Posted Jan 13, 2022 by Michael L. Brown

Although I myself have not been vaccinated (more on that shortly), I have never been remotely anti-vax, nor have I ever downplayed the lethal nature of the virus. Not for a second.

As I wrote in my very first article on COVID on March 2, 2020, “There is no denying the seriousness of the virus.

“As Bill Gates noted in the New England Journal of Medicine on February 28, ‘In the past week, Covid-19 has started behaving a lot like the once-in-a-century pathogen we’ve been worried about.’ And even at this early stage, ‘Covid-19 has already caused 10 times as many cases as SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome] in a quarter of the time.’”

I have lost far too many friends to COVID to minimize the threat of this foul virus. And my own experience with it, finally contracting COVID on December 26 and spending a day in the hospital earlier this week, underscores to me how virulent this coronavirus is.

Accordingly, I find it abhorrent when people mock its reality – a tendency I find primarily in our conservative circles – as if it was some kind of phantom virus or creation of the media or the government or nothing more than the flu. Please.

When people make such statements, they mock the memory of the dead and ridicule the pain of the mourning.

When it comes to the vaccine, a friend and I were recently comparing notes, and of the several dozen people we know who have died of COVID, to our knowledge, not one of them was vaccinated.

This is very troubling and, in my view, cannot be lightly brushed aside.

Would some of their precious lives have been saved if they had been vaccinated?

While in the hospital this week, I had a candid conversation with a totally non-judgmental doctor. He told me that 95 percent of the COVID victims fighting for their lives in that facility were not vaccinated, while the 5 percent who were vaccinated had severe co-morbidities.

And as I write these words, another colleague is fighting for his life, now on a ventilator and needing a miracle.  He was a very strong anti-vaxxer but told his wife before being sedated that he now wished he had been vaccinated. How many similar stories have we heard?

On the other hand, there remain many serious concerns with the vaccines, concerns raised by leading scientists and doctors. Do we simply dismiss them out of hand, especially when they have nothing to gain by raising their concerns?

And what are we to think when social media bans their material? Doesn’t this only underscore the warnings they are bringing?

Added to this is the draconian nature of the vaccine mandates, not to mention their apparent illegality, and everything becomes more complex still.

And what about those documented cases where otherwise healthy people have died of blood clots (or related conditions) within hours or days of getting vaccinated? Why so little reporting on this?

As to why I was not vaccinated before, I weighed the issues carefully, as did my wife Nancy. I also consulted my primary care physician and got advice from some other top doctors. And I watched how a large number of my friends and co-workers contracted COVID and were back to normal in  a matter of days or weeks.

In the end, because of my 100 percent commitment to healthy living and eating, dating back to August 24, 2014 (without any deviation from that healthy routine for a single day since then), I was advised not to be vaccinated given the strength of my immune system and my overall vibrant health. (The blood tests for my annual physical can be as many as 35 pages long, so my health is very carefully analyzed.)

And, during these last two years, I have been in many crowds of multiple thousands, standing together in close quarters. It appears that my immune system had been doing quite well. Plus, my doctor had already prescribed Ivermectin for me, along with some other recommended supplements, in the event that I did contract COVID. So, I was prepared in the event of getting sick.

That being said, watching other friends die over these months and now having to recover from COVID myself, I continue to wrestle with the question of vaccination. (Thankfully, I have finally developed natural immunity.)

Yet, because many people look to me for guidance in life and death matters, when I do not feel confident that I can give a definitive answer, I refrain from doing so. Why simply venture an opinion on something so critical? That’s why I remained quiet about my personal choices until now, not wanting to influence others either way when I was not sure myself.

Yet I am terribly grieved over the divisions in the Body over the vaccines, with some accusing the vaccinated of lacking faith or branding mask-wearers as spiritual wimps. What kind of madness is this?

To those who mock, I ask, “Who appointed you God and Lord? Who anointed you the arbiter and judge of the faith of others? Who gave you the right to criticize those who feel it is important to act with extreme care and caution?”

But I am also grieved at those who pass judgment on the unvaccinated rather than recognizing that these are complex and difficult issues.

And I know pastors who felt that the Lord told them not to yield to fear but to go on with their public services, and in two years, they have not a significant COVID outbreak of any kind. Shall we tell them their own faith is not real?

Yet there are pro-vaxxers who use reports of the latest COVID death as their personal bully pulpit, with posts like, “Well, your friend wouldn’t have died if he had been vaccinated!” And they do this in Jesus’ name, at that. What a cruel game to play!

Right now, America and the nations are hurting. The death toll continues to rise. Confusion continues to dominate. And human suffering continues to increase.

Let us, at least, walk with respect and grace to those hold to different perspectives. And let us be vigilant and diligent to preserve our own health.

And rather than throwing stones at others, let’s offer a helping hand. If we ever needed to work together, it is now.

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Comments

OT posted a comment · Jan 17, 2022
A Kingdom you cannot see ...unless you are born again.
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mesabiironrange posted a comment · Jan 17, 2022
Sorry Seidensticker, I couldn't disagree more. "Consensus" can be steered in a particular direction when there is unrestrained censoring, which is what is going on. Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, MSM, and others are all participating in it. Dissenting opinions by reputable doctors, scientists, researchers, and the like are not being heard because their videos, posts, interviews, etc., are taken down and many of their channels are removed so the public is not able to hear a different opinion on the matter.
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Seidensticker posted a comment · Jan 17, 2022
Mesabiironrange: ”Seidensticker, which expert? Dr Robert Malone or Fauci?” Neither. Look to the *consensus*. (Avoiding those who are making money on this is also good advice.)
OT posted a comment · Jan 16, 2022
Swkh310 posted a new Comment Commented: "“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”" I’m the pied Piper Of idiocy “
OT posted a comment · Jan 16, 2022
The fact that there is so much about these vaccines that is unknown. And so much left out of the discussion like mice-mechanism to gift wrap to protect the mRNA and help deliver it into cells. I ask myself does skwh310 know about this ?of course skwh310 knows!. medical research is there to help us. Insure safety why else would COVID-19 Vaccines be Authorized for Emergency Use or FDA-Approved SKWH310 you are the pied piper of blind idiocy. “ Let’s go brandon “ follow the real science not the govt or democrat, republican version ...skwh310 small print is small for a reason! Let people make informed choices not your kind of forced choice!
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mesabiironrange posted a comment · Jan 15, 2022
So in your candid thoughts, you quote, as an authority on the pandemic, the guy who said the following: " The world today has 6.9 billion people. That's headed up to about 9 billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent", Bill Gates Feb, 2010. BUT...Nothing to see here...move along.
Larry A. posted a comment · Jan 15, 2022
Dr. Brown, I just read your piece regarding the loss of your friend to COVID. My condolences to you and his family. May our Heavenly Father give you all comfort at this sorrowful time.
Larry A. posted a comment · Jan 15, 2022
Shalom, Dr. Brown. After reading your commentary, I'm not exactly certain why you choose to remain unvaccinated (apart from acquired immunity). Thus, although I agree with your decision to remain unvaccinated, I'm unable to find any other common denominators that we may share. As for my family and me, we have other issues to contend with in addition to the concern about blood clots. For example, we know one of the ingredients in the Pfizer vaccine is a "procarcinogen" known as N Butyl N (4 Hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (BBN). For those who want to know more about this procarcinogen and how it is deliberately injected into lab mice for the purpose of inducing cancer tumors, here's the link to a summary as found on ScienceDirect's website (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/n-butyl-n-4-hydroxybutyl-nitrosamine). By the way, oxfordreference.com defines "procarcinogen" as "the ultimate carcinogen." Personally, I do not think anyone should pressure me into having a procarcinogen injected into my body, much less mandate it. Two other ingredients of this vaccine are derived from petroleum. Since I am allergic to a food dye known as Red #40, which is also derived from petroleum, I do not feel comfortable with the petroleum ingredients, either. But in the scheme of things, the above is only a minor concern on my personal radar. In fact, COVID should not be treated as a "one size fits all" problem AT ALL because we're all different. Each individual is unique and has his or her own special needs that should be respected instead of shamed or bullied in public forums. Is it ironic that school bullying seems to parallel media bullying of those who don't share their medico/politico views? Sadly (at least in our area), the media "vax shames" those who dare to speak out against getting vaccinated and later end up dying from COVID, then they air a separate segment bemoaning the rise of school bullying. There should be no place for "vax shaming," whether it is shaming those who choose to be vaccinated or those who do not. That's because all lives truly matter and the memory of those who pass should be respected, not shamed. The fact of the matter is, all three currently-available vaccines were lab-tested on an aborted fetal cell line before approval by the FDA, and that is the primary motivating factor driving my decision to remain unvaccinated. Just as I would not feel comfortable receiving an organ transplant from someone who was murdered, neither am I willing to be injected with a substance that was tested on a murdered (unborn) human-being before gaining approval for production. If someone does not share my belief that terminating the beating heart of an unborn human being is murder, that is your right here in the USA, so I can understand that he or she is okay with receiving one of the COVID vaccines. I disagree with that religious conviction, but that is his or her right to believe differently from me, so I can respectfully disagree. Or maybe someone will say, "While using an aborted fetal cell line from an elective abortion performed 40 years ago isn't the optimal procedure, nevertheless, we can't control what happened in the past, so we may as well take advantage of it now." Again, that is your right to believe this way, but again, I personally disagree and I will not "shame" you for disagreeing with my conviction. Do I have the right to disagree without being pressured by others to compromise my conviction? Shouldn't others out there, including the government, respect my religious view? I found a terrific team dedicated to researching ethical vaccines and I am glad to share a link for those who may be interested (https://cogforlife.org/guidance/). As a disclaimer, I do not agree with all of their beliefs, but on this ONE issue, we are in agreement that basing one's survival on the murder of another can never be health-affirming or otherwise justifiable in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. Thank you.
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[email protected] posted a comment · Jan 15, 2022
Dr. Brown, While I respect you as a theologian and have most of your books, I think you are commenting on something that is way out of your wheelhouse. First, the reports of the blood clots were not ignored; when the reports surfaced, they were well known in the medical community and further vaccine usage was put on hold. They also involved two of the 4 vaccines, and the effects were limited to young women, and the incidence was somewhere of about around 40 cases per million. Thus, it was recommended that those two vaccines not be used in that age group. Second, I am not sure which doctors you were taking advice from--was it your naturopath? How many Covid patients has he taken care of in the hospital? Are not naturopaths biased against traditional medicine? And did the friends who got COVID get the delta variant or the new variant with far less morbidity? Is that why they recovered? Third, that someone prescribed Ivermectin to you is troubling. The Cochran review group famous for its meta-analysis on many topics, has compiled the data from 14 studies on Ivermectin and found there is no benefit for COVID patients. If the advice you were given is from the same doctor who prescribed this drug for you, then perhaps the rest of their advice is questionable. Do they practice medicine based on anecdotes or on sound evidence? Fourth, it might have been best if you kept your own decision not to vaccinate private. While you may believe you have some super-immune system and have based your decision on this, as a spiritual leader others may follow in your path, without considering your reasons carefully. Fifth, Christianity is under attack right now. The last thing Christians need is to add fuel to the fire by being the most vocal group about not vaccinating. Christianity has already been accused of being "unenlightened" and "unscientific" and this sort of thing just adds to that perception. That in turn, is an impediment to evangelizing. The question posed to those considering Christianity may well be, "Do you really want to be part of a group that doesn't believe in science?". While Christianity and science are really not at odds, that has been the narrative that has been pushed for years and the anti-vax stance of many Christians is just adding to it. When Christians start saying things like, "I am claiming Psalm 91 ("You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness"), taking it out of context, they just sound crazy and even dangerous.
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SteveW posted a comment · Jan 15, 2022
Torchbearer, there is nothing wrong with Christians debating this issue, but the sad thing is how it often generates into mudslinging, and that is not honouring to God. I do not think that Christians should shy away from this debate, given that lives are at stake. For the most part, I believe that is why Christians are so passionate about this subject. The really scary thing about this whole thing though is that one group of Christians has been utterly deceived about this. Given God's warning about deception in the last days that should make us all ponder this very carefully!
TorchBearer posted a comment · Jan 14, 2022
All the comments prove the exact thing Dr. Brown was insisting we need to drop…Division and Judgement! I admire you for writing this Dr. Brown. The point here is obedience to God. The more I listen to different news outlets and comments on this blog the more confused I get. Not because of my ignorance or wavering but because I see the heart of God in so little of peoples opinions, news and editorials. What’s eternal? Set your heart and eyes on things above. The vaccinated nor unvaxxed neither one are a threat to the Kingdom. But, all these opinions are grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit.
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mesabiironrange posted a comment · Jan 14, 2022
Seidensticker, which expert? Dr Robert Malone or Fauci?
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Seidensticker posted a comment · Jan 14, 2022
You said, "As to why I was not vaccinated before, I weighed the issues carefully." It's been said that a man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client. I think the medical version works, too: the man who is his own doctor has a fool for a patient. That's why doctors go to med school and scientists get those doctorates. Take the experts' advice (remembering that you're not the expert).
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Seidensticker posted a comment · Jan 14, 2022
You said, "As to why I was not vaccinated before, I weighed the issues carefully." It's been said that a man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client. I think the medical version works, too: the man who is his own doctor has a fool for a patient. That's why doctors go to med school and scientists get those doctorates. Take the experts' advice (remembering that you're not the expert).
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RHMann posted a comment · Jan 14, 2022
Dr. Brown, regardless of the very important question of the safety and efficacy of the experimental, untested gene therapy, maybe one thing ALL people – Christians and otherwise - can agree upon is that the original “virus” was a man-made, gain-of-function bio-weapon, mostly created by United States people and funding, in collaboration with the Chinese. The motive of setting the pandemic into motion was to create the need/demand for a “vaccine”, but in order to do that, they had to demonize existing therapeutics such as Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin. How many people in the world have died because of that ban? The question is, is it “Christian” to want to see “justice” for those who planned and implemented this “plandemic”? Please consult the work of Dr. David Martin, Dr. Peter Breggin and Dr. Robert Malone, among many others. Should Christians desire Nuremberg 2.0 trials for “Crimes Against Humanity”, and tragically now Crimes Against Children? One “Criminal Complaint” was filed with the International Criminal Court on December 6, 2021. See Dr. Michael Yeadon about that action: https://www.docdroid.com/WUjv6iw/icc-complaint-7-1-pdf And here is Dr. David Martin’s RICO violations document to be sent to Attorneys General around the country: https://www.davidmartin.world/attorney-general-document/ An exit question: might it be better for Christians to NOT be a part of Robert Malone’s “Mass Formation Psychosis”? In Germany last century, there WAS the “Confessing Church”, after all.
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Jcruz619 posted a comment · Jan 14, 2022
So well written Dr. Brown. I completely agree.
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GD posted a comment · Jan 14, 2022
Dr Brown, I agree with you on the division this has caused. We should each be able to choose whether we want a vaccine or not - with no judgment or repercussions. However, I firmly believe the number of deaths has 1) been significantly over-stated and 2) would be much less if hospitals would not follow ONLY the treatment protocols provided by the CDC (which does not allow the use of ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, high- dose vitamin C, and other treatments that have been successfully used by doctors who are smart enough to know when one thing doesn’t work you try something else). Also, in some areas the # of vaccinated that are hospitalized exceeds the unvaccinated so I think it’s dangerous to use that as any type of indicator of the seriousness.
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texasaggie posted a comment · Jan 14, 2022
There is a right and a wrong answer to these questions, as is becoming more apparent every day. How did people of the old Soviet Union or the current Chinese communist regime figure out they were being lied to? They had to consider alternative evidence from unofficial sources, something not all people are willing to do. Amen to SteveW.
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SteveW posted a comment · Jan 14, 2022
My last point (promise): Around the world, Flu mysteriously disappeared in 2020. How on earth could that be? Well, that is impossible, which strongly suggests that Flu was rebranded as Covid to boost the Covid numbers and to support the fraudulent narrative.
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SteveW posted a comment · Jan 14, 2022
I also disagree with your statement that "There is no denying the seriousness of the virus". There is every reason to doubt this. There is no doubt that the number of deaths from Covid have been vastly overstated due to the flawed PCR tests that throws up about 80% of false positives. So, many of the deaths recorded were merely WITH Covid rather than from Covid. and likely did not have Covid at all. Other pertinent questions are: Did they have other comorbidities, had they taken the dangerous vaccines that destroy the immune system, were they placed on a ventillator and pumped full of Remdesivir (standard hospital practice), were they denied safe and effective prophylactics such as Ivermectin? Any one of these could have been the real cause of death rather than Covid. I think the truth is that Covid is only really dangerous to an older demographic with comorbidities. I suspect that it is in reality a virulent form of Flu.
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SteveW posted a comment · Jan 14, 2022
Dr Brown, I am not saying the Doctor you spoke to is lying but just pointing out that there are a lot of other Doctors quoting very different stats, so the jury is still out on this one. You also need to be very careful with a claim like that. I don't know about the US, but in the UK the health authorities have shamelessly moved the goalposts: They now define the unvaccinated to include those who have had two jabs but have not had the booster. If your Doctor is using that definition then yes it will show that most people that have Covid are Unvaccinated, especially given that many are now shunning the booster!!! Brings to mind the saying, "lies, damned lies and statistics".
Swkh310 posted a comment · Jan 13, 2022
“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”