God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and Its Aftermath

by N.T. Wright

I find myself caught between these two viewpoints, both of which seem to me right. I totally understand that we need to be responsible and scrupulously careful. I am appalled by reports of would-be devout but misguided people ignoring safety regulations because they believe that as Christians they are automatically protected against disease, or that (as I heard someone say on television) ‘you’ll be safe inside church because the devil can’t get in there’. (I wanted to say: Trust me, lady, I’m a bishop: the devil knows his way in there as well as anybody else.) That is the kind of superstition that gets Christian faith a bad name. Equally, the debates about locking churches can easily stir up lesser controversies, between those for whom the building and all its bits and pieces has been a vital part of their spirituality, and those for whom all such things are irrelevant since one can worship God anywhere. Both sides here may learn from the present crisis, and we do well to hold one another in charitable prayer.