General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor E. A Adeboye last Sunday said we have begun our journey to recovery from the menace of coronavirus. Some experts and commentators have brushed aside the statements because it was not founded on ‘facts.’ They want us to keep matters of faith aside, and let the scientists do their thing.

But faith is not illogical. Especially in our peculiar case. With all the facts at our disposal.

• How much help can science practically provide for 200 million people out of whom less than 10,000 have been tested for coronavirus in almost three weeks?
• Science would eventually give us a vaccine within the next 18 months max, according to experts but considering our peculiar circumstances, how can science keep our huge population alive before the vaccine arrives, and the world overcomes the initial ‘politics’ of distribution?
• Science can certainly help in food production but how much food can be produced and efficiently accessed by the vast numbers of people who are observing the stay at home order by the government before the expected vaccine is made available to all?
• How can science practically help remove daily complaints of depleting supplies and fears of what could happen when there is no more food for the majority of the people because of the lock-down?
• Science can practically help us by alleviating depression and despair induced by coronavirus through the work of psychiatrists but how many of our vast number of people can access expert psychiatric help? How many psychiatric doctors, nurses and professionals do we have to efficiently address the psychiatric needs of our vast number of people?
• Though now a Pastor of many years standing, Pastor Adeboye is well steeped in the science tradition. He knows plenty about the scientific method having been a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Lagos many years ago. Over the course of many years as a Pastor, he has come to make many ‘unscientific’ and seemingly ‘illogical’ statements,’ which became material realities over time. He is not a charlatan, an attention seeker. Neither is he flippant.
• Faith and science are not mutually exclusive. In our peculiar case, we need both components in good measure.