Justin Welby, the current Archbishop of Canterbury and thus the leader of the world-wide Anglican community, has said that “turning down the jab [anti-covid vaccine] violates the principle of “loving thy neighbour””.
No hint of a sense of 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, which goes like this:
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.
Regarding the Archbishop’s pronouncement, Breitbart Europe reports:
Responding to the pronouncement, Church of England curate Jamie Franklin told Breitbart London: “I think the archbishop’s comments betray a total lack of understanding of the objections to the COVID-19 vaccine which include safety concerns, concerns about the use of aborted foetal tissue in the development of said vaccines, and concerns about the use of coercion, scapegoating and persecution of those who are deemed to be non-compliant.
“The archbishop also appears completely unconcerned about the emergence of a biosecurity state in which the government has arrogated to itself the power to mandate medical treatments for its citizens, thereby fundamentally altering the nature of the relationship between the individual and the state,” Franklin added.
The Church of England curate, who hosts the Irreverend podcast, went on to say: “Many people are finding it more and more difficult to believe in the narrative pedalled by the government and corporate media and are wondering what on earth is going on.
“The archbishop’s comment do not address any of these concerns and his repeated use of the phrase love your neighbour’ is a misnomer in this context.”
Here is a study from 30th April 2021 showing that there are “breakthrough cases”. That the vaccine does not protect against infection or transmission. The ABC should have known this by December, and probably did.
The other leading churchman who recently got Christian faith disastrously wrong is David Walker, the Bishop of Manchester. On “Thought for the Day” today on the BBC Radio 4 Today program, he said that he had cancelled a number of Christmas events (I paraphrase from memory) “not to protect the attendees, who would have been healthy and strong, but someone who wouldn’t have attended, living far away, maybe on the other side of the world.”
Let me translate this: “In order to stop dying, we must stop living.”
It sounds to me very much like the promise of the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:4): “You will not certainly die . . . you will be like God.”