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Originally Posted by ByHisGrace
A year before I left the LC, a girl questioned some of the leading brothers during bible study about whether the LC is related to some cult and that her pastor had negative views over Witness Lee. The leading brothers flew into a rage and said " I WAS WITNESS LEE'S PERSONAL STUDENT, I'VE SEEN HIM FACE TO FACE. TELL YOUR PASTOR TO COME SEE ME, I'LL SUE HIM MYSELF".... I was deeply shocked at how emotional the leading brothers were over things being said about Witness Lee. The girl wasn't criticizing Christ or the Bible...
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What's striking is the visceral reaction that one sees when the wrong button gets pushed. The response isn't spiritual at all. The veneer is peeled back and underlying emotional forces show themselves. Rage is neither eternal life or objective truth, but a cover for even more deeply repressed emotions of confusion, fear and shame. Instead of healing, there's a cover over an unresolved wound; in Jesus' words, a whitewashed wall covering a tomb.
To suffer is common human experience. Most of us experience fear, shame, loss, grief, and confusion. But I believe these inner hurts can be healed, and the effects can be removed. The LC programme of incessant shouting offered some temporary relief. Perhaps related, there was a fad in the 1970s called "primal scream therapy" where people would let it all out, and feel better. Similarly the "exercise your spirit" philosophy was initially appealing. But even then, looking back, I could have used discernment - Paul wrote "exercise yourself unto Godliness" meaning self-restraint and good works like helping (sharing with and/or caring for) others. But in the LC, we turned it into screaming matches - literally - who could make the most noise was most "on fire for God" etc.
And when that system and its thought-world got challenged, the leader flew into rage, as seen above. Many of us have seen this, too, as numerous testimonies show, that this kind of reaction wasn't an exception but the rule. And this pattern indicates a lack of inner transformation, but the underlying problem is that often the one lacking spiritual depth, and raging aloud on weaker ones, was leading the church! If so, what's a young person to do? They're trained to respect authority, but the person placed in authority suddenly acts like a petulant child!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primal_therapy
"Primal therapy became very influential during a brief period in the early 1970s after the publication of Arthur Janov's first book, The Primal Scream."
It may be coincidental that this LC practice of "calling" took off at about this time. But either way, I'm quoting the above post to show that calling alone doesn't purify us. The leading one who's 'rebuking' or 'correcting' in this case isn't doing it out of a pure heart. Rage doesn't show purity.
Below is a song that illustrates how we got into this state, and what is wrong. It was influential when I came into the LC.
CHORUS
I’m walking down the road
That leads to glory.
I’m pressing toward the mark
By enjoying God!
I don’t know so much,
Just to love Him.
I’m walking down the road,
Glory, here I come.
"I don't know so much, Just to love Him", this means, turn off your mind, shout, shout, shout until you are "enjoying God". Mindless conformity to the Hive results, and complete and utter dependence on the thoughts that are supplied from without. The "Just" part is code for "don't do anything else". This would have been given during the Witness Lee message series, which was then turned into song and disseminated. It was mind control.
And notice that the "love Him" is always stressed, but the "love thy neighbour" is always ignored! Yet the second part was given by Jesus as equivalent to the first! You see the "Just" cuts off everything else, even scriptural command. "Just to love Him" is coded LC-speak - just do this, and don't do anything else.
VERSE 1
With the brothers and the sisters,
We enjoy Him day by day.
It’s so simple and easy,
Our worries flee away.
Now we’re growing together,
As one big family,
Abiding in the joy of the Lord.
"It's so simple and easy". Same thing - Just call, call, call Jesus' name. Don't do anything else. Get yourself into an altered state by a kind of sing-song group mantra. "Blah-blah-blah-BLAAAHH!!" (Ayyyeemeeeennnn!!). So simple and easy, all your problems disappear. Unfortunately, not forever - as I discovered after several years of immersive practice - they are still there. But the "so simple and easy" avoids the sometimes difficult and painful work of healing, and lures one into a small, reflexive feedback loop that ultimately isn't transformational at all. Yes, it's simple and easy - unfortunately it's often completely ineffective.
VERSE 2
We enjoy You, Lord Jesus,
In our experience.
We’re getting to know You—
It’s making us leap and dance.
Just eating and drinking,
It’s what we do the best,
Delighting in the love of the Lord.
"Just eating and drinking". Same thing. The all-inclusive Golden Pill. Again, the "just" part is key: don't bother with the hungry person nearby, or one shivering with cold. No, that kind of consideration is dead works. You're in your mind, sister!! Just eat and drink, and enjoy!! I saw this in the FTTA, where a leading trainer actively shut down ideas on giving to those who couldn't repay. (But getting "good building material" from the nearby campus wasn't a dead work...)
VERSE 3
We’re walking, not running,
Cause we’re in the pasture land.
Our Shepherd is nearby,
We’re trusting in His hand.
He’s everything to us,
He’s all we ever need,
Resting in the peace of the Lord.
"He's everything to us" is the All-Inclusive Christ, who was processed for your enjoyment. Just call, call, call in every place. But, in the first chapters of Acts, the disciples were feeding the hungry, just like Jesus did to the hungry crowds who followed into the deserts. Paul goes into detail on this in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9: While you were poor, Jesus emptied Himself, and became poor for you. Now, you should follow, and become poor for the sake of others. Paul also quoted Jesus' word to the Ephesian elders, that it is better to give (to others) than to receive (the self).
But "He's all we ever need" cuts off the hungry, cold or sick nearby person from consideration. Just go into the meeting hall, open HWFMR, and open your mouth and make noise. "Just [selfishly] enjoy God", and selfishly congratulate yourself on arriving in the Good Land. But when this philosophy is questioned, the rage begins. This shows me what's beneath the supposed enjoyment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trapped
The amount of time it takes to untangle LSM's wonky teachings and slimy tactics is prohibitive to....well....just about everyone.
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You could flip this sentiment around, and say that there's so much wrong with Lee's teachings and subsequent LC practices that most anyone can point out something, most anywhere. Nobody has to take on DCP word-for-word. What I did above was pick out an egregious song (or footnote, or HWFMR outline), and point out numerous glaring issues which led directly to the unpleasant and unfulfilling experiences we remember. Anyone can do it.
Pointing out the existence of the holding chain is the first step to breaking its holding power. We were called to freedom, not slavery. In this case, the chain is actually a web, a carefully woven apparatus of interlocking teachings and social processes built up to sustain those teachings. But this carefully woven net is actually made of rather weak threads, any one of which can be pulled out by anyone, and held to light, as I did above. And the whole contraption begins to unravel... it's really not as impressive as it first may seem.