A few weeks ago, we posted a clip of David Barton and Kenneth Copeland asserting that those who serve in the military are "ministers of God" and therefore are to be "esteemed and venerated" for their service. As such, Copeland asserted that soldiers should never suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder because the Bible says that they are to be "guiltless before the Lord" and Barton wholeheartedly agreed.
Needless to say, this has generated a bit of a backlash which has now prompted Barton to issue a statement claiming, of course, that his words were "taken out of context":
David Barton and WallBuilders have a long unwavering and proven record of unequivocal support for those in the Armed Forces, including their families, as well as military personnel and veterans suffering from PTSD. David not only has several children and family members serving in the military but we also regularly highlight numerous military heroes on our daily radio program and send out blasts in support of the military. Additionally, we actively raise money for groups who work to help heal our warriors, including those suffering from PTSD. Yet despite this unflagging support, Right Wing Watch, Huffington Post, and others from the liberal secularist left recently circulated a short clip, taken out of context from a long interview David did on a Veteran’s Day program stressing the importance of spiritual components in the treatment of PTSD. As a result of the inaccurate “reporting” of these so-called “news” outlets, many who saw those reports voiced concern to us over what they had been wrongly told. It is lamentable that while we support multiple approaches for PTSD treatments, the critics are so hostile to religion that they flatly dismiss possible spiritual solutions. Rest assured that we will continue our demonstrated record of support for using all available resources to assist those suffering from PTSD. And we will continue to work closely, as we have been, with top military and medical officials who on a daily basis treat these men and women who make so many sacrifices to preserve and protect the freedoms for the rest of us.
We encourage you to watch the full program for yourself to see the entire context (link provided below)!
We too encourage everyone to watch the full program where you will see that Barton's and Copeland's words were not, in any way, taken "out of context." In fact, the entire context of the program was that God believes in war and soldiers are the ministers who carry out His justice, which is exactly what Barton was saying in the segment that we published!
But perhaps we should not be surprised that Barton willfully misrepresents what taking something out of context actually means since literally taking things out of context is part of his standard operation procedure.
