Counterfeits at Your Door needs to be closely examined. I'm sure UntoHim, Roger, Laura, Mike, Bill, and I can speak from personal experiences regarding what is said to the public is different than what is said in meetings, conferences, trainings, and in small group gatherings.
In reference to the history, there is a history of the Local Churches in Taiwan before there was a history in the US. Why do you think Witness Lee came to the US? It wasn't for the spread of the gospel. It was because the environment in Taiwan became increasingly uncomfortable for him to remain there. Especially after he requested the elders in Taipei sell church property to pay for his failed business venture.
Fishtel
Local Church Controversy With Christians
The Local
Church movement has been steeped in much controversy since it began in the
United States in the early sixties. Much of the controversy centers on their
questionable
beliefs and practices, their evangelistic strategies, and the manner in which
they have chosen
to respond to public criticism of their movement. The Local Church has caused
bewilderment and
anguish to those who have sought to publish material about them. The Local
Church has shown
contempt for the Pauline prohibition of 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 regarding the taking
of fellow
Christians before civil authorities, the courts, after allegedly being wronged.
What does
Witness Lee have to say on this matter? In 1984 Lee commented upon this matter
in his Life-Study
of First Corinthians. Citing 1 Corinthians 6:1-11, Lee stated:
In verses 7 and 8 Paul says, "Already, therefore, it is altogether a
defeat for you
that you have lawsuits among yourselves. Why not rather be wronged?
Why not rather be
defrauded? But you wrong and defraud, and this your brother." When
Paul says that it
is already a defeat for believers to have lawsuits among themselves, he
means that it is
a failure, implying defeat, fault, loss, and falling short (in the
inheritance of the
kingdom of God - v.9). Willingness to be wronged or defrauded is
willingness to suffer
loss, to learn the lesson of the cross, to keep the virtue of Christ at
some cost. Hence,
Paul asks why the believers were not willing to be wronged, why they
were not willing to
learn the lesson of the cross. Instead of suffering loss, they were
actually wronging
others and defrauding them. To be sure, Paul's words here are very
strong....Both in the
church life and in the family life we have this problem of the claiming
of our rights. Two
brothers may have a problem with each other, and each may claim his
rights in the matter.
In 6:1-11 Paul was burdened by this claiming of our personal rights.
This is hidden within
all of us. We all have the tendency to claim our rights in certain
matters. Some may
argue that they have never taken anyone to court or never brought anyone
to the elders
of the church. Although they may not have done such things, within them
they have the
intention to claim their rights. For instance, they may say to
themselves, "why did this
brother treat me like that?" To say this proves that we are claiming
our rights. In the
sight of God to claim our rights in our heart is the same as taking a
brother to the law
court. This claiming of rights needs to be uprooted and thoroughly
dealt with. This is
Paul's aim in writing these verses.1
At first glance it would appear that Witness Lee is teaching that one
should not take
fellow Christians to court. Over the years, however, a number of Christian
authors, publishers,
and ministries were threatened with litigation by Lee and other Local Church
officials as the
direct result of public criticism of the movement. Major publications targeting
the Local Church
movement include The God-Men by Neil Duddy and the Spiritual Counterfeits
Project, The Mind Benders
by Jack Sparks, and The New Cults by Walter Martin. The God-Men, The Mind
Benders, Larson's Book
of Cults, The Lure of the Cults, Satan's Angels Exposed, and Shepherds and
Sheep, were removed
from circulation or edited. The following accounts form a brief summary of the
intimidation
exerted by the Local Church against Christian authors, publishers, and
ministries. They were
adapted in part from publications of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project (SCP),
newspapers, and
magazine articles.2
1973 - Christian Literature Crusade
Alleged inaccuracies in The Ecclesiology of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee
by James Mo-Oi
Cheung resulted in threats of legal action against Christian Literature Crusade
by members of the
Local Church. The book alleged that Witness Lee, among other things, taught
heresy. Christian
Literature Crusade recalled the book, apologized to Witness Lee, and agreed not
to publish a
revised edition.3 Interviews with the author and the publisher disclosed that
the retraction was
issued in the face of threatened legal action by Local Church officials and was
not based solely
upon the contents of the book. Some of the allegations made by Cheung can be
substantiated by
the contents of the books and messages published by Witness Lee. The
retraction, included as an
appendix in the book, Understanding Watchman Nee by Dana Roberts (Logos), read
as follows:
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
Following publication of the book THE ECCLESIOLOGY OF WATCHMAN NEE AND
WITNESS LEE by
James Mo-Oi Cheung, we received personal visits and letters from
associates of Witness Lee
who asserted that he does not hold or teach some of the views that were
attributed to him
in the book. Accordingly, C.L.C. [Christian Literature Crusade] as
publisher has taken the
following actions:
1) Eight days after the book was first offered for sale, we
removed the appendix
in toto and rebound the remaining stock because of material in
the appendix that
we could not substantiate in light of the new information.
2) In mid-February we stopped all further sale of the book when
it was brought to
our attention that material which we could not substantiate
was present in the
body of the book as well.
3) We wrote a letter of apology to Mr. Witness Lee regarding
imputations of heresy,
etc., that the book contained.
4) We suspended publication of a revised and corrected edition
of the book.
5) We issued a recall, for full credit, of all copies of the
book sold.
6) We agreed that C.L.C. would not publish a revised edition of
the book.
We feel that we owe all parties interested in this publication a
fuller explanation of
the reasons for the actions detailed above. The following statement is
intended to be the
vehicle by which the author and publisher acknowledge that items in the
areas mentioned
below should not, for lack of supporting evidence, have appeared in the
book. At the same
time we do not mean to suggest that all believers would agree to all the
teachings of
Witness Lee and his associates.
Assertions by associates of Witness Lee that the book misrepresents
him with respect to
doctrine fall in these general areas:
1) Imputations of heresy to Witness Lee specifically in
reference to his views on
the blood of Jesus and the person and nature of Jesus Christ.
2) The claim that in matters of doctrine Witness Lee differs
substantially from the
views of Watchman Nee (differences are evidently much narrower
than suggested by
the book).
3) The inference that Witness Lee resorts to deliberate
"twisting of Scripture" or
"misuse of the Word."
4) The allegation that Witness Lee holds to a strict "baptismal
regeneration" view
of baptism.
In addition, the authorship of the book THE GLORIOUS CHURCH was
incorrectly attributed
to Witness Lee, whereas the author was in fact Watchman Nee. We want it
to be known that
it is not our policy to disseminate material concerning any person or
persons that is known
to be inaccurate.
We sincerely regret feelings of offense created by the publication of
this book, as well
as any inconvenience caused by it subsequent recall and termination.
Sincerely in Christ,
CHRISTIAN LITERATURE CRUSADE
A. Donald Fredlund
Publications Secretary
James Mo-Oi Cheung
Author
April 19, 1973
1977 - Walter Martin
Walter Martin was the founder and first director of Christian Research
Institute, San Juan
Capistrano, California. Martin critiqued Witness Lee and the Local Church in
public lectures.
The Local Church threatened Martin with legal action. Their threat was ignored.
No legal action
was taken. No action was taken against him as the result of the publication of
his book, The New
Cults, which contains an excellent treatment of the Local Church. The Local
Church spent an
estimated $40,000 in paid advertising in the Santa Ana Register and other papers
to defend their
claim to be perfectly orthodox in its beliefs and practices, as the result of
Martin's public
criticism.4
1979 - Ronald Enroth and Christian Herald Books
The book, The Lure of the Cults, authored by Ron Enroth, Professor of
Sociology at Westmont
College, Santa Barbara, California, was published originally by Christian Herald
Books. Enroth was
approached by their acquisitions editor, who was familiar with his work, and
asked if he would
consider doing a book for them. Enroth agreed. Enroth intended to provide a
brief overview of
various dimensions of cult behavior for a broad readership. He also wanted
people to understand that
there was more to cults and aberrational Christian groups than doctrinal
deviation. Enroth was also
concerned about implications for the individual, the families involved, and
society as a whole--as
well as for the Christian Church. In this book, Enroth used the term,
"Aberrational Christian group"
for the first time-a phrase that had since been picked up and used by other
writers.
Enroth mentioned the Local Church in his book, commenting upon their
evangelistic strategy
and their practices of pray-reading and calling on the name of the Lord.5 The
Local Church threatened
the publisher with legal action. Without consulting Enroth, the publisher
removed all references of
Witness Lee and the Local Church in the 1980 revised edition of the book. Enroth
took his book elsewhere.
1979 - Daniel Smith
Smith was a former missionary with China Inland Mission, pastor, Bible
teacher, and lived
in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. The author critically commented on the Local Church
in his self-
published autobiography, Pilgrim of the Heavenly Way. Smith questioned some of
Lee's teachings and
called him one of the most dangerous men in Christendom today.6 The Local
Church sent a leader to
Canada asking that the book be retracted. According to SCP the author rewrote
several pages of the
book and pasted pages of the new text over the old. According to the publisher
the author also
pasted a statement of no malice in the front of the remaining books he had in
stock.
1979 - James Bjornstad and Regal Books
Bjornstad mentioned the Local Church in his book, Counterfeits at Your
Door. Bjornstad
stated that the Local Church deliberately presents a theology to the public that
differs from what
is actually taught to its membership and found throughout its writings.
Bjornstad was verbally
threatened with a lawsuit by Local Church elders who wanted the book taken off
the market. The
threat was ignored. No legal action was taken against him. Following
commentary on contradictions
found in the teachings of the Local Church, Bjornstad comments on practices
typical of groups like
the Local Church.
This difference between a public presentation and the actual theology
taught is a
problem for anyone trying to detect religious counterfeits such as the
Local Church.
Accepting the "Christian" side of their theology leads to being fooled
by a counterfeit.
Detecting the counterfeit - the other side of their theology - means
they will tell you
that you are taking the quotes out of context and misrepresenting them.
To make things
worse, they will even quote the seemingly "Christian" side of their
theology as proof
against the unorthodox side.7
1979 - Jack Sparks and Thomas Nelson Publishers
In the Spring of 1976 Dr. Jack Sparks was commissioned by Thomas Nelson
Publishers to write
a book about those small but very active modern religious movements that were
attracting many converts
from America's young people. The first edition of The Mind Benders was released
for sale in April,
1977. The book included a chapter on the Local Church movement, classifying it
as a cult along with
other recognized cultic groups. Sparks alleged that Witness Lee and the Local
Church brainwashes its
members and teaches heresy. The Local Church took exception to being labeled a
cult. The second
edition of the book, published in May of 1979, included a new chapter on the
late Jim Jones and the
People' Temple affair. This new chapter was placed at the back of the book,
immediately following the
chapter on the Local Church.
In June of 1980 the Local Church officials simultaneously filed four
separate lawsuits in Anaheim,
Dallas, Atlanta, and Cleveland, totaling $37 million.8 Facing near-exhaustion
of liability insurance,
Nelson settled out of court. Nelson ceased distribution of the book, recalled
all unsold copies of the
book, and issued a retraction. The author, however, made no such apology or
retraction. Media reports
that the Local Church received $150,000 in the settlement. Costly, lengthy
litigation influenced the
publisher's decision to settle out of court. The following retraction, which
was published in a number
of Christian and non-Christian magazines and newspapers, makes no specific
mention of alleged errors in
the book. It read as follows:
In 1977 The Mindbenders, a book authored by Jack Sparks, published by
Thomas Nelson,
Inc., accused Witness Lee and the Local Churches of being a cult and of
being heretical
in their beliefs. Both before and after publication of their first
edition, Nelson
received many letters from the Local Churches and their members
protesting the falsity
of the chapter concerning them. Notwithstanding these letters, Nelson
published an
expanded second edition in 1979. In 1980 Local Churches brought suit
against Thomas
Nelson and the author for libel. The Local Churches should not have
been included in
either edition of The Mindbenders. Nelson has no desire to inflict any
damage or harm
upon Witness Lee, the Local Churches, or their members by the continued
publication of
this book. Therefore, Nelson hereby retracts the statements made in The
Mindbenders about
them, and extends its apology to the good Christian members of the Local
Churches.
Accordingly, Nelson has withdrawn the book from publication and
distribution and encourages
all book sellers who have any unsold copies to return them for credit.9
1980 - Neil T. Duddy, Spiritual Counterfeits Project, and Schwengeler-Verlag
In 1977 SCP published an eighty-page booklet, The God-Men, which
provided the first major
survey of the beliefs and practices of the Local Church. It was later translated
into the Chinese
language. A revised and expanded edition was published in 1979 in the German
language by Swiss
publisher Schwengeler-Verlag. It was entitled, Die Sonder Lehre des Witness Lee
Und Seiner
Ortsgemeinde (The Unusual - or Strange Teaching of Witness Lee and His Place -
Church or Location
Church). The Local Church in Stuttgart, West Germany, filed a lawsuit in Swiss
court to stop
distribution of the book, alleging defamation. The suit was dismissed by the
court because
improper plaintiff brought suit. That decision was appealed by the Local Church
but the dismissal
was upheld by a higher court. In December 1980 the Local Church filed another
lawsuit, this time,
in Oakland, California, also alleging defamation in the German edition of the
book. An English
version derived from the same manuscript was published in the United States by
Intervarsity Press
in 1981, under the title, The God-Men. No lawsuit was filed against the English
edition of the
book published by Intervarsity Press. For four and a half years SCP was
subjected to a strategy
of financial attrition by the Local Church by means of pretrial maneuvering.
SCP's lawyer filed
a declaration in federal court:
I concluded that the process of protracted discovery at a tremendous
expense was more
important to the plaintiffs than meaningful settlement negotiations as
they had nothing
to lose by the expenditure of vast sums of money. I was personally
informed in February
1985 by a person who had recently left the Local Church that the
litigation was costing
the plaintiffs approximately $80,000 per month. Obviously, SCP could not
afford to sustain
a defense indefinitely in the absence of insurance given the magnitude
of the discovery
efforts by plaintiffs: approximately 140 days or half-days of some 44
persons; only 8
persons were deposed by SCP for 17 days or half-days. I have never seen
discovery
conducted in such minute detail as that conducted by plaintiffs in this
case.
SCP's debts mounted with the approach of the trial date of March 4,
1985. Already in debt
and facing additional court costs and the probability of the Local Church
appealing a defeat,
SCP's existence was threatened. On March 4, the day the trial was to begin, SCP
filed for Chapter
Eleven bankruptcy protection. This action imposed an immediate stay on the
Local Church's action
against SCP. This action also allowed SCP to continue its ministry without
giving into demands
made by the Local Church. Demands would require SCP signing a statement that
would give the Local
Church an unqualified endorsement.
Finding SCP inaccessible, the Local Church then pursued
Schwengeler-Verlag and Neil Duddy.
The publisher had already faced one challenge and declined to get involved in
the U.S. litigation.
Neil Duddy was now living and working in Denmark, and having already used
personal money to defend
himself in the U.S., was unable and unwilling to defend himself. He declined to
return to the U.S.
to appear in court.
Having been unsuccessful in having the bankruptcy judge send SCP back to
the state court
for a full-scale trial, the Local Church called for a default hearing, a
one-sided procedure in
which the plaintiffs are allowed to make an uncontested presentation to the
court. SCP staff were
present but were not allowed to participate because of their bankruptcy status.
The Local Church
presented their side of the case in an uncontested manner. Witnesses and
so-called experts freely
offered their testimony without the fear of being cross-examined. Based upon
the information
presented during the default hearing, and without benefit of cross-examination
by SCP, the judge
issued a strongly-worded opinion in favor of the Local Church that had
essentially repeated their
original claims against SCP. The Local Church received a $11.9 million award
for general and
punitive damages against the author and the publisher. Since SCP was in
bankruptcy and therefore
out of the lawsuit, the judgment did not apply to them. Witness Lee and the
Local Church, however,
filed a $15 million claim against SCP in bankruptcy court, assuming the status
of a creditor on
the basis of a disputed damage claim that had never been tested in a court
trial. The Local Church
received $34,000 as the result of their efforts. Local Church members will
appeal to the judge's
32-page opinion as evidence of their vindication against charges of cultic
activity as presented
in The God-Men. States Bill Squires:
The only thing that can be concluded from 4 1/2 years of pretrial
maneuvering is that
there were insufficient funds to litigate a complex case at the level of
legal activity
and expense that was set by the plaintiffs. Had there been a trial, we
believe we would
have prevailed....We urge concerned Christians to carefully and
prayerfully review the
abundant supply of internationally published material which evaluates
and comments on the
teachings and practices of Witness Lee and the Local Church, including
the tapes and
publications of the Local Church itself, in order to accurately
understand this group and
form your own opinion.11
1980 - Moody Press, Moody Bible Institute, and George Sweeting
The July/August 1979 issue of Moody Monthly briefly critiqued the Local
Church in a feature
article entitled "A Catalog of Cults" by Gary Wall. The article spelled out the
beliefs of cults
concerning the deity of Christ. The Local Church did not appreciate being
labeled a cult and
associated with recognized cultic groups. Witness Lee claimed that Moody
mischaracterized his
teaching concerning the deity of Christ. The reference to the Local Church read
as follows:
The Local Church - Leader: Witness Lee. Lee teaches that Jesus was
neither God nor
man, but God-man - a mingling of God with humanity. Through the death
and resurrection of
Christ, God mingled Himself with man, according to Lee. The implication
is that men can
be God-men too. He calls the Trinity three "stages of God" rather than
three separate
persons (The God-Men, Spiritual Counterfeits project, Berkeley, CA).12
In all fairness to Witness Lee, it should be stated that throughout most
of his books he
clearly states that Jesus Christ is both God and man. At times Lee will even
state that both His
divine and human natures are distinct from one another. When we consider the
logical consequences
of Lee's teaching of mingling and the illustrations of mingling he employs,
however, we must
conclude that the Lord's two natures were indeed joined together and that they
are not separate
and distinguishable. Witness Lee and the Local Church were determined, however,
to challenge Moody
Bible Institute. The Local Church filed a $4.8 million lawsuit in Orange County,
California against
Moody Press, Moody Bible Institute, and then-president and editor-in-chief,
George Sweeting. The
lawsuit was settled out of court. Moody Monthly made no retraction but did
agree to delete
mention of the Local Church in the reprint of the popular article. Four Local
Church officials,
three of whom who are no longer with the movement, were permitted to respond to
the article in the
September 1980 issue of the magazine. Former members offered their supportive
comments of Moody
Monthly's article in the January 1981 issue. According to the Complaint for
Defamation filed by
the Local Church in June 1980, financial considerations weighed heavily.
By reason of the publication and distribution of the false and
defamatory statements
contained in the July-August Moody Monthly Magazine, plaintiff CHURCHES
have been
specially damaged in that many of its members have been shunned,
suffered hardships, have
been ostracized, have been held up to ridicule and themselves have
suffered monetary losses
thereby diminishing their contributions to the CHURCHES, and in addition
thereto many
persons who otherwise would have become members of the Local Church, and
would have
contributed thereto, by reason of the false, defamatory statements as
alleged, have become
afraid and fearful of doing so, resulting in a sharp decline in the
number of new members
normally to be expected and some diminution of contributions and
anticipated contributions.
The plaintiff CHURCHES do not, at this time, know the exact extent of
the pecuniary loss
resulting from the foregoing, but are informed and believe and therefore
allege that said
loss is a continuing one and that the amount of said loss will exceed
the sum of $17,000.00
or more for each such CHURCH, and plaintiff CHURCHES pray leave of court
of amend and to
insert the true amount of said loss when the same becomes known to said
plaintiffs and as
established by evidence at the time of trial.
By reason of the publication and distribution of the false, defamatory
and slanderous
statements and utterances as heretofore alleged, each of plaintiff
CHURCHES, and their
membership, which constitute the CHURCHES, have been subjected to
humiliation, ridicule,
emotional distress, loss of reputation, hatred and contempt, all to the
general damages
for each of plaintiff CHURCHES in the sum of $75,000.00. By reason of
the foregoing, and
the intentional actual malice of defendants as heretofore alleged, each
of plaintiff
CHURCHES is entitled to exemplary damages against defendants, and each
of them, in the sum
of $150,000.00.
By reason of the false and defamatory publications as heretofore
alleged, plaintiff
WITNESS LEE has been specially damaged in that he has suffered pecuniary
loss by having to
devote time and expense in travel and appearances at various meetings to
set forth the true
facts of his teachings and to make proof that neither his teachings nor
the activities of
the Local Churches constitute those of a cult, that he has been
distressed and exhausted
both mentally and emotionally and in his spirit, and impaired in his
ability to devote the
usual amount of time and energy in his work, and upon information and
belief he alleges
that he will sustain like such pecuniary loss in the future, all in an
amount in excess of
$25,000.00....
By reason of the false and defamatory statements published by
defendants as aforesaid,
plaintiff WITNESS LEE has been generally damaged by reason of being
exposed to hatred,
contempt, ridicule, by being defamed in his teachings and by being
derided and shunned,
and is therefore entitled to such general damages in the sum of
$100,000.00.
The publication of the false and malicious statements as heretofore
set forth were
made with actual malice by the defendants, and each of them, with the
intent to cause
mortification, shame and arose hatred and ill-will towards plaintiff
WITNESS LEE and to
damage and destroy his reputation by reason of which said plaintiff is
entitled to
exemplary damages, for the sake of example and by way of punishment to
defendants, in the
amount of $250,000.00.13
1980 - Salem Kirban
The author included in his book, Satan's Angels Exposed, a brief chapter
on the Local
Church.14 Representatives of the Local Church visited Salem Kirban and asked
him to omit the
offending chapter in subsequent editions of the book. They reminded him that
they were suing Thomas
Nelson over The Mind Benders. The chapter on the Local Church was omitted from
subsequent editions.
Nothing further was heard from the Local Church.
1980 - Ronald Enroth and Eternity Magazine
Enroth mentioned the Local Church in his article, The Power Abusers,
which appeared in the
October 1979 issue of Eternity magazine.15 Local Church elders visited Eternity
and raised the
possibility of legal action if certain demands were not met. As a result of
this coercive action
the Local Church was allowed to place a statement in the October 1980 issue of
Eternity explaining
their stand. An introductory comment to the October 1980 issue stated:
Veteran subscribers have rallied this year to support ETERNITY, and we
gratefully
report that the machinery seems to be turning properly. (We have funds
for the basics -
production of a magazine - but no funds for such luxuries as costly
litigation with
aggrieved groups. This may help you understand the rather unusual space
given to the
statement on page 19).16
1983 - Jerram Barrs and InterVarsity Press
In his book, Shepherds and Sheep, Barrs made reference to Watchman Nee,
Witness Lee, and
the Local Church. He questioned areas of authoritarian church leadership and
the potential of its
abuses. According to SCP, references to Lee and the Local Church were removed
from some editions.
Comments made by Barrs included these:
For example, people who have been involved in the Local Church
testify, on the one
hand, to a tremendous emphasis on the liberty of the Spirit and a
neglect of the word
(because the Word is said to bind people). On the other hand, they
describe the oppressive
authority of a leader who tells everybody what to do, who so totally
controls everyone's
life that some members live in fear of making any independent
decisions.17
Lee is the central authority in the local churches: "When I command in
my spirit, the
Lord commands with me, for I am one spirit with the Lord." He rejects
rational understanding
of Scripture and demands a personal revelation, not just illumination,
in the reading of
Scripture. He teaches that Christ is the mingled God-man, and that in
regeneration we too
become mingled with God, becoming God-men. For Lee the church is
Christ, and the believer
must belong to its Local Church expression. Everyone must put off
Christianity, which for
him is every other denomination, "the wilderness," "Babylon," and flee
to the Local Church.18
1985 - Bob Larson and Tyndale House Publishers
The publication, Larson's Book of Cults, published in 1982, contained a
brief, concise,
chapter on the Local Church. Local Church officials approached Tyndale House in
1985 and engaged
them in lengthy correspondence concerning mention in the book. On November 26,
1985, in light of
the unfavorable decision of "The God-Men" case, Tyndale House decided to remove
the entire chapter
on the Local Church and all bibliographical references. Tyndale House made this
decision to avoid
possible and probable legal action by the Local Church.19
1991 - Moody Press and Moody Bible Institute
The Moody Press publication, A Concise Guide to Cults and Religions,
edited by William
Watson, was to contain references to Witness Lee and the Local Church. The
references were pulled
from the book prior to its publication to avoid possible litigation against
Moody Bible Institute
by the Local Church. In correspondence to the author, Moody vice-president
Dennis Shere stated:
We did not include the Local Church in "A Concise Dictionary of Cults
and Religions,"
after reviewing the matter with our attorneys as we prepared the
material for publication.
The Local Church has aggressively pursued and won legal action against
other
organizations for allegedly mischaracterizing its activities. In the
past we have had
legal contact ourselves as the result of a previous mention of the Local
Church in a
magazine article. For those reasons, primarily, it was decided to
exclude the Local
Church from this dictionary.
We concurred with legal counsel that it would be wise to avoid the
potential for a
protracted legal dispute in which the outcome was uncertain, left to
judgment in an arena
that might well be prejudiced against us.
The resources that might be expended in a questionable dispute can be
put to far
better use by the Moody Bible Institute in its world-wide mission
efforts.20
1995 - Jim Moran, Internet Provider MCSNet of Chicago, and CompuServe
Information Service
This author began making available his research material on the Internet
via a FTP site
set up through his Chicago-area Internet provider, MCSNet. During the third
week of August, his
site was listed in Stanford University's Yahoo Internet directory. On August
24, MCSNet received
a strongly worded e-mail message from Mr. Kerry Robichaux, a Local Church leader
and official
representing The Living Stream Ministry, the publishing arm of the Local
Church. The main body of
his message, provided here in public for the first time, was a "request" to
MCSNet to remove all
of my material concerning the Local Church from their site and to prohibit me
from uploading any
other material about the Local Church through MCSNet's service.
I represent the Living Stream Ministry, which publishes the Christian
ministries of
Witness Lee and Watchman Nee and provides Christian publications for
churches around the
globe loosely called "the local churches." We are a Christian publisher
with offices in
the States of California and Texas, Taipei, Taiwan; London, England; and
Moscow, Russia.
We have been in business since 1965 and serve a community of over 1200
churches worldwide.
About a month ago one of your uses, Jim Moran, uploaded a series of 16
chapters of a
book he is writing concerning Witness Lee and the local churches to his
FTP directory.
The full URL for the files is:
Many of the things he says about our publications and the churches we
serve are false and
defamatory. According to Mr. Moran, our publications are heretical and
the churches we
serve are a cult. These charges are quite serious. Of course, we
recognize and respect his
right to criticize us as severly as he desires. Unfortunately, however,
some of the materials
he uses to back up his claims 1) have been shown to be libelous in the
courts or 2) have
been withdrawn by their publishers with nationwide published apology for
being false and
unfair.
We are quite concerned about this matter since it affects the social
well-being of the
members of the churches we serve, some of which churches are in the
Chicago area. We
understand the right of all your members to express their opinions about
religious authors
and groups. We also respect that right. However, we cannot tolerate
false and defamatory
accusations made against our publications and the churches we serve.
When materials shown
to be libelous are used to defame us, we simply cannot tolerate it and
are compelled to take
action. Unfortunately, this is the nature of the materials being
circulated through your
service. We are including an extract of the decision of the court and
copies of the published
retractions at the end of this message. Full copies of the court
decision can be sent, if
you wish to examine it.
At best, we would like to have EVERYTHING that Mr. Moran has uploaded
concerning us
removed from your service and we would like to have Mr. Moran cease
immediately from
uploading ANYTHING concerning us, since he demonstrates a careless
regard for the decisions
of law and for the wishes of the publishers whose materials he uses.
Even when he is not
directly quoting from these libelous materials, many of his charges are
upheld only by
reference to them. This could be proved without too much effort, if
effort were to be made
at all. Because of this, we are leery of anything that he submits
through your service.
I hope that this will aid your exploration of this matter. Thank you
for your attention.
I am eagerly expecting your speedy response.
Kerry Robichaux (------@--.---)
Living Stream Ministry
Anaheim, CA
As the result of receiving this message, MCSNet cut off WWW (World Wide
Web) access to my FTP
site, preventing my evaluation of the Local Church from being accessible to the
Internet community
through the WWW. Mr. Robichaux, however, had mischaracterized my research
methods. For instance,
consider Mr. Robichaux's claims that I had used materials "that have been shown
to be libelous in
the courts" and "have been withdrawn by their publishers with nationwide
published apology for being
false and unfair." These comments made by Mr. Robichaux require close scrutiny!
In regards to Mr. Robichaux's first comment, "That have been shown...,"
the only books known
to have had its day in court was the German and English editions of the Neil
Duddy & SCP book,
"The God-Men." As stated previously in this chapter, the authors of this book
were not able to
continue paying for the cost of pre-trial maneuvering carried out by the Local
Church. SCP was
forced to file for bankruptcy protection, removing themselves from the case.
The Local Church
pursued SCP in a default hearing in which SCP was not able to defend its claims
about the Local
church, could not offer their own evidence, present their own panel of
witnesses, and could not
cross-examine those witnesses presented by the Local Church. Two quotes cited
from this book had
been removed from my manuscript in April, prior to having uploading it to my FTP
site in June.
In regards to Mr. Robichaux's comment, "have been withdrawn..," is in
reference to the Jack
Sparks book, "The Mind Benders." This book was in print and circulation for
five years and defended
by Thomas Nelson Publishers for over two years, before having been withdrawn.
Mr. Robichaux failed
to mention in his message that Thomas Nelson withdrew the book because they were
facing exhaustion of
liability insurance. Why else would someone defend the book for several years
and then apologize for
including a chapter on the Local Church in it. The statement of retraction,
offered previously in
this chapter and attached by Mr. Robichaux to his message to MCSNet, makes no
apology for the specific
content of the book.
This brings us to the final matter of discussion, the Compuserve
Information Service. During
the fourth week in August, this author was informed by Tom Sims, the present
systems operator of
CompuServe's Religion Forum, that he had removed my Local Files and messages
from the forum. Mr. Sims
stated that he did not want to put his forum at risk on such a controversial
matter that had been
the subject of previous litigation.
It is quite apparent by what we have read in this chapter, the Local
Church has taken a
considerable amount of action to prevent public evaluation of their movement. As
was the case of
"The God-Men," "The Mind Benders," and other books, financial considerations
weighed heavily in
decisions to withdraw material about the Local Church. Legal action, or the
threat thereof, has
been successfully used by these people to remove brief references, entire
chapters, and even entire
books from public circulation. In all probability, any legal action threatening
loss of time, money,
and other resources could spell doom for any Christian ministry in light of
today's spiraling legal
costs. We have seen that the Local Church has expressed far more faith in the
court system of this
land than in God to deal with their critics. If God is truly on their side, is
their reliance upon
the court system of this land, their "Caesar," necessary for the furtherance of
their movement? We
must ask whether Lee and company are more concerned about their standing before
God or before men.
In bringing this chapter to a close, one should ask themselves these
questions: Is the "God" of
the Local Church so small that they require the assistance of a court of law to
defend the legitimacy
of their movement; Since when does a court of law have the authority and
responsibility to determine
whose theology is sound or not?; and thirdly, Why has there been such a great
amount of criticism of
the beliefs and practices of the Local Church movement that has brought about a
tremendous amount of
public comment?
A look at the number of recent publications on the cults will find that
there are few or
no references at all of Witness Lee and the Local Church. Here in America we
enjoy a number of
personal freedoms. These include the right to worship and speak as we please.
How is it, then,
that Lee and company have, over the years, gone after those who publicly
commented about them?
Jim Jones, the infamous leader of People's Temple, exercised social, political,
and yes, legal
clout, to suppress unfavorable information about his evil empire.22 If someone
can be sued for
exercising free speech in this country, then there is really no such thing as
freedom of speech
at all, except for those who can afford the price of a good attorney!
Endnotes
1. Witness Lee, "Message Thirty-Seven," The Life-Study of First Corinthians
(LSM: 1984) 330-331.
2. SCP, Witness Lee and the Local Church Movement: Controversy with Christians
(SCP: 1983).
See also "Censorship on the Shelf: The Bookenders," Christianity Today (Oct.
10, 1980) 92;
and Elliot Miller and William Alnor, "Turmoil in the Local Church," CRI
Journal (Fall 1988)
5-6.
3. Dana Roberts, Understanding Watchman Nee (Logos, Plainfield, NJ: 1980). Of
special interest
is Appendix A, pages 155-157, which contains a reproduction of the letter of
apology issued
by Christian Literature Crusade to all concerned parties concerning James
Mo-Oi Cheung's book,
The Ecclesiology of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.
4. Walter Martin, ed. "The Local Church of Witness Lee," The New Cults (Regal:
1980) 379-408.
See Walter Martin, Witness Lee and the Local Church. This presentation was
given at the
Melodyland School of Theology in Anaheim, California (Oct. 2, 1977) tape
#C-93, is available
from Christian Research Institute.
5. Ronald Enroth, The Lure of the Cults (Christian Herald: 1979) 19-20, 26, 29,
40, 54, 101,
103, 121, 138, 139. See also "Local Churches Back Publishers into Corner,"
Christianity
Today (Jan. 2, 1981) 51.
6. Daniel Smith, Pilgrim of the Heavenly Way (Smith: 1979) 144-146.
7. James Bjornstad, Counterfeits at Your Door (Regal: 1987) 150.
8. Jack Sparks, The Mind Benders (Thomas Nelson: 1977) 219-255. See also
"Nelson Lets Sparks
Fly; Witness Lee Files Suits," Christianity Today (Aug. 8, 1980) 47-49; and
"Sued for Libel,
Anticult Writer's Life Gets Tough," Christianity Today (April 9, 1982) 61.
9. Thomas Nelson, "Retraction Regarding Witness Lee and the Local Churches,"
(April 10, 1983).
This retraction issued by Nelson concerning Jack Spark's book, The Mind
Benders, came as
the result of several years of expensive legal maneuvering by the Local
Church. It appeared
in a number of Christian and non-Christian magazines and newspapers,
including Moody Monthly
(June 1983) 41. Author Jack Sparks did not issue a retraction.
10. SCP attorney Michael Woodruff quoted in "The Lawsuit in Perspective" SCP
Newsletter (SCP:
Nov. 1986) 8. This entire segment concerning the SCP is an abridgment of
this article.
No credit is taken by the author for composition.
11. Bill Squires, "The Lawsuit in Perspective" SCP Newsletter (SCP: Nov. 1986)
9. See John Dart,
"Bankruptcy Filing Delays Sect's Libel Suit," Los Angeles Times (March 16,
1985); Neil Duddy
and the Spiritual Counterfeits Project (SCP), The God-Men, 2nd ed. (Downers
Grove, IL: IVP,
1981); Randy Frame, "Prolonged Legal Battle Forces Research Organization
into Federal
Bankruptcy Court," Christianity Today (April 5, 1985) 41-42; "The Local
Church Wins an
$11.9 Million Judgment in a Libel Suit," Christianity Today (Sep. 20, 1985)
38-39;
Leon Seyranian, "The Judgment on The God-Men," California Superior Court for
Alameda County,
case #540 585-9 (filed June 27, 1985); "When Talk isn't Cheap and Speech
isn't Free:
The Abuse of Libel Law," "The Lawsuit in Perspective," and "Expert Opinion
and the Bias of
Experts," SCP Newsletter (Nov. 1986) 6-15; and "Witness Lee's Local Churches
Fail to Silence
Their Assailants," Christianity Today (March 27, 1981) 52.
12. Gary L. Wall, "A Catalog of Cults," Moody Monthly (July/August 1979) 25.
See "Witness Lee
Responds," Moody Monthly (Sep. 1980) 128-129; and "Witness Lee and the Local
Church,"
Moody Monthly (Jan. 1981) 5.
13. "Witness Lee and the Local Church, Complaint for Defamation," Orange County
California
Superior Court, #33-63-92 (filed June 13, 1980) 12-14.
14. Salem Kirban, Satan's Angels Exposed, 1st ed. (Kirban: 1980) 279-286.
15. Ronald Enroth, "The Power Abusers," Eternity magazine (Oct. 1979) 23. See
"Foretaste,"
and "Concerning Witness Lee and the Local Church," Eternity magazine (Oct.
1980) 6, 20.
16. Editor, Foretaste," Eternity magazine (Oct. 1980) 6.
17. Jerram Barrs, Shepherds and Sheep (IVP: 1983) 30, 28 and 77. See comments
concerning
Watchman Nee.
18. Ibid, 77.
19. Bob Larson, Larson's Book of Cults, 1st ed. (Tyndale House: 1982) 152-155,
414, 417, 424.
See also John Dart, "Bankruptcy Filing Delays Sect's Libel Suit," Los
Angeles Times
(March 16, 1985).
20. Dennis Shere, Letter to the author, June 27, 1991. Special note: in 1990
the author
submitted an article on the Local Church to the Moody Bible Institute
student newspaper
staff for publication in the campus student newspaper. The article was
intended to warn
Moody Students of Chicago-area Local Church campus evangelistic activities.
The article
was rejected by the Institute's legal department.
21. Kerry Robichaux, Letter to MCSNet, August 23, 1995. Full contents of this
e-mail message
is on file with the author.
22. Kenneth Wooden, The Children of Jonestown (McGraw-Hill: 1981) chapter six.
The entire
book deals with how Jim Jones won the affections of local and national
politicians and
the media to further his empire. Having succeeded in doing so, Jones was
able to
discourage public criticism of his movement, until it was too late for the
many people
who followed him out of the country!