Should Christians support Israel unconditionally? There are strong voices on both sides of the issue. In 2007, Pastor Joel C. Hunter was a signatory on a letter to President Bush, supporting a two-state solution. Dr. Hunter explained: ”There is a part of the evangelical family which is what I call Christian Zionists, who are just so staunchly pro-Israel that Israel and their side can do no wrong, and it’s almost anti-biblical to criticize Israel for anything. But there are many more evangelicals who are really open and seek justice for both parties.”

From The Christian Post, Tue, Jul. 22, 2008 Posted: 01:49 PM EDT

A majority of American Jews say Jewish groups should not partner with vocal Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee or other Christian Zionists that support Israel based on end-times beliefs, a new survey revealed.

More than three-quarters (78 percent) of the 800 American Jews questioned in a new J Street survey do not support Jewish groups working with Christian organizations that believe Jews must control the Holy Land before Jesus can return. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently published by the Orlando Sentinel, the following talks about the divide among Evangelicals over climate change. Dr. Hunter, who was included in the piece, says that ultimately it’s not about global warming, but our God-given responsibility to care creation. He explains, ”We not only have a moral imperative to take care of the earth, but there are spiritual and personal benefits to doing so.  When we put loving our neighbor into practice, we not only save the lives of the most vulnerable, we extend the fruitfulness of the ‘garden’ for our children and grandchildren and beyond.  We can honor the Giver by taking care of the gift, and we can expand the economy at the same time.”

Mark I. Pinsky
Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel

Sentinel staff writer
July 20, 2008

When Orlando-based missionary and author Grady McMurtry talks about science and the Bible today at St. Cloud Church of the Nazarene, one question is bound to come up: How should evangelicals respond to the burning issue of global warming?

Relying as much on his degrees in agriculture and environmental science as on his theological education, McMurtry uses Scripture to argue his case that there is no global warming, no thinning of the Earth’s ozone layer.

In lectures devoted entirely to climate change, he argues that what warming there may be is cyclical and natural, not caused by human activity. Christians, he insists, should not pay attention to what he calls “junk science” that argues the contrary, as opposed to his controversial brand of “biblical science.” Read the rest of this entry »

Pulitzer-Prize winning author Frances Fitzgerald’s article on “The New Evangelicals” is now available at The New Yorker’s website. She writes:

Since 2004, influential pastors and the heads of many large faith organizations have set a new national-policy agenda, one founded on their understanding of the life of Jesus and his ministry to the poor, the outcast, and the peacemakers. The movement has no single charismatic leader, no institutional center, and no specific goals. It doesn’t even have a name. But it is nonetheless posing the first major challenge to the religious right in a quarter of a century.

Dr. Joel C. Hunter, the senior pastor of Northland church in Orlando, Florida, who every week preaches to ten thousand people in his church and through the Internet, is one of the new leaders. Long active in community affairs, he has become an activist on the national level. MORE …

Dr. Hunter recently talked to the Miami Herald about Senator Obama’s courting of Evangelicals. While Dr. Hunter is not endorsing any candidate at this time, he has met with Mr. Obama at the Senator’s request, because it is the job of any Christian to give input to government leaders when asked. Dr. Hunter has said that he will sit down with any candidate who asks to sit down with him because the church in America has resources untold that can solve the problems of the nation.

Posted on Sat, Jul. 05, 2008
BETH REINHARDbreinhard@MiamiHerald.com

The Rev. Joel Hunter, pastor of a Florida mega-church and a Republican who voted twice for George W. Bush, was among 30 religious leaders invited to a private meeting with the 2008 presidential nominee.

The Democratic nominee, that is.

After decades of the Democratic Party writing off evangelical Christians, Barack Obama is making an unprecedented effort to reach out to people of faith. In contrast, Republican John McCain’s outreach has been more subdued.

”It is really remarkable,” said Hunter, whose Northland Church in Central Florida boasts 12,000 members. “One of the many firsts of Sen. Obama’s campaign is that he is probably the first Democratic candidate in history to reach out to the full spectrum of the religious community, particularly the evangelical community. . . . This is very heartening to us.” Read the rest of this entry »

Northland’s senior pastor, Dr. Joel C. Hunter, recently co-authored an editorial published in the Orlando Sentinel and in Tribune newspapers nationwide, as part of his work with the National Association of Evangelicals. The board representing 30 million evangelicals believes this is an important statement to represent Christ and endorse standing military policy. The co-author of the editorial, Lt. General Robert G. Gard, Jr. (USA, ret.) is chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, where his work focuses on nuclear nonproliferation, missile defense, Iraq, military policy, nuclear terrorism, and related national security issues. General Gard has written for well-known periodicals that focus on military and international affairs and lectured widely at U.S. and international universities and academic conferences. Their message: America should lead where we want others to follow. Read on …

U.S. should reject cruelty and adopt 6 core principles
Lt. Gen. Robert G. Gard Jr. and Pastor Joel C. Hunter
Special to the Orlando Sentinel
June 25, 2008

America has been long admired not only for its unparalleled strength but also for the ideals for which we stood. Over the past several years, the world watched as we opened Guantanamo, listened as American leaders refused to disavow waterboarding and recoiled at photographs of cruelty and degradation at the hands of American armed service members. We have created a perilous gulf between our principles and our practice. We pay an incalculable price for breaching our long-held values and sacrificing the moral high ground needed to combat terrorist extremists. Read the rest of this entry »

This commentary recently ran on U.S. News & World Report’s website. The author, John Mashek, saw Pastor Joel Hunter’s profile in the June 30 issue of The New Yorker, and called his views “refreshing” while expressing frustration over the seeming rigidity of some of the spokesmen for the religious right.

June 25, 2008 11:50 AM ET | John Mashek | Permanent Link

Perhaps it is time for James Dobson of Focus on the Family to run for public office—even the presidency.

Perched at his base in Colorado Springs, Colo., Dobson has been a consistent voice of intolerance in the evangelical-right crowd.

Dobson cannot abide either Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. John McCain. It is difficult to tell what he is for since he usually is shouting against someone.

Dobson’s latest venture into politics was ripping Obama for a speech two years ago about a more diverse view of the Bible. Dobson was having none of that heresy in his mind. His interpretation is apparently the only one.

Here is a man who also distrusts McCain because he isn’t more vocal on the issues of abortion and same-sex marriage. In other words, the presumptive GOP nominee had better agree with Dobson or else. Earlier this year, he said he would stay home rather than vote for McCain.

Of course, Obama’s liberal views will never sell with Dobson or his ilk.

Dobson has become a force to be reckoned with in partisan politics—so why not run himself and test his views with voters? It will never happen.

But there is good news on the evangelical front. The Rev. Joel Hunter of Orlando is the subject of an article in this week’s New Yorker magazine. Hunter is worried about global warming, backs immigration reform, and is angry at the Republican venomous language on the immigration issue.

Hunter’s views are refreshing since the public perception of evangelicals is that they are rigidly conservative if not as extreme as Dobson.

Americans of all faiths have different views on interpreting the Bible. Dobson’s is not the only one, and we all should be thankful for that.

Dr. Joel C. Hunter, senior pastor of Northland Church, is featured in the June 30, 2008 issue of The New Yorker.

In an extensive feature titled “The New Evangelicals,” Pulitzer Prize winner Frances Fitzgerald talks to Pastor Hunter about how he is helping evangelicals to focus on issues that Jesus would have us care about.

Dr. Hunter tells the magazine, “We’re at a watershed in our history. What has passed for an ‘evangelical’ up to now is a stereotype created by the people with the loudest voices. But there’s a whole constituency out there that it doesn’t apply to. Now something is happening. You can feel it like the force of a tsunami under the water.”

Dr. Hunter’s latest book, A New Kind of Conservative (Regal), outlines a non-partisan approach to political involvement, encouraging readers to “vote and voice their values” rather than simply voting along party lines.

In a recent interview with Christianity Today, he explains, “The problems are so big that they can’t be addressed by one party or one ideology, or just by part of the electorate. You really need to galvanize people that have different opinions and offer solutions that people can buy into at least partially. That’s the kind of candidate people are looking for.”

Note: This article is not available online, but can be purchased on newsstands. Here is the Table of Contents for this issue.

This week, Pastor Joel C. Hunter was one of the 30 religious leaders invited to meet with presidential candidate Barack Obama. Dr. Hunter explains, “It is the job of any Christian to give input to government leaders when asked. I am happy to sit down with any candidate who wants to sit down with me because the church in America has resources untold that can solve the problems of the nation.”

Read the rest of this entry »

This week, Pastor Joel C. Hunter was a signatory on a letter urging Florida officials to tone down “hateful immigration rhetoric.” Dr. Hunter explains: “As Christians in our respective churches we have seen firsthand the human toll borne by the men, women, and children caught in the trap of our broken immigration system. It does not reflect the spirit of Christ to demonize people, all of whom are made in God’s image, especially those who He would recognize as the most vulnerable among us.” Click here to read the letter. Read the rest of this entry »

In this article in USA Today, self-proclaimed “liberal writer” Tom Krattenmaker challenges readers to reconsider any preconceived notions that they hold about Evangelicals. Quote-able quote from Mr. Krattenmaker’s article:  ”Common ground … usually lies between competing sides.” Didn’t a certain pastor say something like that in his book Church Distributed? READ AND RESPOND: How can we cooperate with those who differ from us, without compromising our own beliefs?

The evangelicals you don’t know

They’re intolerant, pushy, close-minded cultural warriors, right? Wrong. A liberal writer’s trip to Xenia, Ohio, reveals some surprising (to him) truths about conservative Christianity.

By Tom Krattenmaker

Out on the left-leaning coasts, notions about heartland evangelicals often veer in a most unflattering direction. They’re insular and arrogant, as the story goes. They’re the close-minded ones, condemning those who do not subscribe to their beliefs and world view. With them, it’s the Jesus way or the highway. These, like so many other prejudices collected like mud in the trenches of the culture war, fail to engage the complexity of the situation  — or the fast-changing truth.

If a larger pattern can be drawn from my recent perception-changing journey to one of the great bastions of conservative evangelicalism, the walls of division are not as formidable as culture warriors might like us to believe. They might even be shrinking. Read the rest of this entry »