Critic of Televangelists Under Fire at Home

<p>Orange County’s “Bible Answer Man,” whose radio show on 125 stations nationwide has long been a thorn in the side of television evangelists, is facing a new battle--criticism from within his nonprofit organization.

Relatives of the late Walter Martin, founder of the Christian Research Institute, based in Rancho Santa Margarita, contend that Hank Hanegraaff has departed from the organization’s mission of debunking unusual religious claims. And they are demanding his resignation.

Hanegraaff, 50, was the handpicked successor to Martin, who retired in 1979. But in recent years, the Martin family has been troubled by Hanegraaff’s leadership.

After a public rift with Hanegraaff in 1996, Darlene Martin, the widow of Walter Martin, resigned from the institute’s board. Last October, the family sent Hanegraaff a letter detailing objections to his leadership.

Hanegraaff, however, says CRI’s mission has not changed since he took over in 1979. “The basic concept has always been to equip people with the truth so when a counterfeit looms on the horizon they know how to recognize it,” he said.