Walter Ralston Martin

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Walter Ralston Martin (September 10, 1928 – June 26, 1989), 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.[1] [2]

Walter Ralston Martin

Walter Ralston Martin in 1980s
Born September 10, 1928(1928-09-10)
Brooklyn, NYC, New York, U.S.
Died June 26, 1989 (aged 60)

Contents

[edit] 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 attorney, 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. [3]

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 tramp clowns: Thomas Heath and Jim McIntyre), and Emma Maude Young (1862-1935), a dancer and balladeer (known on stage as Maude Clifford and Maud Clifton).[4]

Martin was raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, and was one of six children. In his earliest years the family was domiciled in Macdonough Street, and then from 1930 onwards in Bainbridge Street, Brooklyn.[5] In the mid-1940s he attended Stony Brook School where he obtained his high school diploma. [6]At age seventeen he eloped with Patricia Alice Toner, with the marriage lasting about four years. [7] Patricia Toner was the daughter of the prominent Long Island oyster entrepreneur Royal Toner.[8]

He married Darlene Nesland in November 1973 and they remained together until his death on June 26, 1989.

[Walter Martin] was considered an authority on the Bible and said his mission was to confront "cults" and "unbiblical beliefs." |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 28, 1989 |accessdate=2008-10-16 }}</ref>

[edit] Continuing education

In 1956 he received a Master of Arts degree by coursework in religious education. Martin then proceeded as a candidate for the Doctor of Education degree at New York University. He subsequently obtained a Ph.D. in 1976.

[edit] Early career

Martin's career as an apologist coincided with his tertiary education in 1949 as he reputedly self-published some pamphlets on cults. He also practiced answering a variety of questions about the Bible and faith during lunch hours at a public park situated near Wall Street, in New York City. Martin has indicated in various book dedications and in audio recorded lectures how he was mentored by Frank Gaebelein (Principal, Stony Brook School),[9] Wilbur Smith (1894-1976) (author of the apologetic text Therefore Stand), and the Presbyterian Bible teacher Donald Grey Barnhouse (1895-1960).[10][11]

Martin's relationship with Barnhouse proved strategic as he was appointed as a regular columnist to Eternity magazine (1955-60). Barnhouse's support for Martin validated his early ministry in much of the American Evangelical world. [12] He also worked for a time as a research associate for the National Association of Evangelicals.[13]

Martin was ordained as a minister of the Regular Baptists in 1951, but this was revoked in 1953 owing to his remarriage.[14] His status as a minister has been the subject of much controversy (see below "Controversies"). While doubts have been raised over his ordination, what is clear is that Martin did serve as a pastor in various churches in New York and New Jersey in the 1950s and 1960s. He also became a regular presenter of Bible study classes convened by Barnhouse in New York City. In later years Martin would serve as a preacher and Bible study leader at Melodyland Christian Center [15][16] and then at Newport Mesa Christian Center in California.

[edit] Evangelical-Adventist controversy

Main article: Questions on Doctrine

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 Church was regarded by Evangelical Christians and mainstream Protestants as either an extreme sect or heretical cult.[17] 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.[18]

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. [19][20][21] Barnhouse and Martin then published some of their findings in a series of articles that appeared in Eternity between September and November 1956. [22][23][24] [25] 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.[26] 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.[27] 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." [28] A committee of Adventist leaders themselves wrote and published a companion book, Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine[1], 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.[29]

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Evangelical opinions were divided over the Martin-Barnhouse stance on the Adventists. Some, like E. Schuyler English,[30] supported Martin, some such as John Gerstner urged a sober and fair hearing,[31] while others, such as Louis Talbot,[32] J. K. van Baalen,[33] Harold Lindsell[34][35] and Anthony Hoekema,[36] 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.[37] 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.[38]

[edit] Early writings

Between 1955-65 Martin enjoyed a relationship with Zondervan 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.[39]

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 some 750,000 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 emphasised contrasting his interpretation of Biblical teachings with those of the cults, and for many evangelicals he standardised the dominant style of countercult apologetics by refuting what he claimed to be heresy.[40] [41]

Although Martin was developing a reputation as an authority figure on cults, his role as a columnist in Eternity magazine also allowed him scope 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.

[edit] Christian Research Institute

In 1960 Martin established the Christian Research Institute 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,[42] and Shildes Johnson, many of whom went on to publish countercult books.[43]

Through this para-church organisation Martin built up a reference library of primary sources, sought to train Christians in the art of apologetics and evangelism, developed a bureau of speakers, and from the early 1960s conceived of the need for a computerised data base of apologetic information. [44] 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.[45][46]

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 grandfather figure of this form of apologetics. [47] 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.

[edit] 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 commenced 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'Hair 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 several 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 became an itinerant speaker, addressing Protestant churches and para-church groups about the theological problems posed by cults with much emphasis on analysing the teachings of groups like Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), 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.[48]

The popularity of Martin's ministry, however, 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. [49]

Martin utilised the burgeoning availability of cassette tapes and disseminated many of his public lectures about apologetics questions and cultic groups. 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,[50] Brazil, Kenya and New Zealand. His final book dealt with New Age spirituality.[51]

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. [52]In 1980 he joined John Warwick Montgomery in promoting apologetics through the Master of Arts program at the Simon Greenleaf School of Law.[53]

[edit] Controversies

Martin was a figure of controversy who aroused great loyalty among his colleagues, and deep animosity from many of his detractors. He was criticised by some fundamentalist Protestants for his affiliations with Pentecostals and Charismatics (even though he was a Baptist), and for his refusal to classify the Roman Catholic church as a "cult".

He was the subject of scathing criticism of his doctrinal stance by the Canadian historian and ex-Jehovah's Witness M. James Penton. He was also criticized by Thomas Johnsen for defending the Lieber manuscript as an authentic source document for Mary Baker Eddy's Christian Science, [54] also identified as a "cult" by conservatives due to its unorthodox teachings.[55]

In the 1980s Martin was involved in critical debates over the positive confession success theology (also called Word of Faith) of Christian charismatic teachers such as Kenneth Copeland and Kenneth Hagin. [56] While Martin was critical of these teachers' claims concerning their views of Christ, healing, faith, and prosperity, he nonetheless was persuaded of the perpetuity of charismatic spiritual gifts in the church. To that end Martin presented his positive appraisal of spiritual gifts in several audio lectures, and by editing with chapter end-notes, a fresh reprint edition of 19th century evangelist Dwight L. Moody's book Secret Power.

He was involved in several public confrontations with Mormon leaders and apologists, one of which involved contesting the content of Martin's lectures and credentials in a Californian lawsuit in the mid 1970s. Another concerned claims about the origins of the Book of Mormon. During the 1980s his tertiary credentials and ordination status as a Baptist minister had further doubts cast on them by popular Mormon apologists Robert and Rosemary Brown, who noted that his "doctorate" was granted by a California diploma mill. They compiled a multi-volume work They Lie In Wait To Deceive, of which the third volume involved a critical attack on Martin's credentials and his claims about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Since his death Martin's daughter, Jill Martin Rische, has sought to answer some of these allegations via the website she co-administers, Walter Martin's Religious Information Network. She has documented her father's ministerial status as a recognized pastor within the Directory of the Californian Southern Baptist Convention, but the academic validity of his doctorate remains a point of debate between his supporters and detractors. (The degree-granting institution, California Coast University is now nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.)

A large part of this controversy stems from his use of the title "Doctor" at least as far back as his mother's death in 1966, which was long before the founding of the correspondence school which he claimed had awarded the doctorate. California Coast University was founded in 1973 under the name "California Western University", but lost a name-infringement suit in 1981. The school was identified as a diploma mill in official GAO Special Investigations Report (# GAO-04-1096T) which stated that the school provided degrees upon payment of a flat fee. It has since become accredited to award undergraduate degrees, and offers no theological degrees whatsoever. At the time Martin claims to have been enrolled, an official of the state of California's Department of Education stated "[it] is entirely possible that this school offered a degree in Comparative Religion in '76; however, we have no record of this"[57]

Other refuted claims include having been a descendant of Brigham Young. Martin claimed on the dedication page of The Maze of Mormonism that he was a descendant of Brigham Young on his mother's side[58] On December 2 1981 in an exchange on radio between Martin and Robert Brown where his genealogical claim was questioned Martin stated that this fact had been confirmed for him by a Mormon genealogist.[59] Brown confronted Martin with evidence that indicated "it's an impossibility for him to be a descendant of Brigham Young."[60] Challenged by Martin to make a statement to that effect which might be tested legally, Brown declined to do so on the air. The source for Martin's belief that he was a relative of Brigham Young appears to have come through the balladeer-dancer Emma Young who was the aunt and then adoptive mother of Martin's mother Maud Ainsworth. On the death of Emma Young's husband the theatrical actor James McIntyre the New York Times stated: "McIntyre's wife was Emma Young a descendant of the Mormon leader." [61] While the genealogical evidence shows that Emma Young was not a relative of the Mormon leader, it was not uncommon for stage performers in the nineteenth century to enhance their public persona by alleging they were related to famous people in history.

In the years following Martin's death a controversy has ensued about the leadership succession to Christian Research Institute. This controversy is between Martin's widow and children on one side, and Dutch-born apologist Hank Hanegraaff who succeeded to the ministry's presidency. The controversy remains unresolved as Hanegraaff continues to direct the ministry.[62]

Jill Martin Rische has sought to perpetuate her father's ministry through Walter Martin's Religious Information Network, and by arranging for the publication in 2003 of a fresh posthumous edition of The Kingdom of the Cults. She collated and transcribed excerpts from around one hundred of her father's sermons and bible-study talks, which was released in 1999 as Through the Windows of Heaven. She has also collaborated with Kurt van Gorden in writing The Kingdom of the Occult.[63] This posthumously published book is based in part on her father's audio-recorded lectures, articles and chapters in his other books, and that material has been combined with additional information and argument provided by van Gorden and herself.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Contemporary Authors Volume 129, Detroit: Gale Research, 1990, p. 287.
  2. ^ Douglas Groothuis, "Walter R. Martin" in Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, ed. A. Scott Moreau, Grand Rapids: Baker Books,2000, p.601.
  3. ^ "G.W.Martin Dies; Ex-County Judge" New York Times, 23 November 1948, p. 30.
  4. ^ "James McIntyre, Stage Star, Dies," New York Times, 19 August 1937, p. 19.
  5. ^ The family is identified as living at these residences in the 1920 US Federal Census and 1930 US Federal Census. See: 1920 US Federal Census, Brooklyn District 5, Kings County, New York, Roll T625_1152, p. 3A, Enumeration District 292; and, 1930 US Federal Census, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, Roll 1502, p.11A, Enumeration District 274. Both documents accessible to subscribers at http://www.ancestry.com
  6. ^ "Dr. Walter R. Martin", The Christian Librarian, Volume 13, number 4, April 1970, p. 3. Also see Walter R. Martin, Essential Christianity, Rev. Ed., (Santa Ana, California: Vision House, 1975, pp.11-12.
  7. ^ Robert L. Brown & Rosemary Brown, They Lie in Wait To Deceive, Volume 3, Mesa, Arizona: Brownsworth Publishing, 1986, pp. 5-6.
  8. ^ "Royal Toner, Head of Oyster Concern," New York Times, 16 May 1959, p. 23
  9. ^ Martin, Essential Christianity, p. 12
  10. ^ Walter R. Martin "Dedication" in Walter Martin's Cults Reference Bible, Santa Ana: Vision House, 1981.
  11. ^ Walter R. Martin, The Rise of the Cults, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1955, p. 8.
  12. ^ Margaret N. Barnhouse, That Man Barnhouse, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1983, p. 223.
  13. ^ "Dr.Walter R. Martin" The Christian Librarian, Volume 13, Number 4, April 1970, p. 3.
  14. ^ Cowan, Bearing False Witness, p. 75
  15. ^ Robert Quebedeaux, The Worldly Evangelicals, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978, p. 66.
  16. ^ Anson Shupe, Six Perspectives on New Religions, Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1981, p. 71.
  17. ^ Malcolm Bull & Keith Lockhart, Seeking A Sanctuary: Seventh-day Adventism and the American Dream, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989, pp. 28-29.
  18. ^ Martin, The Rise of the Cults, p.15.
  19. ^ T. E. Unruh, "The Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences of 1955-1956," Adventist Heritage, Volume 4, Number 2, Winter 1977, pp.35-46.
  20. ^ "Peace with the Adventists," Time Magazine, 31 December 1956, pp. 40-41.
  21. ^ Kenneth R. Samples, "From Controversy to Crisis: An Updated Assessment of Seventh-day Adventism," Christian Research Journal, Volume 11, Number 1, Summer 1988, p. 9.
  22. ^ Donald Grey Barnhouse, "Are Seventh-day Adventists Christians? A New Look at Seventh-Day Adventism" Eternity, September 1956, pp. 6-7 & 43-45.
  23. ^ Walter R. Martin, "The Truth About Seventh-Day Adventism: Its Historical Development from Christian Roots," Eternity, October 1956, pp. 6-7 & 38-39.
  24. ^ Walter R. Martin, "The Truth About Seventh-Day Adventism: What Seventh-Day Adventists Really Believe," Eternity, November 1956, pp. 20-21 & 38-43.
  25. ^ "Are Seventh-day Adventists Evangelicals?" Christian Life, October 1956, pp. 58-60.
  26. ^ Walter R. Martin, The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1960.
  27. ^ The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism, pp. 7-8 and 15.
  28. ^ The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism, p.15.
  29. ^ see the historical accounts of Keld J. Reynolds, "The Church Under Stress 1931-1960" in Adventism in America, ed. Gary Land, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1986, pp. 185-188; Geoffrey J. Paxton, The Shaking of Adventism,Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978, pp.87-96.
  30. ^ E. Schuyler English, "To Rectify a Wrong" Our Hope, Volume 52, Number 8, February 1956, pp. 457-459.
  31. ^ John H. Gerstner, The Theology of the Major Sects, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1960, p. 19.
  32. ^ Louis Talbot, "Why Seventh-day Adventism Is Not Evangelical", The King's Business, April 1957, pp. 23-30.
  33. ^ J. K. van Baalen, The Chaos of Cults, rev. ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962, pp. 228-256.
  34. ^ Harold Lindsell, "What of Seventh-day Adventism?" Part 1, Christianity Today, 31 March 1958 pp. 6-8.
  35. ^ Harold Lindsell, "What of Seventh-day Adventism?" Part 2, Christianity Today, 14 April 1958, pp. 13-15.
  36. ^ Anthony A. Hoekema, The Four Major Cults, Exeter: Paternoster, 1969, pp. 388-403.
  37. ^ Walter R. Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1965, pp. 359-422.
  38. ^ Kingdom of the Cults, Rev. Ed, Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1985, pp. 407-500; rev.ed., ed. Hank Hanegraaff, Minneapolis: Bethany, 1997, pp.517-608; rev.ed., ed. Ravi Zacharias, Bloomington: Bethany, 2003, pp. 535-627.
  39. ^ "Memorial Service for Dr. Walter Martin" Christian Research Newsletter, Volume 2, number 4 1989.
  40. ^ Martin, Rise of the Cults, pp. 11-12.
  41. ^ Shupe, Six Perspectives on New Religions, p. 71.
  42. ^ Floyd E. Hamilton, The Basis of Christian Faith, 4th Rev. Ed., New York: Harper & Row, 1964)
  43. ^ For example, James Bjornstad, Twentieth Century Prophecy: Jeane Dixon, Edgar Cayce, Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1969; James Bjornstad, Counterfeits at Your Door, Glendale, California: Regal Books, 1979; James Bjornstad and Shildes Johnson, Stars, Signs and Salvation in the Age of Aquarius, Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1971.
  44. ^ Walter R. Martin, "Christian Research Institute," The Christian Librarian, Volume 14, number 1 October 1970, pp. 15-18.
  45. ^ John Warwick Montgomery, Computers, Cultural Change and the Christ, Wayne, New Jersey: Christian Research Institute, 1969.
  46. ^ Walter R. Martin, "SENT/EAST: Electronic Answering Search Technology," The Christian Librarian, Volume 14, number 1 October 1970, pp. 3-6.
  47. ^ Tim Stafford, "The Kingdom of the Cult Watchers," Christianity Today, 7 October 1991, p. 21.
  48. ^ Martin, Kingdom of the Cults, 1965 ed., p. 324.
  49. ^ Quebedeaux, Worldly Evangelicals, p. 67.
  50. ^ W. A. van Leen, "Author in Australia", Take A Closer Look, Volume 5, number 4, June-July 1984, p.5.
  51. ^ Walter R. Martin, The New Age Cult, Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1989.
  52. ^ Shupe, Six Perspectives on New Religions, p. 71.
  53. ^ John Warwick Montgomery, "Foreword" in Engaging the Closed Mind, Dan Story, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1999, p. 5
  54. ^ Thomas C. Johnsen, "Historical Consensus and Christian Science: The Career of a Manuscript Controversy" New England Quarterly, Volume 53 1980, pp. 3-22.
  55. ^ Walter R. Martin & Norman H. Klann, The Christian Science Myth, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1955.
  56. ^ Walter R. Martin, "Ye Shall Be As Gods" in The Agony of Deceit, ed. Michael Horton, Chicago: Moody Press, 1990, pp. 89-105.
  57. ^ Letter dated December 3, 1981 by R. D. Welty, Office of Private Postsecondary Education, State of California, Department of Education, reproduced in toto in Brown & Brown, They Lie in Wait To Deceive, p. 52
  58. ^ The Maze of Mormonism, Rev Ed, Santa Ana: Vision House, 1978, p. 3. The 1962 edition did not carry this claim.
  59. ^ Brown & Brown, They Lie in Wait To Deceive, p. 71.
  60. ^ Brown & Brown, They Lie in Wait To Deceive, p. 72.
  61. ^ "James McIntyre, Stage Star Dies," New York Times, August 19, 1937, p. 19.
  62. ^ "Casting Stones: Questions About Radio's 'Bible Answer Man' Are Coming From Within," Los Angeles Times, April 15, 2000 and Letter to Editor by Darlene Nesland Martin, "Hanegraaff Wasn't Handpicked," Los Angeles Times, (Orange County Edition), April 30, 2000.
  63. ^ Walter R. Martin, Jill Martin Rische and Kurt van Gorden, The Kingdom of the Occult, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008.

[edit] 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 [2]
  • "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" [3]
  • 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.

[edit] Critical assessments of writings

  • Cowan, Douglas E. 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. Understanding New Religious Movements 2nd edition (Alta Mira Press, Walnut Creek, Lanham, New York & Oxford, 2003). ISBN 0-7591-0356-9
  • Shupe, Anson D. 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

[edit] Bibliography

  • Martin, Walter Ralston, and Norman H. Klann, Jehovah of the Watchtower (Biblical Truth Publishing, Paterson, New Jersey, 1953).This was revised and republished by Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1956; revised again and republished by Moody Press, Chicago, 1974; and final revision published by Bethany House, Minneapolis, 1981. ISBN 0871232677
  • _____________________, and Norman H. Klann, The Christian Science Myth (Biblical Truth Publishing, Paterson, New Jersey, 1954). This was revised and republished by Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1955.
  • Martin, Walter R., The Rise of the Cults (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1955). This text was revised and published by Zondervan, 1957, then revised and published by Vision House in 1977 and 1980; and finally completely revised and reissued under a new title Martin Speaks Out on the Cults (Vision House, Santa Ana, 1983). ISBN 088449103X
  • The Christian and the Cults (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1956).
  • Christian Science. Modern Cult Library Booklet Series. (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1957).
  • Jehovah's Witnesses. Modern Cult Library Booklet Series. (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1957).
  • Mormonism. Modern Cult Library Booklet Series. (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1957).
  • Unity. Modern Cult Library Booklet Series. (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1957).
  • The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1960).
  • "Seventh-day Adventism" in The Challenge of the Cults, Harold Lindsell & Others (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1960), pp. 36-44.
  • Essential Christianity: A Handbook of Basic Christian Doctrines (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1962). This was republished by Vision House, Santa Ana, 1975, and reissed with minor additions by Vision House, 1980. ISBN 0-88449-043-2
  • The Maze of Mormonism (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1962). This was substantially expanded in a new revised edition published by Vision House, Santa Ana, 1978. ISBN 0-88449-017-3
  • The Kingdom of the Cults (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1965). This text was revised and republished by Bethany Fellowship, Minneapolis, 1968. Further revised editions were published by Bethany in 1977 and 1985. Two very different posthumous editions have been published by Bethany, one under the editorship of Hank Hanegraaff, 1997, and then one under the editorship of Ravi Zacharias, 2003. The 2003 edition is approved of by Martin's family. ISBN 0-7642-2821-8
  • (ed). UFO: Friend Foe or Fantasy (Christian Research Institute, Wayne, New Jersey, 1968).
  • Screwtape Writes Again (Vision House, Santa Ana, 1975). ISBN 0-88449-022-X
  • Abortion: Is It Always Murder? (Vision House, Santa Ana, 1977). ISBN 0-88449-066-1
  • The Riddle of Reincarnation (Vision House, Santa Ana, 1977). ISBN 0-88449-065-3
  • (ed). The New Cults (Vision House, Santa Ana, 1980). ISBN 0-88449-016-5
  • (ed). Walter Martin's Cults Reference Bible (Vision House, Santa Ana, 1981). ISBN 0-88449-075-0
  • The New Age Cult (Bethany House, Minneapolis, 1989). ISBN 1-55661-077-7
  • "Ye Shall Be as Gods" in The Agony of Deceit, edited by Michael S. Horton (Moody Press, Chicago, 1990), pp. 89-105. ISBN 0-8024-8776-9
  • and Jill Martin-Rische, Through the Windows of Heaven (Broadman & Holman, Nashville, 1999). ISBN 0-8054-2031-2
  • and Jill Martin Rische & Kurt Van Gorden, The Kingdom of the Occult (Thomas Nelson, Nashville, 2008). ISBN 1418516444
  • Moody, Dwight L. Secret Power, Introduced and edited by Walter R. Martin (Regal Books, Ventura, 1987). ISBN 0830712194
  • Montgomery, John Warwick, Computers, Cultural Change and the Christ (Christian Research Institute, Wayne, New Jersey, 1969).

[edit] Articles

  • "Father Divine ... King of Cultists", Eternity (August 1955), pp. 8-9 and 42-44.
  • "The Layman and the Cults", Eternity (August 1956), pp. 22-23 and 38.
  • "Are Seventh-day Adventists Evangelicals?", Christian Life (October 1956), pp. 58-60.
  • "Seventh-Day Adventism Today", Our Hope, 63/5 (November 1956), pp. 273-284.
  • "The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism: Its Historical Development from Christian Roots", Eternity (October 1956), pp. 6-7 and 38-39.
  • "What Seventh-day Adventists Really Believe", Eternity (November 1956), pp. 20-21, and 38-43.
  • "Adventist Theology vs. Historic Orthodoxy", Eternity (January 1957), pp. 12-13 and 38-40.
  • "Jehovah's Witnesses and the Gospel of Confusion", Eternity (September 1957), pp. 22-23 and 36-37.
  • "The Christian and the Law," Eternity, June 1958, pp. 19 & 36.
  • "More About Karl Barth", Eternity (November 1959), pp. 21-23, 38 and 49.
  • "Reversing his Field" (Book review of Edgar Goodspeed, Matthew Apostle and Evangelist) Eternity, December 1959, p. 40.
  • "What Can We Do about the Terrifying Trend of Alcoholism?", Eternity (August 1960), pp. 18-20, and 33-34.
  • "Cult Study" [Book review of John Gerstner, The Theology of the Major Sects], Christianity Today, 21 November 1960, pp. 38-39.
  • "Seventh-Day Adventism," Christianity Today, 19 December 1960, pp. 13-15.
  • "Grackles and Bluebirds" (Tribute to Donald Grey Barnhouse) Eternity (March 1961), p. 12.
  • "An Answer to the Hippies" [Book review of Lit-Sen Chang, Zen-Existentialism], Christianity Today, 5 December 1969, pp. 17-18.
  • "SENT/EAST: Electronic Answering Search Technology", The Christian Librarian, 14/1 (October 1970), pp. 3-6.
  • "Christian Research Institute", The Christian Librarian, 14/1 (October 1970), pp. 15-18.
  • "Personal Responsibility", The Christian Librarian, 14/2 (December 1970), pp. 10-12.
  • "Cults The Spirits of Error", Christian Life (April 1978), pp. 22-25 and 63-65.
  • "John Todd: The Illuminati", Logos Journal, 9 (March 1979), pp. 67-69.
  • "Charismatics and the Cult of Mary" (Part 1), Forward, 3/1 (Spring 1980), pp. 6-7.
  • "Charismatics and the Cult of Mary" (Part 2), Forward, 3/2 (Fall 1980), pp. 3 & 7.
  • "Meditation as God Intended", Moody Monthly (December 1986), pp. 34-35.
  • "The PTL Scandal and Biblical Repentance," Christian Research Journal, Summer 1987, p. 31.
  • "Satanism on the Rise," Christian Research Newsletter, 2/5 (1989), p.5.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Ralston_Martin"
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