Influenza and God

Set against the backdrop of World War I, the influenza epidemic spread throughout the entire world without warning. This deadly virus claimed the lives of over 70 million worldwide, and those who survived experienced torment far worse than death. Unable to find an end to this natural disaster, many turned to God for reasoning; many questioned, "Will the Lord cast off for ever? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? does his promise fail for evermore? Has God forgot to be gracious? has he in anger shut up his tender mercies?"(52) These lines taken from Voigt's collection of poems, Kyrie, demonstrate the common held concerns of the people living through this pandemic.

The disillusioned majority felt abandoned by God and lost a sense of hope. The American people had lived in prosperity and always thanked God for their success. As long as they praised God for his glory, they would be rewarded with the kingdom of heaven. As each day became a living hell, people expected God to deliver what he had "promised." However, God seemingly ignored their countless pleas for help. He didn't free his loyal servants from pain, so God must be punishing or testing his followers.

The thought process of God's abandonment caused the evolution of the people's views on religion. After curing the Influenza epidemic, the common held belief was that "a plausible God is a God of rapture." (66) Awaiting the Second Coming of Christ, the believers will be sent to heaven and the heretics will burn in eternal hell. These devastating personal struggles vividly described in Kyrie hardened the American people. In order to see the light at the end of the tunnel, the people had to toughen up and obey God more strictly. The promise of eternal heaven strained the people to find inner strength to bear their pains. They had to adapt to such horrible times and transformed from God-loving followers into God-fearing servants.

These lines of desperation show how the people handled times of crisis and their philosophies that emerged from such inner turmoil. When faced with problems, they hardened their philosophies on life. Belief in God was a form of relief that allowed the followers to bear pain and survive each day. Suffering through what seemed like at the time endless influenza pandemic, the people adapted to endure even more potential pain in the future.