Published 15 January, 2023 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           בס״ד

The troubled relationship (for obvious reasons) between the former prisoner and now president-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Brazil's evangelicals, is back in the "trend topics". This time, Lula directly attacked the Church with a polemic and at the same time threatening statement in a meeting with several representatives of the health area, saying that he will demand support from churches in vaccination campaigns and that, if they do not cooperate, they will be held responsible for the deaths that occur: "I intend to look for several evangelical churches and discuss with their leaders: 'Look, what is your behaviour in this issue of vaccines?' Or we will hold you responsible for the death of people", said Lula.

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The question that remains is: Could the declaration by the most corrupt leftist leader in the history of this country be framed within what we know as religious persecution? Many would certainly have some doubts, since the historical memory of the great majority of the population preserves the idea of persecution in the ancient world, where the traditional authoritarian systems, such as the Roman Empire, for example, exercised arbitrary and authoritarian acts of extreme physical violence against Christians of the time. 

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In the modern world it was not very different, since the great totalitarianisms of that period persecuted inhumanely, not only Christians, but any group, institution or person who opposed the project of power exercised by them. Among these totalitarian groups, we can cite the Italian and Spanish Fascisms, and Nazism. In the contemporary world, many still think that religious persecution is a topic that has remained in the past, that we live in full and complete freedom, however it is necessary to inform the dear reader that it is not quite like that. Here in the West, where we call the liberal states, what happens is a subtle persecution, which acts in a disguised manner, very different, but no less dangerous, from the ancient and modern persecutions with all their violence.

The subtle persecution, hidden, disguised, disguised or whatever you want to call it, can harm the church as much as the barbarities of the ancient world, and can be exercised in the following ways: as economic persecution, legal persecution, social death or media persecution.

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But... why only the evangelicals? What is hat is so special about this religious group that makes the left invest its time and forces in persecuting it? Why do their leaders, commanded by the ex-prisoner Lula da Silva, launch all their artillery of provocations, threats, criticism, discussions, implication and fallacies against this group specifically?

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The answer varies according to the different parameters and points of view we can use to get it. If we use the political parameter, we understand that the evangelical church is a frequent target of the intentional onslaughts of the left, because most politicians who belong to this religious group, do not yield to political calculation, read alliances. However, other groups supposedly adversaries of the left are easily "bought" by ministerial positions, becoming new allies who quickly align themselves to the leftist ideology and its project of power. However, in the case of evangelicals, the ideological antagonism with the left is so blatant that there is no possibility of building alliances with it, without deviating from the principles which guide Christian life. Therefore, by not selling out to the left, an arbitrary, authoritarian and unscrupulous persecution against Christians begins, strategically seeking to destroy the "opposing enemy" and for this, the left uses various means to weaken it, such as restrictions, imposing behaviours and actions, blackmail, boycotts, fines, censorship and fallacies.

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If we observe the strategy in detail, it is clear that the issue of imposing the support for vaccines is only one of the arguments that Lula and his cronies are using as a form of retaliation to the religious group that is mostly, Bolsonarist and conservative right. And with such an attitude, Lula already demonstrates what he came and what he is willing to do to get the largest number of allies / accomplices, even before climbing the presidential ramp (act that I and certainly you too, dear reader, sincerely do not want to happen).

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It is important to mention that, contrary to what was said by Lula, the majority of evangelical Christians did not manifest themselves against the Covid-19 vaccine, but to the possible compulsory measures for its use, demanded by those who strive to exercise dictatorial powers in a supposedly democratic country. There were, yes, by the most varied religious groups and not only evangelicals, several questions about the efficacy and safety of this vaccine that until then is still considered experimental. However, even with all the questioning, the vast majority of evangelicals got vaccinated without showing much resistance. However, the group of evangelicals who chose not to receive the vaccine for different reasons is a minority. 

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The fact that there are people who are openly against vaccines is true, but we must take into account that this opposition group is composed not only by evangelicals, but also by Catholics, Spiritists, Umbandaists, Atheists and many others, because the determining factor to oppose is not only religious, but also the fear of the sequelae caused by a vaccine that is still in its experimental stage. And when using the expression "opposition to vaccines", we cannot generalize. Opposition to immunizers is much more inclined to oppose the Covid-19 vaccines than other vaccines such as the polio vaccine, for example, which already has decades of studies and laboratory analysis, making it much more reliable than Covid-19.

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By generalizing decisions, ignoring the plurality of opinions existing in the evangelical environment regarding immunizers, specifically about Covid-19 vaccines, and blaming it for the deaths of all those who died from this disease, Lula commits a serious mistake and increases even more the barrier for dialogue and for a rapprochement that, in reality, we, convinced Christians, don't even want. 

However, contrary to what Lula said in his statements, several evangelical churches not only supported the vaccines, but also collaborated with the campaigns made by the government, giving up their temples and recreational areas, for the application of the same during the period of the pandemic, as is the case of the Igreja Cristã Maranata in Vitória (ES), the Igreja Presbiteriana Independente de Ibiporã (PR) and the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus from several locations.

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Therefore, to make such a statement with a tone of threat, Lula not only unduly exposes a religious group to the scorn of the rest of the population, blaming them for deaths that do not correspond to him, but also lightly disregards the numerous social contributions that the church has provided and still provides to society in general, including in the pandemic. Remembering that today the excuse to persecute the church in a subtle way is vaccines. Tomorrow it may be imposed on tithes, imposition on acceptance of gay marriages, determination of censorship of what can or cannot be said in a cult ... finally, only God knows what they will decide to use as a bargaining chip to leave Christians in peace in the very near future.

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