It has long been said that our faith is tested by trials such as those the world finds itself in with the coronavirus. 

The virus itself has claimed 40,636 lives around the world, 3,415 of them in the United States, according to a website operated by the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center. That was as of 1:20 p.m. Tuesday. By now it’s more. Trusted experts estimate we’re likely to lose 100,000 Americans to this disease, and some others say the toll could top 2 million.

Actions taken to keep the deaths as low as possible are ravaging our economy. Last week, 3 million people filed for unemployment. The previous high for a single week had been 695,000, according to CNBC. Some conservatives have asked whether the cure is worse than the disease.

Amid the crisis, churches have stopped holding services, and many of the faithful are aghast. What the churches are doing is protecting their congregations and obeying the law, which now bans any gathering of more than 10 people.

Some Christians disagree. On March 22, Tommy Hewitt wrote a letter urging prayer as the remedy for the virus. A Rant and Rave followed Hewitt’s letter, saying we were “wildly irresponsible” to print it.

It is the belief of this newspaper that following the recommendations of doctors and scientists will minimize this catastrophe. It’s going to be bad regardless, but social distancing will make it less bad than otherwise. We have taken that position in numerous editorials since at least March 12. We believe the doctors and scientists are the ones who will find medicines and vaccines that will help us deal with this new illness as we move forward. 

But it is not the belief of this newspaper that we should silence those who don’t agree with us.

Today’s opinions page contains three letters to the editor. All address the coronavirus crisis. One chides the Colquitt County Board of Commissioners for inadequate communication, but the other two are from people of faith urging perseverance and strength among local Christians. They imply that strength would be displayed by reopening of churches.

We disagree, but we believe they should be able to express those opinions on this page.

Both people of science and people of faith should be able to find their home here.