Pastor John Macarthur is facing backlash from the Christian community after his statements that PTSD is nothing more than grief.
“If you understand, take PTSD, for example, what that really is, is grief. You are fighting a war you lost. Your buddies, you have a certain amount of survival guilt because you made it back, they didn’t. How do you deal with grief? Grief is a real thing. But grief is part of life, and if you can’t navigate grief, you can’t live life,” MacArthur said.
As the Christian Post reported, MacArthur further said, “But if you clinically define that, you can give them a pill, a series of medications, and they end up in LA, homeless on the sidewalk. This is, in regard to children, it’s the most deadly thing that’s been unleashed on children—medication.”
These statements landed Macarthur in hot water with well-known Christian speaker and author, Beth Moore. While she gave MacArthur grace about potentially misspeaking, she said there was no way he could understand what her own husband has dealt with by having PTSD.
“There is simply no way he could know, for example, what my husband has endured over being in a fire with his brother when he was a toddler and watching him burn and not acknowledge the reality of PTSD,” Moore wrote on X.
Dean, I’ve had several very serious conversations with my daughters & my board concerning my public voice in my aging when filters naturally thin & we’re at greater risk of saying more than we should. Please love & respect him enough to sift what should & shouldn’t be publicized.…
— Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) May 1, 2024
Pro-life advocate Abby Johnson also commented on X about MacArthur’s stance.
“I have my doctorate in Christian counseling and anyone reading this who is struggling, this is not truth. This is not what Jesus wants for you. He wants health and wholeness for your mind, body and spirit. That often includes therapy and sometimes medication. And that’s okay. Please do not feel ashamed for seeking health. Seeking help is the courageous thing to do,” Johnson wrote.
John MacArthur just publicly proclaimed that he has zero understanding of PTSD or any other mental health disorder. I have my doctorate in Christian counseling and anyone reading this who is struggling, this is NOT truth. This is NOT what Jesus wants for you. He wants health and…
— Dr. Abby Johnson (@AbbyJohnson) May 1, 2024
This statement comes right at the beginning of mental health awareness month. ABC News reported recently how three out of every four Americans feel that mental health is not considered with the same treatment as physical health.
Amid the turmoil and chaos about mental health and what is and is not real, Rabbi Jonathan Cahn gives an excellent message about experiencing lasting emotional stability.
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“You have to be willing to always commit to God,” Cahn says.
Cahn says when you give to God the things that He asks of you to and trust that He has your future in His hands, you will experience lasting peace.
“Paul said you can actually cast down thoughts. You can actually have control over your mind. You can have mental wholeness of being,” Cahn shares.
Cahn says we typically hear stories of people who have been committed for their mental health struggles. What he proposes is that a commitment to God, of trusting Him with your thought life, can make all the difference in the world.
“You are not a captive to your mind. Your mind might have habits, your mind might have thoughts…if you take it captive, take it under the Lord’s count the Word of God, it’s going to starting changing,” Cahn says.
Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established.” No matter what struggles we are facing, and no matter God chooses to heal and grow our emotions and thoughts, if we choose a life of commitment to Him, He will lead and guide us in all our ways.
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Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.
