Use Your Brain

Faith & Science

“’Faith’ is a fine invention

For gentlemen who see!

But microscopes are prudent

In an emergency.”

Emily Dickinson (“Faith Is A Fine Invention”)

          Emily Dickinson, our most famous poet who never published and rarely left her room, was what might be described as the ultimate introvert. She wrote thousands of poems that today are the subject of entire college courses and PhD theses. Without ever leaving her home in Amherst, Massachusetts, she peered at the world through a unique lens—one that seemed always tuned to the balance between life and death. Even though she died in 1887, her poem as quoted above might have been written about today.

          While most churches, synagogues, and temples are either closed or holding on-line worship in view of the social-distancing guidelines established for the coronavirus, some churches are defying the order and gathering large crowds. You’ll have to judge the wisdom of this for yourself. Here is what I know—the virus has taken the lives of many good Christians, Jews and Muslims all around the world. It is an equal-opportunity killer.

          There are times to allow your faith to overcome circumstances, and there are times when one needs to listen to the scientists and medical experts. This is the latter. As my friend, Dr. John Owen said in a recent Facebook post, viruses simply do what viruses do—invade, infect, replicate and repeat. They are not living things with brains; they are more like robots that take over human cells and commandeer the nucleus to replicate their own DNA. But we are living things with brains, and when our best scientists tell us to observe certain protocols in order to stay healthy, we should most definitely do it. If we love life, that is.

          Your faith is what lifts you up, keeps you strong in the face of this catastrophe, but it is not protection against it. I hope you are obeying the rules and preserving your precious life today.

                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                  Jane