What do you think about so many churches closing due to the coronavirus?

It’s the same as schools or cinemas closing due to the virus - it’s the sensible thing to do. Psalm 91 tells us:

"Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, 10 No evil shall befall you,Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,To keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone."

This is God's word in Psalm 91. But there is a background to this truth which might make many miscontrue it. I’ve seen some non-believers deride (usually) churches for shutting down meetings with statements such as “Can’t your miracle-working God save you from infection?” and even use this logic as leverage to push “Science-based” unbelief; as if there were no Science teachers, doctors, physicists, etc who believe in Jesus. Like coronavirus, belief in God/unbelief cuts across all human demographics: from Nobel Prize-winning scientists to the academically unintelligent who have no idea what an electron is.

I’ve also seen some church "pastors" wielding verses from Psalm 91 over their congregation in a bid to get the sensibly virus-conscious to continue to attend church programmes. Churchgoers who have been sensibly avoiding large gatherings such as church meetings or those who are really scared of being infected with the virus hear such verses from their “pastor” and feel guilty/condemned because it seems as if their withdrawal from church meetings is directly proportional to unbelief in the Lord as their Refuge.

Ignore the first group whose derision only shows that they don't (yet) understand what it means to believe in Jesus. But we need to beware of “pastors” who twist God's word to try to coerce or guilt-trip churchgoers into attending church despite this plague of COVID-19, sometimes because they don't want their Sunday collection to get depleted and other times because they’re simply following after the example of Satan their master: did you know that Satan quoted portions of this same Psalm 91 to Jesus when he tested Him in the wilderness? See the account of the temptation in Matthew 4. It reads:

"5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and,‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

This passage that Satan quoted is from Psalm 91:11-12. But it is incomplete. The complete verses read:

11 “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

I put a portion of the verses in boldface to help us see clearly the part that the devil deliberately omitted/left out --"To keep you in all your ways"- when he quoted Scripture to Jesus.

Believer, Satan and his agents cannot quote Scripture completely or in its correct context because it would be counterproductive to do so. People will be saved. Throwing Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple aka removing Himself from His way and putting Himself in harm’s way to prove that He is the Son of God definitely wasn't on our Saviour's agenda. It is not His way. He knew that He is the Son of God and didn't have go out of His way/kowtow to the demands of the world or Bible verse-quoting Satan to prove it. Throwing Himself to prove His Sonship isn't His way and God's angels "keep you in all your ways.“

For believers in Christ, "your ways" is the thoughts of the Holy Spirit in us which become our action. It is never our own righteousnesses from works of the law or things that Satan and his agents (behind church pulpits or otherwise) say we should do or not do to convince them that we have God’s protection or approval. Our way is not exposing ourselves to a danger that is not hidden in order to prove that we are children of God. Verse 3 of the same Psalm 91 says-

“He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases.”

See the MSG version: “That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards.”

God's salvation does not condone deliberately throwing ourselves in the way of obvious danger just to prove to Satan’s reps that God is our Refuge. One might as well throw himself in front of a fast-moving 18-wheeler just to prove to the world that his father, who happens to be a world-renowned teleporting expert slash orthopedic/plastic/brain surgeon, can save him. One might as well commit sins recklessly because he knows that His sins are forgiven in Christ. No true believer ever does this. We hate sin. But whenever we err, He helps and saves us. It’s odd that same “pastors” that demand sinless perfection from their congregation or else God’s wrath also preach about God’s correction for the believer. Who needs a Father’s correction but the child who has erred? Saviour from sins is Christ’s job description. See this in Matthew 1:21. And He is doing this work of perfecting His saints/saving us from our sins until He returns- 

“God began a good work in you. And I am sure that He will carry it on until it is completed. That will be on the day Christ Jesus returns.” 

Philippians 1:6. But I digress.

If you know that there is a chance of being infected somewhere and your heart is uneasy about going there, please follow God's Peace and stay away e.g. if your heart cannot make peace with attending large gatherings such as church meetings because of the present harm/danger of coronavirus, please follow the peace in your heart and stay at home. Attending is not your way and God's angels "keep you in all your ways."

Recall in Christ the thoughts of the Holy Spirit become our action? Proverbs 16:3 says:

3 "Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed."

God's ways and thoughts are higher than man's. When your will is utterly surrendered to Christ and you put absolutely no confidence in your human sense or the way that seems right to man's fallen logic, you can never go wrong when you follow His peace in your heart.

Those who have no clue about God's saving Grace and even some who profess to follow Christ might deride you for closing down your church or staying away from large gatherings with taunts such as "Are you not a child of God?" or "Do you no longer believe in a miracle-working God?" These ones are simply echoing Satan's "If you are the Son of God..." refrain. They are no different from Satan when he tempted Jesus to go out of His way; to put Himself in harm’s way just to prove that He is the Son of God.

Believer (you who have Christ as your utter Source of Righteousness and Strength and put no confidence in self/human effort,) if you find that it is not "your way" to open the doors of your church/home or mingle with crowds at church meetings during this perilous time because you are concerned about coronavirus, by God’s grace, avoid large gatherings and keep your peace instead of going to church to prove to Satan's agents that God is your Refuge and then going back home to stew in severe fear and anxiety over a possibly harmless cough or fever that you suddenly developed after church service. According to God's word, that fearful anxiety is what leads to depression: Proverbs 12:25-

"Anxiety leads to depression, but a good word encourages."

Depressed people can become suicidal. Satan knows this, so he and his agents are always trying to bring up situations like this "But is God not your Refuge? Why are you avoiding church or closing your church because of COVID-19?” to put churchgoers who fall for their goadings and go against their way/peace under fearful anxiety. 

Believer, by Grace, like Christ during His testing, we don't have to put ourselves in harm's way to prove anything to any satan. We have God's approval and that is the only approval that counts. Follow His peace in your heart.

You who have Christ as your utter Source of Righteousness and Strength and put no confidence in self/human effort, God knows that He is your Refuge and you know it too. That is all that matters so by His Grace, follow the peace in your heart and don't let any Satan twist or use incomplete Bible verses to goad you into doing things that you wouldn’t ordinarily do or things that that rob you of Christ's peace e.g. mingling with huge crowds at church meetings in this dangerous time to prove that God is your Refuge. Jesus did not have to go out of His way by throwing Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple to prove that He is the Son of God or for Satan's entertainment or approval. Neither do we.

Right believing always producing right living.