Robert Passantino (11 August 1951 – 17 November 2003), was an American author and journalist who wrote on subjects related to

Christian apologetics Christian apologetics ( grc, ἀπολογία, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, and the

Christian countercult movement The Christian countercult movement or the Christian anti-cult movement is a social movement among certain Protestant evangelical and fundamentalist and other Christian ministries ("discernment ministries") and individual activists who oppose r ...

Career

Passantino lived and worked for most of his adult life in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

, and received instruction in Christian teaching and practiced as a professing member of the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...

. He emerged as an

apologist Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

for faith in

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Christianity during the 1970s. He and his soon-to-be wife, Gretchen, had already begun to collaborate in a ministry of Christian

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

toward adherents of the

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

when they became acquainted with the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

pastor and countercult writer Walter Martin. Martin was the founder of the apologetics ministry

Christian Research Institute 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, ...

. In 1974 Martin relocated the Institute from New Jersey to Southern California where he re-established his ministry in association with the Melodyland School of Theology. Martin officiated as the minister at the marriage ceremony of the Passantinos. The Passantinos assisted Martin in the ministry of the Christian Research Institute for approximately five years from 1974 to 1979. In that context Martin privately taught them the rudiments of the discipline of apologetics and of investigative reporting in countercult ministry. During the 1970s and 1980s Gretchen served as an editorial assistant in preparing revised editions of some of Martin's books such as ''The Rise of the Cults'', ''

The Kingdom of the Cults ''The Kingdom of the Cults'', first published in 1965, is a reference book of the Christian countercult movement in the United States, written by Baptist minister and counter-cultist Walter Ralston Martin.Michael J. McManus, "Eulogy for the god ...

'' and ''The Maze of Mormonism''. As a couple, the Passantinos began to develop their profile as speakers in evangelical churches delivering presentations about

cults In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

and general apologetics questions concerning the

existence of God The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorized ...

and the

historicity of the Bible The historicity of the Bible is the question of the Bible's relationship to history—covering not just the Bible's acceptability as history but also the ability to understand the literary forms of biblical narrative. One can extend biblical hist ...

. Together they then branched out from working at Christian Research Institute and began to operate their own apologetics and countercult ministry known as Christian Apologetics: Research and Information Service (CARIS). This ministry subsequently was renamed as Answers In Action. They founded Answers In Action with the intent to help both Christians and non-Christians apply logic and reason to religious inquiry and to assist in answering questions about apologetics, religion, philosophy, evangelism, and theology. Robert's approach to religion was to "represent their belief system as accurately as you would have them represent yours." Some of their initial writing appeared as researched chapters in Martin's book ''The New Cults''. Their first co-written book ''Answers to the Cultist at Your Door'' was designed as a popular apologetics handbook for Christians. The book consisted of brief chapters about the phenomenon of cults followed by specific chapters containing evangelical apologetic responses to the doctrines taught by the

Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

Unification Church The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna may refer to: * International Society for Krishna Consciousness The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known Colloquialism, colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnav ...

, and the Way International. Passantino contributed an essay on Jehovah's Witnesses in

Ronald Enroth Ronald M. Enroth (born October 28, 1938) has been a professor of sociology at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara, California, and an Evangelicalism, evangelical Christian author of books concerning what he defines as "c ...

's book ''Evangelising the Cults''. This essay centered a basic Evangelical apologetic argument that challenged the stance taken by Jehovah's Witnesses on three doctrines: the Trinity, Christ, and Salvation. He also contributed a lengthy essay that explored the theory, techniques, and application of religious research to the Evangelical Ministries to New Religions' symposium volume ''Contend for the Faith'' that was published in 1992. During the 1990s the Passantinos emerged as critical evangelical voices on a number of questions connected to

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

understandings about the subject of

Satanism Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...

and the

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

. One of their early exposés, first published in ''Cornerstone'' magazine, concerned Lauren Stratford's fraudulent claims of

Satanic ritual abuse The Satanic panic is a moral panic consisting of over 12,000 unsubstantiated cases of Satanic ritual abuse (SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, ritualistic abuse, organized abuse, or sadistic ritual abuse) starting in the United States in th ...

. They were highly skeptical about claims concerning Satanic ritual abuse and they argued that the basis of these claims could be explained as a combination of

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

and

moral panic A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usua ...

. In both published essays and books they called into question what they regarded as misconceptions commonly held by Christians about the beliefs and practices of Satanist groups. This included their alarm at how Satanists were often accused in Christian literature or in popular media as being perpetrators of

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

. Passantino's commitment to a

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

concept of

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

led to critical evaluations of theological, philosophical, and socio-psychological forms of

determinism Determinism is a philosophical view, where all events are determined completely by previously existing causes. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping motives and consi ...

. Against a wide current of Christian and non-Christian opinion, the Passantinos published a controversial article in ''Cornerstone'' magazine in 1994, titled "Overcoming The Bondage Of Victimization: A Critical Evaluation of Cult Mind Control Theories", in which they criticized the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of "

mind control Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashin ...

" and "

exit counseling Deprogramming is a controversial tactic that attempts to help someone who has "strongly held convictions," often coming from cults or New Religious Movements (NRM). Deprogramming aims to assist a person who holds a controversial or restrictive be ...

" models. The article was reprinted in a later edition of Martin's ''The Kingdom of the Cults'', but has since been removed due to allegations that it did not represent Martin's own views. The Passantinos were highly influential on other apologists as evidenced by the acknowledgements made by other apologists who refer to them concerning their input and research. This was particularly so because it was new and no one had really addressed the subject prior to the 1970s.

Death and legacy

Robert Passantino died on November 17, 2003, age 52, due to

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

. He is buried at Westminster Memorial in

Westminster, California Westminster is a city in northern Orange County, California, known for its many Vietnamese refugees who immigrated to the city during the 1980s. They settled largely in Little Saigon, and the city is known as the "capital" of overseas Vietnames ...

. His wife, Gretchen, died from

cardiac dysrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...

as a result of undiagnosed

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

on October 2, 2014, age 61, at Hoag Hospital Newport Beach. In October 2007,

Norman Geisler Norman Leo Geisler (July 21, 1932 – July 1, 2019) was an American Christian systematic theologian and philosopher. He was the co-founder of two non-denominational evangelical seminaries (Veritas International University and Southern Evange ...

and Chad Meister published a

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

in honor of the Passantinos, entitled ''Reasons for Faith: Making a Case for the Christian Faith''.

Bibliography

Books

* Robert Passantino, Gretchen Passantino, ''Answers to the Cultist at Your Door'', Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House, 1981. * Bob Passantino & Gretchen Passantino, ''

Witch Hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...

'', Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1990. * Bob Passantino & Gretchen Passantino, When the Devil Dares Your Kids: Protecting Your Children from Satanism, Witchcraft, and the Occult Ann Arbor: Servant Publications/Guildford, Surrey: Eagle, 1991. * Bob Passantino & Gretchen Passantino, ''L'ombra di Satana : come difendere i figli dall'occultismo e dalle pratiche demoniache'', Messaggero, Padua, IT, 1994. (in Italian) * Bob Passantino & Gretchen Passantino, ''

'' Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Passantino 1951 births 2003 deaths American Christian writers American occult writers Critics of the Unification Church People of the Christian countercult movement

Career

Death and legacy

Bibliography

Books

Further reading

See also

References