Double Standards

UntoHim · 01-25-2016, 02:40 PM

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.....

-

Freedom · 01-25-2016, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UntoHim

Just in case some of you have any doubts about Ohio's claim:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Vampire-Bo.../dp/157859281X

Thanks for this info UntoHim, I wasn't aware of any of this. It needs no saying how WL felt about things like dragons. The fact that he would allow support from a vampire expert is ironic, if not humorous. Someone having a reputation as a vampire expert would make it hard for me to take them seriously in the field of Christian apologetics.

NewManLiving · 01-25-2016, 05:55 PM

J. Gordon Melton has the credentials: he's a religious historian, author of 25 books about religion and vampires, president of the American chapter of the Transylvania Society of Dracula (founded in Bucharest, Romania), and chairman of the committee that put on Dracula '97:

NewManLiving · 01-25-2016, 08:02 PM

In a 2000 Speak Magazine interview, Melton comments on how he first became interested in the subject of vampires, stating that his interest in the subject started during college days. He stated that: "During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time."[11]

In 1997, Melton, Massimo Introvigne and Elizabeth Miller organized an event at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles where 1,500 attendees (some dressed as vampires) came for a "creative writing contest, Gothic rock music and theatrical performances.[12]

In the TSD annual colloquium, “Therapy and Magic in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and beyond” held in Romania in 2004, it was announced that Melton and Introvigne would be participating in the TSD conference "Buffy, the vampire slayer", in Nashville, TN in 2004. Melton was titled as the "Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S".[13]

Melton is the president of the American chapter The Transylvanian Society of Dracula (TSD). This chapter appears to be inactive, as most English speaking members join the Canadian chapter

NewManLiving · 01-25-2016, 11:24 PM

FYI Two of Count Melton's associates are also heavily steeped in this demonic garbage. Introvigne is also head of a Dracula chapter in Italy, and like his fellow vampire buddy is a cult expert that excuses every abhorrent group or practice as "beneficial". He is an interesting study if you are so inclined to google him. Countess Elizabeth specializes as an expert in Bram Stoker's Dracula
http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/elizabeth_miller.html.
Why someone would find this an exciting career is suspect in itself.

How can anyone trust DCP? What they hoped you would not notice is that Melton and his friends generally think that all groups/sects/cults have their positive side. To get their approval just pay up with the saints' money and your good to go. Why not? The saints have been duped before. What a shame to the Lord's Holy Name. May the righteous Judge have mercy!

Freedom · 01-26-2016, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewManLiving

FYI Two of Count Melton's associates are also heavily steeped in this demonic garbage. Introvigne is also head of a Dracula chapter in Italy, and like his fellow vampire buddy is a cult expert that excuses every abhorrent group or practice as "beneficial". He is an interesting study if you are so inclined to google him. Countess Elizabeth specializes as an expert in Bram Stoker's Dracula
http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/elizabeth_miller.html.
Why someone would find this an exciting career is suspect in itself.

How can anyone trust DCP? What they hoped you would not notice is that Melton and his friends generally think that all groups/sects/cults have their positive side. To get their approval just pay up with the saints' money and your good to go. Why not? The saints have been duped before. What a shame to the Lord's Holy Name. May the righteous Judge have mercy!

The following is from the Wikipedia article on J. Gordon Melton:
Melton challenges the validity of anti-NRM sources, and the testimonies of former members (which he refers to as apostates) critical of their previous groups. While testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit, Melton asserted that when investigating groups, one should not rely solely upon the unverified testimony of ex-members, and that hostile ex-members would invariably shade the truth and blow out of proportion minor incidents turning them into major incidents...

So it seems evident that he is not one to trust anything that a former member of a group has to say. In essence, it sounds like he's is the type that would give any aberrant group the benefit of the doubt. And if he could say that "vampires began to consume my leisure time", then I wouldn't expect that many cults to fall under his radar.

Ohio · 01-26-2016, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewManLiving

How can anyone trust DCP?

After the Blindeds quarantined (excommunicated) Titus Chu and half of the Midwest LC's, they moved behind the scenes to find loyalists with whom they could coach into filing lawsuits to obtain all church assets. They called these sessions "trainings," that is, trainings to help local brothers and sisters sue their other local brothers and sisters.

It was by then I realized that DCP could "spiritualize" any action they took, using some quotes from WL, since their "ends always justified ther means."

TLFisher · 01-26-2016, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewManLiving

How can anyone trust DCP?

Likewise, how can anyone trust the Blendeds? We have ZNP's account of his interaction with Ed Marks. Just the words Ed spoke was very exposing. We have brother Steve Isitt who offered to meet with DCP in 2011 I believe. DCP was conveniently unavailable. Years earlier after Ron mentioned Steve's name more than a few times at a international conference in Ecuador, when Steve sought to contact Ron by phone and by mail, no response.
How can the blendeds to be trusted, when they can't do the right thing according to their conscience and according to life?

‘Now if a person sins after he hears a public adjuration to testify when he is a witness, whether he has seen or otherwise known, if he does not tell it, then he will bear his guilt. Leviticus 5:1

01-25-2016, 02:40 PM	#1
UntoHim Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον For God So Loved The World Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 3,828	Re: Double Standards 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..... - __________________ αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν - 1 Peter 5:11

01-25-2016, 05:55 PM	#3
NewManLiving Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 153	Re: Double Standards J. Gordon Melton has the credentials: he's a religious historian, author of 25 books about religion and vampires, president of the American chapter of the Transylvania Society of Dracula (founded in Bucharest, Romania), and chairman of the committee that put on Dracula '97:

01-25-2016, 08:02 PM	#4
NewManLiving Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 153	Re: Double Standards In a 2000 Speak Magazine interview, Melton comments on how he first became interested in the subject of vampires, stating that his interest in the subject started during college days. He stated that: "During the 1990s, vampires began to consume my leisure time."[11] In 1997, Melton, Massimo Introvigne and Elizabeth Miller organized an event at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles where 1,500 attendees (some dressed as vampires) came for a "creative writing contest, Gothic rock music and theatrical performances.[12] In the TSD annual colloquium, “Therapy and Magic in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and beyond” held in Romania in 2004, it was announced that Melton and Introvigne would be participating in the TSD conference "Buffy, the vampire slayer", in Nashville, TN in 2004. Melton was titled as the "Count Dracula Ambassador to the U.S".[13] Melton is the president of the American chapter The Transylvanian Society of Dracula (TSD). This chapter appears to be inactive, as most English speaking members join the Canadian chapter

01-25-2016, 11:24 PM	#5
NewManLiving Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 153	Re: Double Standards FYI Two of Count Melton's associates are also heavily steeped in this demonic garbage. Introvigne is also head of a Dracula chapter in Italy, and like his fellow vampire buddy is a cult expert that excuses every abhorrent group or practice as "beneficial". He is an interesting study if you are so inclined to google him. Countess Elizabeth specializes as an expert in Bram Stoker's Dracula http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/elizabeth_miller.html. Why someone would find this an exciting career is suspect in itself. How can anyone trust DCP? What they hoped you would not notice is that Melton and his friends generally think that all groups/sects/cults have their positive side. To get their approval just pay up with the saints' money and your good to go. Why not? The saints have been duped before. What a shame to the Lord's Holy Name. May the righteous Judge have mercy!