Wikipedia

John Hagee

Not to be confused withJohn Hagy.

John Charles Hagee(born April 12, 1940) is an Americanpastorandtelevangelist.He founded John Hagee Ministries, which telecasts to the United States and Canada. He is also the founder and chairman of theChristian ZionistorganizationChristians United for Israel,the largest Zionist organization in America.[1]

John Hagee
Hagee in Washington, D.C., July 2007
Born
John Charles Hagee

(1940-04-12)April 12, 1940(age 84)
Baytown, Texas,U.S.
EducationBSc, MSc
Alma materTrinity University
University of North Texas
Occupation(s)Pastor, author
OrganizationJohn Hagee Ministries
SpouseMartha Downing (1960-1975) Diana Castro (1976-current)
Websitewww.jhm.org

Hagee has attracted controversy over his comments on theCatholic Church,Jewish peopleandIslam,and promotion of theblood moon prophecy.

Early life

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Hagee was born inBaytown, Texason April 12, 1940.[2]He studied atSouthwestern Assemblies of God UniversityinWaxahachie,Texas, and received aBachelor of Science,and then studied atTrinity Universityand obtained a secondBachelor of Science.He also studied at theUniversity of North Texasin educational administration and received a master's degree in 1966.[3]

Hagee has been married twice. In 1960, he married Martha Downing, and they divorced in 1975. In 1976, he married a member of his congregation, Diana Castro.[4]

He has a son, Matt Hagee, who is also a pastor.[5]

Career

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Cornerstone Church

Hagee founded Trinity Church inSan Antonio, Texasin 1966. In 1975, Hagee wrote a letter to his congregation that he was guilty of immorality, after which he divorced his wife, Martha Downing. Criticism from the divorce caused Hagee to resign.[4]

Hagee founded The Church at Castle Hills in 1975. The church grew in size and following two expansions, its second sanctuary was named Cornerstone Church.[4][6]The church has adoptedPentecostalbeliefs, includingbiblical literalism,speaking in tongues,divine healing,theprosperity gospel,and absolute opposition toabortion.[7]Beginning in 1981 in San Antonio, followingOperation Opera,Hagee has organized "A Night to Honor Israel"events aiming to show support for theState of Israel.[8]

Hagee has been politically active. In 1968, he endorsed DemocratGeorge Wallacein hisbid for president.His advocacy included organizing and mobilizing a youth movement called "Wallace Youth".[9][10][11]

In 1996, Hagee spoke on behalf of Republican presidential primary candidateAlan Keyes,who in 2004 lost theU.S. Senateelection inIllinoistoBarack Obama.[12]In 2002, Hagee endorsed the conservativeState RepresentativeJohn Shields in the latter's unsuccessful bid for theRepublicanprimaryfor theDistrict 25seat in theTexas Senate.Hagee dubbed Shields's opponent, incumbentJeff Wentworth,"the most pro-abortion" of 181 legislators in both houses of the Texas legislature.[13]

On February 7, 2006, Hagee and some 400 leaders from across the Christian and Jewish communities formedChristians United for Israel(CUFI). This lobbies members of theUnited States Congress,using a biblical stance for promotingChristian Zionism.Around that time he received death threats for his activism on behalf of the State of Israel and hired bodyguards for protection.[14]

In 2008, Hagee endorsed SenatorJohn McCainin thepresidential contestagainstBarack Obama.[12]After Hagee's endorsement of McCain, a furor arose over statements made by Hagee that were perceived by some asanti-Catholicandantisemitic.[15][16][14][17][18]Following Hagee's remarks, McCain publicly distanced himself from Hagee.[19][20]

Hagee was the primary funding source for the Israeli Zionist groupIm Tirtzu,until he cut ties with the organization in 2013.[21]He is alsoanti-abortionand stopped giving money to Israel'sHadassah Medical Centerwhen it began offering the procedure.[22]

In 2016, Hagee endorsedDonald Trumpin the2016 presidential election.[23]

In 2023, Hagee endorsedNikki Haleyin the2024 Republican Primary.[24]

Views

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LGBT

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In 2006, he claimed thatHurricane Katrinawas God's punishment for a plannedpride parade.[25]

Catholicism

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Hagee purported thatAdolf Hitler's antisemitism was especially derived from his Catholic background, and he also purported that Hitler was "a spiritual leader in theCatholic Church,"[26]as well as purporting that the Catholic Church underPope Pius XIIencouragedNazism.[27]Hagee also blamed the Catholic Church for instigating theDark Ages,claiming that it allowed theCrusaderstorapeandmurderwith impunity.[28]William Donohue,the president of theCatholic League for Civil and Religious Rights,rejected the comments and Hagee's explanations for them. On May 12, 2008, after discussions with Donohue and other Catholic leaders, Hagee issued a letter of apology, expressing regret for "any comments that Catholics have found hurtful."[29][17][18][30]The apology was accepted by William Donohue.[31]

Jewish people

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Hagee has stated that he believes theBiblecommands Christians to support theState of Israel.[32]

ReformRabbiEric Yoffiecriticized Hagee for being "extremist" on Israeli policy and for disparaging other faiths.[33]

Hagee has claimed thatAdolf Hitlerwas bornfrom a lineageof "accursed, genocidally murderous half-breed Jews".[15]Citing material fromJewish tradition,[34][14]he claimed that thepersecution of Jewsthroughout history, implicitly including theHolocaust,wasdue tothe Jewish people's disobedience of God.[35][36][37][14]

In 2008, Hagee claimed that theanti-Christwill be "a homosexual" and "partially Jewish, as was Adolf Hitler"[38]and he also claimed that a reference in Jeremiah 16:16 to "fishers" and "hunters" was symbolic of positive motivation (Herzl/Zionism) and negative motivation (Hitler/Nazism) respectively, both men were sent by God for the purpose of having Jews return to Israel, and he suggested that the Holocaust was willed by God because most Jews "ignored" Herzl.[39][40][41][42][14]

Islam

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Hagee has made demonizing comments aboutIslam.[43][44]Hagee has claimed that "Islam not only condonesviolence;it commands it ".[45][46]He has also claimed that a contrast exists between Islam's "violent nature" and Christianity's "loving nature"[45][47]and that theQuranteaches, and Muslims have a mandate, to kill Jews and Christians.[48][49]

Blood moon prophecy

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Hagee, along withMark Biltz,made theblood moon prophecy,which they promoted in a 2013 book. The two men claimed that atetradwhich began with theApril 2014 lunar eclipsewas a sign of theend timesas described in the Bible and the tetrad ended with thelunar eclipse on September 27–28, 2015.[50][51]The prediction was criticized by scientists.[52][53]

Global warming

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In 2007, Hagee stated that he does not believe inglobal warming,contradicting thescientific consensus on climate change,and he also said that he sees theKyoto Protocolas a "conspiracy" aimed at manipulating the U.S. economy.[54]

References

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  1. ^"Onward, Christian Zionists | The Weekly Standard".July 26, 2010. Archived fromthe originalon July 26, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 4,2025.
  2. ^Inbari, Motti (2012).Messianic Religious Zionism Confronts Israeli Territorial Compromises.Cambridge University Press. p. 173.ISBN9781107009127.
  3. ^Utter, Glenn H.; True, James L. (2004).Conservative Christians and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook.Bloomsbury Academic. p. 230.ISBN9781851095131.
  4. ^abcStaff Writer (September 28, 2015)."Why Did John Hagee Divorce?".Reference.RetrievedDecember 15,2024.
  5. ^"Matt Hagee".Trinity Broadcasting Network.RetrievedAugust 8,2023.
  6. ^Levy, Abe (March 10, 2013)."Cornerstone Church set to unveil $5 million Noah's Ark for kids".MYSanAntonio.Archived fromthe originalon January 23, 2019.RetrievedDecember 13,2024.
  7. ^Martin, William (January 15, 2006)."Cornerstone Church".Texas Monthly.RetrievedDecember 13,2024.
  8. ^Sharon, Jeremy (November 11, 2018)."Foreign Ministry honors rabbi for Jewish-Christian interfaith work".The Jerusalem Post.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  9. ^Vasquez, Juan (August 16, 1968)."Wallace Speaker Raps Demos, GOP".The San Antonio Express.p. 8F.RetrievedMay 20,2022.
  10. ^"Wallace Youth to Stage Rally".San Antonio Express.July 30, 1968. p. 4.
  11. ^Juan M. Vasquez (July 31, 1968). "Wallace Youth Hold Rally".San Antonio Express.p. 36.
  12. ^abClarkson, Frederick (April 24, 2008)."Will Alan Keyes Be John McCain's Worst Nightmare?".talk2action.org.RetrievedSeptember 19,2011.
  13. ^Smith, Morgan (November 3, 2009)."A Brief History of Fratricide".The Texas Tribune.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  14. ^abcde"Hagee's Prosperity Gospel and Jews".talk2action.org.July 27, 2009.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  15. ^abWilson, Bruce (March 12, 2015)."'Half-Breed Jew' Committed Holocaust, Claims Netanyahu Ally John Hagee ".The Huffington Post.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  16. ^Santus, Rex (May 14, 2018)."Pastor who thinks Jews can't be saved led opening prayer at U.S. embassy in Jerusalem".Vice News.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  17. ^abShear, Michael D. (May 14, 2008)."McCain Backer Apologizes For Anti-Catholic Remarks".The Washington Post.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  18. ^ab"Catholic League: McCain's Next Move".Catholic.org.March 7, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon March 16, 2008.RetrievedApril 15,2017.
  19. ^Duin, Julia (May 24, 2008)."Jews defend Hagee's words".The Washington Times.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  20. ^Saperstein, David (May 23, 2008)."Hagee's Jewish Endorsers".The Washington Post.Archived fromthe originalon May 25, 2008.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  21. ^Stern Shefler, Gil (August 23, 2010)."John Hagee to cut Im Tirtzu funding".The Jerusalem Post.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  22. ^Horovitz, David (March 20, 2006)."Evangelicals seeing the error of 'replacement theology'".The Jerusalem Post.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  23. ^Gutierrez Cachila, Suzette (May 22, 2016)."Donald Trump receives support in presidential bid from Pastor John Hagee".The Christian Times.New York, NY.RetrievedOctober 13,2016.
  24. ^Benen, Steve (February 15, 2023)."Nikki Haley taps controversial pastor for campaign launch invocation".MSNBC.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  25. ^Gross, Terry (May 16, 2008)."Pastor John Hagee on Christian Zionism, Katrina".NPR.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  26. ^Hagee, John (1999)."Chapter 3 - He who curses Israel...".Final Dawn over Jerusalem.Thomas Nelson. p. 34.ISBN9781418558697.Consider Adolf Hitler. As a spiritual leader in the Roman Catholic Church, Hitler made the following outrageous statements about the Jews...
  27. ^(pp. 79–81). Hagee previously argued that exactly the same connections between the Roman Catholic Church and Hitler existed in his 1987Should Christians Support Israel?(pp. 20–30) — summarizing it in the sentence, "Roman Church policy shaped the policy of theThird Reich".(p. 20)
  28. ^Hagee, John (1999).Final Dawn over Jerusalem.Thomas Nelson. p. 73.ISBN978-1-4185-5869-7.
  29. ^"Pastor Hagee Apologizes for anti-Catholic remarks".Fox News. May 13, 2008.RetrievedMay 23,2008.
  30. ^"Minister Backing McCain Apologizes to Catholics"Goodstein, Laurie,New York Times,May 14, 2008
  31. ^Forsyth, Jim (May 14, 2008)."Pastor who backed McCain apologizes for remarks".Reuters.RetrievedDecember 12,2024.
  32. ^Blumenthal, Max(May 23, 2008)."Hagee: Pro-Israel, Anti-Semitic?".CBS News.RetrievedDecember 13,2024.
  33. ^Jewish leader calls Hagee an 'extremist.'ArchivedJuly 12, 2008, atarchive.today
  34. ^Hagee uses Jeremiah 9:13–16; 44:2–4, 15–17
  35. ^Yglesias, Matthew (March 7, 2008)."A Friend Indeed".The Atlantic.RetrievedDecember 13,2024.
  36. ^Blumenthal, Max(March 14, 2007)."AIPAC Cheers an Anti-Semitic Holocaust Revisionist (and Abe Foxman Approves)".The Huffington Post.RetrievedDecember 13,2024.
  37. ^Wilson, Bruce (March 5, 2007).""Pro Israel" Christian Leader Blames Jews For The Holocaust ".talk2action.org.Archived fromthe originalon November 23, 2024.RetrievedDecember 13,2024.
  38. ^Blumenthal, Max (June 10, 2008)."Pastor Hagee: The Antichrist Is Gay," Partially Jewish, As Was Adolph Hitler "(Paging Joe Lieberman!)".The Huffington Post.RetrievedDecember 13,2024.
  39. ^Ami Eden,"Q & A: John Hagee"ArchivedFebruary 27, 2012, at theWayback Machine
  40. ^Stein, Sam (May 29, 2008)."McCain Backer Hagee Said Hitler Was Fulfilling God's Will (AUDIO)".The Huffington Post.RetrievedDecember 13,2024.
  41. ^Quaid, Libby (March 1, 2008)."McCain Seeks Distance From Pastor".The Washington Post.RetrievedDecember 13,2024.
  42. ^Eilperin, Juliet; Kindy, Kimberly (May 23, 2008)."McCain Rejects Pastor's Backing Over Remarks".The Washington Post.RetrievedDecember 13,2024.
  43. ^Quinn, Paul (2012). Ansari, Humayun; Hafez, Farid (eds.). "Anti-Catholicism, Islamophobia, and Modern Christian Multi-Media".From the Far Right to the Mainstream: Islamophobia in Party Politics and the Media.Campus Verlag:136–137.ISBN978-3593396484.
  44. ^Herron, Kyle W. (Fall 2011)."Embracing the Other: Toward an Ethic of Gospel Neighborliness"(PDF).Journal of Religious Leadership.10(2):94–95.
  45. ^abHagee, John (2007).Jerusalem Countdown.Charisma Media. p. 75.ISBN9781599790893.
  46. ^Spector, Stephen.Evangelicals and Israel: The Story of American Christian Zionism.p. 85.
  47. ^Andresen, Kjersti Børke (Spring 2008).Det nye kristne høyre – finnes det i Norge? En analyse av to kristne aviser i lys av den amerikanske New Christian Right-diskursen(PDF)(Masters thesis) (in Norwegian).University of Oslo.p. 47.RetrievedDecember 13,2024.
  48. ^"Pastor John Hagee on Christian Zionism".NPR.September 18, 2006.RetrievedJune 4,2018.
  49. ^Johnston, David L. (2016). "American Evangelical Islamophobia: A History of Continuity with a Hope for Change".Journal of Ecumenical Studies.51(2):224–235.doi:10.1353/ecu.2016.0018.S2CID152029042.
  50. ^Weise, Elizabeth (April 3, 2014)."Blood moon eclipse on April 15 is a special event".USA Today.RetrievedApril 3,2014.
  51. ^Pulliam Bailey, Sarah (April 15, 2014)."'Blood moon' sets off apocalyptic debate among some Christians ".The Washington Post.Religion News Service.RetrievedApril 15,2014.
  52. ^Gaherty, Geoff (April 9, 2014)."Four Blood Moons: Total Lunar Eclipse Series Not a Sign of Apocalypse".Space.RetrievedApril 14,2014.
  53. ^McClure, Bruce; Byrd, Deborah (March 30, 2014)."What is a Blood Moon?".Earth & Sky.RetrievedApril 4,2014.
  54. ^Beck, Glenn (October 12, 2007)."Honest Questions with John Hagee".transcripts.cnn.RetrievedDecember 13,2024.
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