Instead of her normal sermon on Sunday, Eagle Mountain International Church Pastor Terri Copeland Pearsons was forced to spend the majority of her time explaining how the congregation should react to the news that all of the 11 measles cases in Tarrant County had been linked to members or visitors of the church…. “You are more than enough, Jesus, you are more than enough!” Pearsons began. “You’re more than enough for any need we have. More than enough, Jesus. For things known and unknown, Jesus, you are more than enough. Can you shout, amen?”…. “We’re going to talk about some things affecting our church, and as we go through it, we remain steadfast that Jesus is more than enough,” she told the congregation. “There has been a … confirmed case of the measles from the Tarrant County Public Health Department. And that is a really big deal in that America, the United States has been essentially measles free for I think it’s 10 years. And so when measles pops up anywhere else in the United States, the health department — well, you know, it excites them.”…. Pearsons went on to say that the church was offering free vaccination clinics, and urged those who did not attend to quarantine themselves at home for two weeks.
Yessiree…Jesus is ALL you need- until you come down with some horrible, nasty bug for which a cure can’t be found in faith or Scripture. Then you’re finally forced to admit that denying the validity of science and medicine is merely a convenient hypocrisy. It’s easy to deny something you have no need for…up until the moment you do…and then what?
I’m not certain what Biblical grounding, if any, Parson’s “theology” has. It’s certainly convenient that up until the point where members of her flock come down with a potentially deadly (and eminently preventable) disease, she preaches that a real Christian has no need of such worldly things. Does Parsons and her co-religionists REALLY believe that God gave us the wherewithal and resources to cure the sick and prevent outbreaks of certain diseases…only so He could sit by as that knowledge is ignored? Why would a loving, benevolent God provide the wonders of modern science and medicine to mankind? Why else would She provide such wondrous and abundant knowledge if not for the intent that it be used for the greater good?
Denying the validity of science and medicine isn’t a true sign of unbreakable faith; it’s an invitation to preventable tragedy and disaster. It’s placing the community at large at greater risk simply so you can hew to a bastardized, know-nothing view of Christianity. What sort of benevolent God would demand and/or sanction placing the community around you at risk for preventable communicable diseases in order to test your fealty and hyper-religiosity? Granted, I’m not the most objective observer, but even I understand that such silliness isn’t Christianity, at least not according to what I learned from my forced exposure to the Lutheran church.
Ignorance is not a means of proving devotion to God. Denial of science and medicine does nothing to support your bona fides as a righteous and worthy Christian. In fact, quite the opposite argument could and probably should be made. If your faith requires you to deny the wonders your flavor of God has provided in order to prove your devotion to said Supreme Deity, are you really even practicing Christianity? Or are you simply following a megalomaniacal preacher with designs on creating her own empire of unquestioningly docile followers?
I’m not afraid of God (if She exists), but Her fan club sure scares the Hell out of me.
