The Mental Illness Scam

John MacArthur, the well-known pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, recently caused a stir by publicly saying the term “mental illness” is a fiction used to sell psychiatric medication. According to The Christian Post, MacArthur specifically cited the psychiatric diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), all of which are considered mental illnesses by the American Psychiatric and American Psychological Associations.

The resulting outcry was deafening. Popular Christian teacher Beth Moore, whose husband is diagnosed with PTSD, suggested MacArthur, 84, was having a senior moment. Writing on X, retired law-enforcement officer Sharon Kroger, also diagnosed with PTSD, chided, “Know your area of training, knowledge, and expertise. I've had five years of therapy and professional assistance….”

Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood clinic director turned pro-lifer and Christian counselor, chimed in with what is known as an “argument from authority,” meaning an argument based not on facts, but on the individual’s credentials.

“John MacArthur just publicly proclaimed that he has zero understanding of PTSD or any other mental health disorder,” Ms. Johnson wrote on X. “I have my doctorate in Christian counseling and anyone reading this who is struggling, this is NOT truth. This is NOT what Jesus wants for you. He wants health and wholeness for your mind, body, and spirit. That often includes therapy and sometimes medication. And that’s OKAY. Please do not feel ashamed for seeking help. Seeking help is the courageous thing to do.”

After reading Ms. Johnson’s post, I searched the Bible and am compelled to report I was unable to find any scripture supportive of the contention that Jesus approves of psychological therapy or psychotropic medication. For scripture that is pertinent to this controversy, see Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

Notwithstanding the strength of the outcry and the credentials of some of the outcriers, in my opinion, MacArthur was spot on.

THE FACTS:

• None (as in zero) of the psychiatric diagnoses published in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM – the oft-called “bible” of the mental health professions – technically qualify as illnesses. A genuine illness such as diabetes or epilepsy is defined by an abnormal physiological state that can be verified with tests/procedures that produce objective, replicable data. By that standard, DSM diagnoses are nothing more than arbitrary constructs. Concerning a given DSM diagnosis, the defining symptoms may be “real” to the person experiencing them, but the proven fact that mental health practitioners cannot reliably identify individuals who are faking symptoms means the “reality” of a psychiatric diagnosis is entirely personal and subjective. That hardly defines an “illness.
• Much of the diagnostic terminology employed by mental health practitioners is bogus. For example, no researcher has ever quantified a state of neuro-chemical balance; therefore, the term “biochemical imbalance” – frequently employed by said practitioners to promote the use of psychotropic drugs – is a fiction. 
• Predispositions toward certain verifiable disease states (e.g., colon cancer) can be inherited, but no researcher has found compelling evidence to the effect that adverse emotional or cognitive states – such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia – are heritable. 
• No psychotropic drug has reliably outperformed placebos in controlled clinical trials, which is why the FDA’s approval standards for psychotropics are vastly different than those used to ascertain the effectiveness of drugs designed for valid physiological illnesses. In effect, psychotropic drugs are placebos with two important differences: they are costly, and they involve the distinct possibility of dangerous side effects. 
• Clinical psychology does not qualify as a science. When all is said and done, psychology is nothing more than a philosophy of human nature that contradicts almost everything we are told about ourselves in the Bible. 
• Clinical psychology lacks meaningful practice standards, meaning the term “therapy” has no fixed definition. As such, the number of psychological therapies is equal to the number of psychological therapists.
• Knowing truth is not a matter of possessing a Ph.D. (doctorate) in a mental health field.

In short, I believe MacArthur was unequivocally correct in his remarks concerning the fraud of “mental illness,” the pseudo-science of the mental health industry, and psychotropic drugs. Given MacArthur’s influence, the negative reaction to his remarks was predictable, but he probably did not anticipate that so many well-known Christians would line up against him, thus demonstrating the insidious power mental health industry propaganda wields in American culture.

If MacArthur was wrong in his remarks, his detractors would be able to point to contradictory data from controlled studies, but they cannot. Instead, they demonize him and play the victim card.

Here’s an example of exactly that from Dr. Stephen Patrick of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health: “This [MacArthur’s remarks] is such a bad, dangerous take. As a pediatrician, me, and the people I work with are committed to children. This conspiracy theorist language re ADHD treatment making children ‘addicts’ or ‘criminals’ is wrong, & has no data to support it. Beyond that it’s another attack on pediatricians/healthcare providers … and those attacks are taking a tangible toll on pediatricians/nurses/healthcare providers.”

MacArthur is dangerous? He’s hurting children? He’s causing pediatricians and other health care providers to develop mental health problems? C’mon! John MacArthur Induced PTSD?

I am reminded of a quote from 19th Century American writer/philosopher Elbert Hubbard: “If you cannot answer a man’s argument, all is not lost; you can still call him vile names.”