John Hagee, the head of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) and one of President Donald Trump’s unofficial evangelical advisers, has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Hagee’s diagnosis was announced Sunday by his son Matt Hagee at the church they pastor, Cornerstone Church in San Antonio.
“It was, one, discovered very early. Two, his medical team has him under watchful care, and, three, he’s feeling well enough to be frustrated with everybody in a white coat and a stethoscope,” Matt Hagee said.
A spokesperson for CUFI explained that Hagee received his COVID-19 diagnosis the previous Friday (Sept. 25) and did not attend services that weekend because he immediately began to quarantine. At the time, Matt Hagee told the congregation at Cornerstone that his father was “well” and did not disclose the diagnosis but asked them to pray for his father because he had several “very important meetings” upcoming.
The CUFI representative explained that the meetings in question were dialogues with doctors and that the elder Hagee is feeling “well.”
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Hagee did not attend the event Sept. 26 in the White House Rose Garden, at which Trump announced Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his pick to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court. A dozen people — including two faith leaders — who were present since have tested positive for COVID-19.
However, Hagee did attend an event at the White House on Sept. 15 — roughly 10 days before his COVID-19 diagnosis — to celebrate the signing of the “Abraham Accords,” a U.S.-brokered agreement establishing diplomatic relations between Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Hagee was seen posing for photos with others at the event.
It is unclear if attendees at the Abraham Accords event have been instructed to quarantine.
Jack Jenkins is an award-winning journalist and national reporter for the Religion News Service. National reporter Emily McFarlan Miller also contributed to this report.
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19 Responses
Is this the John Hagee that had an affair with a young woman in his congregation then divorced his wife to marry his mistress?
The guy who said Ebola (two American deaths) was a plague sent by God to punish President Obama?
Yep, it’s him.
If he’s evangelical, then the sky is green.
Good point. Christians generally take exception to Hagee’s assertion that “Jesus did not come to earth to be the Messiah”.
But plenty of evangelicals (particularly the apocalyptically focused ones) do follow his blood moon-obsessed teachings.
Lea…and what is the point of all these critical comments? To say, hey, look how dumb this guy is???
Or, look how silly these “evangelicals” are following his Blood Moon teachings?
I’m not a follower of his. Just want to know your point.
A common theme of this blog is the credulity of Christians towards Christian celebrities, and the need for those celebrities to be held accountable for their actions and words, as Scripture demands.
Knowing that John Hagee had an adulterous affair with a young woman in his congregation, that he has a view of Jesus that many Christians would consider blasphemous, and that he focuses a large portion of his teachings on a a few verses in Revelations is relevant to that discussion.
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” James 3:1
“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.” I John 4:1
“As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach…a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching…” Titus 1:7-9
Perhaps I need to clarify.
It is fine to criticize leaders, yet you seem critical of them.
It is possible to criticize behavior of a person without being “critical”. Indeed, hold these leaders accountable for their behavior.
There is nothing wrong with criticizing their behavior. What I have a problem with is the critical attitude you address them with. It comes across as prideful and holier-than thou.
One thing to call out behavior.
Another thing to write about them if one thinks like they’re fools.
Why is this of interest to the Roys Report? “Reporting the Truth; Restoring the Church.”
Methinks Julie herself is caught up with evangelical “leaders”. Ugh, let’s move on from CoVidity.
What is the point of Julie’s reporting this COVID story and others like it?
To me it’s basically buyer beware. She is showing the dents in the car that might not be disclosed at the time of sale. With this information we can make more informed decisions about who we choose to give our time to and who we allow to shape our opinions.
In the case of Christian leaders, their position provides access to the vulnerabilities, sense of shame, and world views of those who choose to follow them. Those same leaders also have access to the financial resources to their resources of their followers too. It’s a lot of responsibility, and it’s a lot of power for leaders to have.
So, when people are making decisions about who they allow to influence them, it’s only fair that current (and potential) followers know how various leaders steward the emotional, spiritual and financial resources under their control. Telling that story often requires the revelation of unflattering news. By bringing this unflattering news that some label as gossip Julie is prioritizing the safety of individuals over the reputation of a church (or group of churches). Too bad it’s messy, but I personally wouldn’t have it any other way.
In the case of who has COVID and who doesn’t, I don’t think it’s a matter of calling pastors out as a “gotcha” story. It’s about telling the story about the priorities and decisions made by pastors. With that information in the public domain, the public can make more informed decisions about who to trust and who will both help them grow but also represent their best interest in terms of psychological and physical safety.
When did The Roys Report become the Health Department or CDC?
How is this article “reporting the unvarnished truth about what’s happening in the Christian community so the church can be reformed and restored” (from The Roys Report “About” page)?
What’s the point of this article?
Nowhere in this article does it say that Hagee was experiencing symptoms from Covid prior to his diagnosis. One can simply conclude he was only positive because he was tested out of caution (or fear). Being diagnosed is not the same as suffering from the symptoms. Further, the article states Hagee’s was “frustrated”, “well”, and focused on other things like “very important meetings”. If someone is truly suffering from the effects of Covid, these are not things people focus on during such a severe illness.
This article is click-bait and a disgrace to have appeared on The Roys Report. Shame on you.
Reporting straight news stories, which is what this is, is simply reporting the truth. This story is hardly click-bait and has appeared in numerous Christian media.
I am an ex evangelical in part because of this widespread hostility to any truth that happens to be unflattering to Christians.
No one who loves the truth for its own sake ever asks What was the point of printing that truthful article? As if truth needs some other justification beyond itself.
I don’t know what God these people are worshipping, when they think that shaming Julie Roys for printing the truth is some way of defending God’s name. As if God is so fragile that He can’t handle the truth. As if God himself isn’t the source of all Truth.
Hagee is a Christian celebrity and teacher.
The article is particularly relevant due to Hagee’s repeated teaching that plagues and weather events are God’s direct judgement upon sin. It is a central element of his end-times theology, and he has made a great deal of money from his writings, appearances, and sermons on it.
Hagee has made these proclamations widely, well beyond the bounds of his own local church, seeking to influence Christians around the world.
Now that Hagee himself has contracted what is undoubtedly a 21st century plague, those same people to whom he preached are certainly justified in examining his conduct and his theology relative to it.
If he has taught plagues are God’s judgment on others, what does having COVID say about Hagee? How will he fit his own diagnosis into his oft-repeated theology of judgment?
I am thinking of someone in the White House who is “well”, focused o meetings, not happy about doctors, etc who is the main source of this whole mess. Julie’s story serves as a warning that political Christian leaders who are syncophants of the current administration aren’t immune from real life diseases, nor is the average congregant who refuses to wear a mask.
Agreed. Prof is right. And its appearance in other Christian media just shows that everybody plays the same game.
Hate to sound conspiratorial. But, just really strange that the President and several ministers of so called “Evangelical” persuasion and other top aides of the President Cabinet test positive for China Virus as a result of attending a ceremony for a SCOTUS nomination. And a SCOTUS nomination that would deeply trouble the purveyors of abortion. Something is going on here. Satanic attack, Assasination by Bio Agent. Etc. Just seems really odd.
What is going on here is that a group of people who–in the middle of a known pandemic–did not take prudent steps to prevent infection have in fact become infected.
It’s quite simple. No conspiracy theories needed.
Sure, pick your own conspiracy theory is always how it works. It’s a formula that’s as old as the hills.
Something bad happens to leaders you like –> Satanic attack.
Something bad happens to leaders you hate –> God’s divine retribution.
Easy.
Or maybe, just maybe, when a bunch of people sit shoulder to shoulder and then mingle freely indoors, without masks, or any semblance of social distancing in the midst of a pandemic that’s still infecting tens of thousands of Americans every day, at a venue known not to take the pandemic seriously, bad things happen.
Why attribute to malice aforethought what you can easily attribute to rank incompetence?
Tacitus, your last sentence was a rule of thumb that occurred to me as well, almost verbatim, 30 years ago. I’m now 57, and you are the first person to echo that long ago thought, which I formulated this way:
Never ascribe to evil what can be explained by incompetence!
I thought I would have heard this echoed back to me 1000 times by now, it seems like such common sense. Didn’t Twain say something about common sense being the most uncommon commodity on Earth?
Dirk, I, too, wondered about this. You’ve made good points, as usual.