CRI and John Ankerberg's Endorsement of Hank Hanegraaff

Over the last year CRI has been claiming that since

John Ankerberg announced that Hank Hanegraaff

was to be the hand-picked successor of Walter Martin

at Dr. Martin’s funeral (June 29, 1989) that somehow Ankerberg

must have gotten the information from Martin himself

(this is at least CRI’s inference).

The truth is that Hanegraaff called a board meeting, the morning of the funeral (See my book for details). The information, that the board had voted 2 to 1 to make Hanegraaff the new president, was relayed to Ankerberg. There is absolutely no evidence that Dr. Martin ever told John Ankerberg that Hank Hanegraaff was to be his replacement. 

It should be noted that John Ankerberg  never had Hanegraaff on his apologetics program, “The John Ankerberg Show”. If  Ankerberg was truly convinced, all these years, that Hanegraaff was truly the choice of  the founder of CRI he would have called upon Hanegraaff repeatedly to shower the audience with his vast knowledge of cults, the occult and apologetics. Dr. Martin had been asked by Ankerberg, repeatedly, to be on his apologetics program over the years. However,  Hanegraaff was never asked to be a regular contributor on that show.  Why didn’t, “The John Ankerberg Show” see fit to showcase the protege of Walter Martin? Perhaps you should contact John Ankerberg’s ministry directly for the answer to that.

And how did this marvel of apologetics repay Ankerberg’s kindness in cementing Hanegraaff’s new position at CRI on June 29, 1989?  He aids the cult known as the Local Church in suing Ankerberg’s publisher, Harvest House in 2005 for $136,000,000, by filing a friend of the court brief against the publisher who had just published Ankerberg’s book on cults. 

Remind me to never do a favor for Hank Hanegraaff. With friends like that who needs enemies.