SARS and communion

[Mercutio]

Don't know whether this belongs here, in science, or in current events, but here goes:

Concern over the spread of SARS has forced changes in the practice of taking communion. Easter is going to be very different for a lot of people. No direct physical contact (placing wafer on tongue), no communal drinking of wine.

Somewhere in all this, it seems there is a test of faith in medicine or in god's protection, rather like when churches first started putting lightning rods on steeples.

related news stories (http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=communion+SARS&btnG=Search+News)

[Lord Kenneth]

Of course, if JESUS somehow got SARS, then eating the skin from his leg or whatever (flesh of christ) surely mustn't be too healthy.

[Mercutio]

:D DC, we already have the cannibalism thread!:D

[Skeptical Greg]

Originally posted by Mercutio
Don't know whether this belongs here, in science, or in current events, but here goes:

Concern over the spread of SARS has forced changes in the practice of taking communion. Easter is going to be very different for a lot of people. No direct physical contact (placing wafer on tongue), no communal drinking of wine.

Somewhere in all this, it seems there is a test of faith in medicine or in god's protection, rather like when churches first started putting lightning rods on steeples.

related news stories (http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=communion+SARS&btnG=Search+News) Don't you know? God imbued us with the intelligence to take the proper steps to protect our health.

Once we are aware of the possible ill effects of taking certain actions, it is tempting God (a sin ), to take those negligent actions, with the expectation that God will protect you..

[c4ts]

On one hand there would have been schadenfreude in seeing Catholics get SARS from communion, but on the other hand, I'm glad they're prioritizing common sense over the faith that God alone will protect them from disease.

[Knightmare6]

Surprising they didn't do this in the past prior to the outbreak of SARS...

[zakur]

In the mid-80's there was an outbreak of hepatitis in my family's parish. The use of a common cup for communion wine was suspended.

Many months later the practice was resumed, but many did not partake of the wine. Of those that did, many dipped their communion wafer into the wine rather than taking a sip from the cup.

[evildave]

Funny, they seem to have a lot more faith in SCIENCE than in their own religion's "healing", what with owning all off those "special" places and objects with curative "powers".

But most ironic of all, SARS has killed, what? 130 people? 150 people? If it kills a THOUSAND TIMES as many, that's only 150,000 in the rest of the year, malaria will still have killed between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000, in an average year.

Of course, cars kill about 2,000,000+ and hospitalize nearly 40,000,000 more, globally every single year, and the numbers are rising.

I don't see many people living in deathly fear of motor vehicle traffic, or of mosquitoes.