Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt
Ohio,
You have brought up some very good points which I both appreciate and am glad to see that you have decided to return to challenging this issue based on the Word. For a while there you were on the attack against my person. I know we have a strong disagreement here and I know you believe that I am just wrong. This hasn't changed the fact that I respect you as a brother in the Lord. I do. I have not appreciated some of your attack directed beyond what I am saying and at me personally.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe that some of your primary objections here are rooted in your belief that the "leadership" messed up, but the flock is innocent. Is this correct?
I also realize that you simply do not agree with some of what I am sharing about idolatry in general. I'm not discounting this fact, but I want to see if you are able to acknowledge one of the key aspects of your position.
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Yeah
Matt, take your time. The pace was far too fast here before.
I never intended to bring "
attack against your person." Apologizes to all those, especially you, who got that impression. Throughout this thread and the forum in general, I have only attempted to bring balance to what I feel are extreme views, whether they come from the promoters or the demoters of the LC's. I do not believe, for the most part, that you are "
just plain wrong," only that some of your more serious judgments should be reserved for certain leaders and their misbehavior, rather than some application for every member.
I do agree with many of your comments on idolatry, when spoken in the same context they were written. When they are applied indiscriminately upon on N.T. believers, then I have to speak up. Our assessment of idolatry should only go as far as the N.T. authors went. Why even mention idolatry, if all equally bear responsibility? That's like proving all LC'ers are still sinners. Isn't that called "straw man."
Concerning whether the "
flock is innocent," the situation is far too complex to say whether all are guilty or only leaders are guilty, (and of what they are guilty of.) That's why I protest generalizations, they spawn prejudices and critical attitudes. They are easy to learn and hard to be cleansed of. I am rejecting both the ones I received inside the LC, and the ones from outside against the LC. I have never been persuaded that stereotypes are positive, whether they be about men in general (or women
), or races, or cultures, or religions.