[UntoHim]

I wrote this post this morning but had to run out before I actually got to put it on the forum. It's pretty stale at this point, but I'll try to add to it by reacting to some of the subsequent posts.

I think sometimes all three of the types Igzy has listed....all at the same time

Let's face it, the Local Church, and our experience of it, seem to lend themselves to exaggeration. We got used to exaggeration while we were in the movement (cf: We ARE THE Lord's Recovery! We ARE THE Church! Eating Jesus is THE WAY! Christianity is Christless! and the kicker...to say one negative thing about the Local Church or Witness Lee must mean you hate the LC or you hate Witness Lee.) Of course it's easy to look back and make these kind of criticisms, but to simply deny the attitudes we once held, and is still held by current LC members, is to rob our discussions of reality.

All human endeavors, even those which seek to please God, serve Christ and "build the Church", are subject to the limitations and weaknesses of the humans who initiate them and fight to keep them profitable and relevant. By profitable I mean something that is going to be profitable to God and his people, and by relevant I mean relevant to the world around us. There is absolutely no doubt that Witness Lee and his followers have sincerely sought to please God, serve Christ and build the Church. But the simple truth is that they have gone ahead and tried to accomplish these things without acknowledging their limitations and weaknesses, and as a matter of fact, they feel that if they do acknowledge their limitations and weaknesses, that would make them just like all the other Christians throughout history, and to Witness Lee and his followers that would be the biggest sin of all.

Even if it has been many years, some of us feel uncomfortable speaking of these human weaknesses...we are all conscience that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God", and this indeed is the crux of the matter - are we truly seeking the glory of God? Is this our goal in being so harshly critical of Witness Lee and the LC movement, to seek the glory of God? Is this our goal in being so overly defensive, even to the point of making it personal, to seek the glory of God? I think we are falling woefully short on this thread so far. At least I know I am.

Lets try to elevate the conversation, shall we?

Originally Posted by Terry

There are several others;
A. Ones who go on and pretend their LC experiences never happened.
B. Ones who go on, but regarding the past analyze to reach an understanding what happened.

Terry, without trying to put words in your mouth, don't you mean to say "Ones who go on and pretend their (Positive) LC experiences never happened"? If so I don't blame you for thinking this about brothers like Igzy and me. We tend to emphasize the negative. But this does not mean we have a negative attitude or view towards our dear brothers and sisters in the Local Church. We want the same things for them that we want for every believer - to know the true and living God of the Universe, His Son Jesus Christ and to be lead into all Truth by the Spirit of Truth. We don't think this is happening in the Local Church of Witness Lee. Some are convinced that at one time this was indeed taking place in the LC. I have serious doubts about this. This is NOT, repeat NOT, to say that we did have some genuine experiences of Christ, but I do not believe that the overall atmosphere in the LC was conducive to knowing God in the way the Bible describes.

As far as "to reach an understanding what happened"...well that's pretty much what this forum is all about!