An Emerging Pastoral Problem? Teens And Masks

Who knows what the social and spiritual outcome of the Covid regime will be but this morning I happened to hear a segment on a syndicated talk show (The Armstrong and Getty Show) in which they read an from from a Los Angeles school teacher.

He noticed that his students were wearing masks when it was not required. He polled his students to find out why. The results are interesting and provide a “heads up” (as they say in sports) to pastors who may be facing, in the counseling room, in the pulpit, and elsewhere the unintended consequences of the Covid regime. Here is the audio:

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  • R. Scott Clark
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    R.Scott Clark is the President of the Heidelberg Reformation Association, the author and editor of, and contributor to several books and the author of many articles. He has taught church history and historical theology since 1997 at Westminster Seminary California. He has also taught at Wheaton College, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Concordia University. He has hosted the Heidelblog since 2007.

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9 comments

  1. When I was at a big name cell phone retailer the other day waiting for my new phone to be activated, I overheard the early to mid 20’s employees lamenting that they wouldn’t be able to hide their faces any more at work with the mask mandate going away soon (I live in WA). That they would have to put their “work face” on again and not be able to hide their acne or disapproval of a customer. I was shocked, but after thinking about it for a while, maybe people want the anonymity masks provide. They can say and do things while concealed behind their mask that they might not otherwise. Similar to how people enjoy the anonymity of the internet.

  2. Back in the 90’s the sports apparent fan shops opened in almost every shopping malls. Ball caps were the hottest sellers. The son was in his early teens. He and his friends lived in their hats. I can recall having an issue getting my son to remove his hat for church worship. As I dug into the motivation it was self-consciousness over his looks. He felt insecure. How much more when a mask hides some of the acne? Add this to the many other physical risks of mask wear, which we have yet to quantify. We can already see that they include oral and respiratory health issues, physical deformity (protruding ears), and developmental issues related to speech skills and IQ.

  3. The teacher who conducted that student survey about masks should go back to the 70% who said they wear them because they are uncomfortable about their looks (i.e., the masks hide part of their faces) and ask them if they’ve ever hear of a dermatological condition that has come about, or at least been strongly exacerbated during the covid mandated mask wearing period, called “maskne,” as a slang concatenation of “mask” and “acne.” Dermatologists say that tightly enclosing facial skin in a way that entraps moist air promotes the growth of surface bacteria that lead to pore and hair follicle infections. In other words, if they’re concerned about their looks now, how much worse will they feel when their faces are covered with acne?

    What’s next? Adopt the Islamist mandates for face covering and burkas?

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