Over the last 25 years of being around Christian apologists, writers
and theologians, I have seen two types of people who have become well
known in the work of defending the faith. The first kind do so out of
concern for souls in an effort to evangelize unbelievers and to steer
believers out of harm’s way. To them, they would say with the Apostle
Paul, “woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16)
and, I would add, woe is me if I defend not the gospel as well.
And then there’s the other kind – the ones who are interested in
controversy and debate. The apostle Paul exposed this sort of
attitude when he said, “he has an unhealthy interest in controversies
and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk,
evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind (1
Timothy 6:4b-5a).
I can testify to the fact that the second kind despises the first
kind. The attributes of the second kind are easy to spot:
They quote other theologians and creeds on equal authority as God’s
word;
They compromise the truth for expediency – will share platforms with heretics without confronting error, if it will give their ministry more exposure;
They are ecumenical – will even show up on Catholic programs with the
rationalization that “they are within the pale of orthodoxy”;
They are boastful of their ministerial accomplishments;
They despise those who believe the Lord’s return is near;
They show off or accentuate their “credentials” and the initials
behind their name;
And they look down on those without “proper credentials. “
One dear brother of the first kind is author Dave Hunt whose
books “The Seduction of Christianity, “A Woman Rides the Beast,”
and “Judgment Day” have opened the eyes of so many Christians to the
perils we face today. Hunt writes from the perspective that the
Lord’s return is near and so as a servant of the Lord he must try and
rescue others from falling into the traps set by the spirit of
antichrist who is at work in our midst. I share this motivation in
all that I do in ministry. The books above shed the light of
scripture onto three areas of concern in these last days – New Age
mysticism in the professing church; ecumenism with Rome; and God’s
purposes for Israel – in that order.
As a result, he has endured the scorn of many of the second kind
whose venom is downright vicious. I have never seen any person in the
church today more the focus of unreasonable wrath by errant brothers
than Dave Hunt. And it’s so irrational.
For instance, ten years ago his Berean Call ministries sponsored a
gathering of former Catholics to examine the seditious document
called ECT (Evangelicals and Catholic Together), an agreement between
Catholics and apostate Evangelicals not to proselytize one another.
In an effort to give this important conference more exposure, upon
the request of the sponsors, I approached Christianity Today magazine
to do a story on the event. The then editor, John Kennedy, agreed to
allow me to write the story on the condition that I would not “quote
Dave Hunt or his ilk.” I was about to tell them where they could go,
but at the request of the sponsors I bit my lip and wrote the article.
Apologists Gretchen Passantino and her late husband Bob Passantino,
wrote a book aimed at Dave Hunt, called Witch Hunt (notice the play
on words). I commented on this in an article I wrote in 1995 for The
Christian Sentinel noting: “One of Passantino’s biggest complaints
against Seduction was that the author did not follow Matthew 18
guidelines in dealing with the false teachers. However, in a
subsequent book by Mrs. Passantino in conjunction with her husband,
Bob, called Witch Hunt, they took a total reversal of that stand,
exempting cult watchers against the Matthew 18 requirement when
dealing with public teaching.”
The apologists of the second kind always look down their noses at the
defenders of the faith whose only authority is the Word of God. Just
this week someone forwarded me an email dated February 1st from an
apologetics list serve called AR-Talk. It was a request for
information from fellow apologists on the subject of Catholicism by
former CRI researcher Paul Carden. As I was reading it, I was
thinking about how I could assist him in his call for documentation
until I got to the end which read, “P.S. Nothing by Dave Hunt,
please!” With that said, he certainly didn’t merit any response.
It is unbelievable to see such religious snobbery from a man who
didn’t have the backbone to stand up for his fellow apologists whose
lives were being decimated by CRI president Hank Hanegraaff when he
worked at the Christian Research Institute.
[In fact, a majority of CRI’s researchers kept their mouths shut as Hanegraaff fired them one by one as he memorized their knowledge and had no further need of
them. Carden was one of the last to go.]
However, unlike the apologists of the second kind, Dave Hunt is one
who walks the talk. I have known him for 25 years and his life has
never had a hint of scandal. The sincerity of this humble man’s love
for the Lord, in spite of what men may think of him, has stood the
test of time. He consistently speaks the truth in love and his
excitement for the Lord’s soon return is contagious. What a person
thinks of Dave Hunt is, in my opinion, a trustworthy litmus test as
to whether or not they are solid Christians. Even in his old age he
doesn’t seem to be slowing down in his service to his Lord.
Dear Lord, thank you for servants like Dave Hunt. I pray you would bless his health so the church can continue to be warned and edified by his faithful handling of the Word of truth. Raise up more men like him that would stir up the faith of many to endure steadfast to the end. Thank you for the honor of knowing such living saints who have been wonderful examples for us to follow in our service to You and one another. Thank you for pouring out your Spirit upon those who are not qualified to be a part of Mensa, as You use the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. By Your Holy Spirit give us Your wisdom as we study to show ourselves approved by You regardless of what man thinks. To Your glory, for Your purposes in Jesus’ name. Amen.
