David Charles Haddon Hunt (September 30, 1926 – April 5, 2013) was an American Christian

apologist Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

, speaker, radio commentator and author. He was in full-time ministry from 1973 until his death. ''The Berean Call'', which highlights Hunt's material, was started in 1992. From 1999 to 2010, he also hosted ''Search the Scriptures Daily'' radio ministry alongside T.A. McMahon. Hunt traveled to the Near East, lived in Egypt, and wrote numerous books on theology, prophecy, cults, and other religions, including critiques of

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Islam,

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

, and

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

, among others. Hunt's Christian theology was

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

dispensational and he was associated with the Plymouth Brethren movement.

Early and personal life

David Charles Haddon Hunt was born on September 30, 1926, in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, to Lillie and Albert Hunt. He was raised in a Christian family, with two other siblings. As a young man, he also spent time in the military, at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was an alumnus of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. From June 24, 1950, until his death, Hunt was married to his college sweetheart, Ruth Klaussen (1926–2013), who together raised four children: David Jr., Janna, Karen and Jon. He worked as a CPA before his entry into full-time ministry.

Positions

Hunt believed occult or pagan influences are pervasive in modern culture - this includes evolution, as well as all forms of psychology, some forms of entertainment, yoga, and some forms of medicine. His book ''Occult Invasion'' is dedicated to this area, while several other books mention it in part.

Creationism

Hunt was a strict Biblical

Creationist Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 'th ...

- refutations of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

and

theistic evolution Theistic evolution (also known as theistic evolutionism or God-guided evolution) is a theological view that God creates through laws of nature. Its religious teachings are fully compatible with the findings of modern science, including biological ...

were a frequent topic of his radio programs, ''Search the Scriptures Daily'' and ''According to God's Word''.

Calvinism

Hunt addressed

in a book called ''What Love is This? Calvinism's Misrepresentation of God'', published in 2002 and revised in 2004 and 2006. He sought to refute many alleged misconceptions of Calvinism without taking an Arminian stance. He outlined a theological middle ground between Calvinism and Arminianism, where, according to Hunt, one can believe in eternal security but reject Calvinistic teaching. Also published in 2004 was ''Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views'', co-written in a point-counterpoint debate format by Hunt and Calvinist apologist James White.

Catholicism

In ''A Woman Rides the Beast'', he identified the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as the

Whore of Babylon Babylon the Great, commonly known as the Whore of Babylon, refers to both a symbolic female figure and place of evil mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Her full title is stated in Revelation 17 (verse 5) as "Mystery, Babylon the Gr ...

from the prophecies in chapters 17 and 18 of the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

Mormonism

The book '' The Godmakers'' (1984), which Dave Hunt co-wrote with

Ed Decker John Edward "Ed" Decker (born 1935) is an American counterculture apologist, and evangelist known for his expert studies, books, and public presentations, of the negative aspects of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS religion ...

, and the accompanying film ''

The God Makers ''The God Makers'' is a book and film highlighting the inner workings and perceived negative aspects of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Ed Decker and Dave Hunt co-authored the book and film. Jeremiah Films produce ...

'' (1982) by Jeremiah Films were an exposé of

, highlighting the Mormon belief that Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer and many other disturbing facts. The book and film have been criticized not only by Mormons themselves as inaccurate portrayals of their religion but also as inaccurate by other non-Mormon groups that are critical of Mormonism.

Prophecy

Dave Hunt regularly spoke on Bible prophecy, including his book ''A Cup of Trembling'' which warned against the then-current peace process.

Other

In 1973 he wrote the screenplay for ''Time to Run,'' a Christian film produced for the

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

Evangelistic Association (Hunt later criticized Graham's ministry for its open ecumenism). ''The Seduction of Christianity'' (co-written with Tom A. McMahon), which categorized

Word of Faith Word of Faith is a movement within charismatic Christianity which teaches that Christians can get power and financial prosperity through prayer, and that those who believe in Jesus' death and resurrection have the right to physical health. The ...

teachings, meditation, and psychology-based counseling as

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

heresies, generated much debate in the 1980s. Responses from meditation proponents and from Calvinist re-constructionist writers include ''Seduction?? A Biblical Response'' and ''The Reduction of Christianity''. Hunt has written a rejoinder to the latter critics in his ''Whatever Happened to Heaven?'' Hunt wrote about

Y2K The year 2000 problem, also known as the Y2K problem, Y2K scare, millennium bug, Y2K bug, Y2K glitch, Y2K error, or simply Y2K refers to potential computer errors related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates in and after ...

with the intent of refuting the fearful predictions being made by other Christian fundamentalist writers (Y2K: A Reasoned Response To Mass Hysteria). In his final book, "Cosmos, Creator and Human Destiny", Hunt supported the Creationist viewpoint and alleged that there were deficiencies in both the Big Bang theory and the theory of evolution.

Bibliography

* ''America, Israel and Islam'', * ''America, the Sorcerer's New Apprentice: The Rise of New Age Shamanism'', * ''Battle for the Mind'', * ''Beyond Seduction: A Return to Biblical Christianity'', * ''Cosmos, Creator, and Human Destiny'', * ''Countdown to the Second Coming'', * ''The Cult Explosion'', * ''A Cup of Trembling: Jerusalem and Bible Prophecy'', * ''Death of a Guru'', * ''Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views; Dave Hunt and James White'', * ''Global Peace and the Rise of Antichrist'', * ''The God Makers'', * ''Honest Doubts'', * ''In Defense of the Faith: Biblical Answers to Challenging Questions'', * ''Judgment Day! Islam, Israel and the Nations'', * ''The Mind Invaders'' (formerly titled ''The Archon Conspiracy''), * ''The New Spirituality'', * ''Occult Invasion'', * ''Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust'' subtitled "The New Age Movement in Prophecy", * ''The Power of the Spirit'' (by

William Law William Law (16869 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, King George I. P ...

, edited by Dave Hunt), * ''Revelation Hoofbeats'' (contributing author), * ''Sanctuary of the Chosen'', * ''Secret Invasion'', * ''Seduction of Christianity: Spiritual Discernment in the Last Days'', * ''Seeking and Finding God'', * ''To Russia With Love'' (formerly titled ''Mission: Possible''), * ''Toward the 7th Millennium: A Penetrating Look into the Future'' (contributing author), * ''Understanding the New Age Movement'', * ''Unmasking Mormonism'', * ''An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith'', * ''What Love Is This? Calvinism's Misrepresentation of God'', , 2 nd ed: * ''Whatever Happened to Heaven'', * ''When Will Jesus Come?: Compelling Evidence for the Soon Return of Christ'', * ''A Woman Rides the Beast'', * ''Y2K: A Reasoned Response to Mass Hysteria'',

References

External links

The Berean Call Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Dave 1926 births 2013 deaths 20th-century apocalypticists 21st-century apocalypticists 20th-century American screenwriters United States Army personnel of World War II American Christian creationists American evangelists American Plymouth Brethren Christian apologists Christian conspiracy theorists Christian fundamentalists Christian writers Critics of Mormonism Critics of the Catholic Church Writers from Riverside, California American conspiracy theorists