Northwoods Apostolic Church

VACCINATIONS

Northwoods Apostolic Church believes in the absolute sovereignty of God in all things, and His delegation of authority to human beings over the control of their own minds and bodies (Colossians 1:16-17; I Corinthians 6:19-20). We believe we possess both the God-given ability to reason and the gift of free will to make our own choices regarding our lives, inclusive of our health and well-being. Individuals should be the ones to make their own decisions pertaining to any and all medical services and medications, including all decisions regarding vaccines no matter what conditions – including pandemics – may be present.

The Word of God informs us that as believers our physical bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19-20). We are therefore not to take anything into our bodies that could damage them. This would include untested and un-proven COVID-19 injections that have demonstrated unprecedented adverse reactions and deaths. The choice to use or accept any form of external intervention to address any mental or physical health problem remains a sacred personal right, notwithstanding the opinion of other people, including medical professionals and government officials.

As Christians, we believe in the sanctity of human life and that life begins at conception. The Bible clearly commands us not to shed innocent human life or human blood (Exodus 20:13). Unborn babies are human beings whose lives shall not be taken (Jeremiah 1:5). Therefore, aborted fetal cell tissue use during any phase in the manufacture, production and administration of COVID-19 injections is immoral and unjustifiable. The use of “vaccines” that may contain fetal tissue or that creates a high risk of miscarriages in pregnant women violates the mandates of scripture.

Furthermore, any medical product designed to alter one’s genetic code or to create a “biometric” or comparable mark by which one can be tracked is also absolutely forbidden as a surrender and an aid to the coming anti-Christ system (Rev. 9 & 13). If such mark is not technically the “Mark of the Beast” warned against in Scripture, it is so close in form and substance as to be at least preliminary preparation for it, if not a binding spiritual substitute (Rev. 19:20; I Cor 8:4-7).

In addition to our deeply held religious beliefs, mandated vaccines and vaccine passports are in violation of my civil rights as protected under the Declaration and Constitution of the United States of America and existing and long-standing federal law.

1. The FDA has not approved any COVID vaccines, and they are still considered experimental by the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies.
2. Under the PREP Act, pharmaceutical companies have total legal immunity from liability if someone who takes their vaccine has adverse reaction.
3. There has not been adequate time of testing of COVID-19 vaccines since a typical vaccine takes five to ten years of trials and testing.
4. A mandatory vaccine is in violation of 21 CFR 50.20 (Informed Consent). This law requires the patient is provided with information and they "willingly" consent to the health care treatment. In making the vaccine mandatory, it is no longer voluntary.
5. Violation of Civil Rights:
   1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination because of religion, among other protected categories, and requires employers to reasonably accommodate religious observance and proactive, absent undue hardship.
   2. Under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, employers can establish undue hardship under Title VII if they can demonstrate that their accommodation would require “more than a de minimis cost”
   3. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit’s 2017 decision in Fallon v. Mercy Catholic Medical Center allows for religious exemptions due to religion or disability.
   4. The Third Circuit was guided by a 1965 Supreme Court decision interpreting a conscientious objector or statute that provided a religious exemption from conscription, United States v. Seeger. In Seeger, the Supreme Court asked: “Does the claimed belief occupy the same place in the life of the objector as an orthodox belief in God holds in the life of one clearly qualified for exemption?” The Third Circuit recognized that anti-vaccination beliefs can be protected if they are part of “a broader religious faith” in its opinion, the Third Circuit also made clear that employers cannot require a letter from a member of clergy in order to consider an employees request for religious exemption.
   5. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Compliance Manual states that the Commission will define religious practices to include moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views. This standard was developed in the United States v. Seeger and Welch v. United States.

In summary, we recognize only God as our ultimate authority in all things, and that He has delegated to each of us authority over our own lives and choices in matters of health, including that of vaccines, and we hold that the serious, potentially eternal consequences attached to our choices, strongly outweighs any dictate of government to the contrary.