First, I am a follower of The Way of Jesus Christ (Christian religion). As such, I am morally compelled to follow the guidelines and mandates of my faith to the best of my ability. Based on my beliefs, I am opposed to the practice of abortion. The current COVID-19 vaccines made use of fetal tissue cell lines for their development or in their testing.

1. Johnson and Johnson vaccine is based on a fetal retinal cell line (1).
2. Moderna and Pfizer used fetal stem cell lines in vaccine testing (2, 3).

Second, Biblical verses supporting my religious belief include those addressing the sanctity of life (Isaiah 49:1 and multiple verses to follow), the value of all human souls (Genesis 9:5-6), and commandments and instruction against killing (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17; Genesis 9:5-6; Leviticus 17:11; Genesis 9:6; Exodus 21:12; Matthew 15:19; Romans 13:9). God’s clear statement that we were known in our mother’s wombs (meaning that God views us a human life and soul in the womb and before we are even there) (Jeremiah: 1:5; Job 31:15; Psalm 22:9; Psalm 139:13-16), and numerous verses dealing with not harming children either fully grown or in the womb. To cause injury to a child in the womb was punishable by death on the basis of God’s commands (Exodus 21:22-25). God equates the killing of children of any age (even those in the womb) as one of the worst abominations before Him and one that ultimately leads to judgment upon the land (this was played out many times in the history of Israel, as their prophets repeatedly warned them of the specific judgements that would befall them if they did not heed the teachings of their God, Yahweh –  particularly with regard to sacrificing their own children on the altar of pagan gods in an effort to improve their current circumstances) (Leviticus 18:21; 2 Kings 16:3; Psalm 106:38; Isaiah 57:5).

Third, and perhaps somewhat ironically, our country is fearful over losing human lives from SARS-CoV-2 (near the end of 8/2021 the WHO indicates that we are nearing 4.5 million deaths worldwide (https://covid19.who.int) and slightly more than 600 thousand deaths in the US, yet in the US, statistics from the CDC indicate that an equal number of lives are ended every year in the womb (typically more than 500 thousand per year in America alone). These are lives which my God has said that He created, and for which He holds each society collectively responsible for their destruction.  

Fourth, in the tradition of my faith, I believe that God provides personal revelation and guidance to His people. Based on my personal prayer time, I feel compelled to avoid the current slate of vaccines. In the tradition of the “priesthood of the believer” concept, instruction from God is ultimately delivered at the individual level, and does not rely solely upon the broader institution for overarching dogma (i.e., no one can mandate religious practice at the corporate/institutional level). While this was “popularized” by Martin Luther, one of the major contributors to the Protestant Reformation in the church, this concept is firmly rooted in the New Testament Scriptures of the Bible (See references such as I Peter 2:5; I Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6; Revelation 5:9-10).

Fifth, the Bible also instructs me that my body is a temple for the Holy Spirit (God) (I Corinthians 6:19), and that I am not to knowingly defile it in any way. I have laid out (under separate cover) a cogent argument against SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, with which many esteemed neuroscientists, Nobel laureates, physicians, etc. agree. That is, the current slate of mRNA vaccines hold too many unknowns (particularly long term) to subject anyone at low risk of dying from COVID-19 to them (i.e., anyone that is not elderly or infirm – as most deaths occur in individuals who are older, obese, and have 2 or more physical comorbidities – again, see my document on my medical/scientific objection). Consistent with these unknowns, it violates my adherence to my religious faith to allow myself to receive anything that may harm my body. In legal parlance, with the number of unknowns surrounding these vaccines, and the low risk of death or serious adverse event faced by the preponderance of humans living on the planet, the risk of vaccine injury is “more probable than not” a higher risk than actually contracting the disease.

I have spent a lifetime as a follower of The Way of Jesus Christ (Christian religion) and my commitment to the study and devotion of my faith is demonstrated by my service for more than 20 years as a Bible teacher and volunteer minister in various congregations.

References:

1. Brown CM, Vostok J, Johnson H, Burns M, Gharpure R, Sami S, et al. Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infections, including COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infections, associated with large public gatherings – Barnstable county, Massachusetts, July 2021. In: Prevention CfDCa, editor. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report2021. p. 1059-62.
2. Wadman M. Abortion opponents protest COVID-19 vaccines’ use of fetal cells. Science. 2020.
3. Wadman M. Vaccines that use human fetal cells draw fire. Science. 2020;368(6496):1170-1.