Walter Martin
Encyclopedia
Walter Ralston Martin was an American Evangelical
minister, author, and Christian apologist who founded the Christian Research Institute
in 1960 as a para-church ministry specializing as a clearing-house of information in both general Christian apologetics
and in countercult apologetics.
, before working as a criminal trial lawyer
. In 1920 George Martin became a county court judge and presided over cases involving some of the notorious Murder Inc criminals.
Martin's mother, Maud Ainsworth, was born in Chicago
to Joseph Ainsworth and Annie Young. She was one of several children born of that marriage, but was put up for adoption. She was adopted by her uncle and aunt James McIntyre (theatrical actor)
(1857–1937) a vaudevillian (one partner of the black-face duo: Thomas Heath and Jim McIntyre), and Emma Maude Young (1862–1935), a dancer and balladeer (known on stage as Maude Clifford and Maud Clifton).
Martin was raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, and was the youngest of six children. In his earliest years the family lived on Macdonough Street, and then from 1930 onwards on Bainbridge Street, Brooklyn. In the mid-1940s he attended The Stony Brook School
where he obtained his high school diploma.
), Wilbur Smith (1894–1976) (author of the apologetic text Therefore Stand), and the Presbyterian Bible teacher Donald Grey Barnhouse (1895–1960).
Martin's relationship with Barnhouse as his mentor grew over the years, and he was appointed as a regular columnist to Eternity magazine (1955–60). Barnhouse's support for Martin's research and teaching abilities resulted in the reassessment of Seventh Day Adventist theology, raising the profile of his early ministry in the Evangelical
Church. He also worked for a time as a research associate for the National Association of Evangelicals
.
Martin was ordained as a minister of the Regular Baptists in 1951, but this was revoked in 1953 owing to his remarriage. However, Martin met with the key pastor involved in this revocation and a restoration agreement was apparently reached, as Martin began marrying couples on television and continuing in public pastoral roles with the full knowledge of the Baptist Church. His status as a minister has been the subject of much controversy but his daughter, Jill Martin Rische, has made more information available that puts much of the controversy to rest. Walter Martin served as a pastor in various churches in New York and New Jersey in the 1950s and 1960s. He also became a regular teacher of Bible study classes at Barnhouse's Church in New York City. In later years Martin would serve as a preacher and Bible teacher at Melodyland Christian Center and then at Newport Mesa Christian Center in California.
was regarded by Evangelical Christians and mainstream Protestants
as either an extreme sect or heretical cult. Martin had initially accepted the prevailing Protestant opinion about the heretical status of the Seventh-day Adventists. He indicated his opposition to Adventist teachings in a brief paragraph in the inaugural edition of his book The Rise of the Cults, published in 1955.
However, he reversed his views after a series of interviews with various leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and on reading Adventist literature. Martin reported his initial findings to Barnhouse, and between 1955-56 a series of small conferences were held, with Barnhouse and Martin meeting Adventist leaders like T. E. Unruh and LeRoy Froom. Barnhouse and Martin then published some of their findings in a series of articles that appeared in Eternity
between September and November 1956. The standpoint taken by Barnhouse and Martin was that Adventists were largely orthodox on central doctrines, but heterodox on lesser doctrines, and so could be classified as belonging in the Evangelical camp. Martin later expanded his position in his 1960 book-length treatment, The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism. Martin's book carried an explanatory foreword by Barnhouse and a statement from H. W. Lowe who was the chairman of the Biblical Study and Research Group of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. While Lowe did not agree with Martin's criticism of the church's distinctive doctrines he nonetheless commended the book for providing a "fair and accurate statement of Adventist teachings." A committee of Adventist leaders themselves wrote and published a companion book, Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrinehttp://news.adventist.org/data/2003/10/1069166562/index.html.en, in 1957. While many Adventists welcomed the overtures of Barnhouse and Martin, there were other Adventists who questioned the position taken by church leaders in the volume Questions on Doctrine.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s Evangelical opinions were divided over the Martin-Barnhouse stance on the Adventists. Some, like E. Schuyler English, supported Martin, some such as John Gerstner urged a sober and fair hearing, while others, such as Louis Talbot, J. K. van Baalen, Harold Lindsell and Anthony Hoekema
, opposed his view. As the controversy ensued among Evangelicals Martin found it was necessary to restate and defend his position and to reply to his critics. To that end Martin reproduced much of the text of his 1960 book, together with critical replies in an appendix "The Puzzle of Seventh-day Adventism" in his 1965 textbook The Kingdom of the Cults. Martin later updated the appendix in the 1985 edition of Kingdom of the Cults, and since his death the editors of the posthumous editions of 1997 and 2003 have continued to update it.
publishers where he was appointed as director of cult apologetics publications. During this period Zondervan released several publications about cults under his direction, with at least eight books and four booklets written by Martin. His earliest countercult books included Jehovah of the Watchtower, The Christian Science Myth, The Christian and the Cults and The Maze of Mormonism.
In his first handbook, The Rise of the Cults, he wrote about Jehovah's Witnesses
, the Theosophical Society
, Mormonism
, Christian Science
, the Unity School of Christianity, and Father Divine
, with an exhortation to the church to treat the cults as an important mission-field. Most of the contents of his earliest books reappeared in his major textbook The Kingdom of the Cults, which was first released in 1965, and has reputedly sold more than 1,000,000 copies worldwide.
Martin's primary approach to assessing cults was to focus on doctrinal issues, particularly those concerning the person, nature and work of Christ. Martin emphasized research and quoted directly from the teachings of the cults, challenging their claims to Christianity by pointing out the biblical errors in their theology. For many evangelicals, he standardize the dominant style of counter-cult apologetics by refuting these claims using primary source material and historically valid biblical texts. (Jill Martin Rische, eldest daughter of Dr. Walter Martin, www.waltermartin.com).
Martin built a reputation as an authority figure on cults based upon integrity. His role as a columnist in Eternity magazine allowed him the freedom to address other topics such as basic Christian doctrines, the theology of Karl Barth
, the problem of alcoholism, and reviewing books. His basic approach in apologetics was that of an evidentialist.
Throughout his writing career Martin had articles published in other periodicals including Christianity Today
, United Evangelical Action, The Christian Librarian, Christian Life, Christian Research Newsletter, Logos Journal, Moody Monthly, and Our Hope.
in New Jersey, and then in 1974 relocated it to Southern California. In its earliest years Martin's colleagues who were associated with Christian Research Institute included Walter Bjorck, James Bjornstad, Floyd Hamilton, and Shildes Johnson, many of whom went on to publish countercult books.
Through this para-church organisation Martin built up a reference library of primary source material, and sought to train Christians in the art of apologetics and evangelism. He developed a bureau of speakers, and from the early 1960s conceived of the need for a computerized data base of apologetic information. Martin's prescient advocacy of using computer technology for apologetic purposes led to a major conference, the All-Europe Conference on Computer Technique for Theological Research held in Austria in September 1968. This became the subject of the book Computers, Cultural Change and the Christ, which was written by Martin's friend and colleague John Warwick Montgomery
.
In 1978 he established a ministry periodical known as Forward, which was redesigned in 1987 as Christian Research Journal. Martin mentored several figures who have become prominent apologists in the Christian countercult movement
including Craig Hawkins, Bob
and Gretchen Passantino, Elliot Miller, John Weldon, Ron Rhodes, Rich Poll, Ron Carlson, Paul Carden, and Robert M Bowman Jr. Many of the people who have established ministries in the Christian countercult movement regard Martin as the father of the Christian Counter-cult Movement. One indicator of the high esteem in which he was held is that at least twelve books have been dedicated to him. Scores of ministries on cults and apologetics have also began as a result of Dr. Martin and his ministry.
and Hugh Schonfield, theologians of Liberal Christianity
like Thomas J. J. Altizer
and Bishop John Shelby Spong
, and new religious commentators like Roy Masters. He appeared many times on the John Ankerberg
television show debating advocates of Freemasonry
, the Bahá'í Faith
, and other groups.
In the earliest years of his ministry Martin traveled frequently with Billy Graham and World Vision Founder Bob Pierce, addressing thousands in open air church meetings about the theological problems posed by the cults. Martin always emphasized the importance of analysis and primary source materials in determining the true beliefs of groups like Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, [Mormonism], Spiritualists, Father Divine, Unity School of Christianity and Herbert W. Armstrong's
Worldwide Church of God
. In 1958 he spoke throughout East Asia and in Ghana, and in 1961 in Northern and Western Europe.
The popularity of Martin's ministry coincided with the Jesus People movement of the early 1970s and the rise of the countercultural interest in East Asian religions and esoteric pathways. As occult
interests surfaced in the counterculture and as groups like Hare Krishna
, Unification Church
, and Children of God
emerged, Martin became a much sought after speaker.
Martin utilised the new technology of cassette tapes, and disseminated many of his public lectures about apologetics questions and cultic groups to thousands worldwide. Several albums were released on The World of the Cults, The World of the Occult, The New Cults, How To Witness to Jehovah's Witnesses, and How to Witness to Mormons. Other albums tackled general apologetics To Every Man An Answer, and topical problems such as abortion, homosexuality and women's liberation (Martin Speaks Out). He later appeared in a series of six films produced by Vision House called Martin Speaks Out on the Cults.
During the 1980s Martin spoke in churches and para-church conferences in Australia and around the world, Brazil, Kenya and New Zealand. His final book dealt with New Age spirituality.
Martin maintained a part-time role as a lecturer in various liberal arts and bible colleges including The King's College
, Melodyland School of Theology in Anaheim, California, and was for many years a board member of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
. In 1980 he joined John Warwick Montgomery
in promoting apologetics through the Master of Arts program at the Simon Greenleaf School of Law.
) of Christian charismatic teachers such as Kenneth Copeland
and Kenneth Hagin. While Martin was critical of these teachers' claims concerning their views of Christ, healing, faith, and prosperity, he believed in the perpetuity of charismatic spiritual gifts in the Church. To that end, Martin presented his positive appraisal of spiritual gifts in several audio lectures (waltermartin.com), and by editing with chapter end-notes, a fresh reprint edition of 19th century evangelist Dwight L. Moody
's book Secret Power.
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
minister, author, and Christian apologist who founded the Christian Research Institute
Christian Research Institute
The Christian Research Institute is an Evangelical Christian apologetics ministry. It was established in October 1960 in the state of New Jersey by Walter Martin . In 1974 Martin relocated the ministry to San Juan Capistrano, California. The ministry's office was relocated in the 1990s near Rancho...
in 1960 as a para-church ministry specializing as a clearing-house of information in both general Christian apologetics
Apologetics
Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers...
and in countercult apologetics.
Birth and early years
Martin was born in Brooklyn, New York to George Washington Martin II (1876–1948) and Maud Ainsworth (1892–1966). His father was a prominent figure in the legal profession who served as an assistant District attorneyDistrict attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
, before working as a criminal trial lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. In 1920 George Martin became a county court judge and presided over cases involving some of the notorious Murder Inc criminals.
Martin's mother, Maud Ainsworth, was born in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to Joseph Ainsworth and Annie Young. She was one of several children born of that marriage, but was put up for adoption. She was adopted by her uncle and aunt James McIntyre (theatrical actor)
James McIntyre (theatrical actor)
James McIntyre , minstrel performer, vaudeville and theatrical actor, and a partner in the famous blackface tramp comedy duo act McIntyre and Heath.- Family and early career :...
(1857–1937) a vaudevillian (one partner of the black-face duo: Thomas Heath and Jim McIntyre), and Emma Maude Young (1862–1935), a dancer and balladeer (known on stage as Maude Clifford and Maud Clifton).
Martin was raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, and was the youngest of six children. In his earliest years the family lived on Macdonough Street, and then from 1930 onwards on Bainbridge Street, Brooklyn. In the mid-1940s he attended The Stony Brook School
The Stony Brook School
The Stony Brook School is a private independent Christian boarding and college preparatory school for boys and girls, grades 7 to 12. It was founded by the Rev. Dr. John F. Carson and fellow members of the Stony Brook Assembly in 1922. Its founding headmaster was Frank E. Gaebelein...
where he obtained his high school diploma.
Continuing education
Walter Martin graduated with a Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy from New York University, where he was a student alongside television evangelist Dr. D. James Kennedy. Kennedy confirmed the fact that Martin had completed all of the coursework for his doctorate, with the exception of his dissertation (Jill Martin Rische, www.waltermartin.com). He subsequently obtained a Ph.D. in 1976 from California Coastal University, which was not accredited at the time the degree was awarded.Early career
Martin's career as an apologist began at the age of fifteen after receiving Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in Hegemen Chapel at The Stony Brook School (Stony Brook, NY). While in college and graduate school, he often skipped eating during his lunch hours to answer a variety of tough questions about the Bible and the Christian faith while standing on the corner of Wall Street and Broadway, in New York City. Martin has indicated in various book dedications and in audio recorded lectures how he was mentored by Frank Gaebelein (Headmaster, The Stony Brook SchoolThe Stony Brook School
The Stony Brook School is a private independent Christian boarding and college preparatory school for boys and girls, grades 7 to 12. It was founded by the Rev. Dr. John F. Carson and fellow members of the Stony Brook Assembly in 1922. Its founding headmaster was Frank E. Gaebelein...
), Wilbur Smith (1894–1976) (author of the apologetic text Therefore Stand), and the Presbyterian Bible teacher Donald Grey Barnhouse (1895–1960).
Martin's relationship with Barnhouse as his mentor grew over the years, and he was appointed as a regular columnist to Eternity magazine (1955–60). Barnhouse's support for Martin's research and teaching abilities resulted in the reassessment of Seventh Day Adventist theology, raising the profile of his early ministry in the Evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Church. He also worked for a time as a research associate for the National Association of Evangelicals
National Association of Evangelicals
The National Association of Evangelicals is a fellowship of member denominations, churches, organizations, and individuals. Its goal is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelicals in the United States. Today it works in four main areas: Church & Faith Partners, Government Relations,...
.
Martin was ordained as a minister of the Regular Baptists in 1951, but this was revoked in 1953 owing to his remarriage. However, Martin met with the key pastor involved in this revocation and a restoration agreement was apparently reached, as Martin began marrying couples on television and continuing in public pastoral roles with the full knowledge of the Baptist Church. His status as a minister has been the subject of much controversy but his daughter, Jill Martin Rische, has made more information available that puts much of the controversy to rest. Walter Martin served as a pastor in various churches in New York and New Jersey in the 1950s and 1960s. He also became a regular teacher of Bible study classes at Barnhouse's Church in New York City. In later years Martin would serve as a preacher and Bible teacher at Melodyland Christian Center and then at Newport Mesa Christian Center in California.
Evangelical-Adventist controversy
Perhaps the greatest public controversy of his early career arose from his studies of Seventh-day Adventist theology. From its earliest days until the 1950s, the Seventh-day Adventist ChurchSeventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
was regarded by Evangelical Christians and mainstream Protestants
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
as either an extreme sect or heretical cult. Martin had initially accepted the prevailing Protestant opinion about the heretical status of the Seventh-day Adventists. He indicated his opposition to Adventist teachings in a brief paragraph in the inaugural edition of his book The Rise of the Cults, published in 1955.
However, he reversed his views after a series of interviews with various leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and on reading Adventist literature. Martin reported his initial findings to Barnhouse, and between 1955-56 a series of small conferences were held, with Barnhouse and Martin meeting Adventist leaders like T. E. Unruh and LeRoy Froom. Barnhouse and Martin then published some of their findings in a series of articles that appeared in Eternity
Eternity (magazine)
Eternity was a monthly conservative Christian magazine published from 1950 to 1988. It included major contributions from such well known individuals as F. F. Bruce and others.- History :In 1931, Donald Barnhouse started Revelation...
between September and November 1956. The standpoint taken by Barnhouse and Martin was that Adventists were largely orthodox on central doctrines, but heterodox on lesser doctrines, and so could be classified as belonging in the Evangelical camp. Martin later expanded his position in his 1960 book-length treatment, The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism. Martin's book carried an explanatory foreword by Barnhouse and a statement from H. W. Lowe who was the chairman of the Biblical Study and Research Group of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. While Lowe did not agree with Martin's criticism of the church's distinctive doctrines he nonetheless commended the book for providing a "fair and accurate statement of Adventist teachings." A committee of Adventist leaders themselves wrote and published a companion book, Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrinehttp://news.adventist.org/data/2003/10/1069166562/index.html.en, in 1957. While many Adventists welcomed the overtures of Barnhouse and Martin, there were other Adventists who questioned the position taken by church leaders in the volume Questions on Doctrine.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s Evangelical opinions were divided over the Martin-Barnhouse stance on the Adventists. Some, like E. Schuyler English, supported Martin, some such as John Gerstner urged a sober and fair hearing, while others, such as Louis Talbot, J. K. van Baalen, Harold Lindsell and Anthony Hoekema
Anthony A. Hoekema
Anthony Andrew Hoekema was a Calvinist minister and theologian who served as professor of Systematic theology at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, for twenty-one years.- Biography :...
, opposed his view. As the controversy ensued among Evangelicals Martin found it was necessary to restate and defend his position and to reply to his critics. To that end Martin reproduced much of the text of his 1960 book, together with critical replies in an appendix "The Puzzle of Seventh-day Adventism" in his 1965 textbook The Kingdom of the Cults. Martin later updated the appendix in the 1985 edition of Kingdom of the Cults, and since his death the editors of the posthumous editions of 1997 and 2003 have continued to update it.
Early writings
Between 1955-65 Martin enjoyed a relationship with ZondervanZondervan
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association .- History :...
publishers where he was appointed as director of cult apologetics publications. During this period Zondervan released several publications about cults under his direction, with at least eight books and four booklets written by Martin. His earliest countercult books included Jehovah of the Watchtower, The Christian Science Myth, The Christian and the Cults and The Maze of Mormonism.
In his first handbook, The Rise of the Cults, he wrote about Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, the Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
, Mormonism
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
, Christian Science
Christian Science
Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
, the Unity School of Christianity, and Father Divine
Father Divine
Father Divine , also known as Reverend M. J. Divine, was an African American spiritual leader from about 1907 until his death. His full self-given name was Reverend Major Jealous Divine, and he was also known as "the Messenger" early in his life...
, with an exhortation to the church to treat the cults as an important mission-field. Most of the contents of his earliest books reappeared in his major textbook The Kingdom of the Cults, which was first released in 1965, and has reputedly sold more than 1,000,000 copies worldwide.
Martin's primary approach to assessing cults was to focus on doctrinal issues, particularly those concerning the person, nature and work of Christ. Martin emphasized research and quoted directly from the teachings of the cults, challenging their claims to Christianity by pointing out the biblical errors in their theology. For many evangelicals, he standardize the dominant style of counter-cult apologetics by refuting these claims using primary source material and historically valid biblical texts. (Jill Martin Rische, eldest daughter of Dr. Walter Martin, www.waltermartin.com).
Martin built a reputation as an authority figure on cults based upon integrity. His role as a columnist in Eternity magazine allowed him the freedom to address other topics such as basic Christian doctrines, the theology of Karl Barth
Karl Barth
Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
, the problem of alcoholism, and reviewing books. His basic approach in apologetics was that of an evidentialist.
Throughout his writing career Martin had articles published in other periodicals including Christianity Today
Christianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
, United Evangelical Action, The Christian Librarian, Christian Life, Christian Research Newsletter, Logos Journal, Moody Monthly, and Our Hope.
Christian Research Institute
In 1960 Martin established the Christian Research InstituteChristian Research Institute
The Christian Research Institute is an Evangelical Christian apologetics ministry. It was established in October 1960 in the state of New Jersey by Walter Martin . In 1974 Martin relocated the ministry to San Juan Capistrano, California. The ministry's office was relocated in the 1990s near Rancho...
in New Jersey, and then in 1974 relocated it to Southern California. In its earliest years Martin's colleagues who were associated with Christian Research Institute included Walter Bjorck, James Bjornstad, Floyd Hamilton, and Shildes Johnson, many of whom went on to publish countercult books.
Through this para-church organisation Martin built up a reference library of primary source material, and sought to train Christians in the art of apologetics and evangelism. He developed a bureau of speakers, and from the early 1960s conceived of the need for a computerized data base of apologetic information. Martin's prescient advocacy of using computer technology for apologetic purposes led to a major conference, the All-Europe Conference on Computer Technique for Theological Research held in Austria in September 1968. This became the subject of the book Computers, Cultural Change and the Christ, which was written by Martin's friend and colleague John Warwick Montgomery
John Warwick Montgomery
John Warwick Montgomery is a noted lawyer, professor, Lutheran theologian, and prolific author living in France. He was born October 18, 1931, in Warsaw, New York, United States. In 2007 he was named "Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and Christian Thought" at Patrick Henry College...
.
In 1978 he established a ministry periodical known as Forward, which was redesigned in 1987 as Christian Research Journal. Martin mentored several figures who have become prominent apologists in the Christian countercult movement
Christian countercult movement
The Christian countercult movement is a social movement of Christian ministries and individual Christian countercult activists who oppose religious sects thought to either partially abide or do not at all abide by the teachings that are written within the Bible. These religious sects are also known...
including Craig Hawkins, Bob
Robert Passantino
Robert "Bob" Passantino , was an American Christian author and journalist who wrote on subjects related to Christian apologetics, philosophy, and the Christian countercult movement.- Career :...
and Gretchen Passantino, Elliot Miller, John Weldon, Ron Rhodes, Rich Poll, Ron Carlson, Paul Carden, and Robert M Bowman Jr. Many of the people who have established ministries in the Christian countercult movement regard Martin as the father of the Christian Counter-cult Movement. One indicator of the high esteem in which he was held is that at least twelve books have been dedicated to him. Scores of ministries on cults and apologetics have also began as a result of Dr. Martin and his ministry.
Broadcaster, debater and lecturer
Martin was also a radio broadcaster who began this side of his ministry on Barnhouse's program. In the mid 1960s Martin regularly appeared as a guest panelist on The Long John Nebel Show, and then founded his own program known as "The Bible Answer Man." Between the mid-1960s until his death in 1989 Martin debated in public various non-Christians such as atheist author/activist Madalyn Murray O'HairMadalyn Murray O'Hair
Madalyn Murray O'Hair was an American atheist activist and founder of the organization American Atheists and its president from 1963 to 1986. One of her sons, Jon Garth Murray, was the president of the organization from 1986 to 1995, while she remained de facto president during these nine years....
and Hugh Schonfield, theologians of Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
like Thomas J. J. Altizer
Thomas J. J. Altizer
Thomas Jonathan Jackson Altizer is a radical theologian who incorporated Friedrich Nietzsche's conception of the "death of God" into his teachings.- Education :...
and Bishop John Shelby Spong
John Shelby Spong
John Shelby "Jack" Spong is a retired American bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was formerly the Bishop of Newark . He is a liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator and author...
, and new religious commentators like Roy Masters. He appeared many times on the John Ankerberg
John Ankerberg
John Ankerberg is an American Christian evangelist and TV presenter. He is an ordained minister and published author, having written 91 books focusing on religious subjects....
television show debating advocates of Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
, and other groups.
In the earliest years of his ministry Martin traveled frequently with Billy Graham and World Vision Founder Bob Pierce, addressing thousands in open air church meetings about the theological problems posed by the cults. Martin always emphasized the importance of analysis and primary source materials in determining the true beliefs of groups like Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, [Mormonism], Spiritualists, Father Divine, Unity School of Christianity and Herbert W. Armstrong's
Herbert W. Armstrong
Herbert W. Armstrong founded the Worldwide Church of God in the late 1930s, as well as Ambassador College in 1946, and was an early pioneer of radio and tele-evangelism, originally taking to the airwaves in the 1930s from Eugene, Oregon...
Worldwide Church of God
Worldwide Church of God
Grace Communion International , formerly the Worldwide Church of God , is an evangelical Christian denomination based in Glendora, California, United States. Since April 3, 2009, it has used the new name Grace Communion International in the US...
. In 1958 he spoke throughout East Asia and in Ghana, and in 1961 in Northern and Western Europe.
The popularity of Martin's ministry coincided with the Jesus People movement of the early 1970s and the rise of the countercultural interest in East Asian religions and esoteric pathways. As occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
interests surfaced in the counterculture and as groups like Hare Krishna
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
, Unification Church
Unification Church
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
, and Children of God
Children of God
The Family International , formed as as the Children of God and later named Family of Love and the Family, is a new religious movement, started in 1968 in Huntington Beach, California, United States. It began in the late 1960s, with many of its early converts drawn from the hippie movement...
emerged, Martin became a much sought after speaker.
Martin utilised the new technology of cassette tapes, and disseminated many of his public lectures about apologetics questions and cultic groups to thousands worldwide. Several albums were released on The World of the Cults, The World of the Occult, The New Cults, How To Witness to Jehovah's Witnesses, and How to Witness to Mormons. Other albums tackled general apologetics To Every Man An Answer, and topical problems such as abortion, homosexuality and women's liberation (Martin Speaks Out). He later appeared in a series of six films produced by Vision House called Martin Speaks Out on the Cults.
During the 1980s Martin spoke in churches and para-church conferences in Australia and around the world, Brazil, Kenya and New Zealand. His final book dealt with New Age spirituality.
Martin maintained a part-time role as a lecturer in various liberal arts and bible colleges including The King's College
The King's College (California)
The King's University is a non-denominational Pentecostal/Charismatic Bible college and seminary in Van Nuys, in Los Angeles, California.-History:The King's was founded by Pastor Jack W...
, Melodyland School of Theology in Anaheim, California, and was for many years a board member of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary is an evangelical theological seminary whose main campus is based in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, with three other campuses in Boston, Charlotte, North Carolina and Jacksonville. The current president of Gordon-Conwell is Dennis Hollinger...
. In 1980 he joined John Warwick Montgomery
John Warwick Montgomery
John Warwick Montgomery is a noted lawyer, professor, Lutheran theologian, and prolific author living in France. He was born October 18, 1931, in Warsaw, New York, United States. In 2007 he was named "Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and Christian Thought" at Patrick Henry College...
in promoting apologetics through the Master of Arts program at the Simon Greenleaf School of Law.
Controversies
In the 1980s, Martin was involved in critical debates over the positive confession success theology (also called Word of FaithWord of Faith
Word of Faith is a family of Christian churches as well as a label applied by some observers to a teaching movement kindred to many Pentecostal and charismatic churches and individuals worldwide. The basic doctrine preached is that of salvation through Jesus Christ and what that salvation entails...
) of Christian charismatic teachers such as Kenneth Copeland
Kenneth Copeland
Kenneth Copeland is an American author, public speaker, and televangelist. He is the founder of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, which preaches a “prosperity gospel”: "Prosperity gospel assures followers that the more they give including in the form of tithes to the church, the more they will receive...
and Kenneth Hagin. While Martin was critical of these teachers' claims concerning their views of Christ, healing, faith, and prosperity, he believed in the perpetuity of charismatic spiritual gifts in the Church. To that end, Martin presented his positive appraisal of spiritual gifts in several audio lectures (waltermartin.com), and by editing with chapter end-notes, a fresh reprint edition of 19th century evangelist Dwight L. Moody
Dwight L. Moody
Dwight Lyman Moody , also known as D.L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts , the Moody Bible Institute and Moody Publishers.-Early life:Dwight Moody was born in Northfield, Massachusetts to a large...
's book Secret Power.
See also
- Opposition to cults and NRMs
- Christian countercult movementChristian countercult movementThe Christian countercult movement is a social movement of Christian ministries and individual Christian countercult activists who oppose religious sects thought to either partially abide or do not at all abide by the teachings that are written within the Bible. These religious sects are also known...
- :Category:Cults
- List of anti-cult organizations and individuals
Obituaries and biographical sources
- "CRI Founder Walter Martin Dies," Charisma & Christian Life 14 (13) (1989), p. 28.
- "Cult Authority Martin Dies," Bookstore Journal, August 1989), p. 93.
- "Memorial," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 33 (1990), p. 143.
- "Memorial Service for Dr Walter Martin," Christian Research Newsletter, 2 (4) (1989). Available from http://www.waltermartin.org/memorial.html
- "Dr Walter Martin," The Christian Librarian, 13 (4) (1970), pp. 3–4.
- Barnhouse, Margaret N., That Man Barnhouse (Tyndale House, Wheaton, 1983), pp. 223–225 & 252-254.
- Biggs, Charles R., "Walter Martin: Patron Saint of Evangelical Apologists". A word document available from "A Place For Truth" http://www.aplacefortruth.org/Martin.Bio
- Groothuis, Douglas, "Walter R. Martin" in Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, edited by A. Scott Moreau (Baker, Grand Rapids, 2000), p. 601.
- Quebedeaux, Richard, The Worldly Evangelicals (Harper & Row, 1978), pp. 66–67.
- Stafford, Tim, "The Kingdom of the Cult Watchers," Christianity Today, October 7, 1991, p. 21.
Critical assessments of writings
- Cowan, Douglas E.Douglas E. CowanDouglas E. Cowan is a Canadian academic in religious studies and the sociology of religion and currently holds a teaching position at Renison College, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada...
Bearing False Witness? An Introduction to the Christian Countercult (Praeger Publishing, Westport, Connecticut & London, 2003). ISBN 0-275-97459-6 - Johnsen, Thomas C., "Historical Consensus and Christian Science: The Career of a Manuscript Controversy," The New England Quarterly 53 (1980), pp. 3–22.
- Saliba, John A.John A. SalibaJohn A. Saliba is a Maltese-born Jesuit priest, a professor of religious studies at the University of Detroit Mercy and a noted writer and researcher in the field of new religious movements.Saliba has advocated a conciliatory approach towards new religions...
Understanding New Religious Movements 2nd edition (Alta Mira Press, Walnut Creek, Lanham, New York & Oxford, 2003). ISBN 0-7591-0356-9 - Shupe, Anson D.Anson ShupeAnson D. Shupe is an American sociologist noted for his studies of religious groups and their countermovements, family violence and clergy misconduct.-Work:...
Six Perspectives on New Religions: A Case Study Approach. Studies in Religion and Society Volume One. (Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, New York & Queenston, Ontario, 1981), pp. 61–84. ISBN 0-88946-983-0