part of me appreciates the sad irony of so many conservative Evangelicals winning Darwin Awards, but I really wish they'd just get vaccinated along with everyone else. This kind of virtue signaling is no virtue at all. It's of no benefit to anyone.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts. What am I missing here?

It was Christians who gave the world modern medicine, so what you write can be strange.
Part of the issue is that in the bible it speaks of those who go to a doctor instead of God. I
am convinced that these stories are not what they seem - the spiritual message is that it's
good to pursue natural outcomes (hard work, saving and investment for wealth, decent
manners and consideration of other for happy living, good diet and doctors for your health
etc.) but don't leave God out of your equation.
Some just take such stories to mean you don't need to attend to worldly advice, just the God
advice. So God can save you instead of doctors - it doesn't work that way as well meaning
people find out.

 

[Twilight Hue]

As far as I'm concerned, anybody who is eligible for the vaccine and refuses to get it deserves to get good and sick. And if they die, I don't give a damn. Even with the Delta variant, if everyone in the U.S. who could be vaccinated by now was, we would NOT be where we are today. I have ZERO patience with anti-vaxxers.

Here's to karma then!

 

[Twilight Hue]

It was Christians who gave the world modern medicine, so what you write can be strange.
Part of the issue is that in the bible it speaks of those who go to a doctor instead of God. I
am convinced that these stories are not what they seem - the spiritual message is that it's
good to pursue natural outcomes (hard work, saving and investment for wealth, decent
manners and consideration of other for happy living, good diet and doctors for your health
etc.) but don't leave God out of your equation.
Some just take such stories to mean you don't need to attend to worldly advice, just the God
advice. So God can save you instead of doctors - it doesn't work that way as well meaning
people find out.

It was early Arabs who gave us good medicine.

Eveone else? Well...

 

[Valjean]

This is true and on the other hand you could show the people that die from getting the vaccine or have had adverse effects. Give people all the accurate info and let them make their own decisions.

This is true and on the other hand you could show the people that die from getting the vaccine or have had adverse effects. Give people all the accurate info and let them make their own decisions.

You could point out that you're more likely to be injured driving to the clinic, or to church next Sunday, than from the vaccine.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

As far as I'm concerned, anybody who is eligible for the vaccine and refuses to get it deserves to get good and sick. And if they die, I don't give a damn. Even with the Delta variant, if everyone in the U.S. who could be vaccinated by now was, we would NOT be where we are today. I have ZERO patience with anti-vaxxers.

After the unvaccinated have died off to COVID, then what?

After they find the perfect vaccine we would be potentionally killing off each other while provaxxers laugh in our face.

I'm actually serious, though with this comment. That, or set us in our own island.

I read a lot against antivaxxers but the only thing you guys wish is that the unvaccinated get sick. Instead of wishing us sick, is there a much more humane way to handle us so we may not possibly affect others?

What's provaxxers solution to this without pinning people down and holding a needle to their face?

 

[PruePhillip]

It was early Arabs who gave us good medicine.

Eveone else? Well...

I had a good laugh, but that's not what I meant. Middle Ages medicine wasn't that good.
For good modern medicine you need to look at the late 1800's and 1900's. One of the
major reason for the exploding populations of Arab countries today is Western medicine,
particularly vaccines. Half a million Arabs attend Israeli hospitals each year - not the other
way around.

 

[PruePhillip]

After the unvaccinated have died off to COVID, then what?

After they find the perfect vaccine we would be potentionally killing off each other while provaxxers laugh in our face.

I'm actually serious, though with this comment. That, or set us in our own island.

I read a lot against antivaxxers but the only thing you guys wish is that the unvaccinated get sick. Instead of wishing us sick, is there a much more humane way to handle us so we may not possibly affect others?

What's provaxxers solution to this without pinning people down and holding a needle to their face?

Yes, there's a solution for anti-vaxers. Isolation, travel restrictions and barring from social events.
It was some antivexers who brought measles back to America from Europe. Start right there - no
air travel without vaccines.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

According to a Daily Beast article, Man Who Tweeted About Having '99 Problems but a Vax Ain't One' Dies of COVID. In particular:

He made memes about trusting the Bible over Dr. Anthony Fauci. But in late July, Harmon wrote that he was “on max oxygen” and “struggling to function.” His final tweet July 21 asked supporters to pray for him as he was about to be intubated: “Don’t know when i’ll wake up, please pray.”
​

Why are so many Evangelicals putting their faith in direct conflict with science? It's not as if science has lost any of these fights, ever. Vaccines are clearly demonstrated to be effective in preventing viral infections, and I think most Evangelicals would agree that god does not answer every prayer for healing.

Why not go with the reliable cure? Why are vaccines seen as such a threat? Why not also spurn glasses, for example, since praying to god will either fix your eyesight or not, and using unnatural ocular contraptions is surely an "affront against god's will"? Wouldn't such behavior be theologically consistent? I know many people have died for the sake of their religious identity throughout history. In this case, it seems so gratuitous and irrational. Unlike in prior religious struggles, I see no uplifting moral movement that is motivating this resistance. Only spite.

Part of me appreciates the sad irony of so many conservative Evangelicals winning Darwin Awards, but I really wish they'd just get vaccinated along with everyone else. This kind of virtue signaling is no virtue at all. It's of no benefit to anyone.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts. What am I missing here?

Personally, I believe this is largely due to the Hollywoodisation of American discourse. Everything is dichotomously "good" or "bad". And you pick your "side", and then that determines what you think is which. Since the tribal conservative "side" decided that that science based responses to the pandemic were "bad", this has dictated tribal conservative responses to medical treatment.

So much of what appears to be happening America can be explained by this simple paradigm. First you decide what "side" you belong to, then unquestioningly hate whatever your "side" has declared "bad".

There are tribal liberals, too, of course, whose beliefs are determined purely by what their "side" supports, but as the liberal "side" tends to support scientifically valid positions this ends up causing fewer problems, per se, but it's still a crummy way to decide what your personal position on any given issue is.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

Yes, there's a solution for anti-vaxers. Isolation, travel restrictions and barring from social events.
It was some antivexers who brought measles back to America from Europe. Start right there - no
air travel without vaccines.

Cue conspiracy theories about vaccine requirements being anti-freedom.

 

[Shakeel]

I put them on par with someone who puts on a blindfold, runs through a busy intersection, and happens to survive, rather than looking both ways and waiting for the walk signal.

The vaccine can have harmful side effects and it isn't suicidal to not have it. You're most likely to survive anyway.

 

[Shakeel]

When it comes to opposing science, simply the decision of not taking a vaccine does not tell about opposition to science. I find it more relevant whether the person takes other precautions or not.

I have not even considered taking the vaccine, but it isn't because I think it's useless, I just don't believe I need it and I take other precautions.

 

[Shakeel]

But what @Twilight Hue says above suggests that you need not get the vaccine until AFTER you find out you are infected and might not do well.

Old people may be in more need for the vaccines as well as sick people. For others it is simply about preference (though it is to the old and the sick as well of course).

I know some people who, when they talk, take the virus and the restrictions very seriously, but they don't walk the talk. They go wherever because at home it's boring and then are shocked to find they're sick or in a precautionary quarantine.

Then a lot of people throw the precautions out of the window after they get the vaccine.