What was said about The Local Church in the Introduction of The Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions?
Absolutely nothing. What makes this defamation lawsuit peculiar is that The Local Church is never named in the Introduction of the Encyclopedia, nor does the group dispute anything said about them in the chapter on The Local Church. In their suit, The Local Church alleges that, in the Introduction, a general list of characteristics of cults and a brief statement about criminal behaviors that have been exhibited by some cult leaders or gurus33 might give readers the impression that The Local Church exhibits immoral characteristics or participates in criminal activity. However, before these traits are mentioned, the Encyclopedia’s Introduction very clearly says “not all groups have all the characteristics.”34 The only way a reader of the Encyclopedia can possibly determine the characteristics or activities of any particular group is to go to the specific chapter that discusses that group rather than look at the Introduction (and, in fact, people know that’s how an encyclopedia is used).
