This story has several payoffs:(1) The grudging admission by the evangelical megachurch leaders involved that an outbreak of measles in 2013 in the United States “is a really big deal.”
(2) Their newfound conviction that Jesus, in his wisdom, has abruptly declared an ad hoc suspension of his previous rule about vaccination.
(3) The calling to mind of that great Mark Twain simile: “as nervous as a Christian Scientist with appendicitis” (emphasis added):
"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.
But the call for vaccinations was made awkward by the fact that Pearsons' father, televangelist Kenneth Copeland, has promoted the idea that vaccines may lead to autism, according to the Dallas Observer.
Although why people like this aren't ridden out of town on a rail remains a mystery to me.
Minute's up.
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