Week 1: Historical Facts about Pestilence and Past Pandemics by Barry Borthistle
Week 1
1. The main common theme seems to be social distancing.
2. It took between 80-150 years to repopulate after the Black Plague.
3. Italy was the hardest country hit in the Black Plague. However, the Renaissance followed – Hope.
4. The Black Plague returned three times between 1347 and 1629. In 1627, it came to Wittenberg, Germany, where Martin Luther had just posted his 95 theses. He and his pregnant wife were encouraged to leave Wittenberg, but he insisted on staying where he preached on Matthew 7, and even took in victims into his home. Later that year, he wrote the great hymn A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD. We still sing that song today.
The Spanish Flu came back a second time and was more deadly than the first time.
5. Starvation occurred both in the Black Plague and the Spanish Flu.
6. The Black Plague produced a very strong move of anti-Semitism much like today. The Scriptures of Genesis 12:1-3 and Galatians 2:12-14 and 28-29 are very relevant for today.
7. Needless to say, both the Black Plague and the Spanish Flu caused huge economic/religious upheaval. Churches/schools/social events were closed.
8. Economic Lessons from the Spanish Flu.
Like today, prosperity is impossible if people are not working/spending money, since 75% of GDP is directly related to consumer spending. The economist magazine Today recently stated that the world’s GDP will go down 50%.
9. 3 Lessons Learned from the Spanish Flu:
1) Public health response must focus on containment.
2) The importance of conveying information to the public is vital.
3) Preparation for the economic and human consequences of the virus is vital.
10. Jobs fell by 43% after the Spanish Flu.
11. The Roaring 20’s followed the Spanish Flu which, ten years later, led to the Great Depression. Why?
12. The Great Depression basically caused 3 Things:
1) Accumulated debt.
2) A struggling agricultural sector.
3) Excess of bank loans that could not be liquidated.
13. How did the removal of the Gold Standard beginning in 1933 and ending in 1971 affect us today?
14. Could this be the last pandemic? I will answer this in Week 4.
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God did not promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, or sun without rain. But he did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.
If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it:
The essence of life.
~ Barry ~