Letters

Dear Dave and Tom,
I noted in your April ['05] newsletter the reference to the persecution of Christians in Northern Nigeria....But...there is a greater challenge for Christianity in Nigeria....I went out searching for some of the books listed in TBC, and I found none—not a single one. I found...books on motivation, psychology, business/marketing—offering various ways to be happy and successful. In Nigeria, millions run after "men of God" who offer them miracles, healing, deliverance from the demonic oppression, but very little on the truth of the Word of God. AA (Nigeria)

Dear Mr. Hunt,
I was deeply shocked at your response to the question about Rick Warren in January's Q&A....Your reply seems almost wishy-washy....If Mr. Warren is really a "sincere Christian who genuinely desires the salvation of souls," then why is he not spreading the Gospel...when he has numerous, beautiful opportunities to reach millions?...This nonsense about gaining "the trust of [Ladies' Home] Journal readers before giving them the gospel" is just that—nonsense. Peter did not wait to gain the trust of the crowd before he presented them with the Gospel in Acts 2 and 3....You call psychology's selfisms "deadly"...yet Mr. Warren...promotes them. We are supposed to "hold back those staggering toward the slaughter," not help them along by feeding them false doctrine!...Granted that he is saved, shouldn't someone go and carry out Matthew 18 with him?...He is endangering people's souls with his teachings-and aren't people's souls all that matter?...If Mr. Warren is teaching false doctrines that...will ultimately lead to their eternal damnation, what is the point in tending to their physical, earthy needs? CR (NJ)

Dear Brother Dave,
I appreciate your ministry and enjoy reading TBC....But...after awhile, your newsletter can become like the "clanging cymbal" [1 Cor 13]. There's an edge to your words that sometimes sounds like a stodgy old man who bats a critical eye at any Christian pastor or ministry that doesn't...agree with you. That's why it was so refreshing to read your reply...regarding Rick Warren in the Jan '06 issue. For the first time, I saw your heart. You acknowledged that Rick was a brother in Christ with a heart for the lost but that you believed he had gotten off course in the midst of his growing popularity. Wow, I was encouraged. You actually critiqued someone from the standpoint of love....As a brother in Christ, I would say the biggest challenge for your ministry is to figure out how to balance "earnestly contending for the faith" with showing forth...the qualities of love (1 Cor:13:4-7 [4] Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, [5] Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; [6] Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; [7] Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
See All...). It is possible to critique Rick Warren...and at the same time say, "But you know, Rick is a brother in Christ with a pastor's heart. The enticement of popularity certainly has to weigh on him and we need to uphold our brother in prayer that he would stand strong in the faith even if it costs him some of his ‘followers'." SF (NJ)

Berean Call,
I especially appreciate your stand against anti-Zionism, Calvinism, and Catholicism. I found your website [www.thebereancall.org] ...while searching for good discernment sites, and it is the best I have ever seen. Many of these sites are run by staunch Calvinists. It's very hard to take someone seriously as a teacher of truth when they hold a position that goes against the entire theme of the Bible....Why would God want to program everything and fill His Kingdom with love robots, and Hell with hapless victims? "What Love?" indeed. Calvinists have for centuries been absolutely relentless at indoctrinating believers into their false teachings....I'm glad you are equally relentless at exposing this lie and gathering the evidence against it. JB (NC)

Dear Bro. Hunt,
A.W. Tozer said, "As long as the church can sing the great hymns, it cannot be defeated, for hymns are theology set to music....Were the Scriptures to be destroyed or made inaccessible to the church, it would not be too difficult to extract from our hymns a complete body of Bible doctrine!" In these new songs, the Cross is gone, the blood is gone, God's grace and saving power are gone, Heaven is gone, the return of Christ is gone. The major theme is what they want to say: "I, I, I..." Not much of Jesus mentioned. MS (WA)

TBC,
Loved your January Berean Call. You are right on target because you are looking to the Scripture and not to trends. It is sad but true what you state in your article. I am amazed that something so conservative can come out of Oregon! Keep up the good work. DH (KS)