The Craziest Things Cornerstone Church Pastor John Hagee Has Ever Said

On Women (2005)
”Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick. Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with a terrorist.”

Given Hagee’s history of outrageous statements, it shouldn’t be surprising that he compared women to a dog and terrorist. Rather, he said the two aren’t as bad as women. We wonder how his wife, pictured here, feels about that.
Photo via Instagram / pastorjohnhagee

On Hurricane Katrina (2006)
”All hurricanes are acts of God because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that.”

During an interview, a radio host asked: “Do you still think that Katrina is punishment from God for a society that's becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah?” And this is seriously what Hagee had to say.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

On Jesus Not Being the Messiah (2007)
”Jesus did not come to Earth to be the Messiah ... since Jesus refused by word and deed to claim to be the Messiah, how can the Jews be blamed for rejecting what was never offered?”

Not only is this controversial, but it’s also plain wrong. Experts have pointed out that, according to the Bible, Jesus does in fact claim to be the Messiah.
Photo via Instagram / pastorjohnhagee

On Harry Potter (2002)
"The Harry Potter series is the thing that convinces me the Antichrist is not far off. Even Harry Potter's forehead is marked with the lightning bolt of the Hitler SS."

Nice! The beloved kid's character isn't just the spawn of Satan but a Nazi too! One would think Pastor John would just collect the offering plate and head on home after a doozie like that. But, instead, he keeps laying on the Satan's-gonna-get-ya hokum thicker than buffet-line gravy. "Human sacrifice is common in America," Hagee says with a straight face, shortly before declaring that "Halloween is nothing but the repackaging of the theology of Satan." Yikes.
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. via Instagram / harrypotterfilm

On the Holocaust (late 1990s)
”How did [the Holocaust] happen? Because God allowed it to happen … because God said, ‘My top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel.’”

It turns out “God’s will” applies to a lot of sick stuff.
Photo via Instagram / pastorjohnhagee

On Legalizing Gay Marriage (2005)
”It will open the door to incest, to polygamy, and every conceivable marriage arrangement demented minds can possibly conceive. If God does not then punish America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

Same-sex marriages will bring forth everything blamed on the LGBTQ community? Yup, sounds like the average rambling of a conservative with a microphone.
Photo by Albert Salazar

On Islam (2006)
”Those who live by the Quran have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews.”

Hagee is a known Islamophobe and has no problem backing it up – on repeated occasions.
Photo via Instagram / pastorjohnhagee

On Barack Obama (November 2014)
"The executive branch … is in the hands of one of the most anti-Semitic presidents in the history of the United States of America.”

Hagee made these remarks to the Zionist Organization of America when the group presented him and Sen. Ted Cruz with an award for their support for Israel. He was responding to the U.S. negotiations with Iran over the latter country's nuclear proliferation.
Photo via Instagram / barackobama

On Praising Trump for His Support of Israel (July 2018)
"Never in our history have we had [God's] favor at the same time with the president of the United States; with the prime minister of Israel; with the secretary of state; with the ambassador to Israel or the ambassador from Israel. All of those people are suddenly helping us achieve our objectives because the favor of God is with this organization. … For years CUFI was at odds with the previous administration on a wide range of issues, but since President Trump took office we've seen one victory after another,.”

He’s really giving Trump too much credit, but there’s a lot of that going on.
Photo via Instagram / pastorjohnhagee

On Gays and Lesbians (2008)
"Before 1945 closets were for clothes not for strange people to come out of.”

Hagee is not a fan of sodomy. The line got a huge laugh and applause from Cornerstone congregants. He called for a constitutional amendment to deny marriage equality to millions of gay and lesbian Americans.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

On the Catholic Church (Date unknown)
Bonus: Though he has since apologized for his statement (which is a rarity), Hagee once referred to the Roman Catholic Church as the “great whore of Revelation,” a “false cult system” and the “anti-Christ.”
Photo via Instagram / pastorjohnhagee

On Wives (2015)
"Women are only meant to be mothers and bear children ... Childless marriage equals dead, poison, empty."

Sorry if God made you barren, ladies! The quote is from a sermon titled "What God Wants In A Woman." Thankfully for Diana Hagee, John is the proud grandfather of 13 kids.
Photo via Instagram / pastorjohnhagee

On Jesus’ Comeback (2007)
”As soon as Jesus sits on his throne, He’s gonna rule the world with a rod of iron. That means he’s gonna make the ACLU do what he wants them to. That means you’re not gonna have to ask if you can pray in public school. We will live by the law of God and no other law.”

Sounds like someone really hates the ACLU.
Photo via Instagram / pastorjohnhagee

On Divorce (2007)
"Christians don't steal or lie. They don't get divorced or have abortions."

Well, guess what? Did you know John Hagee is divorced? He founded Cornerstone Church after divorcing his first wife, Martha Downing in 1975. The divorce was quite the scandal for congregants of Trinity Church, where he was minister at the time. He then remarried, getting hitched to Diana Castro, who was a congregant at Trinity and is still his current wife (seen above).
Photo via Instagram / pastorjohnhagee

On the Antichrist (2007)
From his book Jerusalem Countdown:
"[The Antichrist] will be the head of the European Union."

He also wrote that Jerusalem will be awash in a sea of blood during the final battle. Even Sen. John McCain distanced himself from Hagee after the book was published. Hagee really has a hard-on for the Armageddon, but there's no word on his thoughts on the 1998 movie.
Photo via Instagram / pastorjohnhagee

On Ebola (October 2014)
"There are grounds to say that judgment has already begun, because he, the president, has been fighting to divide Jerusalem for years now."

Hagee blamed the West African Ebola outbreak on President Barack Obama's position on Israel. Apparently the president is not zionist enough.
Photo via Instagram / pastorjohnhagee

On Foreign Policy (2014)
“'I’ll bless those that bless you and I’ll curse those that curse you' ... That’s God’s foreign policy statement, and it has not changed.”

This statement would not be controversial if God Almighty were American, a fact that's inconclusive at this point. He made these remarks at 2013's Christians United For Israel Conference, which Slate described as "the most insanely pro-Israel meeting you can ever attend." We're sorry we missed it.
Photo via Instagram / pastorjohnhagee