Infamous atheist and “freedom from religion” campaigner Mikey Weinstein seems to grasp this concept.  In his campaign to force US Navy and Air Force chapels to close, is he really just interested in the health of sailors, airmen, and Marines?  Hardly.  He knows that if he can force chapels to close now because of this crisis, he will have established two extremely useful precedents.

My heart goes out to you all as we seek to minister to people in the most trying of circumstances.  I am sorry that in most cases we are not even able to meet in person in our church courts to encourage each other—I’m sure that we all need some encouragement.

I do not have the time to develop my thoughts on this complex topic as I might wish, but I do have one fairly simple point to make here.  Although US and UK governments pressure on public worship services may be motivated entirely by legitimate public health concerns, that does not mean that it could not be appropriated for nefarious ends.

Infamous atheist and “freedom from religion” campaigner Mikey Weinstein seems to grasp this concept.  In his campaign to force US Navy and Air Force chapels to close, is he really just interested in the health of sailors, airmen, and Marines?  Hardly.  He knows that if he can force chapels to close now because of this crisis, he will have established two extremely useful precedents:

1. Freedom of worship in public (of course, Weinstein is all for private religion) is not so non-negotiable after all; and
2. The authorities can order the closure of places of worship if they think they have sufficient reason.

I’m sure Weinstein is already dreaming up a long list of ways to put these things to use.  Beyond that, take a moment to contemplate what future governments might conceivably do with such precedents.  Again, I am not suggesting that the current government has some secret agenda to destroy religious liberty.  I am simply pointing out that there are larger issues involved, not all of which might be apparent to us right now.  What the government does in this crisis, and what we do and say in response, could be used by others in the future for less innocent ends.  I know this does not settle the matter one way or another, but I think we must include such considerations into our prayerful deliberations.

May God grant to all of us much wisdom, courage and faith for the dark days ahead.  “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor 15:58)

Dr Bill Schweitzer is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America; is Minister of All Saints Presbyterian Church in Newcastle, UK; Dean and Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and serves as a U.S. Navy Reserve chaplain with Special Operations Command Europe.