Opposition and Support of Living Stream Ministry
Because of Living Stream Ministry's prominence within the Local Churches as the publisher and promoter of the Recovery Version of the Bible as well as Witness Lee's ideas, the publisher has played a significant role in defending and responding to some of the controversies surrounding the movement. Living Stream Ministry affirms that Lee's teachings are part of the Christian tradition, which a growing number in the evangelical community have confirmed over the past decade. Statements of support for the movement have come from figures and institutions within evangelical Christianity such as the "Bible Answer Man" Hank Hanegraaff, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Answers in Action director Gretchen Passantino. As of 2002, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) has also accepted Living Stream Ministry as a member with full voting rights.
There has also been controversy over the organization's legal tactics. Living Stream Ministry sued Harvest House Publications for defamation and $136 million dollars in damages after an entry on the Local Churches movement was included in Harvest House's Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions. In January 2007, an open letter was signed and posted online by more than 70 theologians and pastors from seven countries asking the church to repudiate controversial statements by Witness Lee and to cease resorting to litigation as a means of settling disputes. In February 2007, the editorial section of Living Stream Ministry responded to their letter with a statement entitled A Brief Response to 'An Open Letter to the Leadership of Living Stream Ministry and the Local Churches'.
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