How to View the Swine Flu

By Dr. Al Mohler for entire article click here http://www.albertmohler.com/

...The outbreak of swine flu now dominates the headlines and news programs, with at least 150 deaths in Mexico already recorded even as the disease is now confirmed around the world. For many years medical authorities have warned of a coming influenza pandemic -- a modern plague -- that could kill on a magnitude similar to the 1918 outbreak that killed over 100 million persons worldwide.

Writing in The Atlantic in 2005, Michael Specter called influenza "Nature's Bioterrorist." As Specter explains, "A pandemic is the viral equivalent of a perfect storm. There are three essential conditions, which rarely converge, and they are impossible to predict. But the requirements are clear. A new flu virus must emerge from the animal reservoirs that have always produced and harbored such viruses--one that has never infected human beings and therefore one to which no person would have antibodies. Second, the virus has to actually make humans sick (most don't). Finally, it must be able to spread efficiently--through coughing, sneezing, or a handshake."

Is this outbreak of swine flu the harbinger of a hellish pandemic? It is far too early to say, and there is no justification for jumping to that conclusion. Nevertheless, it is a clear warning. Even in a normal year 36,000 Americans die of the flu. We are made of fragile stuff.

Experts on pandemics suggest that the question is "when" and not "if" this threatened pandemic will come. Michael Specter offers a sober warning: "Infectious-disease experts talk about pandemics the way geologists talk about earthquakes; the discussion is never about whether 'the big one' will hit."

The public discussion about swine flu and the threat of a breakout pandemic should prompt Christians to think seriously and soberly about what all this means. Biblical Christianity has much to say about disease and sickness, and the Christian tradition is rich with thought about how Christians, churches, and pastors should think of sickness, disease, and death.

At the onset, we must remember that sickness and death are part of the curse. Every single disease and malady can be traced back to Genesis 3 and humanity's fall into sin. Adam and Eve were the first humans to taste life and, after their sin, they were also the first to taste sickness and death. While only a few sicknesses can be traced to specific sins (such as sexually transmitted diseases), in reality the whole enterprise of sickness and death is rightly traced to sin, both individual and corporate. The New Creation that is coming will know no sickness and death, for the curse is reversed in Christ. Yet, even as we await the coming of the Day of the Lord, in this life we will all know the pangs, pains, perplexities, and perniciousness of disease. We are headed for death.

Nevertheless, we should be thankful for modern medicine, and the invention of both antibiotics and antiseptics. The germ theory of disease is a relatively recent human achievement, and the widespread use of effective antibiotics dates back only to the midpoint of the last century. While thankful for these medical advances, we are reminded that humanity will never finally triumph over disease and death. The curse is beyond our power to reverse.

At the same time, Christians have honored Christ by ministering to the sick. As Thomas C. Oden reminds us, "Christian ministry prays in good conscience for healing, although it does not tempt God by making faith contingent upon a particular healing. Ministry never prays that sickness or pain be increased. Ministry consistently is on the side of fighting affliction, not increasing it. Meanwhile, it does not view pain as an absolute evil out of which no good could ever come."

Martin Luther, no stranger to sickness, taught his congregation to use medical means, but to place trust in God alone. "Rather you should go on in simple faith, and when you are in danger and trouble, you should use whatever means you can, lest you tempt God. But if you find that these means, which God has created to dispel danger or sickness, supply neither the desired help or the remedy, then cast your care and your life on God and commit yourself to the direction of His wisdom and goodness."