John MacArthur, an influential right-wing megachurch pastor and author, told an audience at his church last week that Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was “not a Christian at all.” MacArthur described the pastor and civil rights icon as “a nonbeliever who misrepresented everything about Christ and the gospel”

MacArthur, considered one of the most influential evangelical preachers in modern times, has been under fire in recent years for having “repeatedly shamed or ignored victims of abuse while protecting their abusers.” He has a history of preaching what Baptist News has called “cringe-worthy” things about race and slavery. He made his most recent appalling comments during Black History Month while he was criticizing a now-defunct evangelical pastors conference for having honored King several years ago, which MacArthur described as evidence of “the impact of the woke movement.” Video of MacArthur’s comments was posted on social media by a Christian podcaster and reported by other Christian outlets[…]
MacArthur, who heads Grace Community Church in southern California, has long mixed his preaching with right-wing politics. In 2018, MacArthur led an effort that rallied thousands of conservative evangelicals to denounce the pursuit of social justice as a threat to the gospel, and criticized churches that address racism as a social justice issue. That same year, MacArthur’s Master’s Seminary was placed on probation by an accrediting agency, which cited a climate of fear, intimidation, and bullying among faculty and staff[…]
MacArthur flatly declared his opposition to religious freedom. “I don’t even support religious freedom,” he said in a 2021 sermon. “Religious freedom is what sends people to hell. To say I support religious freedom is to say I support idolatry. It’s to say I support lies, I support hell, I support the kingdom of darkness.” He added, “No Christian with half a brain would say, ‘We support religious freedom.’ We support the truth”