Statement Excerpt From: Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson

I must conclude that either the Commanding General of Ft. Jackson, SC is nuts, or that his post chaplain is himself nuts and has led the commanding general down the garden path. [...] See full statement in letter above.

Lawrence Wilkerson, former Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired); Military Religious Freedom Foundation Advisory Board Member

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Statement Excerpt From: Bobby Muller

I am personally disgusted that the U.S. Army senior leadership at Fort Jackson, South Carolina has seen fit to honor, and that is the operative word for it, a fundamentalist Christian con-artist of the sorry likes of Kenneth Copeland... [...] See full statement in letter above.

Bobby Muller, Nobel Peace Prize (1997), Int'l Campaign Co-Founder; to Ban Land Mines; Military Religious Freedom Foundation Advisory Board Member

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Statement Excerpt From: Major General Dennis Laich

I strongly oppose having Kenneth Copeland speak at the Fort Jackson prayer breakfast. Mr. Copeland is a charlatan of the first order and his invitation to speak should be withdrawn immediately. [...] See full statement in letter above.

Major General Dennis Laich U.S. Army, Retired

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Statement Excerpt From: Brigadier General John Compere

It is inconceivable that the Commanding General of Fort Jackson would even consider inviting a charlatan like televangelist Kenneth Copeland to speak to our fine men and women in uniform... [...] See full statement in letter above.

Brigadier General John Compere, U.S. Army (Retired), Disabled American Veteran (Vietnam), former Chief Judge, U.S. Army Court of Military Review, Military Religious Freedom Foundation Advisory Board Member

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Statement Excerpt From: Pedro L. Irigonegaray, Esq.

Kenneth Copeland, for many important and meritorious reasons, must not be permitted to address our brave troops at Fort Jackson S.C. or at any other United States military installation. [...] See full statement in letter above.

Pedro L. Irigonegaray, Esq. Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers Military Religious Freedom Foundation Advisory Board Member

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Statement From: Reza Aslan

I implore Major General Pete Johnson, the commander of Fort Jackson, to immediately disinvite the self-described “Christian extremist”, and PTSD denier, Kenneth Copeland from being the featured speaker at the prayer breakfast to be held tomorrow. The United States military deserves better.

Reza Aslan, Author and Scholar of Religion; Military Religious Freedom Foundation Advisory Board Member

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Statement From: Richard D. Lamm

This invitation by Fort Jackson to Kenneth Copeland not only disrespects many in the military who have already suffered much, but also disrespects the tradition of avoiding sectarian viewpoints in events on military bases. Unwise and unnecessary!

Richard D. Lamm, Governor of Colorado, 1975-1987 Military Religious Freedom Foundation Advisory Board Member

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Statement Excerpt From: Major General Paul Eaton

I have watched certain military units and organizations retreat from inappropriate pressure on service members to attend religious events. There is no place in our military for outright proselytizing. Faith is an intensely private matter. [...] See full statement in letter above.

Major General Paul Eaton, U.S. Army (Retired)

By: Jeff Wilkinson, Digital Content Manager
Date: January 31, 2018

Televangelist Kenneth Copeland has clarified his stance on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in a statement issued through Fort Jackson.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based Copeland is scheduled to be the featured speaker at a prayer breakfast at the nation's largest basic training installation Feb. 1. The appearance has been protested by both a national military freedom of religion group and a progressive organization of military voters.

[...]

Both VoteVets.org, a left-leaning organization that purports to have 500,000 members, and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which claims to represent 56 soldiers at the fort, including 45 Protestant or Catholic soldiers, have protested the visit.

VoteVets has started an online petition opposing the visit. The MRFF wrote a letter to Johnson asking that he rescind the invitation.

Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the MRFF, said that Fort Jackson officials issuing the statement in Copeland's name was "shamefully shilling for him as though they are his press agents."

[...]

*COPELAND's COMPLETE STATEMENT:

"We believe that PTSD is an all too common result of the tragic and horrific events witnessed by our military in combat that cause feelings of hopelessness and despair. Many of those suffering from PTSD receive psychological and psychiatric help for it every day.

From our perspective, a Christian should ask the Lord what steps of recovery should be taken to receive natural help for the disorder. Many Christian organizations exist to give Bible-based help to those that suffer from PTSD.

Our first priority as Christians should always be to find scriptures that offer hope for healing and deliverance from the maladies that we are confronted with. Prayer, application of God's Word, and ministry from professionals will bring the lasting help that those suffering need.

"Brother Copeland would be the first to tell you the doctor is your best friend if you are sick and your healing has not yet fully shown up. It takes time for your faith to develop. For that reason, it is perfectly all right to pursue medical attention as well. In fact, to refuse to consult a doctor or perhaps stop taking medication (prescription or over-the-counter) before faith is fully developed for healing is potentially dangerous. That would be considered 'presumptuous' faith.

"God is not competing with doctors or medicine. Like any loving father, He will use any avenue available that you allow Him to work through to help you get well. Getting you well is His desire. Any good doctor will tell you he does not do the healing. He only assists your body to work the way it was created and designed to function by God.

Let me be very clear, Brother Copeland is certainly not against doctors or medicine, and we thank God for the gifts and abilities He has placed in the medical profession."

*Bold and color change added by MRFF editor

_____________________________________________________

MRFF's SENIOR RESEARCH DIRECTOR CHRIS RODDA DEBUNKS THE STATEMENT BY COPELAND
IN THE ARTICLE ABOVE

What Copeland claims is his "official and public (posted on our website) approach to PTSD and other health issues" is NOT what is posted on his website regarding PTSD. His tricky use of the words "posted on our website" implies that he is directly quoting from his website, but he is not. (Which is presumably why he did not include any actual link to this on his website).

What he has done is take parts (and edited versions of parts) of different pages from the section of his website where he answers a "Question of the Day" and combine them to make it appear that he has approved of medical treatment for PTSD.

The part of his statement in which he approves of medical treatment is taken from a page regarding whether or not it is acceptable to see a doctor for PHYSICAL illnesses, not the page about PTSD.

For PTSD, as well as other mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, he recommends only praying and "Bible-based help."

All he advocates for PTSD is "prayer, application of God’s Word and ministry from professionals to whom God directs you" — with "professionals" clearly not meaning medical professionals, but religious professionals, since he says "ministry" from professionals, not "treatment" from professionals.

Copeland is being highly deceptive here in his attempt to back-pedal his outrageous remarks regarding PTSD by combining parts of two separate statements on two separate pages of his website to imply that what he said about seeing a doctor for a PHYSICAL illness is what he said about treatment for PTSD.

The part of his statement regarding PTSD comes from this answer to a question addressed to a spouse of someone with PTSD:

Q: How do I deal with the effects of military PTSD in a marriage relationship?
http://www.kcm.org/read/questions/how-do-i-deal-the-effects-military-ptsd-marriage-relationship

The part of his statement in which he implies that he also recommended medical treatment for PTSD comes from this answer to a question about seeing doctors for PHYSICAL illnesses:

Q: Should I visit a doctor or believe by faith for healing? http://www.kcm.org/read/questions/should-i-visit-doctor-or-believe-faith-healing

And, as you can see, his answers to questions about other MENTAL HEALTH issues do NOT advocate treatment from medical professionals, but say — as he said on his radio show about PTSD — that all it takes to cure these conditions is trusting God and resisting the devil:

Q: How can I deal with anxiety? http://www.kcm.org/read/questions/how-can-i-deal-anxiety

Q: How can I get free from depression? http://www.kcm.org/read/questions/how-can-i-get-free-depression

By: Schuyler Kropf,
Date: January 31, 2018

A televangelist who has drawn fire for his views on PTSD and the Bible will go forward with his appearance at a prayer breakfast Thursday at Fort Jackson in Columbia.

Several veteran groups have protested Kenneth Copeland's attendance at the event.

In 2013, Copeland said the Bible supports his contention that post-traumatic stress disorder does not affect true believers.

[...]

By: Tanita Gaither, Digital Content Manager
Date: January 30, 2018

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - Both military and veteran groups are protesting a well-known' televangelist's appearance at a prayer breakfast on Fort Jackson this week.

So, apparently he's the guest of honor at the National Day of Prayer military event. The man that said that having PTSD for any reason isn't biblical, that it's your own personal failings and not god's. This is also the same guy who guilts people out of money to buy a bunch of useless fucking planes, and his daughter's church is was the center of the measles outbreak here in Texas.

And just to be upfront, I used to work at his ministry in Newark, Texas, I started working there as a teen and worked there until I left for college. I was one of the people who anonymously tried to get them to investigate corruption and had to endure the endless 'chapel' sessions where they were trying to figure out out of over 2,000 employees who turned them in. These people, and other's like them, are the reason I'm an anti-theist.

[...]

Subject: Shower Time For Wienstein (sic)
Date: January 30, 2018
To: "Information Weinstein"
From: [Name Withheld]

You stinking commie jew coward!

Leave Mr K Copeland alone to witness to the soldiers for Christ and America.
Make America Great Again by Making America’s Army For Christ Again.

As for you kike?
Mickey how’s about you go take a nice little shower
just like your burnt relatives did in the camps in WW2?

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