Reflecting on John Ingalls' Actions

Davis · 11-13-2020, 05:15 PM

Hi all, I'm a longtime lurker and former church kid (I'll try to write an introduction at some point). I've been reading Speaking the Truth in Love and wanted to share some of my questions and thoughts.

First, I want to say that while I am critical of Ingalls, I can't entirely blame him. Being so close to Witness Lee for all those years obviously affected him, so my critiques are mainly aimed at the actions, not the man.

From reading this forum, I understand that Philip Lee sexually assaulted women who worked in the LSM office; however, Ingalls never says that explicitly. Personally, I think that hiding the reality in vague descriptions protects the perpetrator far more than the victim. Regardless, he must have known the grittier details of the matter, and his lack of action is terrible. He emphasizes the fact that he never demanded that Philip Lee be removed, but that's exactly what he should have done. Simply accepting Witness Lee's inability to do nothing for months meant that a sexual predator remained in contact with members of the church and in control of the ministry.

I've gotten to the point where the church in Anaheim found out about the allegations and it exemplifies why it is a terrible idea to tuck these things under the rug. Hiding it only protected Philip and Witness Lee, who seemed completely fine with letting it go. If they immediately removed Philip and apologized to the church for ever allowing him to serve in that capacity, I think most would respect that, but when people discovered that they kept it secret and kept Philip in his position for months, they were rightfully angry.

11-13-2020, 05:15 PM	#1
Davis Member Join Date: Nov 2020 Posts: 10	Reflecting on John Ingalls' Actions Hi all, I'm a longtime lurker and former church kid (I'll try to write an introduction at some point). I've been reading Speaking the Truth in Love and wanted to share some of my questions and thoughts. First, I want to say that while I am critical of Ingalls, I can't entirely blame him. Being so close to Witness Lee for all those years obviously affected him, so my critiques are mainly aimed at the actions, not the man. From reading this forum, I understand that Philip Lee sexually assaulted women who worked in the LSM office; however, Ingalls never says that explicitly. Personally, I think that hiding the reality in vague descriptions protects the perpetrator far more than the victim. Regardless, he must have known the grittier details of the matter, and his lack of action is terrible. He emphasizes the fact that he never demanded that Philip Lee be removed, but that's exactly what he should have done. Simply accepting Witness Lee's inability to do nothing for months meant that a sexual predator remained in contact with members of the church and in control of the ministry. I've gotten to the point where the church in Anaheim found out about the allegations and it exemplifies why it is a terrible idea to tuck these things under the rug. Hiding it only protected Philip and Witness Lee, who seemed completely fine with letting it go. If they immediately removed Philip and apologized to the church for ever allowing him to serve in that capacity, I think most would respect that, but when people discovered that they kept it secret and kept Philip in his position for months, they were rightfully angry.