Vaccines: A Religious Contention

‘To someone whose god is science, vaccination makes sense. But to someone whose god is God, it is appalling’ - Dr. Golden.

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Alicia playing Mary, Jesus's Mother, in a play

As a parent we are assigned to care for our child’s spiritual welfare as well as his physical health. For some of us, we may be atheists and so this is all the more reason to look after ourselves and enjoy a long life, others may be Christian or Jewish. Some might be Buddhist.

As for myself, I was baptized Greek Orthodox, but never practiced it. I believe in the soul and try to teach my children that religion is in your heart.
I was recently visited by some Mormons who told me they don’t drink tea, coffee or alcohol because these are drugs that are bad for you and according to God’s law, you shouldn’t put anything into your body which is bad for you. They then handed me a leaflet, stating ‘We have little concern that our grandchildren will get measles. They have been immunized and can move freely without fear…parents now are concerned about moral and spiritual diseases…. accept in your mind a testimony of Jesus Christ can spiritually immunize your children.’ – (Elder Boyd K Packer, 2004).
I was amazed that the ‘vaccinate or die’ culture has become so ingrained in our society that it is even being mentioned in churches. It certainly didn’t marry up with their earlier statement that they don’t drink tea because it’s a drug. That got me thinking that maybe a lot of religious groups don’t actually know of all the harmful solvents and chemicals that go into vaccines, not to mention the aborted foetal tissue (see TM issue 18, ‘Vaccinations: a chemical stew’ for more details), so I invited them round, saying ‘I have something to teach you’ and gave them a free copy of my book, including a chapter on hazardous chemicals.
The whole concept of ‘spiritual immunization’ sparked a need in me to research exactly what the major religions say about how we should take care of our health.
Obviously there was no vaccination in biblical times, but there were several references on what should and should NOT be put into the body, leading me to the conclusion that vaccines are contrary to religious philosophy.

CHRISTIANITY

The bible teaches that there are unclean animals and that we are not to put the unclean into our bodies (Deuteronomy 14). – Vaccines are made from blood products and tissue of animals. (Read, ‘The Sanctity of Human Blood: Vaccination $s not Immunization’ by Tim O’Shea for more on this).

Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself; (Deuteronomy 14:21) and hut flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. (Genesis 9:4) – i.e. you should not be putting anything from an animal or its blood into your body.

What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (I Corinthians 6:19,20) – i.e. your body is a temple which houses the Holy Spirit and so you have to look after it and not pollute it.

'"We must obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29) – i.e. Vaccination is an artificial invention made by man to alter immune function. The immune system, on the other hand, is a natural function given by God to protect us from disease. Trusting in manmade vaccination is like saying that we think God didn’t make us correctly and that we need artificially ‘boosting’ in order to survive.

In the Book of Wisdom of Sirach (a section of the bible cut out by King James), Chapter 38,: verse 4 " The Lord has created medicines out of the earth and a sensible man will not refuse them." - God did not give us drugs, but He did give us plants and herbs and tells us to use them if we are 'sensible.' To be 'sensible' means to use your own mind and not follow man just because you are told to. This section of the bible was probably cut out because of its reference to natural medicines.

MORMONISM

Mormons also refer to the bible in conjunction with the book of Mormon, so the above passages should apply to them also. As well as this, their organisation has made it clear they are against termination of pregnancy, and it is known that MMR, MR, Rubella, Varicella (Chickenpox) and other vaccines contain human diploid cells cultured from aborted foetuses.

The First Presidency, which is the governing body and highest ranking quorum in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has said, "Abortion must be considered one of the most revolting and sinful practices in this day." (First Presidency (Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner, Marion G. Romney), Priesthood Bulletin, Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Feb. 1973, p. 1-2.

Clearly, if a Mormon then vaccinates their child with a vaccine containing aborted foetus, this constitutes a contradiction of faith. Their own founder, Joseph Smith, also stated: " Trust in God when sick, and live by faith and not by medicine or poison." (11th edition of the encyclopedia of Brittanica).

ROMAN CATHOLOCISM

Catholics also have the same stance on termination and vaccination:

They called the use of human foetal tissue in vaccination, ‘a kind of evil which is widespread in biomedical research and which people rightly think they should combat when they can.
‘The practice of medicine is being made parasitic on the evils of abortion and foetal experimentation and refusing vaccination is one way of seeking to turn medicine from a course which will increasingly subvert people’s confidence in it.’ (Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, 1994).

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES

Jehovah’s Witnesses have historically been against vaccination because it is contrary to scriptures, and their religion totally banned it up until 1952, although in more recent years they have stated it is up to the individual Jehovah’s Witness to decide: "As vaccination is a direct injection of animal matter in the blood stream, vaccination is a direct violation of the law of Jehovah God." (The Golden Age publication, 1935 April 2 p. 465).

"Oh, yes, serums vaccines, toxins, inoculations, are all -harmless', because the man who is selling them says so. You, my friends, believe this LIE, and continue to submit your body to these violations; then all I can say is, 'God have mercy on your soul'. All vaccination is unphysiological, a crime against nature." (Consolation 1939 May 31 p. 8).
‘Would it be proper to accept a vaccination or some other medical injection containing albumin derived from human blood? Witnesses have long realized that this is a matter for private decision in accord with each one’s Bible-trained conscience. Some Christians who feel that they can in good conscience accept such injections have noted that antibodies from the blood of a pregnant woman cross into the blood of the baby in her womb.” (The Watchtower, October 1, 1994).
The reason for this about turn? In 1952, when Jehovah’s Witnesses lifted the ban on vaccination, they wrote: "The matter of vaccination is one for the individual that has to face it to decide for himself. . . . And our Society cannot afford to be drawn into the affair legally or take the responsibility for the way the case turns out." (my emphasis – The Watchtower, 15 December 1952).
Essentially they still disagreed with vaccination but were too afraid of the medical profession taking legal action against them.
. BUDDHISM
Buddhists are vegetarians according to their religious believe and there is NO vaccine which is vegetarian. All vaccinations have to be cultured on animal and human tissue and blood products.
‘Scientists depend upon animal tissue to produce the viral strains found in vaccines. The Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, for instance, contains live strains of each of these three viruses.’ (vegfamily.com).
You can easily find this information by going into your pharmacy and asking for a vaccine data sheet. Buddhists and others from vegetarian philosophies would be in conflict with vaccination.

JEWS
Jews also have strict dietary requirements as part of their religion and have to eat or take into the body, animal parts which are KOSHER.
Rabbi Simon Dahan recently highlighted this controversy with the latest bird flu scare, when it emerged that the bird flu vaccinations given to livestock may not be kosher, therefore rendering poultry products unsuitable for Jewish people:
“If they conduct the vaccination on the lungs or the neck, the animal might not be kosher anymore,” Dahan said.

“According to Talmudic laws if the oesophagus or the trachea is mutilated, the animal is not considered kosher anymore,” he added, considering that if the vaccination would be considered as some kind of mutilation by Jewish law. Furthermore, vaccinating the poultry in the leg might also be a problem because the operation might alter some the animal fragile nerves, which are supposed to stay untouched by the same Talmudic laws,” (European Jewish Press, February 2006).
Vaccines for people may also be made with animals that aren’t kosher, making them against Jewish law.

ISLAM

Allah says, “We have indeed created man in the best of moulds.” (95:4). The Arabic word in this verse is taqweem, which can be translated as mold, form, nature, constitution. Although this especially refers to the spiritual nature of man, it can also mean the mental and physical structure. There is no faulty in Allah’s creation. Allah gave man the purest and best nature, and perfection and balance are evident in man’s physical, mental, and spiritual composition. Allah, subhanahu wa ta’la, says,

“O mankind! What has made you careless concerning your Lord, the Most Generous? Who created you, fashioned you, and gave you due proportion; in whatever form He willed, He put you together.” (Qur’an 82:6-8).

Focusing on the physical aspect, one need only study the systems of the body to comprehend the significance of these verses and the wonder of Allah’s creation. The human body is composed of a number of specialized systems: the digestive system, the respiratory system, the nervous system, the muscular system, the blood circulation system, the skeleton, the skin, the senses, the immune system and so forth. Each one of these system is miraculous in nature and more amazing than any scientific advancement that man can achieve. (Sayyid Qutb, In the Shade of the Qur’an). Why then is man so heedless? Why does he overlook the wonders of his own constitution? Why does he neglect the One who gave him these special gifts? “O mankind! What has made you careless concerning our Lord, the Most Generous?” Why does he think that he can improve the perfect creation of Allah and make it work more effectively?

Concerning immunizations, this is exactly what humans are attempting to do. The assumption behind them is that the body is not “perfect” enough to withstand infectious diseases; that somehow Allah did not complete his job or carry it out well enough (astaghfir Allah); that the immune system is faulty and needs correction; that a young baby, as little as 1 or 2 months old, is somehow flawed, incomplete, and in need of human intervention to survive. All of these assumptions are erroneous and reflect a skepticism that should not be present in the belief system of a Muslim. This may seem like an intense subject for what would appear to be a straight forward issue, but a deeper level of analysis is required here. One cannot doubt the verses of the Qur’an highlighted above nor expect that he can accomplish more than Allah. As Muslims we should not fall into this kind of trap. We must believe in the perfection of Allah’s creation and understand that immunizations are in no way able to improve upon it. Chances are that they will only disturb the system and introduce an imperfection, (which is already being determined by research).

By Dr. Aisha Hamdan

http://www.missionislam.com/health/immunizationhurtornot.htm

Vaccines: A Religious Contention

‘To someone whose god is science, vaccination makes sense. But to someone whose god is God, it is appalling’ - Dr. Golden.

Alicia playing Mary, Jesus's Mother, in a play

Please note that I am respectful of all people’s spiritual faith and that this article is not intended to be scientific, merely philosophical debate.