How Should We Think About the Ebola Crisis?

Photograph: Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA

Fear. This is the word that seems to best describe the American perspective right now. From mandatory 21-day quarantines for healthcare workers returning from West Africa to New York or New Jersey, to the U.S. Army’s announcement today of the same policy–fear seems to be taking the day.

And understandably so. With a death rate between 50-90%, it’s understandable to be scared of an epidemic getting out of hand. It’s a good thing to plan and prepare for containment.

But are mandatory quarantines really the best solution?The CDC and healthcare professionals with direct experience dealing with (and surviving from) Ebola seem to think not.

How should we think about the Ebola crisis? And how should we think about it from a Christian perspective? These are some of the questions Dr. Rick Sacra, missionary doctor and Ebola survivor, will address during his talk this Sunday night at Westgate Church in Weston, Mass. It’s a free event, from 6:30-8:00 p.m., November 2. Find more information here.