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20 Mar 2014 UPDATED – Counterpoint: On Vaccines, State Power and Christian Living

Updated with Reader response below UPDATE from author: I have had an incredible amount of interaction on this post, with many Reformed readers strongly opposed to my position for various reasons (for example, see the discussion on our Facebook page here). I have been very impressed with the overall tone and respect used in the dialogue. Those opposed to my arguments have shown much grace when interacting with what I wrote, which I really appreciate. I have in the past written about much less important issues in secular forums and have been verbally assaulted for my views, so I must say that I much prefer interacting with fellow Christians on very sensitive issues. Furthermore, because of the respectful tone, I am all the more compelled to rethink my position. I'm not sure yet if I'll write more on this topic (I'm hardly qualified to do so from a medical perspective, although the more theoretical questions of public policy remain intriguing to me). Nevertheless, I want to republish a counterpoint to my counterpoint from one concerned parent. He wrote thoughtfully and thoroughly, carefully interacting with my arguments while exemplifying grace in his critique. Thank you! Please see appended below for the text of the counterargument. As always, we appreciate your feedback.  One final note of clarification: many have referred to "ARPA's position" in discussing this issue. Please note - ARPA does not have a position on the vaccine issue. What is written below was the opinion of one staff member responding to the contrary position held by another staff member. Earlier this week, my colleague posted an article about the ongoing measles vaccination controversy in southern BC. After outlining the two competing Reformed views on the issue, he concludes, "Although there are differing perspectives on the issue, we should be able to agree that it is a parent's responsibility to make decisions about what is best for their child and that authority can only be interfered with in exceptional circumstances. It is good for Christians to respectfully challenge each other's moral conclusions, as iron sharpens iron. There are huge consequences - including for our neighbours. But this is fundamentally a discussion for parents, families, friends, and churches - not the legal system." I accept his invitation to challenge his conclusion, as iron sharpens iron. While I am in total agreement with the first three sentences in the concluding paragraph above, I have concerns with the concluding sentence. When we say that measles vaccination is "fundamentally a discussion for parents, families, friends, and churches - not the legal system", I believe we have simplified the issue to our detriment. Indeed, in the discussions that surround this touchy issue, most who are against vaccinations make the error of lumping all vaccines together. But there is an enormous difference between a vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease (for example), and a measles vaccine. To conclude that not vaccinating your child against the potentially fatal or crippling measles virus is "fundamentally a discussion for parents" would be like saying that a child caught stealing cookies could be punished by flicking his hand or by having his hand chopped off with a meat cleaver, since child discipline is all a matter of parental authority - "fundamentally a discussion for parents". All our readers would agree that such a stance is indefensible. The reason is not because we think parents shouldn't discipline their child for stealing a cookie. The reason is because we need to examine the nature of the disciplinary action, apart from the broader issue of parental authority in child discipline. So also, with an issue like vaccinations, we need to examine the nature of the vaccines and their corresponding diseases, and not just vaccines in general.

17 Mar 2014 Vaccine Controversy: Reformed Churches Speak Out

Some parts of the Reformed community are making quite the stir in parts of Canada recently, and it is not positive. “When your neighbours may be hazardous to your health” was the title of yet another article that made the case that a Reformed community in BC’s Fraser Valley is contributing to a measles outbreak because of their refusal to vaccinate. Similar stories have appeared at times in Southern Alberta and Southern Ontario in the past decade - all areas where Reformed congregations are located. The latest rash of public outrage...