Q: What specific scriptural teachings form the basis
for religious objection to the practice of vaccination? The New Testament
epistles provide an exposition of Christian teaching regarding ethical
behavior. Christians think of life as a gift of God and the body as a
marvelous work of divine creation to be reverenced as a temple of God (I
Corinthians 3:16, 6:19). To keep the body/temple holy and clean from
blemish, scripture warns against defiling the body. (I Corinthians 3:17, 2
Corinthians 7:1).
There is no scriptural
support for injecting poisons or any virus into the bloodstream to cure or
prevent disease. The Old and New Testaments, however, are replete with
references to keeping the body blemish-free so that we may have abundant life.