I recently came across an excellent article by the HART group on the Banality of Evil. Near the end of the article are 5 key points which all those who opposed the lockdowns will heartily agree with:
- Forced social isolation of citizens is always morally and ethically wrong.
- Forced medical procedures are always morally and ethically wrong.
- Psychological manipulation of populations without their consent is morally and ethically wrong.
- Government policies that trample on basic constitutional rights (e.g. the right to work, freedom of movement, free speech) are morally and ethically wrong.
- Government policies designed to increase fear are morally and ethically wrong.
However, the churches, which should have been beacons of light during the dreadful lockdown years, instead went along with everything.
They closed down.
At the very point when some former churchgoers would have been tempted to go back, even if sporadically, the churches failed the test. Yet these are organisations that are supposed to be on the side of truth and goodness.
The evangelical outfits will quote Romans 13 in defence of their position but there is no defence for going along with morally wrong decisions made by the government.
It will now be harder - much harder - for many of those people who might have considered going back to do so.