True Companionship/Love outside the Local Church

[Intothewind]

This is very related but someone different to the thread "no life outside the LC"
but I from a less spiritual basis.

How many have here recall teachings of the following.

"You will never find a community of people who will love you and care for you the way they do in the LC"
we were told this on college blending trips. And you know, it might be true. But that kind of completely uniform brainwashed culture and completely unconditional companionship(based apparently on godliness so calling it friendship is discouraged) is probably not very healthy, in any case.

"True love is God's love, and since God basically only loves the LC, relationships outside the LC are not genuine."

"People outside (whether in Christianity, or outside of other religions) are never truly happy and they need God(or the ministry)"

any additional thoughts appreciated.

[awareness]

This is very related but someone different to the thread "no life outside the LC"
but I from a less spiritual basis.

How many have here recall teachings of the following.

"You will never find a community of people who will love you and care for you the way they do in the LC"
we were told this on college blending trips. And you know, it might be true. But that kind of completely uniform brainwashed culture and completely unconditional companionship(based apparently on godliness so calling it friendship is discouraged) is probably not very healthy, in any case.

"True love is God's love, and since God basically only loves the LC, relationships outside the LC are not genuine."

"People outside (whether in Christianity, or outside of other religions) are never truly happy and they need God(or the ministry)"

any additional thoughts appreciated.
Bahahahaha ...

And an arranged marriage with no evidence of love is true love to LCers.

Also, when I got the boot, and Mel Porter told everyone I was a serpent, I & my wife wondered where their love was.

But worse, LCer's can't even love LCers, unless they toe the line.

[Ohio]

Bahahahaha ...

And an arranged marriage with no evidence of love is true love to LCers.

Also, when I got the boot, and Mel Porter told everyone I was a serpent, I & my wife wondered where their love was.

But worse, LCer's can't even love LCers, unless they toe the line.

"For if you only love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the taxman and the sinners can do that. And if you only do what is good to those who treat you well, what thanks do you deserve, even sinners do that much."

[leastofthese]

This is very related but someone different to the thread "no life outside the LC"
but I from a less spiritual basis.

How many have here recall teachings of the following.

"You will never find a community of people who will love you and care for you the way they do in the LC"
we were told this on college blending trips. And you know, it might be true. But that kind of completely uniform brainwashed culture and completely unconditional companionship(based apparently on godliness so calling it friendship is discouraged) is probably not very healthy, in any case.

"True love is God's love, and since God basically only loves the LC, relationships outside the LC are not genuine."

"People outside (whether in Christianity, or outside of other religions) are never truly happy and they need God(or the ministry)"

any additional thoughts appreciated.


The topic of authentic love/care and community was a topic I discussed with a full-timer on more than one occasion. He shared that he felt as I did - basically that almost all relationships were surface level - not full of love, truth, and life.

He also mentioned that he and another elder had discussed this same thought and were trying to be intentional about focusing on this love, care, community in their own home meeting.

Living out the authentic love of Christ is impossible without Christ - when you focus on Lee above Christ, you have the core of the LSm community.

[Bradley]

'Acacia wood does not touch other acacia wood directly, they are overlaid with gold' (All horizontal fellowship and relationships should go through God).

This used to bother me a lot. Can't I just hang out with brothers doing normal stuff? PSRP is great, but sometimes I just want to hang out and chat.

Why can't I invite an unbeliever over for dinner without having to work on them as a gospel contact? Yeah I can still tell them about the Lord but it doesn't mean all my interactions have to be about that. I just wanted a friend, not a gospel project.

[Bradley]

LCer's can't even love LCers, unless they toe the line.

And praise the Lord for that. If they were all as sweet and lovely as they think they are I would never have realised I was in a cult.

Having 98% of all the saints I know treat me badly, look down on me, demand my repentance and/or place unrealistic demands on me all just because I left my wife for being abusive - it opened my eyes. Sometimes I think the Lord allowed me to marry that crazy lady so that I could be exposed to all that craziness and see it for what it really is.

[awareness]

And praise the Lord for that. If they were all as sweet and lovely as they think they are I would never have realised I was in a cult.

Having 98% of all the saints I know treat me badly, look down on me, demand my repentance and/or place unrealistic demands on me all just because I left my wife for being abusive - it opened my eyes. Sometimes I think the Lord allowed me to marry that crazy lady so that I could be exposed to all that craziness and see it for what it really is.
Once you see it you can't unsee it.

What got me was, after the elder gave me the boot he told all the saints that I and my innocent wife were serpents, and to stay away from us. Then saints that I loved, even friends I brought into the LC, and that I thought loved me, would have nothing to do with my wife and I.

So it became obvious, and easy to see. Love? What love? It was all empty rhetoric. They had no love for a brother and sister that weren't against God, Jesus, or the Bible ; true believers, saints in the church on the ground of the city, all over loyalty to Witness Lee.

But it made me see clearly, that, I was in a personality cult. I'm very glad I'm out. And glad for you too bro Bradley.

[Ohio]

'Acacia wood does not touch other acacia wood directly, they are overlaid with gold' (All horizontal fellowship and relationships should go through God).

This used to bother me a lot. Can't I just hang out with brothers doing normal stuff? PSRP is great, but sometimes I just want to hang out and chat.

This is LC nonsense.

This goes along with another LC teaching wrongly inferred from O.T. types -- that all "natural" relationships are like the "honey" that damages our offerings. (It's somewhere in the O.T.) WL picked this up from the Exclusive Brethren, who developed this nonsense teaching in the aftermath of one of their many quarantines in an effort to keep the faithful from departing. They needed a so-called scriptural mandate to place "loyalty to the ministry" ahead of loyalty to those you love. Hence divorce was preferable to losing both husband and wife, and better to harden your heart to those you love than listen to their valid complaints.

If God intended that there be no "brotherly love" or "sisterly love", then the Bible would not speak of both agape divine love and philio brotherly love. (like in 2 Peter 1.7) The one church in Revelation which was praised by the Lord without critique was Philadelphia, which means "brotherly love." Does one really think that there were no healthy friendships there?

The Lord never intended that "we love the ministry" ahead of loving the brothers and sisters around us. That rotten LC teaching is a totally self-serving promotion of LSM.

[awareness]

That is a teaching that uses the Bible to create a cult. Let's face the truth here : the local church, tho full of precious brothers and sisters, is a cult.

And I think the main purpose of LCD is to free those precious brothers ans sister from that cult.

[LifeGoesOn]

That is a teaching that uses the Bible to create a cult. Let's face the truth here : the local church, tho full of precious brothers and sisters, is a cult.

And I think the main purpose of LCD is to free those precious brothers and sisters from that cult.

http://i67.tinypic.com/2vkeo9h.png

[clever sister]

I had true friendship and companionship in the LC and I have true friendship and companionship outside the LC.

I think the big difference though is outside the LC people don't pretend that we get along and love one another when really we are just tolerating one another for the sake of 'oneness'.

Yes, in my work place sometimes I have to tolerate some of my colleagues, but I never pretend I love them or that my actions are out of love for them.

Whilst the people I chose to interact with outside work are people who genuinely care.