[aron]

Originally Posted by Ohio

Young people ... By definition ... Are discernment deficient.

That defined me. And perhaps you. It also had nothing to do with our innate intelligence..

Excellent point. And young people like something new. They typically don't say, "gimme that old time religion". They want new and fresh and exciting. So Lee's repackaged Brethren exclusivity, with its idea of being "God's best", combined with the charismatic shouting of a revival and the subjectivity of the inner life, placed an unbalanced pathway before us. And yes, those who lack discernment will pick up the bait. Is it any wonder they focus today exclusively on college freshman? Those are the only ones left for the LSM recruiters. Everyone else sees through their illusion... as awareness said, everyone else can smell the rat.

Originally Posted by Ohio

They actually were wrongly calibrating our consciences.

We wrongly calibrated our own consciences, with the help of our new masters. We accepted the path; we chose it. Yes, we were ignorant. But we still made a choice, and had to live with it.

I understand your point as well, and Jesus also referenced this, but the only way to get off the path is to accept responsibility. I sat in the meetings while ritualized public shaming was going on. I didn't recognize the Asian "losing face" and "saving face" phenomenon for what it was, but my conscience was indeed bothered. Yet I stayed.

And that goes for the rest: ignoring the poor and weak, elevating a man above the flock, etc. etc. We accepted a fallen human culture as our own, because it was new, and different, and we'd been convinced it was scriptural and divine. Even when our consciences were troubled we kept telling ourselves it was the normal church, and was heavenly.

Originally Posted by Ohio

Young believers really need leaders who will help them to properly calibrate their consciences in the ways of life and righteousness. This is the healthy pattern we see in the scriptures.

And this is why I am so thankful for leaders like John Ingalls. They spoke up against all odds. They were willing to risk it all to be faithful to their conscience.

And I definitely agree with you regarding the healthy pattern in the scriptures. The supposedly high peak theology was actually re-packaged 19th century Sunday School lessons for the most part (thx Nigel Tomes for noting this), but we largely missed the healthy patterns. Instead, LSM teachings took NT advice like "subject yourselves to one another" to an unhealthy place. And that goes for the rest of it. We got the letter of Paul, as viewed through Nee and Lee's Asian-colored lens, while the Spirit of Christ receded further into the background.