Christian Research Journal

The Christian Research Institute (CRI) is an evangelical Christian apologetics ministry. It was established in October 1960 in the state of New Jersey by Walter Martin (1928–1989). In 1974 Martin relocated the ministry to San Juan Capistrano, California. The ministry's office was relocated in the 1990s near Rancho Santa Margarita. In 2005 the organization moved to its present location in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The establishment of CRI in 1960 is closely linked to Walter Martin. It represents one of the pioneering organizations in what is called the Christian countercult movement, but also relates to the wider history of Evangelical Christian apologetics in the mid-Twentieth century.

Martin is considered one of the first full-time career apologists to have specialized in Christian countercult apologetics. In 1949 Martin began his forays into the theological analysis of various groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, Mormonism and Spiritualism. Much of this early work coincided with his tertiary studies at Shelton College and New York University during the 1950s.

In 1953 Martin became acquainted with the Presbyterian radio Bible teacher Donald Grey Barnhouse. Barnhouse was the founding editor (1950) of the monthly periodical Eternity magazine. Stephen Board, in his study of the history of evangelical periodicals, has observed that during its first decade of publishing Eternity was built around Barnhouse's personality and his own particular causes.

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