Tag: cult

Book Briefs: “The Bible Answer Man: Walter Martin and Hank Hanegraaff” by Cindee Martin Morgan

~ Bob Hayton ~ Leave a comment

The Bible Answer Man: Walter Martin and Hank Hanegraaff by Cindee Martin MorganAnyone who goes by the title “The Bible Answer Man” must be impervious to criticism. The record shows that controversy did surround both of the men who bore that title over the last fifty plus years. A new book from the daughter of Walter Martin, the original “Bible Answer Man,” gives an insider’s perspective on the life and ministry of both Martin and his successor Hank Hanegraaff — as well as the controversies that enveloped them. The Bible Answer Man: Walter Martin and Hank Hanegraaff: Dr. Martin’s Daughter Reflects on CRI’s Founder, Its History, and Its Current President is self-published but fairly well edited. The content is intriguing and enlightening, part-biography and part-memoir, with some theological rabbit trails and a few controversies addressed head on.

Cindee Martin Morgan’s story is poignant and personal. The book includes family pictures and a look back in time. It also unpacks family heartaches (a girl’s perspective on her parents’ divorce, and a sister’s heartbreak over a legal feud with another family member over the legacy of her father’s work). And more than this, it introduces (or reacquaints) readers to her father and his ministry, as well as to that of Hank Hanegraaff.

Morgan details the beginning of her father’s ministry: Christian Research Institute (CRI) and its move from the east coast to California. She highlights her father’s style and determination to follow the evidence where it may lead (this accounts for his defense of not classifying Seventh Day Adventism as a cult). She also includes interesting behind-the-scenes details, such as Martin’s friendly meal with the Roman Catholic theologian Mitchell Pacwa after a debate they had on the John Ankerberg show. The book includes letters, transcripts of taped shows and lectures, statements by friends and significant leaders, and news-clippings of the time. She marshals this evidence to highlight her father’s gradual rejection of dispensationalism and to detail his stand against Paul Crouch.

Central to the book is Morgan’s defense of her father’s choice to lead his ministry after his death: Hank Hanegraaff. Years after Martin’s death a disgruntled former employee and one of Martin’s family members have alleged that Hanegraaff was not chosen to be groomed as Martin’s eventual replacement. Morgan recounts the story of how first-hand evidence (audio tapes from Martin’s Sunday School class) surfaced to remove any doubts — although sadly not all agree.

Speaking of Hanegraaff, Morgan illustrates how he follow’s Martin’s example in following the evidence no matter the outcome by unpacking his decision to reverse CRI’s assessment of the Local Church movement (Watchman Nee/Witness Lee). Another trait of Hanegraaff’s is his determination to stay busy in ministry during his present fight with cancer. A more troubling decision, however, has impacted the ministry of CRI through lost sponsors and radio stations: namely Hanegraaff’s conversion to the Greek Orthodox Church. Morgan shares her own angst and bewilderment over the news and then takes us on her own journey to understand and appreciate the change. She concludes the book with a lengthy interview she conducted with Hanegraaff.

This book brings to mind the impact that Christian apologetics has had over the last fifty years. That impact owes much to men like Walter Martin. He was not perfect and his methods are not above criticism (accountability to a local church seems missing, and appears to be missing with Hanegraaff as well), but no one can doubt his love for the Lord and his sincerity to follow the Bible. Hanegraaff likewise strikes me as a sincere follower of Christ who is worth listening to, even though I do not condone his embrace of the Greek Orthodox Church. This book can encourage us to follow the examples of these men and study the Scriptures ourselves for answers when it comes to evaluating the cults, the Church and our own doctrine.

Disclaimer: this book was provided by the author for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

You can pick up a copy of this book from Amazon.com.

About Book Briefs: Book Briefs are book notes, or short-form book reviews. They are my informed evaluation of a book, but stop short of being a full-length book review.

Leaving the Village

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

village

It takes a great deal of courage to follow the Lord’s call and leave the only church you’ve ever known. When I shared my story of leaving extreme fundamentalism, I was trying to deal with the trauma in one sense, but I also wanted to find camaraderie and support from others via the internet. I had become aware that I wasn’t the only one experiencing the turmoil of finally seeing the world through different eyes.

Over the years, I’ve had numerous expressions of thanks as people have commented on my blog posts or contacted me via email or Facebook. I’ve also had my share of ill-will directed toward me, as people assume that our dramatic change was a cop-out and an excuse to live it up in the world. In truth, it was the hardest thing my wife and I ever did: we risked alienating ourselves from both sides of our family and ruining the only real friendships we had.

There are now a lot of ex-fundamentalist blogs out there. And there are a host of other “survivor” type blogs as well. Some exaggerate the problems of fundamentalism, others jettison any connection with Christianity at all. The internet is a mixed bag, for sure. But it has helped shed light on the beliefs and practices of any group. Mormons have found the internet and are starting to see the problems in their church’s historical dogmas. And countless others have been rescued from cults as they do their own secret internet research.

Like anything, the internet in the wrong hands can be bad. But the truth is not ashamed of honest inquiry: which is why Christianity has and will only continue to flourish in the internet age.

I say all this by way of introduction as I want to direct your attention to a new blog from a Facebook friend of mine. It is called Leaving the Village and describes his own exodus from a legalistic, controlling faith community. His story is very similar to mine, in some respects. And for those struggling to decide how to proceed in their own faith journey, reading his story may be a blessing. He doesn’t try to trash his former church but is sharing his heart and how it felt to go through the process that lead to his “leaving the village.”

In his message to me he shares his motivation for the blog:

Hey Bob, your blog and story were a huge help to me when I was walking away from ——. Just simply knowing I wasn’t alone was one of the biggest things I needed to see.

I just started a blog to try to tell my story and help young guys in the same way you helped me. I’m trying to get the word out about it, but I’m not linking directly through my own social media yet. I don’t want my former pastor to just dismiss the blog as a hit piece. I’m writing with a bit of anonymity, but not pulling any punches.

Anyways, I was wondering if you might consider reading the first post and possibly sharing it on your blog. No pressure, I just wanted to ask you to consider it.

Regardless of what you do, thanks again for the encouragement you gave me.

Go over and read his first post. Then bookmark his site, as it promises to be good reading.

Here is an excerpt to get you started:

It’s hard to imagine unless you’ve been there. One decision, one moment changing the whole course of your life and the life of your family. Regardless of your story, everyone faces life changing decisions at some point, but the feelings of angst and terror seem to be multiplied when those decisions involve leaving a religious cult.

I know, the word cult is a loaded term. It’s also pretty polarizing. Those within the cult never see it as a cult. If they did, they would leave. But those outside it look back in and, at least in my case, ask questions like, “How did I stay duped for so long?” or “Why do people stay?” Calling something a cult has far less to do with its message and far more to do with its methods. But again, that’s a subjective definition that someone inside a cult is bound to disagree with….

My goal is not… to correct misguided beliefs or point out the flaws of others. We all hold presuppositions, more than we care to admit, and attempts at correcting your presuppositions will only go as far as you allow them.

Instead, I want to share my story–a story of angst, a story of searching for truth, a story of a guy looking for a God who was there all along, guiding each step of the journey. I know my audience is small. Not too many people grew up in “a village.” But if you’re one that did and you’re reading this, then know this, you are not alone. Rather than try to convince you of one position against another, I simply want to meet you in the journey and share in the feelings and longings that can be down right terrifying.

My prayer is that you know the road you walk is not one walked alone. Leaving the village and embracing the mystery of a life of faith in Jesus was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Audio Interview: Leaving the Extremes of Fundamentalism

~ Bob Hayton

duddingI wanted to call your attention to a 3 part audio interview of Will Dudding (pictured to the right). The interview centers on his story of leaving the extremes of Fundamentalism. Kevin Thompson is interviewing Will on his new podcast, Gospel Points.

Will Dudding is the pastor of Mission Peak Baptist Church in Fremont, CA. He also blogs at Reforming Baptist. Part one is available (click here) and sets the stage. Will’s personal story is going to be the focus of part two which should went live today. Stay tuned to Kevin’s blog on Friday for the third part of this interview.

If you can’t wait for the rest of Will’s interview, you can listen to my interview (also done by Kevin Thompson on his “Understanding Our Times” podcast) on the subject “Fundamentalism and Reformed Theology.” Links to that interview and a few others are available on my media page.

What Makes a Church a Cult?

~ Bob Hayton ~ 12 Comments

I was reading through a detailed article in Chicago Magazine (starts on pt. 78) on Jack Schaap’s fall and the history and legacy of First Baptist Church of Hammond, IN (HT: Sharper Iron Filings; more on Schaap here), and I came across an excellent description of what makes a church a cult. I added the numbers to the quote below to list out the four marks of a cult that were mentioned.

What makes a church a cult? I asked Rick Ross, whose nonprofit institute maintains an online archive of data on cults and controversial movements. (He says he is not familiar with the details of First Baptist.) Ross points to a landmark 1981 Harvard study on cult formation, which suggests that all cults, destructive or not, share three elements: [1] an absolute authoritarian leader who defines the group; [2] a “thought program” that includes “control of the environment, control of information, and people subordinating themselves and their feelings to the demands of the leader”; and [3] a lack of accountability for the head of the group. Another common characteristic of cults, Ross says, is that [4] they use shame and some sort of exploitation–financial, spiritual, or sexual–to exercise control. Members of a Bible-based group for example are made to believe that “it’s a sin of pride for you to think for yourself,” he says. “It’s your ego or a demon or Satan’s influence that causes you to doubt the edicts of the leadership.” [bold emphasis added]

Most people I know who have come out of a strict fundamentalist background refere to their former church as cultic. The points above seem to validate this concern. The group I was connected with would qualify as cultic according to this definition.

I shared this quote at Sharper Iron, where they are discussing this article as a whole. I wanted to share it here too, for my audience. What do you think? Are we off base to point to a fundamentalist church and say it is cultic?