Ari and Jeremy Declare war of

Pastor Joel Hunter of Northland Church!

Ari and Jeremy Declare war of Pastor Joel Hunter of Northland Church!
See below for the calendar of Jeremy's speaking tour and a link to the radio show

Dear Ari:

Dr. Hunter has decided to pass on the interview. We appreciate the invitation, but it is pretty clear to me that you are strong in your beliefs—which is GREAT! We need people who are strong on both sides of issues; that's how the best solutions come about.

But this just isn't the best forum for Dr. Hunter to explain his position on this issue.

Thank you again for the invitation.

Robert Andrescik
Director of Communications
Northland, A Church Distributed

Last week, The New York Times reported on a coalition of Evangelical Christian leaders who wrote to President Bush supporting the creation of a Palestinian State on the Land of Israel. We have received a flurry of emails and letters from Christians around the world denouncing these leaders. Many are shocked that Pastors who purport to believe in the Bible could act with such glaring contradiction to a clear Biblical mandate. Wanting to hear both sides of the story, we invited one of the groups leaders, Pastor Joel Hunter of Northland Church, to be a guest on our show on Israel National Radio. Above is the response that we received. This response makes it clear that the letter writers were revealing more about themselves than they were about evangelical Christianity.

In the past, religious and denominational labels served to define theological beliefs and philosophical perspectives. While Jews traditionally supported Israel, Catholics tended to deny Jewish claim to the Holy Land. Evangelicals unequivocally defended Israel against those who sought her destruction, while Presbyterians actively sought to harm her through boycotts and divestment.

Today these familiar labels are wearing away and becoming less relevant. Families are being separated, churches are being divided, denominations are being torn, and countries are becoming increasingly polarized over whether they should take the path of least resistance by joining Europe in their strategy of appeasement, or stand with Israel against the world. The division is between those seekers of Truth who are willing to discard mistaken beliefs held for generations, and those for whom faith is merely a cultural tradition. The decision is between God and man, and ultimately between life and death.

What a perfect test of free will! Nowadays, it is totally irrational to support Israel. There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world from 23 different countries who practically monopolize the globes oil supply and relegate entire nations to lives of fear, terror, and subjugation. In contrast, there are merely 15 million Jews in the world possessing a single state the size of Rhode Island which is devoid of nearly any natural resources. Siding with the Muslim world, the European Union, and every country in the UN other than Micronesia and The Marshall Islands is definitely the pragmatic move, and presumably makes Pastor Hunter feel safe and secure.

These are times of refinement, times for separating the authentic from the fraudulent; those who fear G-d from those who fear man. Pastor Hunter would be wise to heed the warning issued by his namesake, the prophet Joel "... there will I deal with and execute judgment upon them for their treatment of My people and of My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations and because they have divided My land." [3:2].

Ezekiel warns of the days when G-d will “execute judgments upon all those who despoil them from all their surroundings; then they will know that I am Hashem, their G-d.” It is one thing for Pastor Hunter to stand against G-d on his own, but to lead his congregation into such error is tragic indeed.

One would think that a religious leader who spearheaded such a petition would be eager to explain his beliefs. One would think that a man so “committed to the security of Israel” would be anxious to explain to a Jew why he is asking President Bush to establish a terror state in Israel’s heartland. But Pastor Hunter decides that “this just isn’t the best forum … to explain his position on this issue” because he has encountered a strongly held contradictory opinion. One must question the sincerity and virtue of such a leader.

As Jews in the Land of Israel we do not fear for ourselves. G-d has chosen us “for himself to be a treasured people”(Deut.14:2), he will curse those who curse us (Genesis 12:3) and those who touch us are touching “ the pupil of his eye”(Zechariah 2:12). G-d has made a covenant with us and has been faithful to his word throughout history.

We are afraid for Robert Andrescik and the congregation of Northland Church who are being led astray by a pastor without the integrity or intellectual honesty to admit that he fears man more than the one G-d which he claims to worship. Concerning Israel, Pastor Hunter believes that “obviously there would have to be compromises” on the word of G-d. Any man who would compromise on the word of G-d is, indeed, a compromised man.

CHECK OUT OUR RADIO SHOW, AIRED THIS WEEK ON ISRAEL NATIONAL RADIO, AT WWW.THELANDOFISRAEL.COM http://www.thelandofisrael.com/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author. If you have a problem with the correctness of the information, please contact the author.

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