Appellate Court Rules in Favor of Dr. John Ankerberg, Dr. John Weldon and
Harvest House Publishers
http://www.johnankerberg.org/news/court-ruling-01-06.htm
On January 5, 2006, the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas issued
an opinion in favor of Dr. John Ankerberg, Dr. John Weldon and Harvest House
Publishers, dismissing a $136 million libel lawsuit that The Local Church and
its publishing arm, Living Stream Ministry, had filed in December 2001 in
relation to the book Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions.
The Appellate Court’s decision, written by Chief Justice Sherry Radack, ruled
that “the allegedly libel[ous] statements are not defamatory, as a matter of
law,” and, “We reverse the judgment of the trial court and render judgment that
the [Local] church take nothing from the publisher and authors.” The full
decision can be read at
http://www.harvesthousepublishers.com/ruling.pdf.
In their suit, The Local Church claimed that the Encyclopedia accused their
group of criminal and immoral conduct. However, Harvest House and the authors
have contended all along that the book does not and never intended to attribute
such activity to The Local Church. Rather, the authors included the 1¼–page
chapter on the Local Church’s teachings in the Encyclopedia based on the book’s
definition of a religious cult: “a separate religious group generally claiming
compatibility with Christianity but whose doctrines contradict those of historic
Christianity....”
Though The Local Church insisted this case was not about being labeled a “cult,”
they contended that by their mere inclusion in the Encyclopedia, and because the
Introduction mentioned misdeeds committed by some unspecified cults, their group
stood accused of any conduct that happened to be mentioned in the Introduction.
Thus, they alleged, the book was libelous. But the Court pointed out that the
Encyclopedia centers on doctrinal and apologetic issues, and “that being labeled
a ‘cult’ is not actionable because the truth or falsity of the statement depends
upon one’s religious beliefs, an ecclesiastical matter, which cannot and should
not be tried in a court of law.”
As for the criminal conduct mentioned in the Introduction, the Appellate Court
decisively ruled, “No reasonable reader could conclude that the book accuses the
[Local] church...of rape, murder, child molestation, drug smuggling, etc....The
allegedly libelous statements in the Introduction are not ‘of and concerning’
the [Local] church and are not actionable.”
John Ankerberg and John Weldon, in a joint statement, said, “We are thankful
that the Court saw the issues with great clarity and ruled accordingly, because
throughout the case, The Local Church has persistently accused us of making
horrendous charges against them and have misrepresented the contents of the
Encyclopedia.” The authors continued, “Though The Local Church clearly desires
acceptance within evangelical Christianity, suing those who critique their
teachings is not the way to gain it, but rather, dealing with the unorthodox
teachings that exist in their publications. We care deeply about the people
within The Local Church, and though we disagree with them doctrinally, we uphold
their right to publish and teach as they choose.”
Bob Hawkins, Jr., president of Harvest House Publishers, adds, “We hope this
ruling will encourage other authors, publishers, and broadcasters to stand
strong in their convictions and to continue engaging in responsible dialogue
concerning controversial topics without fear of intimidating lawsuits.” Hawkins
went on to say, “We have been encouraged by many people who have been praying
for us, and we’ve been humbled by the wonderful support we received from media
groups and publishers who filed friend–of–the–court briefs on our behalf.
Ultimately, we are thankful that we have had the opportunity to experience in
profoundly deep ways the faithfulness of God.”