Did Churches That Required COVID-19 Vaccinations Break the Law?
What does the recent Queensland Supreme Court ruling mean for churches that mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for their employees?
In what The Courier-Mail has labelled a “bombshell” announcement, the Supreme Court has ruled that Queensland’s COVID vaccination orders were unlawful. As The Guardian Australia reports:
The court found the police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, failed to give proper consideration to human rights relevant to the decision to issue the vaccine mandate.
The former Department of Health director-general Dr John Wakefield was unable to prove he issued the vaccine mandate under an implied term of the employment agreements for ambulance service workers.
As a result, both vaccine mandates were found by the court to be “unlawful” and to have no effect.
The court also found the directions limited the human rights of workers because they were required to undergo a medical procedure without full consent, but it was reasonable in all the circumstances.
The legal ramifications of the decision are massive and will more than likely open the floodgates to similar appeals. But it is worth reflecting at this point — almost three years after the event — what churches in particular have to learn.
Unfortunately, there were congregations throughout Australia which enforced similar illegal policies as Queensland Health and Police did. People at a number of churches could either not attend or serve in ministry unless they were vaccinated. And this included office bearers as well as volunteers.
The ‘Love’ Argument
At the time, many church leaders argued that it was a Christian’s duty to be vaccinated as an expression of love for their neighbour. Senior figures such as Philip Jensen even argued that those who had a conscientious objection to the COVID-19 vaccine were operating out of a ‘fierce’, and even ‘crass’, individualism. That they are only concerned with their own personal freedoms and not the greater good.
But what they failed to recognise or consider is that it is also an expression of ‘love’ to accept those who had come to a different conclusion. And that it is just as ‘fierce’ and ‘crass’ to force another believer to go against their conscience (Rom. 14). As I wrote in an article at the time, arguing why unvaccinated people should not be excluded from church:
There is though, more than one way to show love to one’s neighbour. For instance, David Schrock argues that resisting tyrants is also an act of love. Hence, a Christian’s best testimony to their neighbour may sometimes be found in courageously resisting the governing authorities and obeying God rather than man (Dan. 3; Acts 4:18-19; 5:41-42).
For more on this particular line of approach see, the ‘call to arms’ in Francis Schaeffer’s “A Christian Manifesto” (Crossway, 2005) as well as Tom Ascol and Jared Longshore’s “Strong and Courageous: Following Jesus Amid the Rise of America’s New Religion” (Founders Press, 2020).
Even more seriously, to say that only vaccinated people are doing what is ‘loving’ implies that the unvaccinated people are hating others. Not only is this highly offensive, but speaking Biblically, this is to accuse them of sinning, and possibly even being a false believer (i.e. 1 John 3:11-15).
As Christians, we all have a responsibility to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Eph. 4:3) As such, it is crucial that we recognise the wider body of believers, and do not reject anyone because they have a different view to ourselves (1 Cor. 11:29).
Reading those words again now, they only seem all the more prescient. For all the talk of submitting to governing authorities, there are times when the state overreaches and acts against the law. And at times such as that, it is the believer’s duty to stand against tyranny rather than acquiesce too, let alone support it (Dan. 1:8; 3:8-12; 6:10).
Liberty of Conscience and the Civil Magistrate
Francis Schaeffer rightly warned of the limits relating to government authority last century. Shaeffer wisely and courageously wrote:
God has ordained the state as a delegated authority; it is not autonomous. The state is to be an agent of justice, to restrain evil by punishing the wrongdoer, and to protect the good in society. When it does the reverse, it has no proper authority. It is then a usurped authority and as such it becomes lawless and is tyranny.
In a similar vein, John Knox once famously stated:
True it is, God has commanded kings to be obeyed; but likewise true it is, that in things which they commit against His glory, He has commanded no obedience, but rather, He has approved, yea, and greatly rewarded, such as have opposed themselves to their ungodly commandments and blind rage.
Significantly, the Presbyterian Church of Australia’s subordinate standard, the Westminster Confession of Faith, specifically states that the civil magistrate cannot bind the conscience of an individual. Indeed, it clarifies that “intolerant or persecuting principles” should not be obeyed, and instead, allegiance must go to the Lord Jesus Christ alone. As Section VI of The Declaratory Statement states:
That with regard to the doctrine of the civil magistrate and his authority and duty in the sphere of religion as taught in the Subordinate Standard, the Church holds that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only King and Head of the Church, “and Head over all things to the Church, which is His body.”
It disclaims, accordingly, intolerant or persecuting principles, and does not consider its office-bearers, in subscribing the Confession, as committed to any principle inconsistent with the liberty of conscience and the right of private judgment, declaring, in the words of the Confession, that “God alone is Lord of the conscience.
How Should the Church Respond?
Queensland Health and Police have been found to have acted illegally. And as such, it seems safe to conclude that not only other State Departments throughout Australia, but also churches which enacted similar policies, have not only broken the law but also sinned against God. For those congregations which required mandatory vaccination, they should at the very least repent and issue a public apology.
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Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich.
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Great article Mark. Many who held ministry positions in their churches have been stood down if unvaccinated. 🥲 Repentance and apology please!
I appreciate your comment Lyn. God Bless.
Thankyou for writing what is true and exposing those in the wrong…for advocating for peace. The church had an opportunity to step up and failed miserably…in turn hurting their own members.
The world now knows the injections were neither safe nor effective, the lockdowns caused untold harm and the masks were useless against a virus. Frontline workers were often in positions which gave them a first hand experience of vaccine injuries and therefore enhanced their critical thinking skills around the decision to refuse the experimental jab. Churches that complied with the government and were also paid to do so, caused great harm and division amongst their parishioners who felt betrayed for making their decisions based on knowledge, God given right to bodily autonomy and conscience. Where was the love and empathy towards those who were persecuted for standing against tyranny? Where is the love towards the vaccine injured who in many cases are left to languish alone because the churches on the whole believe the government and media lies. Why aren’t the churches speaking up about the huge increase in excess deaths in countries which were heavily vaccinated? Thankfully there are some churches who are awake to the devil’s schemes and praise God for them!
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Everything that you have written is false
Very well said, couldn’t agree with you more
Excellent. Thank you Mark.
The church general is generally MIA on most important issues. Covid was a glaring example. Our minister even went as far as calling the uninjected “the weaker brethren”. I switched him off and stopped participating in ghastly online church.
At least the bishop said there should be no discrimination. so there wasn’t but I didn’t know that Peter Jenson was so silly.
100% Thank you for writing this article. I could not attend my lifelong Catholic church for many months in Victoria due to long lockdowns (world’s longest), and then Masses were segregated once reopened. To top that all off I was then unable to return to serve in my choir after doing so as a volunteer member and as a Cantor for over 20 years due to their vaccine mandates. I never went back even after mandates were dropped because of what they did. They locked us out and never communicated or cared. No apology. You are right – a sincere repentance and public apology is required. It has completely ruined my life with regards to the church.
Thanks for the great article Mark. in my view the whole era of COVID was tragic as it caused such division, destruction, as well as a Govt and media taken over to a large degree.
It was a tragedy that some churches forced workers to have the mandate did so, and that others promoted the vaccine using bible verses or biblical principles to verify their stand.
It shows how vulnerable the church flock can be too once leadership take a position on a health matter and how important it is to seek God on every matter
Behind all that I see the enemy of souls has used the whole COVID mandate and era of fear, to manipulate young and old, to cause splits in families and with friendships, to weaken businesses and hospitals and schools and to intimidate the population and assert authority in unlawful ways.
Sadly we have some churches who have not recovered and many church members or goers have had their trust broken as they have been judged or told to conform.
It will take a lot of prayer, and heart searching before God and as a church to heal the damage. Many acted out of fear and others, including churches, who thought the Govt must be right in all they said about the vaccine (misplaced trust).
One of my prayers has been to see the churches survive this onslaught as it prevented most people from attending for over a year and or put they off attending if the church legislated a mandate policy. All these setbacks were no doubt part of Satan’s plans as well (not just WHO). Another prayer has been to see people healed from the effects of the vaccine and another has been that they will read up on the research and realize it was experimental all along (and often harmful).
May we learn wisdom from these adverse experiences and may many more ‘see the light’ in churches and re think policies and admit this caused much harm. Forgiveness can come if people agree on the truth and find where things went wrong.
What a breath of fresh air. Thank you, thank you, thank you from someone who lost their career as a teacher and was told it was unloving not to get the jab, by their minister. Very traumatic.
Thank you Mark for speaking the truth. The behaviour of many leaders in the church during covid was appalling and extremely disappointing. It showed where their true allegiences lied. Still
waiting for those public apologies!
good work Mark
God bless from Italy
Amen to that. The only way forward is through genuine repentance.
amen Bill
May God grant that His Holy Spirit bring v conviction and then repentance
A good article and sadly all too predictable. The doors to my church were closed to me and my family due to our COVID vaccination status. At the time I thought that surely that “line” would be a bridge too far for those that claim Christ as the ultimate authority. Unfortunately the promise of the COVID vaccine being our saviour by the state in 2021-22 was too great for many to resist. “Pandemic of the unvaccinated” was a convenient political slogan and a carefully crafted lie. I still struggle to understand why so many fell for it.
so where does a church stand that stood down elders because of their views on vaccines? maybe they should also repent and seek forgiveness, especially knowing what we now know about these dangerous vaccines.
This would truly bring glory to God repentance and reconciliation!
According to an article (see link below) Mark wrote the vaccine, and I quote, “did a tremendous amount of good” I am a bit confused as he seems to have taken many stances on this. Mark advocated for no jab mandate in the PCA, which was great but also sees the jab as good.
I would be interested to hear what people think of Mark’s sermon on the 4/9/22 (link below).
https://www.youtube.com/live/tOk0CLWlreQ?si=bDb_g1-ixIkRxvva
https://dailydeclaration.org.au/2023/04/14/astrazeneca-no-longer-an-approved-vaccine/
There was plenty of evidence available at the time of the mandates that it was unwise and against human rights eg Aus govts own vaccine handbook said informed consent must be in place and no coercion must happen.
However, govt left it all up to businesses and churches to enforce, aiming to keep their own hands clean.
There will much more to come on this, especially with the vast number os vaccine injured.
Many churches failed to care for their flock in this situation.
It was a great disappointment to me that the church in Australia failed the test of our time… whether you thought the injection a good or bad thing, mandating it was a bridge miles too far. It seemed to me that the government got the employers to do all their dirty work, and churches should have known better.
Great comment Rae and everyone else as well. Jess I would not be so tough on Mark Powell. Lets face it we all believed some of these lies to begin with. “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” Mark is a close friend and today is absolutley agaist all this rubbish!!!!
I think we need to practice grace and allow time for those who took the vaccine and advocated it, to do the research and then change their mind (i.e.now after 3-4 years the information is publicly being released after a great battle to suppress it.)
Some at the beginning wanted to do the right thing and thought it was right to have the vaccine (I wasn’t in favor personally but kept researching and praying the truth would be revealed. I could not afford to have my immune system compromised as I had earlier fought several major diseases that can lie dormant and so knew it was too risky.) Instead I read up on the evidence and found the vaccine would wipe out ones natural immune system and the person would be forced to rely on the vaccine, long term and keep having them. That was not a wise option for my health.
I prayed churches would make the right decision and allow freedom to choose to have the vaccine or not, as a decision for each parishioner to make before God and their conscience and depending on their state of health and knowledge and discussion with any reliable health expert.
Many followed the research podcasts of Dr John Campbell in the UK who solidly reported both sides of the story. Dr Campbell is one of the most comprehensive researchers to find on the net; he kept up to date with all the side effects as we journeyed through 3-4 years of COVID.
Dr John once was in favor of the vaccine- and admitted at first thought it was wise to have the vaccine (and took 1-2 vaccines) and then researched it more and more, and found many serious side effects and harmful injuries were linked to it and even sudden death.
Dr John (and others) looked at statistics and closely evaluated the side effects and the audience decide their own conclusion. He looked at alternative immune boosters like Vit D and zinc wondered why this was not reported widely as a helpful way to combat COVID and to boost the immune, which was inexpensive. Dr John also looked at Ivermectin which was used to be used to treat such diseases but noted that as soon as COVID vaccines started, the TGA and WHO suddenly banned Ivermectin and said it as dangerous and doctors would be fined or lose their jobs if they dared to use it to help any who caught COVID or who had symptoms (hence many died who might have had a chance to fight the disease). he knew doctors in the UK and West were forbidden to use it but he helped us find statistics which showed those few countries that allowed Ivermectin to be used as a treatment actually saved lives, whilst the West only used oxygen masks -but the virus then recycled often through the ventilator equipment and contaminated some of those patients who were placed in hospitals or hospitals. The hotel air conditioning systems for quarantine also remained a source of contamination.
Dr John also helped reveal the statistics about injuries, such as a correlation of cardiac disease, neurological decline (e.g. sometimes causing Gillen Barr syndrome) and the affects on children.
As time went on and more evidence came in there was a sudden consensus around the world by doctors and scientists to let people know the vaccine did not stop transmission of COVID after all. (The main hope and advertising feature earlier, was the fact that ‘the vaccine would stop transmission of COVID’ and save lives of all who took it as they would no longer spread the disease. This proved to be a misleading fact- and disinformation. Many who took the vaccine in good will were horrified to learn it would not stop transmission as they had take the vaccine in good will to help others be ‘safe’!)
I have outlined the change of Mind of Dr John just to show that even a highly trained top professional was humble enough to say he didn’t get it right at the beginning but then researched more facts and found out about injuries, related diseases and sudden deaths so he felt obliged to help others research the findings and help them analyze data and make up their mind.
I just pray many more people do research the statistics with an open mind and ask God to guide them and if they don’t know the Lord I pray God still gives them a conscience to search out the truth and to protect their children from any DNA change or heath damage caused by the vaccine.
May the God of all truth open eyes, ears and hearts to the evidence that has now come to light and may families, Governments, churches and schools and hospitals to the new findings, and May God bless those who are trying to expose the damage done and potential damage next time round.
None of this is true
Some were stood down from their position as a Pastor for speaking out on facebook and in the church about this topic.
Mark sadly has divided people into the good church people and the bad church people by whether or not they wore a mask.
It all started with the masks didn’t it?
And the author is justifying the ostracisation of people by the church.
This article is reminder of the pain the church caused many people by allowing the government to be god.
And please don’t delete my comment again, it is quite valid.
yes the church in Australia in many cases caused much harm during covid 19 , especially in relation to enforcing mandates and making their own . We tried to get denominational leaders to oppose Govt mandates and have the church recognised as an essential service. They generally except, in some cases went along with vaccine proganda to deal on behalf of the govt with areas such as vaccine hesitancy and sacked a number of us for not complying and even asking government where we were ,to restrict our ability to minister even further after mandates came into being, before ejecting Christian Ministers from leading their churches from the ministry .
As someone says often ….you could not make this up …It was really sad to see many Ministers being used as a tool of the government and health agencies to deal with vaccine hesitancy by using the pulpit , letters, meetings and visitation etc to get compliance. Many of us resisted this executive church leadership push to comply , at cost but our conscience are clear at decisions made. Many Churches crossed into an area of breaking the law….informed consent not really performed…one example I note is at a combined church prayer gathering just before mandates came in and those leading the prayers were praying for
people to get jabbed and to obey the government in this , the only Doctor (Specialist Hospital Doctor at that ) present at this prayer gathering came forward to voice his concern and prayers and was silenced and not allowed to pray ….was not allowed as a Christian to pray .we forgive all for the immense pain caused to pain we know .
Sad tragic….churches that discriminated and or legislated the jab for their members should be named and shamed….if they haven’t woken up and repented yet NAME AND SHAME as a faithful watchman on the wall. You don’t want blood on your hands.
An ironic article