From David French, an reformed evangelical, religious Liberty Lawyer, Iraq war veteran, believer of classical liberalism: (deepl翻譯)

來自大衛-弗倫奇，一個改革的福音派，宗教自由律師，伊拉克戰爭老兵，古典自由主義的信仰者。

此外，我相當擔心的是，基督徒對宗教自由的長期合理關注無意中造成了一種宗教權利感，掩蓋了對宗教責任的迫切需求。對於基督教信徒來說，對自由的追求與對美德的追求是不可分割的。我們追求自由並不只是為了滿足我們的慾望或平息我們的恐懼。事實上，當我們追求自由使我們的鄰居生病時，我們違反了社會契約，破壞了我們在政治、法律和文化中的道德地位。基督教的自由主義成為對宗教自由本身的長期威脅。

我們的創始人認識到自由主義對自由的威脅。"約翰-亞當斯寫道："我們的憲法只為一個有道德和有宗教信仰的民族而制定。它完全不適合於任何其他民族的治理"。事實上，亞當斯認為，足夠程度的惡習會 "像鯨魚穿過網一樣打破我們憲法最堅固的繩索"。

那麼，對自由的良性行使是什麼樣子的呢？具有諷刺意味的是，一個例子正是馬特-沃爾什所譴責的自由的行使--私人公司強行注射疫苗的自由。當一個工作場所合理地察覺到對其工人和顧客的生命和健康的威脅，並強制執行一項任務時，它恰恰說明瞭一個機構如何行使其自由來追求美德。它對自由的行使保護了生命和對幸福的追求。

這篇文章並不是為了回答所有關於疫苗的各種錯誤信息和基於陰謀的反對意見。互聯網上充斥著事實核查和解釋（包括直接針對基督徒的解釋），旨在反駁幾乎所有曾經分享的反疫苗論點。但越來越清楚的是，許多剩餘的堅持者需要在他們的思想改變之前改變他們的心。是他們的道德框架被打破了，而當這個框架被打破時，理性和美德就難以穿透堅硬的心。

適當的框架很容易闡述，但很難建立。採取審慎的措施來保護自己。當你選擇承擔風險時，要為他人承擔風險。並始終認識到，自由不是許可。信徒應該尋求自由來追求美德，而不是放縱他們的慾望或平息他們的恐懼。

我應該清楚，數以百萬計的美國福音派教徒理解這些原則，並將其銘記於心。但有相當一部分人沒有這樣做。3月，我曾寫信警告說，基督徒對疫苗的猶豫不決是一個迫在眉睫的國家問題。我們所擔心的事情已經發生了。事實上，正如未接種疫苗的美國人的地理分布和調查數據所顯示的那樣，基督徒拒絕接種疫苗的行為正在幫助維持這種大流行病。

現在是採取明確立場的時候了。不是以嘲笑或居高臨下的方式，而是在尊重他人的同時，也能保持堅定的態度。正如使徒保羅告訴提摩太的那樣，"神賜給我們的不是恐懼的心，而是有能力、有愛心、有判斷力的心"。權力不是政治上的權力，而是神的力量戰勝人的恐懼。愛是對神和對我們的鄰居。而正確的判斷力應該幫助我們區分謊言和真相，並告訴我們，任何關於自由的爭論都不應該壓倒我們的責任，讓我們的國家和我們的鄰居免受傷害，並最終服用疫苗。

通过www.DeepL.com/Translator（免费版）翻译

Moreover, I'm quite concerned that long-standing, justified Christian concerns for religious liberty have inadvertently created a sense of religious entitlement that obscures the desperate need for religious responsibility. For the Christian believer, the pursuit of freedom is inseparable from the pursuit of virtue. We do not seek liberty simply to satisfy our desires or to appease our fears. In fact, when we pursue the freedom to make our neighbors sick, we violate the social compact and undermine our moral standing in politics, law, and culture. Christian libertinism becomes a long-term threat to religious liberty itself.

Our founders recognized the threat of libertinism to liberty. "Our Constitution," John Adams wrote, "was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the governance of any other." In fact, a sufficient degree of vice would, Adams argued, "break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net."

And what does the virtuous exercise of liberty look like? Ironically enough, one example is the very exercise of liberty that Matt Walsh condemned—the liberty of private corporations to impose vaccine mandates. When a workplace reasonably perceives a threat to the lives and health of its workers and customers and imposes a mandate, it is illustrating exactly how an institution can exercise its liberty to pursue virtue. Its exercise of liberty protects life and the pursuit of happiness.

This essay isn't designed to answer all the various misinformation and conspiracy-based objections to vaccines. The internet is awash with fact checks and explainers (including explainers aimed directly at Christians) designed to rebut virtually every anti-vax argument ever shared. But it is increasingly clear that many of the remaining holdouts need their hearts to change before their minds will change. It's their moral framework that's broken, and when that framework is broken, reason and virtue have difficulty penetrating a hardened heart.

The proper framework is easy to articulate, yet hard to create. Take prudent measures to protect yourself. When you choose to take risks, take risks for others. And always recognize that liberty isn't license. Believers should seek freedom to pursue virtue, not to indulge their desires or appease their fears.

I should be clear that millions upon millions of American Evangelicals understand these principles and have taken them to heart. But a disproportionate number have not. In March I wrote to warn that Christian vaccine hesitancy was a looming national problem. That which we have feared has come to pass. Indeed, as both the geographic concentrations of unvaxxed Americans and the survey data demonstrate, Christian vaccine refusal is helping sustain this pandemic:

Now is the time to take a clear stand. Not in a way that mocks or condescends, but one can be firm while also being respectful. As the Apostle Paul told Timothy, "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment." The power is not political power, but the power of God over the fears of man. The love is for God and for our neighbor. And sound judgment should help us separate lies from truth and tell us that no argument for liberty should trump our responsibility to spare our nation and our neighbors and finally take the vaccine.

https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/its-time-to-stop-rationalizing-christian?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxNTE2NjU4NSwicG9zdF9pZCI6NDA2MTE4NTgsIl8iOiI3Ym1CKyIsImlhdCI6MTYzMDI5ODQwNCwiZXhwIjoxNjMwMzAyMDA0LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMjE3NjUiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.TNxsRHUGzpoDUNJB-7UvVPDzPUANza4MIZsyA7rcs14

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