Rodney Stark wrote a great book called The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal, Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in a Few Centuries.  He tells how Christianity grew after a plague hit ancient Rome: the doctors and the wealthy fled town.  The generally poor Christians had no villas to retreat to,  but they didn’t die out because they cared for their neighbors, Christian or not, and saved many lives.  After the plague dissipated, people realized that worshiping Jesus made a difference in this world, too.

When a new virus goes 'viral', it’s not only Christians who care, of course; thank God!  (And I mean that—thank God.  God sensitizes the hearts of people whether they acknowledge him or not.  But that’s a subject for another day.)

By the way, I’ve been fascinated by the impact of calling this new bug a “swine flu.”  People have stopped eating pork in the mistaken belief that that would protect them and so pig farmers have wanted a name change. New to me was the objection of an Israeli Health official—I learned that ultra-Orthodox Jews are so abstemious when it comes to all things piggy that it’s offensive to them even to use the word “swine.” (news story) “H1N1” doesn’t have a particularly catchy ring to it, but perhaps out of respect for neighbors we should opt for it anyway.