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Matt Slick, whose full name is Matthew J. Slick, is the creator and webmaster of the popular Christian website CARM, or "Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry." Slick is a Christian apologist and a leader in the counter-cult movement. He considers it his mission to "answer opposition to the Christian faith," which in his view includes all non-Christian worldviews and non-Protestant denominations of Christianity, including Catholicism and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Matt Slick describes his upbringing as "nominally Christian," and asserts he was "mixed up in the occult" during that period. Slick graduated from Concordia University in Irvine, California with a Bachelors in Social Science in 1987 and from Westminster Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity in 1991, at approximately age 35. Slick's interest in apologetics and cults began after he was "outraged" by a quote from Joseph Smith. Slick has written a short autobiography on CARM. Slick is married with children, and has lived in Boise, Idaho since August 2004. [1]

[edit] Religous Views

Slick is an Evangelical Protestant Christian. More specifically, Slick describes himself as "a five point Calvinist, amillennial, post-trib rapture, peudobaptistic (not for salvation), non-cessationist, and covenantal." A great deal of information on Slick's beliefs can be found on his website.

[edit] Works

[edit] Books and Writings

Slick has written a book entitled "Right Answers for Wrong Beliefs," ISBN 1852402792 (2002 Sovereign World) as well as a 1,125 page notebook that contains much of the information from his website. He has also publishes the entire content of the CARM website on CD.

[edit] Webpages

Matt Slick is the founder and president of CARM and the Calvinist Corner. He is also an administrator on the discussion forums at CARM. He created CARM to be a resource for information on groups he considers to be cults and on other issues relating to Christianity. The Calvinist Corner gives information relating to Calvinism and his personal beliefs.

[edit] Controversy

Critics of Matt Slick commonly hold worldviews other than conservative Protestant Christianity. Their most common complaints center around what they consider his misuse of moderation to quash opposing viewpoints and his intentional misrepresentation of opposing viewpoints [2], his questionable tactics in debates, his general conduct when talking to those who do not share his beliefs [3], and the effectiveness of his methods in spreading the Gospel. Slick has had several long-standing disputes with these critics that have spilled off CARM's forums, spawning several related websites. The two most significant have been created by Universalist Christians and atheists.

Supporters of Slick praise his willingness to discuss a wide assortment of issues with both Christians and secularists. Supporters also assert that Slick's track record at CARM's forums speaks for itself, and cite the fact that CARM is one of the most active Christian discussion communities on the Internet and that its core user group is comprised of people of widely varied worldviews. [4]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry. CARM convention 2004. Retrieved on June 12, 2005.
  2. Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry. In defense of myself. Retrieved on June 12, 2005.
  3. Tent Maker. CARM, C.A.R.M., Christian Apology & Research Ministry and Matt Slick, aka, The Cult of CARM. Retrieved on June 12, 2005.
  4. Bede's Library. Links to Christian sites. Retrieved on June 13, 2005.

[edit] External links