Just in case some of you have any doubts about Ohio's claim:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Vampire-Bo.../dp/157859281X
J. Gordon Melton was actually the lead "expert" in several of the Local Church of Witness Lee's lawsuits against Christian apologists, ministries and publishers. But just as with Hank Hanegraaff, Melton's "in depth research" was a joke, and consisted mainly of Local Church/Living Stream Ministry employees telling him what Witness Lee REALLY meant when he said things like "Judaism is satanic, Catholicism is demonic and Christianity is christless". The problem is that Witness Lee told us over and over again what he really meant, in vivid detail. If Lee was nothing else, he was very clear and even forceful about his convictions and beliefs.
The real problem with Mr. J. Gordon Melton is that he is a bought and paid for apologists for any cult that will grease his palms. If you have CASH MONEY he will step up to the plate for just about anybody.
I was already aware of this but didn't think it actually made it to a wiki page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Gordon_Melton
"John Gordon Melton (born September 19, 1942) is an American religious scholar who was the founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and is currently a research specialist in religion and New Religious Movements with the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion. He is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church,
and he is affiliated with the New Cult Awareness Network, an organization operated by the Church of Scientology".
For more info on New Cult Awareness Network:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Cu...reness_Network
"The 'New Cult Awareness Network' (NCAN, often referred to as simply the "Cult Awareness Network", though other than inheriting the name, it is unrelated to that older group) is an organization that provides information about cults,
and is owned and operated by associates of the Church of Scientology, itself categorized in many countries as a cult. It was formed in 1996, with the name purchased from the now defunct Cult Awareness Network,
an organization that provided information on groups it considered to be cults, and that strongly opposed Scientology."
Does THIS little trick sound familiar to any of you guys? Remember Jim Moran?
"Bought in bankruptcy court
Church of Scientology attorney Steven Hayes bought rights to the Cult Awareness Network assets during its bankruptcy proceedings. The old Cult Awareness Network, which publicly opposed Scientology as well as other groups it considered to be cults, was driven into bankruptcy by litigation costs in 1996. Subsequently, Church of Scientology attorney Steven Hayes appeared in bankruptcy court and won the bidding for what remained of the organization for an amount of $20,000: the name, logo, phone number, office equipment, and judgments that the organization had won but not yet collected. Initially, the Scientologists did not gain access to the CAN files, because of the threat of litigation against the bankruptcy trustee; the files were returned to the board. After Jason Scott sold his $1.875 million judgment to Scientologist Gary Beeny for $25,000, this made Beeny, represented by Scientology attorney Kendrick Moxon, CAN's largest creditor. The CAN board then settled with Beeny by turning over the files to him instead of the possibility of being individually liable for the judgement.
"
mmmmm, this happened in 1996, a few years before the Local Church pulled the same little stunt in buying the estate of Jim Moran, and then sanitizing the Internet of any of his research and apologetic writings. Wait a minute...you don't suppose that the Local Church brothers got this idea from their buddy J. Gordon Melton do you? .....just sayin.....
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