[OBW]

The evidence of the filth in Lee's teachings was already there when I started in early '73. It was in the teachings which had been memorialized in the songs. Songs like "Down in Babylon . . . ." Songs that spoke of our special place as not being a division as we separated from whoever we had been with and stood apart from them all and chastised them.

And we often got those high feelings when we sang songs like "Down in Babylon," "We're in the local church, God's chosen ground," and others that enveloped us in speciality.

Even the whole idea of being "spiritual" is more a creation of Lee's teachings than of Christ's or Paul's. Paul did not say to be spiritual, he said to be holy. To be righteous.

But why do we insist upon understanding the Christian life mostly in terms of Paul rather than Christ? Argue all you want about scripture being scripture and I will agree. But in terms of its content, there is a core. That would be the actual words of God — through prophets in the OT and thorough Jesus in the NT. And the Jews had it right. There is God's speaking and there is commentary. Some of that commentary we call scripture. Some we don't.

In the NT, the gospels are the speaking of God in clear words. The rest is commentary. So when it seems that Jesus spent most of his time speaking about righteousness, justice, love, our living, but we think Paul is talking about something different — spirituality — we aren't reading him correctly. He is commenting on what Jesus said, not providing a different way.