This is where the church has failed at large. “Christians” don’t know or don’t understand these things, they don’t understand salvation and they don’t understand that God himself is the one we need to submit to. I’ve already made it clear that Christianity is tangible, it’s not spiritual and you have made a conscious decision to put your earthly citizenship as secondary to your heavenly one.
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Alright, everyone, this will be the end of the Religious Exemption articles (for now); however, I’ve had it with the constant revisions of questions these HR departments are putting out there. It would almost seem like they are purposefully trying to trap you all in a particular argument they think you’ll use. I’ll explain further down, but here is the deal, I have spent my last five years out of the military working my way up through corporate America; I have spoken to CEOs, CFOs, HR folks, and people at all levels. I understand how businesses function, and I will tell you something right now. Every person who will review your particular religious exemption is being trained, as we speak, on how to counter and trap you all in an argument that YOU CANNOT WIN. That’s right, you will not win it on the ground level or in court. Because not only are these people ready to deny your claim, they’ll make sure every mortal (not out of faith) argument you use is not only recorded but also dissected and ready to be turned over to a court to eviscerate you.
Don’t blame them; as I quoted in the last post, our Adversary, the Devil, is like a roaring lion, and he is ready to pounce if you’re not prepared. God, rich in mercy, gave us a document with over 250,000 words and timeless Truth to prepare us for this moment. Take heart! For Christ has already overcome this obstacle.
So everyone wants to know how to write the religious exemption. Well, below is the actual outline I’ve given to people to write their own, along with the answers to the questions presented on the form. I’ve tried to explain to the best of my ability in the prior two posts, but Christians are still scrambling to figure out how to make a solid argument based on science, philosophy, law, or politics. The problem here is, none of us are scientists or lawyers, or political analysts; however, I guarantee you that your companies have these people ready and waiting to rip apart your exemption if you use these arguments. A religious exemption is for your “Sincerely held beliefs” and your religious beliefs. Is Christianity about being pro-life? No. Are we pro-life? Yes. Our faith isn’t based on being anti-abortion. Is Christianity about governmental mandates? No. We may be against them because Christ has made us free, but it’s not about that.
Christianity is solely about Christ and the Gospel. As was written about in the second post, we have been given the Spirit to indwell us to perform the work God laid out for us both individually and His children and corporately as His church. Those arguments listed above are Mortal arguments. They are arguments on your company’s playing field; they can argue those easily and then chew you up and spit you out. Why not use an immortal argument? Something only we as Christians know how to defend, but at the same time, while upholding the faith, we can perform our primary calling of giving the world the Gospel.
Below I will go over an ACTUAL form from a transportation company, and I will answer these, along with the process that should be used as a Christian when dealing with this. Remember first, do ALL things in prayer FIRST, and let your requests be made known unto God:
THE STATEMENT
First thing’s first, I recommend writing an exemption letter based on the following format. Even though I won’t offer a full-on template for this, I feel like this is the best way to present your faith and ideas.
In the first paragraph, include your full name, employee ID (if applicable), and your position. Also have “I am exempt from this company’s vaccine mandate based on sincerely-held religious beliefs as codified in Section VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.”
In the following paragraphs, detail your faith (It can be your church’s statement of faith, the apostlistic creed, etc.); just make sure it is what you actually believe. Like I said above, it’s better to not include ANYTHING about the vaccine itself, as these are human arguments meant to confound, confuse and defeat you. Make sure you have enough backup in these paragraphs to answer the exemption form in a holistic manner.
In the last paragraph, refer back to the original statement of faith and give the answer, “Because of the direction and guidance of God through the Holy Spirit, I can not take this vaccine. This is my sincerely held religious belief on this manner.” It would help to include verses supporting these arguments; I will not give those out here because I want each of your exemptions to be unique.
THE FORM
Alright, the magically changing form that we all know and love. How many times has this changed now? Three? Four times? Anyways, besides being a pain in my side, it’s no matter, they’re trying to trip you up on Human Arguments, and we’re not using those. So for anyone that thinks they can do this in their own knowledge and wisdom without God’s help, good luck, and may the odds forever be in your favor.
Question 1: Please Identify your Sincerely-Held religious belief, practice, and/or observance that you believe conflicts company’s vaccination mandate.
Your answer to this should be, “Please see attached file” or “Please see attachment 1”.
Question 2: Please state how your particular sincerely-held religious belief, practice, and/or observance specifically conflicts with the company’s vaccine mandate and describe the accommodation that you are requesting.
This is the only question that I cannot answer, nor will I try to point you to on this. I am not a lawyer and do not want to give out legal advice in any way. Please see appropriate counsel or other representatives to provide an answer to this question in the best way possible.
Question 3: Have you received a religious exemption for any other vaccine requirements in the past three years?
This is funny, and this is what I mean. Someone who fills this outgoing off the handle trying to explain how this vaccine is different and using any type of conspiratorial ideas or reports they found online are going to lose. They WANT that to happen. Your answer here is simply “No.”
Question 4: Have you ever been approved for any other type of religious accommodation during your employment?
Have you? If not, put “No,” If you have, but “Yes” and explain in the simplest, concise manner as possible. DO NOT bring up any other arguments.
Question 5: Does the sincerely-held religious belief, practice, and/or observance identified in Question #1 prevent you from receiving other vaccines or just the Covid-19 Vaccine?
For those I’m assuming is just the Covid-19 vaccine, just put that in the drop-down, or answer accordingly.
Question 5a: If your sincerely-held religious belief, practice, and/or observance prevents you from receiving only the COVID-19 vaccine, please explain why.
Alright, so with this question, they’re already prepping you to answer this in a few ways (based on the following questions). If you continue down the road of “It’s an experimental vaccine” or “It contains fetal abortion cells” or “It’s my constitutional right,” I will reiterate, you will lose. They are prepared for this, and you nor I am a lawyer, a scientist, or a political analyst. What we are, are Christians, and they can’t argue with this information we’re giving. Give this answer “Per the statement of faith I provided in attachment 1, I am exempt from the COVID-19 Vaccine due to direction being lead by my God through His Spirit.” I can’t emphasize this enough, the LESS you talk, the BETTER. Always refer back to your statement that you uploaded; the whole point is to mount a defense if needed for court, don’t let them have that.
Question 6: Are there other aspects of your sincerely-held religious belief, practice and/or observance related to receiving medical care?
I don’t know, are there? If yes, explain them there; if not, it’s of no consequence.
Question 7: For how long have you had this religious belief, practice, and/or observance?
Put down how long you have been practicing your faith.
Question 8: In preparing your requested exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement based on the above-referenced sincerely-held religious belief, practice, and/or observance, did you utilize a sample or template request provided by a third party (other than your regular place of worship), whether purchased or otherwise?
I love how they changed this question after my last blog post. They went from “did anyone help you” to “did you utilize a sample.” Like I said above, they’re really starting to irritate me. Listen, our job is to follow God’s commandments, and we should trust in Him in order to get through these things. If you did utilize a third party, IT’S OK; it happens. What their defense here is, they’re going to question why your clergy didn’t help you with it and therefore attempt to invalidate your argument based on what ANOTHER HUMAN DID and not what GOD IS TELLING YOU TO DO.
Question 9: Since the age of 18, have you received any vaccinations.
The whole idea of this one, and why they don’t want you to go into further detail is, they are waiting to see if you use the “Aborted fetal cell” argument. Since you’re here reading this, either you’ve anticipated it with me (You’re a smart cookie!), or you’re someone from HR going to change the form again (please go away).
This is also why they asked how long you’ve been practicing your faith above. They’re trying to measure you to perfection, which in the words of our Savior, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone…” (John 8:7, ESV). No one that has ever lived on this Earth is perfect, save one, and He is in heaven. It’s hypocritical, disingenuous, and slimy, and no one should have to go through that until they reach a judgement.
Question 10: Since the age of 18, have you taken any pharmaceutical(s) (drugs), whether prescription or nonprescription (over the counter)?
Once again, guys, just say yes or no. If you were to use the “Aborted Fetal Tissue” argument, let them go through every single medication you’ve ever taken in 10/20/30 years. That will be fun to watch.
However, we’re not answering based on Mortal arguments; as I’ve shown, they’re already prepared to give a defense for their mandate. Show them you’re prepared to give a defense for the hope you have in Christ. God speed to all.
For further comments, questions, or cease and desist letters, please contact me at michaelpircio2@mikepircio.com.
“And in his name the Gentiles will hope”.
Christ quoted that while on Earth to his disciples. God has always wanted a plan for the entire world to come back to him from the instant sin entered the world. But what does hope mean? Specifically, is it the same way we use it today in modern English?
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Housekeeping: Alright! After a long weekend, we are back! I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day, and for those that aren’t U.S. based I hope you had a good weekend!
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You know what I really love about our Creator? We don’t have a contractual obligation to him. Romans 5 tells us some interesting things. For one, we are told that “Christ died for the ungodly”(V. 6), then in the next verse Paul looks at the mortal version of this. He says “For rarely will someone die for a just person” and “Perhaps for a good person someone may dare to die.” Paul’s musings here hearken back to my current apologetics series on Love, specifically the three types of mortal love. Man, righteous or unrighteous, saved or unsaved, is still and will always be selfish. We can’t shake it. We can put an honest effort to be selfless, but at the end of the day Man’s number one priority whether that is mind or body, is himself.
See, even if Man wanted to die for someone in his mind, his body would show hesitation. Even Christ in His mortal body prayed to His Father in Heaven that He may take the cup from him, to possibly make another way; God knew there was no other way. The ultimate act of servitude is to put someone’s life above yours, especially one who you do not know.
Paul tells us in verse 8 “But God shows his love for us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us”. We didn’t have a contractual obligation as God’s creation to do anything for Him to die. He wanted to have a relationship with us so badly that He estranged himself in order to break the curse of sin and show liberty to those who believe in Him.
That’s what the Bible is about, God being faithful to His creation, in trying His hardest to get them back. He knows we won’t be faithful 100 percent of the time. He knows it’s impossible for us since we are fallible. James tells us “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.”
God had a plan since Adam first sinned, and that plan was to remain faithful to the human race until the time came for judgement. Up until that very last trumpet sounds, will He remain faithful.
Fame. Fortune. Power. These are the things humans fight for, strive for, and live for. Not only do we as Christians know who raises up kingdoms and discards kings, but we also should know what we are to strive for.
We are told that the “love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim 6:10) and that “if riches increase, set not your heart upon them” (Psalm 62:10) and that all blessings come from God. Besides striving to know our Creator and to know our purpose in this life, what exactly should we live for?
The Apostle Paul, a man that definitely didn’t ever know peace, thought best that we should strive for a quiet life. A peaceful life. A life where our personal testimony could be shining to everyone.
The only way to do this is to do our own work, mind our own business and to be dependent on no one else. If we have the means and wherewithal we should strive for that life. If we have control of our lives from those few things we can control: our work, our affairs and our finances, then we are able to allow God to take care of the rest. He can show us our purpose much more easily.
However, if our life is constantly filled with tumult and strife and worry, how are we ever to be a vessel for Him.
Featured today is one of my favorite promises of God. It’s both terrifying and re-assuring as well. There are three types of sin, Unintentional Sin, Chronic Sin, and Presumptuous Sin. These may overlap; however Unintentional Sin can never be a presumptuous sin. Although the descriptive adjectives describe the type of sin, we can go over them real quick before I get to the purpose of this verse.
Unintentional Sin- is as it sounds. It is doing an action that needs corrected, but it is out of innocence to the fact it is wrong.
Chronic Sin is a lifestyle choice that requires the person to constantly commit sin in order to maintain that certain lifestyle. However, this sin will not go unpunished, however our father in heaven is patient, merciful and kind and allows it to go on in hopes that we will “see the light” instead of having to be punished.
Presumptuous Sin is the most “serious” type of sin. All sin is equal under God’s eyes; however, this is urgent in the fact that a person has accomplished three things all at one time. One, the person knows what they will do is a sin and wrong. Two, the person decides to ignore the fact they are not to do it. Three, the consequences of the sin do not matter to them. It is, at its core an arrogant and flagrant attempt at performing a human act against the will of God.
So let’s get to this verse that I so love. Now everyone is really asking, “Why the heck would you like this verse.”, well for a couple of reasons. One, everyone sins, and each sin comes with a separate consequence. Two this verse is truly two fold. One, it’s a constant reminder in the back of your head that if you deliberately try to do evil, you will not be able to hold it in. Second, it holds true when you have been wronged as well from someone else. Sin has a mind of its own in a way. In Eastern thought they would call this “Karma”; there is a difference between Karma and sin’s consequence. The difference is, with the idea of Karma the “universe” is punishing you for your actions, but with sin, especially presumptuous ones, it will tell on you and the acceptable actions by the community around you will be the punishment allowed by God.
Sin itself is as deceitful as Satan, even more so in reality, it even deceived Satan to measure himself against God. Sin itself not only will allow you to temporarily remove yourself from God and fellowship with Him it will then be happy to see all the pain and suffering that comes with it.
Now that I’ve gone through all the “bad” stuff, let’s look at the good in all of this. If you have been wronged, or think someone may have wronged you, “be sure your sin will find you out”. You don’t have to worry, honestly sin is pretty reliable as well. It will affect them in the long run and it will affect you the same way. It is the great equalizer among humanity. Rich, Poor, Old, Toddler, Sick and Healthy, we “All have Sinned” (Rom. 3:23). It just might be in your best interest to try to get that sin forgiven instead of trying to hide it.
Remember, God knows everything, and “Your sin will find you out”.
We’re quite accustomed to it lately. The pandemic, wars, relationships, legal issues. By definition, according to Merriam-Webster, Fear is “an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.” We are also commanded not to fear. Multiple times we are commanded to not be afraid. Everyone that has ever encountered God or his messengers have always been greeted with the same expression, “Fear not.” So why do we fear? Why is something so intrinsic, and so human, so wrong?
Joshua 1:9 tells us, as Joshua was preparing to go into Canaan to take back the land given to the Israelites, God told Joshua, “Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage! Be not afraid…”. Later on, God tells Isaiah, “Fear not, for I am with you!” (ISA 41:10). But why is this a thing? Why is this wrong?
As mentioned before, a couple weeks back, God tells us that he will put us in “Perfect Peace”(Isa 26:3), and we are to acknowledge God in all our ways (Prov. 3:5&6), and He will direct our paths. We’re supposed to trust God in everything. It’s a hard mindset to get into, and as imperfect creatures, we will struggle with it minute by minute. Fear is simply anticipating something that (especially in our day and age) most likely won’t happen, but on the off chance it does, it would be horrible. God expects us to trust Him for things to work out the way He has planned.
Secondly, it’s a matter of faith. In the gospel of Matthew, we are told as the disciples were on a small fishing vessel, and a storm kicked up, they awoke Jesus telling him they were afraid. The first thing that He did was basically roll his eyes and comment, “Why are you afraid? Oh ye of little faith” (Matt 8:26). The second thing He did was comfort them by handling the situation.
Even though they had technically sinned, they put their trust in Him by waking him, and He saved them. In 2 Timothy, Paul writes that “God has not given us the spirit of FEAR” (2 Tim 1:7). In the same verse, he tells us what God has given us “Power, Love and Self-Control,” and all of those things are the antithesis to fear.
Trusting in God completely is a hard thing, and it’s something I can’t help but struggle with. Honestly, it’s hard trusting anyone that isn’t next to you 100% of the time, and even then they may not be trustworthy. I do know (in my head anyways) that God is always trustworthy, but getting over my fear is the hardest thing to do sometimes.
We should always remember; however, we have a good father in Heaven who cares for us and is looking out for us. It’s our own limitations that make us afraid.
Orthodox Christianity isn’t popular, but neither was Christ, obviously. If we look at the historicity of Christ and examine why He was put on the cross and crucified, it had nothing to do with God’s plan. Actually, the people who put him on the cross thought they were doing a service to their community. They believed He blasphemed the name of God, they thought His teachings were wrong (ironically, he quoted the Old Testament quite a bit), they felt rejected by God because of what He said.
In Matthew, Peter ran to Christ to tell him that the “Pharisees were offended” at what Christ said. He continued in the same manner and let them know that all God will take care of them. It was a battle that didn’t need to be won at the time. He didn’t apologize though, later on he made it clear that what comes out of a person’s mouth is what is in their heart.
What exactly offended the Pharisees so much? Christ quoted Isaiah 29:13 “Because this people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips but have removed their hearts far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.” (Precepts can be defined as, by the oxford languages dictionary, a rule to regulate behavior or thought)
This is a tough pill to swallow in this day and age, our “Christian” leaders continue to take man made precepts directly contradictory to the Bible, and preach that they are OK out of “Love” for mankind that God supposedly has. God showed His love by sending his Son to die, so that He may have a relationship with His creation again.
So, what is the moral or point of this post? As Christ said in Matthew 7: 6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn around and attack you.” We are to strive for truth and not to be “Conformed to this world”(Romans 12:2). If we happen to offend, we have said what has needed to be said, but we are to not bother with speaking it after with the offended party. God doesn’t want us to be put in more stress or danger than is necessary for the advancement of His word. Finally, never apologize for speaking the Word of God, even if it does offend. After all, God himself never apologized for speaking the truth.
Exodus comes from the Greek word “ἔξοδος” meaning “a way out” or “departure”. While most Christians understand the story behind the Exodus from Egypt and the ensuing presentation of the ten commandments, do we all think of the word “Exodus” much? See, we are promised a couple of things in the Bible and going off last week’s post, we are promised hardship. We are promised pain and suffering and trials. Being a child of God doesn’t change that we are imperfect beings living within a perfect system.
That being said, God has promised us something else. A way out.
Remember we talked about all this last week? I’ve been through so many things in the my life that I thought I couldn’t bare it any longer. God delivers on His promises though. He gives a way out, just like any good father will. As long as we look to God, any temptation, any trial, and any stress will be delivered a way out. This requires us to give things to God to take care of, and us to step back and allow him to. We can only make things worse, and the more we try without our Father, the more it will be made worse, because once again, we are imperfect beings.
People have been astounded on how I’m still holding everything up. The secret is, I’m not. The one greater than I is, and I’m thankful for that. He’s given me a way out, and I can finally see the end of the tunnel. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”
Humans are meant to go through pain and suffering. As much of a terrible thing, that is to say, we are imperfect beings living in a perfect reality, with perfect laws. Moreso as Christians, we ought to remember that we will feel pain, sorrow, and sadness. We will be weak because our Father in Heaven expects us to continue on in His perfect peace.
In Proverbs 6:6 we are told to “Go to the ant, you sluggard.” The Ant toils away no matter the pain, the cost, or the stress. It doesn’t stop for anyone or anything (as many of our kitchens can testify to). We are not meant to become lazy or to avoid pain. Pain is necessary to rely on God.
When we look at pain, and stress, and trials we tend to want to just ignore it. The pain is a lot to bear. However, Paul writes in Corinthians that our realization of our weakness and selfishness is necessary to becoming not only a better Christian, but having an “easier” life over all.
We are always told that God does not give more than we can handle, and that is false. God always gives more than we can handle, because He wants us to give it to Him to handle. While Paul prayed to Christ to take away a burden, and the final answer he received, is the answer we all knew from the beginning of our Salvation. “My grace is sufficient”.
As quoted last week, “He will put him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” But why does He trust in God? Because He knows that God’s “Grace is sufficient” throughout all life’s troubles.