Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
Thus, the safety in the well-worn paths of old, and the peril in striking out anew. Anyone offering new and better teachings should be suspect. Especially when these new doctrines are essentially held as a contravention of our behavior. As if works were dead, and "eating Jesus" or somesuch were sufficient. I see this as teaching something novel and without scriptural basis, that being hearers (or eaters) of the word were enough. As if saying, "I am becoming God" or saying anything (reciting, declaring, chanting, pray-reading etc), would make it reality itself. No, it is the living that is the true testimony. Our faith is indeed in the teachings of Jesus, but not because they were cleverly presented, but because His living was pleasing to the Father, who furnished proof to all by raising Him from the dead.
Jesus taught, "Do not be hearers of the word only, but be doers of the word". If your theology merely tickles the fancy without the transformative power of the divine command - e.g. "Love your neighbor" - then what is it but distracting speculation? No value..
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Lee taught that just being in his "recovered church" would transform the vessels of mercy into glory. He said that you could sleep in the back of the meeting, and leave with "more God" than when you arrived. You could get "sonized" simply by hanging out in the local church; a sort of divine osmosis would take place. This, looking back, was a confidence game. We took his confidence as our own, and became hearers of the word (Lee's word, to be specific) and not doers of the word.
And then we all wondered why we were getting old, and why there was no fruit. Then we'd burst into local church activity, as some new move from Anaheim was prescribed to fix our lukewarmness and deadness.