Why John MacArthur is mistaken about mental health

Mary came to see me for ‘a chat about her mental health’. ‘I can’t leave the house, I’m so frightened’ she said. It had gone on for years. Her GP referred her to a psychiatrist who had prescribed some medication and a course of therapy.

Her own pastor told her not to see the therapist, and to throw the medication in the bin. ‘Jesus is all you need’ he said, ‘Not an atheistic therapist’. He reminded her of Philippians 4:6-7.

She had come to me for a second opinion.

During a panel discussion in May this year the US pastor, John MacArthur, said: ‘There is no such thing as mental illness’ This was a remark made during a discussion available on YouTube, and followed up by a blog post on his website on 4 May 2024. MacArthur gives several reasons for his position. First, his belief that – unlike a brain tumour or injury – mental illness is not capable of objective definition. Therefore, it does not exist. Second, he cites a book, The Myth of Mental Illness – written in the 1950s, and an unnamed psychiatrist, supporting his claim.

Personally, I am in awe of John MacArthur’s abilities as an expositor, preacher, and pastor. I wish I had a tenth of his gifting. But on this subject at least he seems to be firing from the hip about something he does not seem to understand.

Just to be clear, there are objective criteria for the diagnosis of mental illness – the NHS ‘Health A to Z’ website will give you more details. Moreover, it is not difficult to find a maverick medic to support your dangerous opinions. You may remember Andrew Wakefield who told the world that MMR vaccines were harming our children. He was rightly sanctioned by the GMC for putting patients’ lives at risk.

But are John MacArthur’s opinions dangerous? I think C.H. Spurgeon, the Baptist pastor, would think so. Commenting on Psalm 88 he reflects his own experience of depression: ‘It is all very well for those who are in robust health and full of spirits to blame those whose lives are sicklied o’er with the pale cast of melancholy… to the inexperienced it appears to be a matter of fancy and diseased imagination. Reader, never ridicule the nervous and hypochondriacal, their pain is real; though much of the evil lies in the imagination, it is not imaginary.’

Such melancholy can bring with it an increased risk of suicide. When a pastor says, ‘It is your fault, you don’t have enough faith,’ it adds to the guilt and shame people feel and enhances that risk. Such counsel can be fatal.

Can I suggest a better way? First, that Christians stop announcing simple solutions for complex problems. Mental ill health is still poorly understood, and we need a better theology of these afflictions. Second, that we see medical practice as a partner and not a rival. God has given wisdom and knowledge to many outside the church, it is his common grace to all mankind. A more thoughtful theology of mental health will bring healing, not guilt and the right medication at the right time can be a godsend.

Mary decided to try the therapy and take the medication. I prayed with her, and others prayed too. Three months later she got on a plane and flew to Australia to see her daughter and grandchildren, an inconceivable feat when I first met her. A woman transformed by God’s grace – prayer, faith, therapy and some medicine.