Quote:
Originally Posted by FaithHopeLove
Hello there,
Can someone tell me in a nutshell what this whole thing is about? I think this pastor Wang's name rings a bell in my mind.
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Wang Ming Dao is considered one of the Fathers of the house church movement in China and is a contemporary of Watchman Nee. Here's a biography of him on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esl16z1H6CQ
I talked to a church elder from my mom's Chinese church who was a relative of Nee and he described that Wang Ming Dao and Watchman Nee had different approaches to ministry. Wang would not baptize people right away but made sure that church leaders would observe evidence of one being truly born again before proceeding with baptism. Wang disagreed with Nee on the 1000 year outer darkness concept and believed in a dichotomy of true vs false christians akin to the parable of the wheat and tares.
Nee on the other hand tried to get as many people to confess the faith and be baptized as possible. This is consistent with Nee's theology where only a simple prayer and confession of faith is necessary for salvation.
According to the diary it appears that Wang Ming Dao was familiar with a lot of Nee's hidden sins and likely had doubts about the authenticity of his faith and if he was repentant.
The church elder I met with, despite being a relative of Nee, believed that he taught some false doctrine but attributed it to there not be any seminaries available in China at the time. He thought Pastor Wang's theology and ministry approach was more biblical and his own children didn't get baptized until they were adults and made a firm commitment to follow Jesus.