John MacArthur Responds To Alistair Begg Gay Wedding Controversy. But Is He A Hypocrite? (2024)

After disinviting Alistair Begg from the Shepherds Conference, John MacArthur was asked in a recent Q&A to respond to the Alistair Begg controversy from a true Scotsman. John MacArthur gave a sound rebuke of Begg’s counsel, but there’s more to the story than just that. When Evangelical Dark Web broke the story of Alistair Begg counseling a grandmother to attend a gay wedding, it became apparent to us that John MacArthur had some questionable statements in the past on a very related issue: gay wedding cakes. While it’s not quite apples to apples with attending a gay wedding, it is lemons to limes.

The question is asked: Is it truly sinful for a Christian business person, for instance, a cake baker, to produce a product for a gay wedding? John MacArthur clearly answers that it’s not sinful and compares it to serving a hom*osexual in a restaurant. MacArthur then pivots about the real issue being government compulsion. From there MacArthur frames the issue as a gesture of kindness to an unsaved person in so far as it does not violate conscience.

Moreover, there was a panel discussion hosted by Todd Friel featuring MacArthur along with others like Phil Johnson and Al Mohler pontificating on the same issue. Phil Johnson nuances a yes or no question, “Should a Christian baker bake a gay cake for a gay couple in a gay wedding?” The crowd laughs as he gives a weasel answer about whether the baker feels as though they are participating and if that violates their conscience then it is a sin. Al Mohler similarly gives a weasel answer about Christians in business potentially being forced to violate their conscience as a cost of doing business, should certain legal precedents get set. Al Mohler argues that Christians baking a gay wedding cake under compulsion of law do not sin, which is a failure to recognize God as a higher authority. Phil Johnson clarifies that he’s not saying the person making generic wedding cakes that are used in a gay wedding is sinning, even though this hypothetical situation was not the situation being asked about by Friel. The rest of the panel agrees with Johnson and Mohler. John MacArthur comes in at the end and makes it a conscience issue and asks whether you want customers to fill out a moral questionnaire, in a condescending jest. He concludes the clip by saying that the issue of celebration makes it a different category.

Overall, the past video evidence showcases a clear compromise on this issue.

Discreet Clarification

Evidently, John MacArthur’s handler, Phil Johnson, has made efforts to provide clarification on this topic after the YouTuber, iThink Biblically did a video on MacArthur’s past comments comparing them to Begg’s. Justin Peters watched the video and spoke to Phil Johnson about the issue who talked to John MacArthur who then relayed the clarification to Justin Peters who then forwarded the correspondence to iThink Biblically who did a followup video.This clarification comes thirdhand rather than from MacArthur himself, which is problematic.

MacArthur’s clarification attempts to say that the question was ambiguous about the nature of the cake, but in reality, the question was about Christians in businesses providing products (or services) for a gay wedding. A wedding cake is only one example of this and the example that MacArthur clearly stated that was not sinful. This understanding seemed clear to MacArthur when he answered and was not much different than the panel.

Yet MacArthur’s clarification would ultimately go into the detail of how the design and customizations required for a wedding cake would be sinful for a Christian to participate in.

So while this clarification is a positive development, we have yet to hear it from the horse’s mouth. We’ve heard it from a YouTuber who read an email forwarded by someone who talked to MacArthur. MacArthur should put out his own statement, and if not, should be asked to clarify at Shepherds Conference.

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