Depressed? You might be a sinner.

Oh those whacky "christian" fundamentalists.

The nemesis of all real historians, david barton, showed up on a televangelist snake-oil salesman's program for Veteran's Day to hurrah for a (so far) fringe item of faith. Kenneth Copeland claimed that post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a manifestation of unfaithfulness to his vengeful god. So, if you have witnessed or participated in the horrors of war, or been in a car accident, or even just survived one of the all-too-common gun massacres lately, and seek help outside of the Bible for treatment: you are by this insane charlatan's definition, a sinner. For his part, barton squeaked that if veterans of America's recent wars, which by definition must be just, claim they have suffered psychological damage from their participation, then they must not have acted in a "biblical" way and are therefore responsible for their own illness.

A better example of why these types are "christians" and not actual followers of Jesus Christ would be difficult to come by. "We armchair Rambos sent you off to war to kill 'the other' and if you come back and complain about it, we wash our hands of you and wave that magic authoritarian wand. Voila! You, the formerly patriotic and righteous tools of American aggression, are now an 'other' yourselves!" Isn't that great? But, this is the logical progression of fundamentalist zealots; expel the impure little by little until your movement is whittled down to insignificance. Unfortunately, this process is not happening fast enough to save anyone caught in this web of lies. Prayers for the sick are fine and good, but a certain segment of "christians" would force anyone they can reel in to reject science and medicine for faith.

The rest of Shryock's article deals with the fundamentalist rejection of psychology and psychiatry, and the alarmingly high proportion of fundamentalists who believe prayer alone can heal mental illness. So, we have an isolated and insulated pro-war religious community that proudly and unabashedly raises their captive young to "serve this christian nation" by going off to kill infidels and such that simultaneously ostracizes any among the flock who complains. Mental illness as punishment for your sins. Depressed? You only have yourself to blame, please make sure you off yourself quietly and away from the rest of the congregation.