[Ohio]

“How many were lured away during the last rebellion (late 80's) by subtle issues of right and wrong.” Referring to the talk going around in the church about these issues, he said, “What a travesty that the saints of God would speak out of the knowledge of good and evil and kill each other.” He added, “I simply will not sit in a brothers’ presence and allow him to fill me with death,” meaning that he would not listen to those who were concerned with such issues of right and wrong in the church. -- Ron Kangas, LSM's chief theologian.

The real travesty here is the the distortion of facts and the attitude displayed by Ron Kangas years after these events occurred. At the time of these events, Kangas was the Senior Editor working at Living Stream Ministry under the management of Philip Lee, the "Office" Manager. Philip had recently molested a married sister in the church in Anaheim, and her irate husband wanted justice. The husband quickly learned that no one at LSM, including Witness Lee, cared one bit for his debased wife; neither for righteousness nor justice. Soon the whole church became outraged and became outspoken in their meetings. Were it not for John Ingalls' wise counsel, the brother probably would have killed Philip Lee.

Don't you think the folks at LSM, especially the Lee family, would have appreciated Ingalls' intervention? On the contrary, Witness Lee started a smear campaign to discredit, not just the husband and his molested wife, but any brother who learned of these events and sought justice, including the church elders and deacons in Anaheim. The sorry details of Lee's smear campaign are recorded in Lee's disgusting book Fermentation of the Present Rebellion. The actual and true history of events was recorded in Ingalls' account Speaking the Truth in Love.

For Ron Kangas back in the day to hear what his boss (Philip Lee) had done to that sister at LSM must have "filled him with death." Can you imagine the disgusting nausea traveling through his gastro-intestinal tract upon catching wind of these events? Kangas soon learned from Benson Philips and Ray Graver what to do when serious matters of corruption at LSM come to their attention -- just get up and leave the room, covering one's ears, and humming a hymn, lest one be adversely affected by "subtle issues of right and wrong." Hence Kangas emphatically states, “I simply will not sit in a brothers’ presence and allow him to fill me with death.” How convenient! Sounds more like the demeanor of a partisan bureaucrat than that of a servant of God.