Dr Paul Allen

The Coronavirus has taken us all by surprise. January and February seem like a lifetime ago, and who could have predicted then how drastically our world would change in just a matter of weeks? We are in the midst of national lockdown ; we’re doing our best at sheltering in place; we’re facing a significant economic collapse as a result of it; those of us who are Christians are mourning the loss of in-person church gatherings; and many of us are dealing with the sickness and/or death of friends, family, and neighbours. And the question that I think is on everybody’s mind to one degree or another, at some point or another, is: Why? Why is this happening? What lessons are we supposed to learn from this? What is God saying to us by shutting down the entire world with this Coronavirus? So to answer that question, particularly addressing those readers who do not yet believe in Christ, you who have not placed your trust in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for your righte...

The world is being bombarded by another virus right now. It’s taking a toll, sadly. I thank God for the blood, sweat, and tears of our healthcare workers under immense pressure in these times. Our world is feeling it in all sorts of rough ways. Viruses are nasty little guys. They are very, very small. The coronavirus is about 100 nanometers in diameter. To put that in perspective, there are one billion nanometers in a meter. In other words, ten million coronavirus’ lined up end to end would make a meter. But size is no commentary on their strength. They are wicked villains. They aren’t even technically considered living things. They are super selfish and unloving. They prey on other cells to keep going, without asking permission. Though they are not living, they do have genetic material that they shove into other cells, which forces reproduction, causing you to get sick. But, virus bombardment is nothing new. Every day on this planet, we face a huge number of micro-villains,...