Where did Covid-19 come from?
A father and son discuss God, religion and Covd-19, with disastrous results.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Dad: How was Sunday school today, son?
Son: Okay, I suppose.
Dad: What did you learn today?
Son: We learned about Covid-19.
Dad: That’s great. What precisely about Covid-19 did you learn?
Son: We learned why we have Covid-19 and where it came from.
Dad: Yes, Covid-19 came from China.
Son: Does God live in China?
Dad: No, God lives in…well God is sort of everywhere. God is all around us.
Son: So how come Covid-19 came from China?
Dad: The doctors say Covid-19 came from the animals in China because they live in unhygienic conditions and were kept in cramped living conditions.
Son: Like the animals in Noah’s Ark?
Dad: Well…yes, I suppose. Like the animals in Noah’s Ark.
Son: So did Noah and his family also get Covid-19?
Dad: No. There was no Covid-19 at that time. Covid-19 came only recently about two years ago.
Son: From China?
Dad: Yes, from China, like what President Trump said.
Son: But my Sunday school teacher said everything comes from God and can only happen with the will of God.
Dad: Well…that is also…sort of true.
Son: So Covid-19 came from God, then, not from China, is it dad?
Dad: Hmm…from the theological sense that is…hmm…true.
Son: But why would God want to hurt us by giving us Covid-19? We learned that God is kind, merciful, loving, and compassionate.
Dad: That is true. God is kind, merciful, loving, and compassionate.
Son: So why hurt us with Covid-19? Would that not make God cruel?
Dad: It’s actually a bit more complicated than that.
Son: What’s complicated about a God who is kind, merciful, loving, and compassionate should not hurt us with Covid-19?
Dad: It’s like this, son, sometimes God gets angry with the bad things we do, so God punishes us with diseases.
Son: You mean like how God punished grandmother with cancer and punished grandfather with a heart attack? What bad things did grandmother and grandfather do?
Dad: Grandmother and grandfather did not do any bad things, son.
Son: So why did God punish them?
Dad: God did not punish them, son.
Son: But they got sick and died.
Dad: Yes, they got sick and died, but not because they were bad people.
Son: So God also punishes good people?
Dad: Yes, I mean no… grandmother and grandfather were not punished.
Son: But God made them sick, and they died.
Dad: Yes, they got sick and died, but not because they were bad and were being punished.
Son: So God is not kind, merciful, loving, and compassionate, then.
Dad: No, God is kind, merciful, loving, and compassionate. Only that…sometimes…shit happens.
Son: Why does God get angry?
Dad: Because we don’t follow His Commands.
Son: Like ‘thou shalt not kill’?
Dad: Yes, like ‘thou shalt not kill’.
Son: But is America not going to kill Russians if they invade Ukraine?
Dad: It’s true, if Russia invades Ukraine, America is going to kill many Russians. Many Ukrainians, Americans, and British are also going to get killed.
Son: So this is going to make God angry and we are going to see Covid-19 get worse and many more people are going to die?
Dad: Err…it’s actually more complicated than that. This is about maintaining world peace.
Son: So we maintain world peace by killing many people? And this will not make God angry?
Dad: I suppose so.
Son: But is not anger a sign of weakness? Strong people do not get angry easily, like what you told me.
Dad: That’s…sort of true.
Son: So if I can control my anger that would make me stronger than God?
Dad: Son, why don’t you stay home on Sundays instead of going to Sunday school?
Son: That’s a good idea, dad. The more I learn about God and religion, the more confused I get.
