Where Has All the Orthopraxy Gone?

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by rayliotta

Have you heard people say, in regards to this trend, something like, "It is Biblical"? This is what I was told by more than one brother. As I remember, it's based on the fact that at the end of some of the Epistles, Paul mentions more women than men (Dorcas, Phoebe, etc.). So this is the basis for saying that "it is Biblical!" that there would end up being this kind of imbalance in the local churches. (Is this taught specifically by Witness Lee, does anybody know? I believe it is, but I'm not certain.)

Both Nee and Lee taught that there should be twice as many sisters as brothers in a local church.

This was "based" upon the house in Bethany in John chapter 12, which supposedly was a true model or "miniature" of the healthy church life. Read about these ten distinguishing "characteristics" in the first footnote on John 12.1. The footnote item (5) says "having more sisters than brothers," but I heard elsewhere on a number of occasions that Nee prescribed a 2:1 ratio.

Even the footnote seems to contradict this "model" ratio by including Simon the leper. That would make 2 brothers and 2 sisters, perhaps a more "ideal" ratio.

This footnote is so typical of the ministries of both Nee and Lee. Both needed to maintain their "Seer" status by "seeing" truths and patterns in the Bible which no one else could "see." By "seeing" the proper sister:brother ratio in a "normal" local church they established a standard which no church could measure up to.