[Desk Column] A Church That Ignores Its Neighbors Is Not a Church

[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Jinsoo Lee] In the Protestant community, Sunday worship services on the 1st were largely replaced by online broadcasts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Large churches such as Yoido Full Gospel Church, which has the largest number of believers in the country, as well as Onnuri, Somang, Geumran, Oryun, Youngnak, and Chunghyun, switched to home video worship services.

However, some churches insisted on holding worship services in the sanctuary, arguing that worship is a 'doctrinal duty' and the 'essence of faith.' This is understandable since worship is closely related to the identity and historicity of Protestantism, and the Old Testament even commands to "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."

In our society, anyone can believe in any religion and practice religious activities in their preferred way. But if this crosses the line and harms society or threatens public safety, the issue changes.

Above all, the priority must be the health of the society we live in together and the health of the people. This presupposes mutual trust among members of society. Churches would not deny this.

The most important factors in eradicating infectious diseases are transparency and the public's trust and cooperation with the government. Fortunately, our medical and health systems have received high evaluations from abroad. On the 2nd, Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun and private broadcaster TBS highly praised our authorities' COVID-19 testing capabilities. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar expressed trust in our government's eradication efforts and transparency regarding the spread of COVID-19. The German news weekly Der Spiegel also highly evaluated our authorities' approach and transparency in dealing with COVID-19.

What is most urgently needed is the active cooperation of the entire nation. Now, with the military as well as civilian volunteers rolling up their sleeves and working tirelessly to eradicate COVID-19, it is very encouraging that Yoido Full Gospel Church, Sarang Community Church, and Kwanglim Church announced on the 4th that they will open their own facilities such as training centers to accommodate mild COVID-19 patients. This is the true image of the church that society expects.

If churches insist only on 'doctrinal duty' and the 'essence of faith' and persist in collective worship, it is an act of turning their backs on the health of society and the people. Holding video worship services at home is merely an online transition of offline worship. Even if Sunday worship services held in sanctuaries are temporarily switched to home video worship, it cannot be said that the Sabbath was not kept.

In Japan, it is known that COVID-19 infections surged from the 13th of last month after the Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido ended. Experts believe the infection spread due to close contact among tourists. There was also a confirmed case where one person infected up to 12 others in a poorly ventilated, enclosed environment. Professor Hiroshi Nishiura of Hokkaido University warned, "Even if ventilation is provided, it is dangerous for people to gather in narrow indoor spaces where air flow is stagnant."

Recently, a three-line acrostic poem related to Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), which has been pointed out as a major culprit in the spread of COVID-19 on social networking services (SNS), has been circulating. "Shin: Worshiped joyfully and when I opened my eyes, Cheon: Is this heaven?, Ji: It's a XX... hospital." This reflects the cold gaze our society casts on groups that do not look out for their neighbors. A church that does not look out for its neighbors is not a church.

The New Testament's First Corinthians teaches that our body is a holy temple. "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."

The COVID-19 crisis will soon come to an end. However, if individual churches remain as sources of sporadic group infections, our society will be left with irreparable deep wounds and mutual distrust.