Recently, David Barton dropped by Kenneth Copeland's show for a series of guest appearances that have aired over the last week. It's not too far a drive for Barton--he lives in Aledo, just west of Copeland's base in Fort Worth. Copeland and Barton used one of those programs to essentially spit in the face of every soldier who has ever had to see horrific events on the battlefield. In Copeland and Barton's bizarro world, soldiers should never have to suffer from PTSD. Even more insulting--this aired yesterday, on Veterans Day! People for the American Way got a clip.
Copeland read from Numbers 32:20-22, which says that any soldier who goes to war for God "shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord." To Copeland's mind, this means that soldiers who suffer from PTSD really don't need to take drugs or go to counseling. Instead, they just need to appropriate that "promise." Barton agreed, pointing out that there are an awful lot of Bible giants who fought a lot of wars with heavy body counts--but were still very much esteemed for doing it. I wonder if Copeland and Barton would be brave enough to say something like this to the face of a soldier who has actually had to endure PTSD, rather than from the security of Fort Worth.
Watch the whole thing here. Copeland actually has the gall to thank veterans for their service before essentially spitting in their faces.
Barton recently decided he wouldn't primary John Cornyn for his Senate seat in 2014. I have to wonder if it's because he knew something like this would get dug up eventually. I would hazard to guess that it wouldn't go over well even with some elements of his base.