Quote:
Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah
I strongly believe that other people are very similar to myself (kind of an offshoot of the principle to treat others as you would have them treat me). If I would have gone through mental anguish, I feel they would as well. I believe that everyone who has considered this issue, whether Houston elders, or anyone who read the book, etc has gone through a deliberation. Therefore I believe that although there are many "toeing the BB line" they are "under the burden of turmoil within". Like WL said, some deceptions take 10 years to unravel and this is certainly one of them. When you make a mistake and you are suffering under the burden of turmoil within, after 10 or 20 years you will wake up one day and finally decide it is time to do the right thing because you just can't manage this burden any longer.
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If this were a personal offense that needed action and reconciliation, I do believe BP would have acted on it ... years ago. The root of the problem was the authoritarian mindset passed down from WL. Now I must admit that I do not have a "working knowledge" of BP, since I never was with him close up. Some of my observations probably are drawn from TC and others whom I did know over an extended period of time, and whose mindset also matched that of WL.
For example, years ago I was close to one brother who was quite fruitful. At one point, he was seriously ridiculed during a message he was asked to give in Cleveland. It was an arrangement made by TC that various brothers would travel to other churches for 4 weekends, laboring with the elders and saints there, and then sharing in their meeting. This brother and a partner (we traveled two by two) were assigned to Cleveland Hall #1, where TC lived in the back yard. Looking back, this whole thing was probably a setup. TC came into the back of the meeting late, and promptly proceeded to tear into him publicly. It was ugly.
The brother then demanded an apology from TC, which was never going to happen. There were other times of conflict also, besides this one Sunday morning meeting. Later on I asked TC privately about restoring him, and TC's answer to me, "
he has touched god's government." In other words, the brother had violated God's throne, he was basically "
toast." The brother was history, and I should not waste any more of my time with him. With a mindset of predominantly Chinese authoritarianism, coupled with exclusive and elitist views of the Recovery as God's unique testimony on this earth, there was just no chance that TC,
during the mid-80's, would understand that he needed to apologize to that brother for any wrongdoing.
Let me try to explain this for those who might not understand what happened to that brother, (or Jane Anderson, or any of the quarantined brothers, for that matter.) In the mind of TC, (or WL, or BP) his actions were no different than a judge who sentenced a convicted murderer to death.
Would the judge repent for his actions? Absolutely not! He was only meeting out just judgment, and protecting society from evil. He was just doing his job. He was protecting the church, the Recovery, and God's testimony.
For BP to act on the inner turmoil which resulted from his abuses was akin to leaving the faith. His faith and Christian service had become inextricably intertwined with WL. BP had only done what WL had done. Remember the slogan, "
What Would Witness Do?" For BP to repent to Jane A. would set in motion a chain of events that would question everything about WL. And that was not going to happen. This is why I heard TC say many times, "
WL is my spiritual father. It is none of my business when my father makes a mistake." WL actions were one area that TC did not discuss. He would and did critique every brother he ever knew, but not WL