There is science to be done! Improvements to the way the world works! Lives to save!
Naturally, religion stands in the way. As it always does. As it must in order to be relevant. The latest issue of ‘Why Religion Sucks’ comes to us from nutbars who claim that COVID-19 vaccines are the mark of the Beast.
That’s right, somehow a medical prophylactic to a deadly pathogen is actually a big brain play by Satan to trick you into accepting his mark into your body.
Now, you can reject that because it’s stupid. A sort of primie facie stupid that just lets you walk away shaking your head. Or, you could reject it as being incoherently stupid inside the guidelines of the religion itself. Or you could go further and say it’s stupid because the mark of the beast has nothing to do with vaccines. Let’s examine these in detail.
It’s stupid. OK. Case one was easy to examine. It’s stupid. Well done!
Case two. It doesn’t fall in the parameters of the religion. This isn’t hard either. The devil can’t trick you into rejecting God. This isn’t an accidentally selling your soul to a man in a red suit. This is rejecting medical advice because someone could have written 666 in nano-meter scale on some of the proteins. Unless your deity is an idiot and holds you accountable for him being blind and stupid. You don’t think THAT do you?
Finally, the mark is related to the buying and selling of goods. Vaccines aren’t required for that. You can buy on Amazon today. No problem. You can wear a mask and go into a store safely. No problem. You absolutely should get a vaccine, but that should be tied to charity and respect for your fellow mankind.
But of course we’re not done yet. This only settles the case for vaccines. What about the millions of other mark of the beast claims?
Fine, here we go.
The book of revelations is a dream record of a bad acid trip by a person with serious mental disorders. Nothing in it should be considered prophetical. Even metaphorically.
The mark of the beast is commonly understood to be 666, but it could also be 616 depending on source document. More importantly, it’s a not very subtle dig at Rome in general and likely Nero specifically. The Hebrews at the time were persecuted and the mark of the beast was a references to the empire’s coinage and it’s leader’s face stamped on those coins. They eventually revolted and printed their own money.
There are hundreds if not thousands of interpretations for the mark of the beast. None of them fit for the modern world. That’s not surprising since whomever “John” really was, he was either bat shit crazy, had a really bad trip, or was actively attempting to bilk people for money in an era where people sought out prophets to tell them how soon the end times were coming.
Of course, it’s easier to just say this is all stupid. Ipso Facto.