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Hendrik "Hank" Hanegraaff is an American author, radio talk-show host and advocate of evangelical Christianity. He is an outspoken figure within the Christian countercult movement where he has established a reputation for his criticisms of non-Christian religions, new religious movements or cults and perceived heresies within conservative Christianity. He is also an apologist on doctrinal and cultural issues.

He was born in the Netherlands and raised in the United States since childhood. He is married with nine children.

Career

Prior to Hanegraaff becoming a leading figure in the Christian countercult movement, he was closely affiliated with the ministry of D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Presbyterian church in Florida. During his association with Kennedy in the 1980s, Hanegraaff applied memory-based techniques (such as acrostic mnemonics) to summarise strategies, methods and techniques in Christian evangelism. His work bears resemblances to memory dynamics techniques developed in speed-reading courses and in memory training programs used in some executive business courses.

During the late 1980s Hanegraaff became associated with Walter Martin (1928-1989) at the Christian Research Institute (CRI). CRI, the conservative Protestant countercult and apologetic ministry which Martin founded in 1960.

After Martin's death from heart failure in June 1989, Hanegraaff became president of CRI. As part of his role as ministry president, Hanegraaff assumed the role from Martin of anchorman on the radio program The Bible Answer Man. Hanegraaff also became a conference speaker and itinerant preacher in churches, pursuing the general ministry charter of CRI.

Hanegraaff & the Word-Faith movement

In the early 1990s Hanegraaff came to international notoriety for his strong criticisms of the Word-Faith teachings of Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn and other prominent Pentecostal and charismatic televangelists. In his 1993 book Christianity in Crisis, Hanegraaff charged the Word-Faith movement with heretical teachings, saying that many of the Word-Faith groups were "cults", and that those who "knowingly" accepted the movement's theology were "clearly embracing a different gospel, which is in reality no gospel at all."Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity in Crisis, (Eugene: Harvest House, 1993)

In the best-selling book, Hanegraaff addressed five areas of doctrine under the following headings:

  • Faith in Faith - a critique of Faith teaching on faith as a "force"
  • Little Gods or Little Frauds? - the charge that the Faith movement teaches promotes man (and Satan) to godhood and demotes Christ
  • Atonement Atrocities - a critique of the supposed teaching that Christ became "satanic" on the cross was "born again" in Hell
  • Wealth and Want - a critique of the movement's teachings on prosperity
  • Sickness and Suffering - a critique of the movement's teachings on healing

He also made much of the Faith teachers' alleged tendencies to rely on visions and other experiential phenomena rather than Scripture alone.

Hanegraaff & the 'Counterfeit Revival'

Hanegraaff revisited some of the same issues in his 1997 book Counterfeit Revival, in he rejected the claims of many Pentecostalism and charismatic teachers such as Rodney Howard Browne concerning what became known as the Toronto Blessing. The Toronto Blessing was associated with the Vineyard church located at Toronto airport, and was characterized by spontaneous and sustained outbursts of bodily phenomena such as laughing, crying, animal noises, and dancing. The proponents of this blessing believed this was a special time of refreshing bestowed on churches by the Holy Spirit. A different set of phenomena and claims subsequently emanated from churches in Brownsville, Pensacola, Florida, and became known as the Brownsville Revival.

Hanegraaff accused the leaders of the movement of using hypnosis and manipulation.

Despite its warm reception by evangelicals, the book (as well as Christianity in Crisis) was harshly criticized by Pentecostal and Charismatic leaders such as Don Williams,Don Williams, Revival: The Real Thing, (Self-published, 1995, subtitled: A Response to Hank Hanegraaff's 'Counterfeit Revival'... An attack on the ministry of Rodney Howard-Browne and the worldwide impact of the 'Toronto Blessing' of the Airport Vineyard) William DeArteagaWilliam DeArteaga, Quenching the Spirit: Discover the Real Spirit Behind the Charismatic Controversy, 2nd edition, (Creation House, 1996) and Michael L. Brown.Michael L. Brown, Let No One Deceive You: Confronting the Critics of Revival (Revival Press, 1997)

Hanegraaff & the Worldwide Church of God

Throughout the 1990s, Hanegraaff engaged in dialogue with Joseph W. Tkach, Joseph Tkach, Jr. and Greg Albrecht, leaders of the heterodox group the Worldwide Church of God. The WCG was founded in the 1930s by Herbert W. Armstrong, and had long been regarded as a "cult" by evangelicals. Following Armstrong's death in 1986, the group reevaluated many of its teachings, including the British Israel doctrine and various eschatological predictions.

Hanegraaff was one of a handful of evangelical apologists (along with, e.g., Ruth Tucker) who assisted in the reforms. The biggest changes, and certainly those most necessary to ensure their acceptance among evangelicals, were in accepting the doctrine of the Trinity and Salvation by Grace through Faith.

The story is told in the 1997 book Transformed by Truth by Joseph Tkach, with a foreword by Hanegraaff.

Other apologetic works

Hanegraaff has also defended the historicity of the Resurrection of Christ in print and on radio, and has been outspoken against the theory of Evolution, in favour of creationism.

Hanegraaff is noted for his belief that Biblical inerrancy can be proven on a rational basis. He has also followed his predecessor, Walter Martin, in opposing what he describes as "pseudo-Christian" cults, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mormons. In recent times he has co-authored two novels with Sigmund Brouwer.

Controversies

Hanegraaff has been a figure of controversy since he assumed the presidency of CRI. A significant number of staff who worked under Martin have quit CRI for a variety of reasons. In the early 1990s about 30 former staff formed a lobby-support network known as the Group for CRI Accountability, which tried to meet with Hanegraaff in the spirit of Matthew 18. Hanegraaff refused to meet, instead allowing his lawyer to send threatening letters to the group. Those involved in this network leveled a number of claims against Hanegraaff's administration of CRI, alleging misuse of funds and plagiarism in his books.

In the mid 1990s a wrongful dismissal law suit by an ex-CRI staff worker was settled out of court. More recently the Evangelical periodical Christianity Today has carried news items concerning allegations about CRI's financial management, and of a looming law suit against a Christian critic of the ministry. At least one accountant at CRI attempted to confront Hanegraaff, alleging repeated wrongful use of ministry funds for personal use. Hanegraaff again refused to meet with his accusers, but terminated the accountant. The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability temporarily removed CRI from their approved list, but later, after CRI promised to clean up their act, reinstated CRI without public comment.

Martin's widow, Darlene Nesland Martin, and eldest daughter Jill Martin-Rische have made public calls for Hanegraaff's removal from CRI. Martin's daughter and son-in-law run a ministry that perpetuates Martin's ministry known as Walter Martin's Religious Information Network. The public nature of this dispute between Hanegraaff and Martin's family was reported in April 2000 in the Los Angeles Times (see the "Other Relevant Sources" section), and is evidenced by the fact that in 1997 Hanegraaff was general editor of a posthumous edition of Martin's book, The Kingdom of the Cults. However, in 2003 an entirely different edition of the book was released that had Ravi Zacharias as general editor with editorial supervision from Jill Martin-Rische.

Hanegraaff has many detractors who cite the unauthorized takeover of the presidency of CRI and a decided change in the direction of the ministry. Others challenge his ethics of citing old quotes out of context to brand other ministers as heretical, even when the quotes have since been retracted and the ministers have changed their views.

Hanegraaff today

Hank Hanegraaff is still President of the Christian Research Institute which was located in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. But in mid 2005 Hank and his family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. The reason given for the move was lower operating costs.

Books by Hank Hanegraaff

  • Christianity in Crisis (Eugene: Harvest House, 1993).
  • Counterfeit Revival (Dallas: Word, 1997).
  • The FACE That Demonstrates the Farce of Evolution (Nashville: Word, 1998).
  • (General editor), The Kingdom of the Cults (Minneapolis: Bethany, 1997).
  • Millennium Bug Debugged (Minneapolis: Bethany, 1998).
  • Resurrection (Nashville: Word, 2000).
  • The Prayer of Jesus (Nashville: Word, 2001).
  • Fatal Flaws (Nashville: Word, 2003).
  • Bible Answer Book (Nashville: J. Countryman, 2004).
  • (with Sigmund Brouwer) The Last Disciple (A Novel), (Wheaton: Tyndale House, 2004).
  • (with Sigmund Brouwer) Last Sacrifice (A Novel), (Wheaton: Tyndale House, 2005).

References

Other Relevant Sources

  • "Apologetics Ministry Resolves Wrongful Termination Suit," Christianity Today, September 11, 1995, p. 88.
  • Marshall Allen, "Christian Research Institute accused of naive bookkeeping" Christianity Today, July 14 2003 p 19.*
  • Stan Guthrie, "Christian Research Institute sues Longtime Critic," Christianity Today April 11 2005.*
  • "Casting Stones: Questions About Radio's 'Bible Answer Man' Are Coming From Within," Los Angeles Times, April 15, 2000.
  • Letter to Editor by Darlene Nesland Martin, "Hanegraaff Wasn't Handpicked," Los Angeles Times, (Orange County Edition), April 30, 2000.
  • Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1965; revised in several editions published by Bethany House in 1967, 1977, 1985, 1997 and 2003).
  • J. Gordon Melton, "The counter-cult monitoring movement in historical perspective," in Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker, edited by James A. Beckford & James T. Richardson, (Routledge, London, 2003), pp. 102-113.
  • Larry Nichols and George Mather, Discovering the Plain Truth: How the Worldwide Church of God Encountered the Gospel of Grace (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998).
  • Joseph Tkach, Transformed By Truth (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah, 1997).

External links

See also

Christian evangelicalism | Christian leaders | Christian ministers | Christian writers | Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity | Religious scandals | Creationists

Hank Hanegraaff

 

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