In The Face Of Coronavirus: Trying Another Means

The world is running in all directions in search of an answer to a virus that has indeed gone viral. All over the world, conferences are canceled; bans have been placed on travels; nations are floundering under the threat of the virus; conspiracies are raging, nose masks have become more precious than ever and people are justifiably desperate.

As part of the solutions to this malignant virus, technology has been deployed. Nations and social groupings are going virtual. The tide of racism is also rising. But it is the sheer paradox that technology that was meant to enhance the quality of life has become the avenue for the spread of the virus that leaves me musing.

The rapacity with which the virus is spreading and the purported dangers associated with it has resulted in a desperate search for a redeemer. There have been whispers of medications here and there; there have been reported cases of people changing human lifeclass to pre-empt future viral outbreak. Amid all this, there are counterpoints about the origin of virus. Just like all episodic issues or pandemics, some individuals strongly believe that the virus was deliberately manufactured in a lab somewhere to offset the world's geopolitical system. The wildest I have heard, in connection with this, is that it is part of the scheme by a certain group of people to make Brexit deeply felt by the rest of the European nations. On the flip side, some hold the belief that the virus is just one of the ways nature rebels against humankind.

Regardless of the origin of the virus and the political spinning placed on it, it is evident that most of us live in the shadow of fear. I dare say that the scarecrows built around the virus is perhaps deadlier than the substance of the virus. But as the political elites and experts work around the clock to beat the virus, I am reminded of my own reading about influenza which is believed to have killed at least twenty million people in the world with the Gold Coast recording about 100,000 deaths in six months after the World War I (1918-1919).

The flu had the epiphenomenon of deepening people's sense of the need for the presence of the ultimate reality. This sense contributed to the sporadic growth of the American Faith Tabernacle Church around the world, including the Gold Coast in the 1920s. It created an atmosphere where people resorted to divine healing. The emphasis placed on divine healing percolated into the politics of the Apostolic Church in Ghana (leading to a split in 1938).

As a Christian, I support science and its capacity to produce positive change. I also do share the view that God gave us the scripture and creation for our holistic understanding of his universe. But unfortunately, many of us think that science has the answers to all human challenges. We are deluded into thinking and rehashing the nineteenth century mythological refrain that religion is irrelevant in the schemes of the "modern" world. In one way or the other, we have all agreed with Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, the German philosopher, that God is dead. But at least, Nietzsche was quick to admit that we must have a functional differential by playing God in a world that has been bracketed out of God's control.

The responses to the coronavirus reflect the fault lines of scientism – the idea that science is the answer to all challenges. When the virus made headlines in most countries, including the United Kingdom, the usual mantra of most of the political elites was that "we are in control." In my own university where I am currently studying, we were told that the university can contain the virus. These were rhetoric to soothe our ears. But it appears the virus is not scared by promises and perhaps empty hopes. Certainly, we need hope-boosters in the face of this epidemic. But we need something more!

While we need hope-boosters, what is obvious is that we are not in control of the universe. The virus has exposed our vulnerability. Much as the pandemic will unleash our capacity to find answers to life's existential challenges, it has shown that we are not in charge of the universe as we are oft to think. But as we frantically look for answers, please I want us to turn to God in this instance. This is not to say that we should be oblivious to the basic mundane precautionary measures (including handwashing with soap under running water and avoiding handshakes) that need to be taken into consideration. It is rather to remind us of the one who created the universe, who is actually in control of the universe. We need the Lord of the universe to ferry us through this turbulent moment in human history. I am pleading with Christians to lift a prayer to the Lord to seek His intervention. It is not enough bracketing the universe out of the control of the Lord. We need to appreciate the limit of science. We need to acknowledge that we are finite creatures inhabiting in a world created by an infinite being.

I call upon all Christians to reflect on Psalm 91. I am convinced that what is lurking under the trepidation against coronavirus is death. We all do not want to hear about death. Thus, while death is inevitable, we are never content with it. Our concern about death is such that it runs against the grain of evolution theory which argues that death is simply a natural part of the evolution process. My dear reader, let me assure you that there is the saviour of the elect who conquered death. His name is Jesus Christ. He tells us in Psalm 91:16 that He will satisfy us with life and show us His salvation.

“God, I commit the world into your care. Nations are running to and fro in search of an answer to a malignant virus. Scientists are investing their brains in search for an answer. Father, we thank you for such a blessing you have graciously endowed humanity. But we also call upon you to come to our aid. We need you this moment more than ever. Please save our nations. Please save life. Please help us. Life is under threat. But we know that you are the Prince of life, so please come to our aid.

Give us the courage to overcome our fears. Give us faith to know that you are in charge, not coronavirus. Give us hope that death does not have us in the long run. Give us faith that virus and diseases are just temporary intrusions in our lives. Finally, in your mercy, please hear our prayer. Help us. We thank you for answering our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.”

Satyagraha
Charles Prempeh (prempehgideon@yahoo.com), African University College of Communications, Accra