“Religious Exemptions”

Pastor Keith Marshall from Hope Lutheran Church in Enumclaw, Washington, USA, wrote an article for a local paper (the Courier-Herald) entitled “What does your faith exempt you from?” Taking a picture of the article to share online, he had no idea that it would soon go viral.

I started reading the article, at first thinking that it was simply using the “religious exemption” question to highlight some important biblical truths – but as I read on, I became quite concerned. Concerned enough to sit down and start writing.

You can find the full article here: What does your faith exempt you from? But I will give you a summary, and respond.

“Recently I was asked if Christians should be able to claim Religious Exemption when public health is in jeopardy.”

That’s an interesting question. So, someone is asking if it’s valid to take legal recourse if they’re being asked to do something that they feel is contradictory to their faith “when public health is in jeopardy”. I would imagine that anytime is a good time to be non-hypocritical regarding your faith, public health or not, so I would think that the question isn’t so much “should I follow my faith” but more “should I take legal measures while following my faith”. That is a very good question. But it’s not really the question Pastor Marshall is answering.

Next, Pastor Marshall begins to reflect – “What does my faith in Jesus Christ exempt me from?” And he starts through a list of sins to avoid. So at first I was thinking, ok, he’s using this as an illustration to remind Christians to focus on following the Lord in a biblical way, instead of getting caught up in the priorities of the prevailing culture. But that’s not exactly what he does.

Philippians 2:3-4 — he’s exempt from “Putting my wants above the needs of others.” Excellent. Agreed.

Galatians 5:13-14 — he’s exempt from “Claiming my freedom in Christ as liberty to act without responsibility.” Yes, all right – not sure that’s exactly how Paul would put it, but I can’t technically disagree. Paul’s exact words (translated into English of course) are “do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

“Responsibility” in the context of Galatians would be, of course, “loving your neighbour” (as the Bible defines “love” and “neighbour”).

Matthew 25:40 — he’s exempt from “Refusing to protect the most vulnerable in our midst.” Again, I think I have to agree. “Vulnerable” is, I think, a word you can use here. Specifically, Jesus mentions the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner. Absolutely, there’s going to be a valid application to our current world here.

Let’s summarize his three points: 1) Others first 2) Responsibility 3) Protect the Vulnerable

Now we get to Pastor Marshall’s conclusion. His conclusion is that he must receive “the COVID vaccination” and “wear a mask”. Why?

1. To safeguard life (vaccine)
2. To care for my neighbor (mask)

Now, I am not writing about whether or not you should take a vaccine or wear a mask. That is not my concern with this article. If Pastor Marshall believes that getting a shot and wearing a mask is an application of these verses in his life, he absolutely should do both. It’s what came next that concerned me.

By invoking the name of Jesus to claim exemption, you are using the Lord’s name in vain and therefore sinning. Now, you may have your own political or personal reasons not to do so, but please, stop claiming your faith in Jesus Christ as justification.

Pastor Keith Marshall

First of all, Pastor Marshall is suggesting that people asking for religious exemption are doing so not for religious reasons, but for “political” or “personal” reasons. He’s saying that those reasons are unbiblical. For him, this is, of course, not an area in which good Christians may differ, or circumstances may differ, or there is liberty in Christ.

In fact, according to him, it is a sin to not to get the shot and wear the mask, and to claim that Christ is asking you to sin (a.k.a. request a “religious exemption”), you are taking the Lord’s name in vain.

This is a very serious claim. Pastor Marshall is identifying and defining a sin. Not getting a specific medical treatment or not wearing a mask in not a sin mentioned anywhere in the Bible. But he is binding the Christian’s conscience to do so, because he believes it is the clear logical conclusion of what Scripture says.

So I asked myself – what have I personally heard about “religious exemptions”? What reasons do people have for looking into that possibility?

If they are using religious exemptions as an excuse for a preference, a selfish desire, a political opinion, then I agree – they should not be “using” Christianity as a way to do what they want. Maybe the people that talked to Pastor Marshall were doing that.

But I haven’t heard that personally. What have I heard?

Probably the most common concern I’ve heard related to “religious exemptions” is the connection of COVID-19 shots with abortion. I know, there are arguments on both sides of this issue, and we’re not getting into that today. The point is, some people feel that they cannot take the shots because they are against abortion. So how do these people line up with Pastor Marshall’s three tests?

1. Others first – Well, these people are concerned about the murder of the unborn. So many of them are willing to forgo a treatment which may protect them personally because they’re concerned about others. Sounds like they could pass this test.
2. Responsibility – These people feel they have a responsibility to serve society by routing out abortion. Agree or disagree, I think that they would feel that they are passing this test.
3. Protect the Vulnerable – Would avoiding a vaccine protect the unborn? Maybe, maybe not. But certainly this is the goal of these people.

So even if I disagree with this perspective, I would have to admit these people are trying to be biblical. I would have a hard time saying that they are “using the Lord’s name in vain”. In fact, they would be facing a lot of opposition and even persecution due to their view. That doesn’t make their view right, but it does suggest it may not come from a selfish motivation.

I’ve also heard a lot of people who feel that it is safer for them, their families, and even their communities, to not take the shot or not wear the mask. There are physical and mental health questions related to the long term / improper use of masks. There is certainly a disagreement among scientists, researchers, and doctors, about who should take a COVID-19 shot. Again, my point is not to take one side or the other. My point is that some people honestly feel that they are putting people they love in more danger by taking the shot / encouraging others to take the shot.

So how do these people fare with the three tests?

1. Others first – There may be some people who are simply afraid of the shots, but even so, they’re afraid because they’re concerned about the consequences of the shots to both themselves and others. Some people with this perspective may have purely selfish motives. But certainly not everyone. I would argue, not the majority.
2. Responsibility – As a Christian, if you’re concerned that your health could be compromised because of a medical treatment, you’re concerned about your health because you want to serve others. I think there are very few in this camp that think others should take the shot, but they shouldn’t.
3. Protect the Vulnerable – Who are these people that Pastor Marshall is saying are “refusing” to protect the vulnerable? For example, early on I heard some doctors talking about risk assessment – is the risk of a vaccine worse than the disease? And some suggested that the most vulnerable should consider taking the COVID-19 shot, when others shouldn’t. You may disagree violently – but the fact is that this group of people is not “Refusing to protect the most vulnerable”.

After these two most common reasons are a host of others. Some are concerned about biblical freedom, and biblical limitations and responsibilities of government. And there are many other opinions that “most of us” would either think are worth thinking about, or some that we would call “off the deep end”.

Here’s the bottom line. Some people (mistaken or not) feel that they are following the Lord and loving their community by taking a medical treatment and wearing a face mask. Some people (mistaken or not) feel that they are following the Lord and loving their community by not taking a medical treatment and not wearing a face mask.

Pastor Marshall assumes that the first group is putting others first, being responsible, and protecting the vulnerable. He assumes that the second group is putting their wants above the needs of others, claiming “freedom” as a way to act without responsibility, and “refusing” to protect the vulnerable. In other words, the motives of the second group are sinful. In fact, very purposefully sinful.

He’s judging the hearts of group #2. He’s not saying that anyone is honestly mistaken. Of course, he believes that, from what he knows, there are good biblical and scientific reasons to wear a mask and get a vaccine. But he’s not arguing that anyone is misinformed. He’s arguing that they are “using the Lord’s name in vain” due to personal sin. They are using their faith and then legal means to be selfish and hurt others.

From those I’ve heard from, even those I would most strongly disagree with, this is a mischaracterization.

We should indeed apply these verses and others (in context) to our decisions regarding medical treatments. Jesus Christ is Lord of all – He must be Lord of our personal and political views. We must all take the information we have and live for the Lord in the power of His Spirit. But to accuse a extremely diverse crowd, who have all different motivations, of sin – when you’re not talking about a specifically mentioned sin in Scripture – you should think twice.

We have unity in Christ with believers who take different perspectives – and we should have convictions and discuss these perspectives (Jesus Christ is Lord of all). I would hope that Pastor Marshall and I would be able to discuss these issues in Christian love.

But generalizing and judging hearts based on our own logic is not something we should be doing. In fact, I’m exempt from doing it.