Quote:
Originally Posted by Thankful Jane
Dear Peter,
We tend to think of “idolatry” in terms of loving or being enticed. This is definitely a part of idolatry, but I think that God’s view of idolatry in the O.T. was much more than this. He was in covenant relationship with His people, as their husband. For them to serve other Gods was to break covenant with Him. He alone was to be their God, so He considered idolatry among his people to be spiritual fornication.
Thankful Jane[/FONT][/COLOR]
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Dear Thankful:
I was not specifically addressing whether the ground of locality
became an idol for some - if not all in the LC. I was addressing a much more specific claim made by Matt - that the idea that "we're IT" was a factor which
intially attracted people.
It may be the case that those who stayed in the LC eventually learned and uplifted the "ground". But that is not what I'm addressing. I am questioning, as a factual matter, whether the "uniqueness" aspect of the LC was, in fact, what initially made people want to begin meeting there.
Regarding whether the "ground" did become an idol for individual members, I have some thoughts, which I will share soon. In that discussion, I think it is two separate matters: 1) did WL idolize the "ground" from the beginning and 2) did individual members idolize the "ground" and, if so, at what point and in what way.
The evidence concern WL in Taiwan does not inherently implicate a new believer who came in and stayed in the LC in the 1970s. It may, but not because of WL's idolatry, if there was any - but a different, individual, criteria - which I will try to flesh out soon.
In Him,
Peter