Texas health officials have zeroed-in on a megachurch — which has a history of preaching against vaccinations — as the point of origin for a measles outbreak.
According to a report from ABC’s WFAA 8, a congregant contracted the virus while visiting a foreign country and then attended a service at the church before he knew he was infected. This Thursday, the Tarrant County Health Department announced its 11th measles diagnosis traced to the man, making it the 16th case to emerge statewide. As a result, the Texas Department of Health and Human Services issued a measles outbreak alert — an unprecedented development given that the virus has nearly been eradicated by vaccines for decades.
Meanwhile this Sunday at Eagle Mountain International Church, Pastor Terri Copeland Pearsons was forced to dedicate most of her sermon to the fact that 11 of the 16 measles cases had been linked to church attendees.
“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,” Pearsons told the congregation. “There has been a […] confirmed case of the measles from the Tarrant County Health Department. And that’s 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.”
Here's the kicker Copeland Parsons is the daughter of televangelist Kenneth Copeland, who has been warning his flock about the dangers of vaccinations and promoting the idea that they are linked to autism, while promoting the power of faith healing.
In short Copeland's ignorance about science, and his proclamation that faith can overcome anything, has put his daughter's congregation in danger and forced her to essentially cover for his stupidity.
And this my friends is why we get our health information from doctors and scientists and NOT from Evangelical preachers.
