Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
...public censure and humiliations passed down from the British missionary, a sister no less, M. E. Barber to Watchman Née. Every subsequent leaders' meeting for the next century was open hunting season for the maximum leader to hone his fine talents in the wild.
To "shoot at" the maximum leader would bring condemnation and excommunication, but for the maximum leader to take aim was to be expected by all...
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This is arguably a cultural red flag waving high for all to see, and which was disguised and then received under spiritual guise, under the rubric of "maintaining good order in the church".
It was indeed impressive, coming in from the outside, and seeing a well-oiled machine in which everyone is rabidly shouting agreement with the latest directive from headquarters. But then you'd hear someone mentioning a "rebellion" or a "storm", and when you'd ask what that was they'd look at the floor and say, "We don't talk about it."
This kind of "perfecting" and its obvious side-effects went against the scripture, against common sense, and most importantly against our own consciences, yet we took it, and came back for more. If this is not fallen human culture successfully masquerading as the way of eternal life, what is? Amazing, in retrospect, that so many people got so deeply taken in by this. If I wasn't there I might say they were without discernment, etc. But I was there, and that seems like an awful lot of people lacking discernment, and ignoring their consciences.