Hank Hanegraaff, President of the Christian Research Institute, submitted a letter brief to the Texas Supreme Court, asking the justices to review and reverse the Court of Appeals decision in The Local Church et al v. Harvest House et al. Hanegraaff’s brief stated his own findings that the local churches are not a cult from either a sociological or theological perspective. He concluded:
Finally, to apply the sociologically charged and increasingly connotative wor “cult” to the Local Church can have dramatic and dangerous ramifications. This could be particularly harmful to any group, such as the Local Church, with large constituencies in religiously intolerant societies. The Texas Court of Appeals decision establishing a legal precedent protecting the use of the word “cult” would be potentially damaging to countless innocent Christians. Therefore, it should be reviewed and reversed by the Texas Supreme Court.
PDF of Amicus Brief from Hank Hanegraaff (Texas Supreme Court)