Because of events today I propose the question: Face Diapers - Is it a hill to die on? Obviously using “Face Diapers” makes a statement on what I suggest face masks are. I read an article were a day or two ago a man went into a Food City store that I have used but rarely. The store policy is that customers are required to wear a diaper, or mask. He refused when approached by store employees and showed that he was armed. The police were called and arrived after the man finished his purchase. The store said that he has not been identified but is banned from using the store.

Today I went into a Publix and noticed that they now have a large sign at the door stating that the CDC recommends a mask. While in the store I notice perhaps 30 people, and don’t think there was anyone else but me not wearing a mask. Nothing was said to me about it. My next stop was the farmers’ market and most did not have a mask. Clearly they must be bad since so many are older than me and healthy.

In a subsequent dialog with Chris, we reviewed the question if this is something to submit to or reject in obedience to Christ. It is not a simple question. There are now two stores that months ago put up restrictions on their customers and I haven’t been back to either.

There is the blatant issue of the appeal to authority logical fallacy. The CDC is pointed to, or some person with credentials. However, when someone offers evidence, they are literally silenced. What do you do if the policy is imposed on you?

Clearly, if it is a store that will refuse service if I don’t wear a mask, I simply leave and no longer use that store. There is nothing that I need that cannot be found elsewhere.

Keep in mind that the mask issue has been formally studied for decades. The purpose of surgical masks are to prevent liquids from transferring by accident between medical staff and patients or the reverse. They have no impact on protecting the wearer from a virus or for the wearer in spreading the virus since a virus is far too small to be blocked by the mask. When people wear a cloth mask, it is even less effective for viruses as the holes are larger. The formal studies have shown their effectiveness at about zero but do offer downsides from headaches to the wearer and even the possibility of the mask capturing a virus, and being a possible breeding ground for it right on your face.

You can make a reasonable argument that wearing a mask is bad for your health. But does that mean you are obedient to the Lord in refusing it?

The issue with Rack, Shack, and Benny in Daniel 3 might be a clue. Bowing down to an image was not a health issue, but putting the state’s decree before the Lord is a command to worship the state. A strong argument can be made that the mask is a form of worship. So dialog on this is continuing.

Several years ago I remember hearing an interview with a pastor, I think he was in Texas, and he stated that because of Romans 13, if a state official came to him to rape his wife, he would permit it. It is easy to see the problems with his position, or I hope it is easy to see. Is the mask issue only a difference of degree? After all, bowing down to a statue when you hear the music does not take much effort. But it demonstrates where your allegiance is. Is avoiding the fiery furnace out of fear of the state a good idea? The Lord’s furnace is the one to avoid.

It is the same in that I have resolved to never again salute the US flag or say the pledge of allegiance, as I have studied the history of both and have studied the Scripture. As Thomas said, Jesus is my Lord and my God, not the state. Clearly that is not shared.

I offer the above as an act of love and am willing to be corrected from Scripture if you can. But that requires dialog, which is an act of love, which I’m still open to.

Dorothy-Jane, my lady, don’t you see as I reminded you at the end of the voicemail, the person who loves you is not your dad, it is ME!