The one-two punch of the COVID-19 pandemic and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s return to the national stage has revived the perennial topic of vaccine denialism. There are many reasons why this skepticism remains so popular, some of which are more understandable than others. Recently, a friend of mine was making a fuss about vaccines. She had just vaccinated her daughter, but now the child developed unpleasant symptoms. My friend was sure of two things. The symptoms are a reaction to the vaccine, which is extremely dangerous and possibly fatal.
No, there are three. This is proof that she made a mistake. Her child was suffering and should not have received the vaccine.
I know where she’s coming from. Both my children and I are fully vaccinated with all recommended vaccines. We’ve done enough research that we more or less understand how vaccines work, what’s in them, and why they’re so important. At the same time, I’m old enough to understand that just because something is backed by science doesn’t mean it’s foolproof. I’m not old enough to remember, but I remember what life was like before vaccinations. I have one chickenpox scar on my chin, but I’ve never seen mumps, rubella, or polio. All of my childhood friends survived my childhood.
And because of this basically healthy world we live in, the choice we are faced with is whether we decide to take the risk of bad side effects, or we refuse to take that risk. It may seem like either. But in reality, the choice is between taking the risk of massive suffering from a terrible disease or risking far less suffering from vaccination. That’s the real choice.
But vaccines are also victims of their own success. They are so effective that people forget what they protect us from and why we need them.
The same goes for salvation.
If we were raised Catholic, or even if we converted or reverted years ago, it is very easy to begin to take our salvation for granted. Even people who are not Christians themselves have been immersed in Christianity for so long that they don’t recognize it for what it is: the very air we breathe. Honest historians know this and will point out how pervasive Christianity has become and forever changed the world in which we live.
But Christianity is so familiar that we see it simply as the norm, rather than as something new, surprising, or transformative. Part of the reason is because we don’t have a clear understanding of what life was like before or without it.
Jesus Christ is also a victim of his own success.
Since we cannot remember or imagine life without Christ, we may begin to think that life without Christ was not so bad, and that the real threat of entering the waters of baptism is the side effects that come with it. . The boredom of having to fulfill all church duties, the embarrassment of living a life that is not understood by friends and family, and the real pain of self-denial. Or maybe you need to make some major changes in your life.
So is it worth the risk? Is it true that the immense benefits of being a Christian outweigh the possible risks?
Before we answer that question, let’s go back to the original analogy. I thought vaccine skeptics were simply people who hadn’t done their homework or didn’t really understand history or science. We now know that many of them ended up where they were because someone treated them badly in the name of science. Someone claiming to be speaking to an authority on modern medicine has ridiculed their pain, downplayed their suffering, or harmed them by claiming that he was actually healing them. .
Naturally, they ended up having a negative impact on the whole business and became skeptics, if not outright deniers, of Western medicine.
The same is true of many who reject Christianity. Sometimes it is because they lack courage, are in denial, or are unwilling to endure even the small inconveniences and trials that conversion brings.
But sometimes it’s because someone treated them poorly, perhaps even barbarically, in the name of Christ. Someone claiming to be speaking with the authority of Jesus mocked their pain, belittled their suffering, did them harm and called it healing. The conquerors did it, the vile catechists may do it, and those who claim excuses for abuse still do it.
The church may be guided by God, but it is still human and sometimes makes mistakes and has bad motives. This is a fact that every adult must face.
I’m not saying that if you spend time just imagining how terrible life would be without Christianity, you’ll learn to appreciate it. It’s helpful to know some history and understand that concepts like the sanctity of human life and consideration for the poor did not suddenly appear out of nowhere. But the truth is, we don’t know what the world would have been like if Jesus hadn’t come, and we don’t know what our lives would have been like if we hadn’t been baptized. I can confidently say that it’s bad. But this is probably not the kind of mental training that will motivate someone to change their mind. It certainly won’t produce love.
And that’s the crux of the matter. Salvation is not an intellectual issue. It’s a matter of the heart.
I have compared health care to salvation here, but the truth is that salvation is not like anything else. All comparisons fail because the point of Jesus is that he is different. He is not the savior, he is the savior. He’s not the best example of someone or something to help us. He is the help itself. He is good. He is the truth. He is life itself.
He is a victim of his own success, but a victim of living again, forever changing what it means to live. His followers may be mere mortals, but he is not. He is not only a real person, he is truly God. He is unconquerable. His work cannot be undone.
How can I get my head right? How can we avoid the small or even major side effects of Christianity from keeping us from enjoying the incomprehensible benefits of knowing Jesus?
Questions give answers: by getting to know him more. Not by worrying about how miserable we would be without God, but by seeking all the mercies and joys of being with God. The more you do this, the more obvious they become. The more you get to know him, the more reasons you’ll find to love him.
