Jehovah's Witnesses, what do you think of Walter Martin?

Question

With all of the references to the Watchtower, you would think that fair and balanced reading would include "The Kingdom of the Cults" by Walter Martin. Can you respond to his book without hate filled rhetoric?

From http://www.waltermartin.com/cults.html#psych

As Pavlov’s dog salivated at the sound of a bell that represented food, so a true Jehovah’s Witness will spiritually and emotionally salivate whenever the Watchtower rings the conditioning bell of Russellite theology.

This is already evident in the thumbs up and thumbs downs according to the support or criticism of JWs...

Answer 1

I am somewhat saddened that you think that we would get all offended and mad that you would ask us a fair question. Jesus (our model) would never get mad at someone who asked a question, so why should we? Anyway, I have never heard of Walter Martin actually. But also, JW's are not a cult. Make sure you understand that because that is one very common perception of JW's. So since we are not a cult, why we would want to read about why this 'Walter Martin' that thinks we are one? For further info on JW's, go to www.watchtower.org or contact you local congregation for more info, or even a free home bible study. I hope I changed your veiw of us somewhat.

Answer 2

Walter Martin is no different from any other misguided person whose ideas and opinions have been warped by prejudice. If some religion did not agree with his religious biases, it was considered a cult. It's too bad that so many people view his thought as truth instead of examining the Bible on their own.

One of Mr. Martin's bones of contentions as far as Jehovah's Witnesses is concerned is on the subject of the trinity. To him, if you did not believe in the trinity, you were part of a cult. To this day, I can't find that definition in the dictionary.

The truth is, the Bible does not teach a trinity. The reason is simple: It is not a Bible teaching. Had God been a Trinity, he would surely have made it clear so that Jesus and his disciples could have taught it to others. And that vital information would have been included in God’s inspired Word. It would not have been left to imperfect men to struggle with centuries later.

Mr. Martin chose to ignore what Catholic and Protestant research sources said about the trinity. For instance:

The Illustrated Bible Dictionary records: "The word Trinity is not found in the Bible. . . It did not find a place formally in the theology of the church till the 4th century."

The New Catholic Encyclopedia admits that the Trinity "is not. . . directly and immediately the word of God."

The Encyclopedia of Religion And Ethics records: At first the Christian Faith was not Trinitarian. . . It was not so in the apostolic and sub-apostolic ages, as reflected in the New Testament and other early Christian writings."

L. L. Paine, professor of Ecclesiastical History acknowledged: "The Old Testament is strictly monotheistic. God is a single personal being. The idea that a trinity is to be found there . . . is utterly without foundation."

The Encyclopedia of Religion admits: "Theologians today are in agreement that the Hebrew Bible does not contain a doctrine of the Trinity."

The New Catholic Encyclopedia also admits: "The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught in the Old Testament."

Jesuit Edmund Fortman wrote in his book, The Triune God: ". . . There is no evidence that any sacred writer even suspected the existence of a Trinity within the Godhead. . . Even to see in the Old Testament suggestions or foreshadowings or 'veiled signs' of the trinity of persons, is to go beyond the words and intent of the sacred writers."

The Encyclopedia of Religion says: "Theologians agree that the New Testament also does not contain an explicit doctrine of the Trinity."

The New Encyclopedia Britannica reports: "Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament."

The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology confirms: "The New Testament does not contain the developed doctrine of the Trinity."

Jesuit Fortman similarly states: "The New Testament writers. . . give us no formal or formulated doctrine of the Trinity, no explicit teaching that in one God there are three co-equal divine persons. . . Nowhere do we find any trinitarian doctrine of three distinct subjects of divine life and activity in the same Godhead."

Yale University professor E. Washburn Hopkins affirms in the Origin and Evolution of Religion: "To Jesus and Paul the doctrine of the trinity was apparently unknown; . . .they say nothing about it."

Historian Arthur Weigall records in The Paganism in Our Christianity: "Jesus Christ never mentioned such a phenomenon, and nowhere in the New Testament does the word 'Trinity' appear. The idea was only adopted by the Church three hundred years after the death of our Lord."

Answer 3

The link below sheds some light on the accuracy and honesty of some of the things Walter Martin claimed.

It should be noted that this is from a source TOTALLY unrelated to Jehovah's Witnesses.

Answer 4

never heard of him
I do not follow a cult.
No man tells me what to do or who to believe.
I am free to choose.
I did my own research in 1970 and have been inquisitive ever since. My dad was a vice cop and taught me to be skeptical.
I have proven to myself that this is the truth of God's word.
I have compared many different translations. The new world translation makes sense to me.
I am so offended and I am sure God is also that you call him a cult. Jehovah God is the Almighty...he sent his only begotten son to our rescue....to die to buy back the sin of Adam.
We worship God with our whole heart mind and strength...and not man.
We were taught how to worship by Jesus Christ..so we follow his instructions in the scriptures.

The trouble all of you find with Jehovah's Witnesses is: You cannot stop us from worship
cannot stop our ranks from growing
cannot understand why we don't keep running with you in your debased way of life

you condone homosexuality
you condone killing fields in Iraq
you condone praying to idols
you condone taking of blood which God says to pour out..it is his.
you condone big business that is corrupt
you condone cheating on taxes
you condone extramarital sex saying hate the sin but love the sinner...God says the sinner is worthy of death.

We cannot be broken
WE ARE FROM GOD

Answer 5

never heard of the man, I sure would never read a book that talks bad about a religion that he knows nothing about and slanders. we are not a cult. a cult would be charles manson, jim jones or waco texas. we live in our own homes and work. we worship Jehovah God. learn what witness are about at www.watchtower.org

Answer 6

I'm not a JW but can I answer?

Martin thinks anyone who does not have his understanding is in a cult. By that definition according to his own doctrine since his views do not correspond with mine then Martin is in a cult because he doesn't believe just like me.

Everyone has to fit his cookie cutter mold or they are cultist. This is every ones heartburn with him.

Answer 7

After reading the material found at the site provided by Abdijah (http://www.lightplanet.com/response/martin.htm),
I don't think very highly of him. I don't see any reason to read something from this man.

Answer 8

I'm not a JW but I think the late Dr. Walter Martin was one great man. He really did his homework and The Kingdom Of The Cults should be in every Christian's home! It truly is an excellent work. You probably won't get an answer from a JW because they are trained to avoid confrontation. They are trained to simply state their case and leave...and they do a good job of that.

I'm glad you asked this question. I'll be watching to see if you get any JW responders.

Answer 9

What book?

Answer 10

I love his book.

Pastor Art