It is amazing what some Christians are promoting. Some of us seem violently taken with ideas that have nothing to do with Christ. Some are claiming that wearing masks or taking vaccines are violations of religious freedom, even when not in denominations traditionally opposed to either. Worse, some are so caught up in the rhetoric that they advocate ridiculous practices.
For instance, people are taking livestock de-wormer for COVID-19. I wanted to figure out why. I traced it back to an article entitled “Efficacy and Safety of Ivermectin for Treatment and prophylaxis of COVID-19 Pandemic” by Elgezzar, Ahemed; Eltaweel, Ahmed; et al. All the authors named are connected with Benha University of Egypt. It was uploaded to the Research Square website in November 2020. The paper has numerous red flags in its methodology and presentation, not the least of which is the fact that the introduction section of the paper appears to have been almost entirely plagiarized. It seems the authors took paragraphs from press releases and websites about ivermectin and Covid-19 and used their thesaurus to change key words. The data is not clearly presented and is even self-contradictory, the trials (if any took place) were not formal, there are numerous methodological failings, and it is not standing up to any kind of peer review. The paper was taken off the site, but you can get it from them now with big warning banners.
In short, it was garbage, but don’t just take my word for it. Go to this link for an exhaustive systematic analysis of all the problems with the paper: https://tinyurl.com/4wxjssr6
So, let me say this in no uncertain terms: If you take or promote the taking of Ivermectin for COVID-19, you are an idiot. A dangerous idiot.
(And before anyone gets too upset about that, look at what Jesus had to say about some people.)
To be fair, in the correct dosage, the drug is used in humans for the treatment of some parasitic worms (orally) and some skin conditions (topically). However, the horse version and the human version are not the same formula. In humans, a dose for a horse could create low blood pressure, rapid heart rates, seizures, liver damage, vision loss, and, in some rare cases, the shedding of layers of skin. It is not designed to treat viruses in any animal, human or otherwise. Viruses and parasites are as different from one another as a happy meal toy is to your grandmother.
My main concern isn’t about people taking horse meds; it’s that people believe this garbage. Not only this but so many other things related to COVID-19 and otherwise. People believe that election fraud is common in the U.S., that the 2020 elections were stolen, that Barack Obama is not a citizen, that school shootings are false-flag operations, that pedophiles run the country, that 5G is mind control, and that the Earth is flat.
As Christians we are beholden to the truth, not just truth, but TRUTH. When we mix these kinds of ideas with our presentation of the Gospel, we endanger our witness.
Yes, conspiracies are real. They do happen. Operation Northwoods was proposed by the Joint Chiefs in 1962 as a major false-flag operation (thank you, JFK, for stopping that). The Tuskegee Syphilis Study did happen. The bombing of Tulsa, Oklahoma, not only happened but was successfully suppressed for decades. William Randolph Hearst both started the Spanish-American War by misrepresenting the destruction of the USS Maine, and demonized hemp to save his paper mills. People in power do conspire to keep power and cultural momentum tends to hide unpopular truths.
Nevertheless, you must use some bit of reason. Not everything you read or hear is true. Stop reacting and think. Just because something gets repeated in several places doesn’t make it true. If someone came to your door trying to sell you something ridiculous, you wouldn’t buy it. So don’t do it just because they post it on social media instead. Use the brain God gave you.
All of these ideas, all of these lies, all of these things that are used to get clicks and likes and eyes on screens, are worms. Facts, logic, reason, and mental effort, those are the de-wormers you should be taking.