Walter Ralston Martin - Controversies

Controversies

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. 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.

False Claims of Doctorate

Early texts of Martin's falsely carried the title of "Dr." Walter Martin, using the unaccredited degree obtained from California Western University to bolster his claims (see earlier section). Many editions of his texts, including "The Maze Of Mormonism" and "Jehovah's Witnesses At Your Door" were published with his name presented as "Dr." Walter Martin. Later editions have since seen the erroneous title removed.

False Claims of lineage to Brigham Young

In lectures, Martin occasionally claimed to be a descendant of Brigham Young. This apparently was done in an attempt to gain credibility with his audiences, many of whom were skeptical of Mormonism. In "The Maze Of Mormonism", Martin dedicates the book "to the memory of my mother, Maud Ainsworth Martin, descendant of Brigham Young...". This lineage has been proven to be false, and Martin himself eventually abandoned such claims.