Quote:
Originally Posted by afazio
Actually, I was in the LC in the days of "The Mindbenders." I heard Lee's repeated "justification" for the lawsuits. Lee alluded to Paul appealing to Caesar for redress from the Jews who were after him. That was Lee's stated "justification" of filing those law suits.
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Well, afazio, I agree that taking a brother to court is not a good thing and a shame. However, is it not a terrible thing for the brother to slander and libel many thousands of brothers and sisters in the local churches, create an atmosphere of cultic fear against them, and still refuse to discuss it much less take action to correct the record after many attempts to resolve the accusations by the local churches? And frankly, the lawsuit was not about Duddy or Sparks but it was about a book.... and the publisher of that book. The objective was to correct the book, at least Sparks’ .... and Duddy’s was slanderous and libelous in total. People can say whatever they want as this forum proves.... but a book by a reputable publisher like Nelson is another category altogether. That is not really a brother taking a brother to court. Yet, when a brother, Duddy or Sparks, they both used the same source document for their unfounded accusations, refuse to listen to other brothers, those falsely accused, then why should they and their publisher not be considered and treated like gentiles according to Matthew 18:15-17?
I believe the judge’s opinion in this case pertaining to this libel suit needs to considered (be sure to read the
bold parts at the end):
“
This matter came on regularly for trial and was heard as an uncontested matter…. Although the trial was uncontested, the Court feels that the plaintiffs have presented competent and reliable evidence, and the Court was very impressed with the stature and quality of the witnesses presented. Moreover, the Court was provided with a complete opportunity to question and cross examine the witnesses in order to ascertain the truth as the Court should do in a case involving First Amendment rights, regardless of whether the defendants appear or not. There was nothing that the Court wanted to see or to ask that was not provided. Furthermore, the evidence on behalf of the plaintiffs was substantiated by independent evidence from qualified expert witnesses. Accordingly, the Court finds that the manuscript by Neil T. Duddy, entitled The God-Men (Exhibit 1) disseminated (published) in the United States, the book Die Sonderlehre des Witness Lee Und Seiner Ortsgemeinde published by Schwengeler-Verlag (Exhibit 3) disseminated (published) in Europe, and the book The God-Men, An Inquiry into Witness Lee and the Local Church by Neil T. Duddy and the SCP published by Inter-Varsity Press (Exhibit 5) disseminated (published) in the United States and England, are in all major respects false, defamatory and unprivileged, and, therefore, libelous. (California Civil Code 45)“
Drake