by Paul Graham

I’ve been getting texts on WhatsApp urging me not to worry and pray that everything will be okay, as God is ‘in control’ of the Covid-19 pandemic. Behind such sentiments there seems to be an assumption that God, being all-powerful, is able to zap the virus and make it go away. But God manifestly isn’t making the virus go away and people are dying. So what are we realistically praying for? Is God, in fact, in control in the way we think he may be, or is something else going on?

Last night, I could hear noise in the street outside. When I looked, people had come to their front doors and were clapping. At first I thought it was just a spontaneous gesture, a moment of communal release of pent-up frustration at being cooped up all day. In fact, they were applauding the health workers – nurses, doctors and others – who daily are putting their lives at risk to help the sick and dying. I’d missed the announcement earlier in the day, or I would have joined in.