Walter Martin

Walter Martin

3 Sermons
Walter Ralston Martin (September 10, 1928 – June 26, 1989) was an American preacher, apologist, and author widely regarded as the “father of the modern Christian counter-cult movement.” Born in Brooklyn, New York, to an attorney father with a photographic memory—a trait Martin inherited—he grew up in a devout Baptist home. After briefly attending Adelphi Academy, he left formal education to pursue ministry, later earning a B.A. from Shelton College (1951), an M.A. in philosophy from New York University (1956), and a Ph.D. in comparative religion from California Western University (1976), though the latter’s accreditation was questioned. Ordained as a Baptist minister in 1951, he pastored churches in New York and New Jersey before focusing on apologetics. Martin’s career pivoted in 1955 when he joined Evangelical Press to research cults, leading to his seminal work, The Rise of the Cults (1955), and his magnum opus, The Kingdom of the Cults (1965), which sold over 1 million copies and defined his legacy. From 1960 to 1974, he served as Director of Apologetics at Zondervan Publishing, then founded the Christian Research Institute (CRI) in 1960, hosting the Bible Answer Man radio show—syndicated on 250 stations by his death. Known for his rapid-fire delivery and encyclopedic recall, he debated cult leaders like Herbert W. Armstrong and engaged audiences on topics from Jehovah’s Witnesses to the occult.
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