The Corona-virus Pandemic in the Context of Reading and Interpreting the Signs of the Times

Abstract

The article discusses the current corona-virus pandemic as a possible ‘sign of the times’ in the sense of the Church’s role in ‘examining the signs of the time and interpreting them in the light of the gospel’. It also asks how the corona-virus pandemic can be interpreted in this context. First, it presents general criteria for reading the signs of the times. Then it gives four selected interpretations of the corona-virus pandemic which are then theologically refl ected upon using the above criteria. Based on this refl ection, it shows that not every interpretation of a pandemic can be considered a reading of the signs of the times. It thus points to the need to distinguish signs and the importance of the requirement ‘to judge the Christian meaning of events with the help of the Holy Spirit and in the light of God’s word’.