Walter Ralston Martin (September 10, 1928 – June 26, 1989) was an American Baptist Christian minister and author who founded the Christian Research Institute in 1960 as a parachurch ministry specializing as a clearing-house of information in both general Christian apologetics and in countercult apologetics.Contemporary Authors Volume 129, Detroit: Gale Research, 1990, p. 287.Douglas Groothuis, "Walter R. Martin" in Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, ed. A. Scott Moreau, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000, p.601. As the author of the influential The Kingdom of the Cults (1965), he has been dubbed by the conservative Christian columnist Michael J. McManus, the "godfather of the anti-cult movement".Michael J. McManus, "Eulogy for the godfather of the anti-cult movement", The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, VA, 1989-8-26.
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."G.W.Martin Dies; Ex-County Judge" New York Times, 23 November 1948, p. 30.
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 blackface 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")."James McIntyre, Stage Star, Dies," New York Times, 19 August 1937, p. 19.
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.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. In the mid-1940s he attended The Stony Brook School where he obtained his high school diploma."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. Robert L. Brown & Rosemary Brown, They Lie in Wait To Deceive, Volume 3, Mesa, Arizona: Brownsworth Publishing, 1986, pp. 5-6.
Continuing education Dr. Martin held four earned degrees including a Master of Arts in Philosophy from New York University, where he was a student alongside television evangelist 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 Coast University, which was approved (not accredited) by the state of California at the time the degree was awarded.California Education Code, Section 94310(b)
Early career Martin's career as an apologist began at the age of fifteen after being baptized in Hegemen Chapel at The Stony Brook School (Stony Brook, NY). Martin has indicated in various book dedications and in audio recorded lectures how he was mentored by Frank Gaebelein (Headmaster, The Stony Brook School),Martin, Essential Christianity, p. 12 Wilbur M. Smith (1894–1976) – author of the apologetic text Therefore Stand – and the Presbyterian Bible teacher Donald Grey Barnhouse (1895–1960).Walter R. Martin "Dedication" in Walter Martin's Cults Reference Bible, Santa Ana: Vision House, 1981.Walter R. Martin, The Rise of the Cults, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1955, p. 8. Jill Martin Rische, Walter Martin Ministries, www.waltermartin.com
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 movement.Margaret N. Barnhouse, That Man Barnhouse, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1983, p. 223. He also worked for a time as a research associate for the National Association of Evangelicals."Dr.Walter R. Martin" The Christian Librarian, Volume 13, Number 4, April 1970, p. 3.
Martin was ordained as a minister of the Regular Baptists in 1951, but this was revoked in 1953 because of 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 denomination.Martin Rische, Questions on Walter Martin's Ordination, www.waltermartin.com 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 CenterRobert Quebedeaux, The Worldly Evangelicals, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978, p. 66.Anson Shupe, Six Perspectives on New Religions, Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1981, p. 71. 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 Church was regarded by Evangelical Christians and mainstream Protestants as either an extreme sect or heretical cult.Malcolm Bull & Keith Lockhart, Seeking A Sanctuary: Seventh-day Adventism and the American Dream, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989, pp. 28-29. 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.Martin, The Rise of the Cults, p.15.
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 and 1956 a series of small conferences were held, with Barnhouse and Martin meeting Adventist leaders like T. E. Unruh and LeRoy Froom.T. E. Unruh, "The Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences of 1955-1956," Adventist Heritage, Volume 4, Number 2, Winter 1977, pp.35-46."Peace with the Adventists," Time Magazine, 31 December 1956, pp. 40-41.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. Barnhouse and Martin then published some of their findings in a series of articles that appeared in Eternity between September and November 1956.Donald Grey Barnhouse, "Are Seventh-day Adventists Christians? A New Look at Seventh-Day Adventism" Eternity, September 1956, pp. 6-7 & 43-45.Walter R. Martin, "The Truth About Seventh-Day Adventism: Its Historical Development from Christian Roots," Eternity, October 1956, pp. 6-7 & 38-39.Walter R. Martin, "The Truth About Seventh-Day Adventism: What Seventh-Day Adventists Really Believe," Eternity, November 1956, pp. 20-21 & 38-43."Are Seventh-day Adventists Evangelicals?" Christian Life, October 1956, pp. 58-60. 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.Walter R. Martin, The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1960. 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.The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism, pp. 7-8 and 15. 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."The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism, p.15. A committee of Adventist leaders themselves wrote and published a companion book, Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine, 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.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.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s Evangelical opinions were divided over the Martin-Barnhouse stance on the Adventists. Some, like E. Schuyler English,E. Schuyler English, "To Rectify a Wrong" Our Hope, Volume 52, Number 8, February 1956, pp. 457-459. supported Martin, some such as John Gerstner urged a sober and fair hearing,John H. Gerstner, The Theology of the Major Sects, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1960, p. 19. while others, such as Louis Talbot,Louis Talbot, "Why Seventh-day Adventism Is Not Evangelical", The King's Business, April 1957, pp. 23-30. J. K. van Baalen,J. K. van Baalen, The Chaos of Cults, rev. ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962, pp. 228-256. Harold LindsellHarold Lindsell, "What of Seventh-day Adventism?" Part 1, Christianity Today, 31 March 1958 pp. 6-8.Harold Lindsell, "What of Seventh-day Adventism?" Part 2, Christianity Today, 14 April 1958, pp. 13-15. and Anthony Hoekema,Anthony A. Hoekema, The Four Major Cults, Exeter: Paternoster, 1969, pp. 388-403. 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.Walter R. Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1965, pp. 359-422. 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.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.
Early writings