Author, Walter Martin lied about being a doctor with a degree and lied about being a descendant of Brigham Young. Suffice it to say that his work (which he also got quite rich promoting) does not deal honestly with my faith.
From wiki
Robert and Rosemary Brown, who noted that his "doctorate" was granted by a California diploma mill. They compiled a multi-volume work "They Lie In Wait To Deceive", of which the third volume involved a critical attack on Martin's credentials and his claims about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Since his death Martin's daughter, Jill Martin Rische, has sought to answer some of these allegations via the website she co-administers, Walter Martin's Religious Information Network, but Martin himself was reluctant to address the issues himself. She has documented her father's ministerial status as a recognized pastor within the Directory of the Californian Southern Baptist Convention, but the academic validity of his doctorate remains a point of debate between his supporters and detractors.
A large part of this controversy stems from his use of the title "Doctor" at least as far back as his mother's death in 1966, which was long before the founding of the correspondence school which he claimed had awarded the doctorate. California Coast University was founded in 1973 under the name "California Western University", but lost a name-infringement suit in 1981. The school was identified as a diploma mill in official GAO Special Investigations Report (# GAO-04-1096T) which stated that the school provided degrees upon payment of a flat fee. It has since become accredited to award undergraduate degrees, and offers no theological degrees whatsoever. At the time Martin claims to have been enrolled, institutional officials admit that "[it] is entirely possible that this school offered a degree in Comparative Religion in '76; however, we have no record of this" (Welty 1981, in Brown and Brown 1986:52). The school now doesn't answer questions about Martin and will not provide access to any existing records of his enrollment, theses or dissertation.
Other refuted claims included his supposedly having been a descendant of Brigham Young, and having inherited Young's "secret library," from which Martin supposedly gleaned the "truth about Mormonism." Martin claimed on the fly-leaf of The Maze of Mormonism that he was a descendant of Brigham Young on his mother's side ([1962] 1978:3), and that this fact had been confirmed for him by a Mormon genealogist. Robert Brown confronted Martin on radio talk show with evidence that indicated "it's an impossibility for him to be a descendant of Brigham Young" (Brown and Brown 1984:82). Challenged by Martin to make a statement to that effect which might be tested legally, Brown declined to do so on the air.
Dr. Walter Martin’s “doctorate” was granted by a California diploma mill.
***That’s the first I’ve heard of it, thanks. Every bit of real information helps.
I suppose I’m glad that I didn’t find my copy of his book after all.