In what is surely the most head-scratching theory during this terrible flu season, President Donald Trump’s faith advisor has denounced the existence of this time of year when the infection spreads—and yet also believes that Jesus gave the world flu shots to battle “the curse of flu.”
“Well, listen, partners, we don’t have a flu season,” Gloria Copeland, a minister who serves alongside her spouse on Trump’s evangelical advisory board, said in a video obtained by Right Wing Watch. “And don’t receive it when somebody threatens you with, ‘Everybody’s getting the flu.’ We’ve already had our shot: He bore our sicknesses and carried our diseases. That’s what we stand on.”
In short, Copeland believes Jesus carries the world’s sicknesses, and that includes dealing with the flu. So she called on God to heal people who have the flu, arguing that Jesus “redeemed” the world from the flu by his power. Which includes giving the world flu shots.
“Flu, I bind you off of the people in the name of Jesus,” Copeland explained. “Jesus himself gave us the flu shot. He redeemed us from the curse of flu, and we receive it and we take it, and we are healed by his strifes, amen.”
This isn’t the first time the Copeland family has called upon God to cure modern diseases. Back in 2013, her husband Kenneth Copeland, Gloria’s fellow co-founder in Texas’ Kenneth Copeland Ministries, encouraged his congregation to avoid receiving vaccines and instead place their faith in Jesus to protect them, Right Wing Watch reports. This led to a measles outbreak in North Texas, with the Dallas Observer particularly pointing to the Copeland’s Eagle Mountain International Church for the incident.
Sure, praying is probably a fine idea, but if you want to fight infections and diseases, stick to vaccinations and medication.