Religious, Medical Experts Dispute Those Claims
California megachurch Pastor Greg Laurie and “Bible Answer Man” Hank Hanegraaff both have refuted any links between the COVID-19 vaccine and the mark of the beast. “We should not be looking for the anti-Christ,” Laurie said in a sermon last month. “We should be looking for Jesus Christ.” Hanegraaff says connecting the vaccine to biblical warnings is dangerous and misleading, noting, “Identifying with Satan’s kingdom is what will keep you out of heaven, not being vaccinated.”
Other religious leaders have expressed concern about the vaccine’s use of fetal tissue, but medical experts say the “immortalized” cell lines have existed for years and are strictly regulated.
The UK-based group Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF), which equips health care workers to share their faith, is working to educate people about COVID-19 and the newly approved vaccines. Communications director Steve Fouch says vaccinations play a vital role in protecting the public. “They have brought under control a lot of other major illnesses that were scourges of the human race for many years, and they have improved the life expectancy of people across the world,” he says. “People often hear half-truths and little stories that make them scared about vaccines. But the reality is, they’re the biggest lifesaving medical technology, except possibly clean water, that we have ever developed. We have to remember that God enables science and medicine.”
Another vaccine-related concern for some people is the “warp speed” with which this COVID-19 shot has been developed. Again, Fouch with CMF attempts to ease those worries, saying safety wasn’t sacrificed for the sake of speed. “The way they’re doing these trials, because they recognize that we need to get the vaccine quickly, a lot of the safety steps and processes that you would normally go through are happening all at the same time,” he says.
“So things seem to be happening much quicker than normal, which is interesting, because it shows that when there’s the political will and money behind it, we can actually get drugs and medicines through much more quickly than normally happens.” Fouch adds, “The same steps have happened. They haven’t cut corners on this to get to this point.”
