A LSM/LC New Website

[ABrotherinFaith]

Just heard about this. Apparently there was an older website that went by the same name. This one is about a month old judging from the comments. Thought everyone here might like to have a look....

http://an-open-letter.org/

[awareness]

Originally Posted by ABrotherinFaith

Just heard about this. Apparently there was an older website that went by the same new. This is about a month old judging from the comments. Thought everyone here might like to have a look....

http://an-open-letter.org/

You're kidding ... right?

[james73]

ewwww, thanks for the heads-up but I actually feel a bit sick reading this.

Although I think they shoot themselves in the foot a little - I wonder if it is genuinely authorised? For example, they say they are from the "Local Churches and Living Stream Ministry", which is surely an unauthorised use of capital L capital C...

Also the first testimony mentions the pejorative term for LC in China, "The Shouters" (and makes me wonder if that's what this is all about, in fact) - LSM in HK has gone to GREAT pains, several testimonies a week on this, that we are NOT "the shouters" nor anything to do with Eastern Lightning. In following this up (because something tells me they are protesting too much), I've quite enjoyed reading the background on the HK brother caught smuggling 32,000 Recovery Versions of the New Testament bound for The Shouters, followed by LSM's strict denial that they knew anything about this and that the brother was acting on his own. Right... I wanna buy 32,000 copies of the Recovery version and no-one at LSM is gonna want to see what I'm doing with them? I simply don't believe it! Buy 100 copies and you'll have an LC rep in your house within the hour making sure you're doing it right... 32,000, you'll probably get a prime spot in Grace Terrace and an instant promotion to Blended Elder or something. Certainly no-one, NO-ONE at LSM is going to just turn a blind eye and say "well, whatever, I am sure he will be putting them to good use...." as LSM's rather typically lawyerly defense claims.

ALSO interesting they use "An open Letter" as the title, is that to confound Google searches for the original "open letter" or to somehow confuse people about that? Now they can say, truthfully, "No, WE wrote the open letter to make sure people knew the truth". Another example of LSM double speak?

[TLFisher]

Interesting about the websites content. As one brother said to me tonight about the focus on teachings, it's safe. It would not be prudent for the websites' content to say anything about the practices.

[aron]

It is carefully presented, and it's understandable that LSM's faithful might appreciate it for that reason: everything is safe and orthodox.

It reminds me of seeing a diorama in the Museum of Natural History, where every leaf and twig is carefully presented, and it is completely void of life. WL continually heaped derision upon the seminaries as "cemetaries", yet now LSM tries to imitate them, and gain their stamp of approval? Trying to have it both ways; cursing out of one side of the mouth, blessing out of the other.

Originally Posted by james73

ALSO interesting they use "An open Letter" as the title, is that to confound Google searches for the original "open letter" or to somehow confuse people about that?

Yes; they are trying to fill the internet with sites to "confound Google searches", as you say. Look up 'local church' on Google and you get

http://www.localchurch.org/

and

http://www.localchurches.org/

and

http://www.local-church.org/

There seem to be literally dozens. They must have a webmaster at LSM working full-time to create web sites, with "Chief internet spammer" or some such title. Maybe, "Chief dust thrower and smoke blower."

LSM's problem, as I wrote earlier, is that the cost of disseminating information is dropping. Anyone can create content. All those people who got stripped and flogged by the LSM's 'true believers' can also create content. LSM no longer has the only printing press in town, though they tried to mandate this with their "One Publication" edict.

[alwayslearning]

Originally Posted by Terry

Interesting about the websites content. As one brother said to me tonight about the focus on teachings, it's safe. It would not be prudent for the websites' content to say anything about the practices.

Or their hidden history!

[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by ABrotherinFaith

Just heard about this. Apparently there was an older website that went by the same name. This one is about a month old judging from the comments. Thought everyone here might like to have a look....

http://an-open-letter.org/

Obviously the LSMers are trying a little misdirection (a famous tactic of theirs) The original website is still up and running - they simply added an "an" at the beginning in a shameless attempt to misdirect people interested in finding out about the teachings and practices of The Local Church of Witness Lee. Here is the website: http://www.open-letter.org/

Here is the preamble to open-letter.org:
More than 70 evangelical Christian scholars and ministry leaders from seven nations have signed an unprecedented open letter to the leadership of the “local churches” and Living Stream Ministry.

This letter is a public appeal to disavow and withdraw controversial statements made by their founder, Witness Lee, on the doctrine of God and the doctrine of man. The letter also asks the “local churches” and Living Stream to renounce statements made by Lee that denigrate evangelical Christian denominations and organizations. Finally, the letter appeals to the leadership of the “local churches” and Living Stream to discontinue their use of lawsuits and threatened litigation against Christian individuals and organizations to answer criticisms or resolve disputes.

When you go to the LSM/Local Church site an-open-letter.org you soon find out it is not an open letter at all, but really just another LC propaganda site.

[Ohio]

All Christianity is hopelessly degraded and divided, but if you got some initials after your name and have something nice to say about us . . . . . . then we love you.

[alwayslearning]

Originally Posted by UntoHim

When you go to the LSM/Local Church site an-open-letter.org you soon find out it is not an open letter at all, but really just another LC propaganda site.

Absolutely! It's nothing but a smoke screen for the ill-informed.

And I am especially amused by the stream of scholars they have on their site - most if not all if they were actually involved with the LC system would have been quarantined/excommunicated by the LSM/BB because they have published without official approval and permission! What legitimate scholar would ever accept a "one publication" policy implemented and policed by a publishing company?

Most of these guys would never ever accept the MOTA teachings and practices of the LC system which is the self-declared basis of their oneness.

[ZNPaaneah]

Originally Posted by ABrotherinFaith

Just heard about this. Apparently there was an older website that went by the same name. This one is about a month old judging from the comments. Thought everyone here might like to have a look....

http://an-open-letter.org/

This site is deceitful.

"The resilience of the churches produced through their ministry is exemplified by the believers in China, who have proven steadfast and have flourished in the face of decades of extreme persecution, as well as by hundreds of local churches in North America that have faithfully persevered and spread despite nearly forty years of intense opposition."

Peter said "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you" (1 Pet 4:12). As a result we think that persevering through 40 years of intense opposition is a normal part of the overcoming life. So we "rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." (v.13). The deceitfulness here is they are implying that the LRC was "reproached for the name of Christ". But that is not the case. Peter also said:

4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

The intense opposition is a result of the LRC and LSM choosing to sue other Christians, contrary to Paul's word. You cannot claim, as this website so deceitfully does, that your opposition is a result of your stand as a Christian. They even justified their going to the courts based on their stand as US citizens. The opposition and suffering was not "as a Christian" rather it was "as an evildoer". It is wicked to persecute poor Christians, LSM legal "victories" were merely a result of having more money to spend on lawyers. That shouldn't be viewed as a victory but as a persecution. The Lord abhorreth this action, yet here they are boasting of it and seeing it as a blessing.

Let us be honest, their mouth is full of cursing, deceit and fraud.

But it is worse. According to this site, their faith is that

"The Bible is the Word of God, written under His inspiration word by word (2 Tim. 3:16), and is the complete and only written divine revelation of God to man (Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Prov. 30:5-6; Rev. 22:18-19);"

But what does "word by word" mean? In Job Witness Lee complains that the book is devoid of the revelation of God's economy, Witness Lee also claims the book of James is a mixture of OT and NT concepts, and likewise Witness Lee says some psalms are God's speaking, and other psalms are man's opinion. Witness Lee literally goes through the Bible word by word and says which are "inspired" and which are not. To claim that their faith is that "the Bible is the Word of God" is deceitful, it is a fraud.

[james73]

I have been investigating the testimonies on this site, after a brother in Hong Kong sent me the link and urged me to read it. I was bothered that a) a church would need testimonies; and b) i guessed the LC had played the victim card to get more out of some of these people than they might ordinarily have given.

Seems there are four clusters:

Thickly involved
Hank Hanegraaff
Elliot Miller
John Morehead
Gretchen Passantino-Coburn
Paul Young
Richard J. Mouw (Fuller)
Howard J. Loewen (Fuller)
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen (Fuller)

The 1995 gang (testimonies are directly from the 1995 book The Experts Speak)
J. Gordon Melton
Edwin S. Gaustad (deceased)
Eugene Van Ness Goetchius

Lukewarm supporters
John H. Armstrong
Peter Kuzmic
Tom Ascol
Paul Copan

Innocent bystanders
Timothy O’Fallon
Peter Kerridge
David Aikman
Randall Balmer

The last two groups are good targets for asking why they testified in this way and to start building a counter-testimony list.

I have already begun writing to the "innocent" and the "lukewarm", and already had a very positive response from one of the "innocent". Since I didn't ask him yet whether I could publicly use his comments, I'll wait on that for now, but suffice to say, what he said was hardly a ringing endorsement, and gave me a good encouragement for this project

PS If anyone wants to know how I came up with these clusters, it involved pairing up all possible paired combinations of the 19 names, about 180 Google searches to see if there was any link in each pair, and a Google visualization tool to map the connections. Any further insight or comment on these clusters would be appreciated, since my technique is not comprehensive. I'd like to do it again and search each person against key LSM personnel, but that will need to wait a while. I think the early results are useful enough.

[TLFisher]

Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah

Witness Lee literally goes through the Bible word by word and says which are "inspired" and which are not.

Witness Lee while among us, was entitled to his opinion. He may "cherry-pick" which portions of the Bible are "inspired". I don't endorse his opinions.
My opinion?
All scripture is inspired by God. (See 2 Timothy 3:16)