An interview with Neil Duddy in UPDATE magazine.
by Johannes Aagaard and Thomas O’Connor
In 1979, Swiss publisher Schwengeler-Verlag published a short book on a movement of six hundred churches known as The Local Church. It’s title “Die Sonderlehre des Witness Lee” translates in English as The Peculiar Teachings af Witness Lee. About 4,000 copies were sold to German-speaking Europeans.
This book was contested in Swiss court by the Stuttgart, West Germany, Local Church, but the suit and subsequent appeal were dismissed. In 1981 the Local Church took the suit to Oakland, California. Schwengeler, and the two co-authors Neil Duddy and the Spiritual Counterfeits Project (SCP) were the defendants.
We present this interview and article about the teachings of the Local Church and its leader Witness Lee as a service to our readers who are interested in the many variations of new religious movements found in the world today. Some, as in the case of the Local Church, have their roots in the Christian faith and can be misidentified as orthodox denominations unless close scrutiny is made of the teachings and organizational methods.
Read the full article...
Sunday, 3 February 2008
Peculiar Teachings of The Local Church
Friday, 24 August 2007
A Thick Juicy Steak
A slab of stale bread is better than nothing.
Nothing is better than a thick juicy steak.
Therefore, a slab of stale bread is better than a thick juicy steak.
If this is confusing to you, then you may be vulnerable to Liite propaganda.
If this is so dumb it makes you laugh, then maybe the Liites will never have a hold on you.
Tuesday, 14 August 2007
Liites: Little Appeal?
But on the other hand, what is the threat to the community? Do the Liites have much appeal? After all these years, it does not seem to have grown anywhere near the size of similar organization ssuch as the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Mormons.
I think that indeed the Liite religion has limited appeal to people. With no consequences for behavior, the Liite cult has no ethical system, no right or wrong. The Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons, however, do have such systems, and although each of theirs is simple and proposes salvation through faith and works, it can appeal to prospects with the promise to improve their lives.
The JWs, for example print simple, easy-to-read material teaching members a simplistic way to lead a moral life. Liite religious material is often almost impossible to understand and the English is overwrought and overlong.
The Mormons also have a simplistic moral code, well-written materials and band together to run profitable businesses and give jobs and charity to members. The Liites have no such thing; although members are encouraged to sell property cheap to the LSM and are encouraged to buy from each other at cut rates, they are otherwise on their own.
So on one hand, the Liites are very harmful and dangerous to themselves and others. But on the other hand, the LSM offers very little to prospects, and that, along with the LSM's trenchant desire for secrecy means there is very little appeal of Liites to the public.
God is sovereign.
Liite and Traditional Buddhist Terms
Liite Buddhism uses Christian and Christian-sounding terminology. However, few of the terms mean the same as they do among Christians and indeed most of the important doctrines mean exactly the opposite of their Christian counterparts.
This makes studying Liite doctrine confusing. However, Liite terms do have exact equivalents in traditional Chinese Buddhism. Once these are known, understanding Liite doctrine becomes easier.
Following is a list of the more important Liite terms with the equivalents I could find in traditional Chinese Buddhism. LSM stands for "Living Stream Ministry," the Liite Vatican in Anaheim, California.
The interesting thing about making this list is I feel I can see what Li was thinking when he introduced each of these to Americans. I am not sure if how good a thing it was to get a glimpse inside Li's head, but I did anyway. Li took what he was familiar with (Buddhism) and translated for his audience in America, a traditional Christian country.
Banner - koan
Calling - mantra
Eating Jesus - dharma
Full Time Trainees (FTT) - bhiksu
Getting saved - good roots
Jesus - Indra/Sakraderanam
Heaven - pure land
Leading brother - bodhisattva
Liite - upasaka/upasiki
Lord's Recovery - Buddha land
LSM literature - sutra
Mingling - dharma wheel
New Jerusalem - sumeru
Pray-reading - dharani
Redemption - nirvana
Regional coordinator - mahasattva
Salvation - bodhi
Souls - sentient beings
Spirit, soul, and body - three realms (cf. Pelagianism)
Trainees - paramita
Tripartite Man - skandhas
Witness Lee (Chang-Shou Li) - Buddha
