This article was quite interesting to read through. My initial thought after reading it is where are the inaccuracies in this article? I know everyone was told back during that time about all the "lies" and "inaccuracies" that were being published about the LC. I don't see anything that strikes me as inaccurate. Actually, I can relate to the picture of the LC that this article presents. I'm sure others here could say that as well.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that when CRI published their journal titled "We Were Wrong" they argued that the basis for their retraction was that their previous views and statements on the LC and WL had been based on bad information. The appendix for "The Local Church of Witness Lee" lists all their sources and a number of them are WL's own writings.
I don't know where this "bad information" would have come from. It looks to me like they did the best research that they could have with the information that they had.
One interesting (somewhat unrelated) thing that I noticed when reading this article is that their sources (WL writings) have been revised by LSM since 30 or so years ago. Take for example, the quote of the Life Study of
Genesis as it appears in the article:
Quote:
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Let me tell you the secret to being solidly perfected to be a strong pillar for the Lord's move. Brothers like Benson Phillips and John So have been perfected because they have had no concepts of their own. Recently, Brother Benson declared strongly declared strongly that he only knows to follow the ministry of Brother Lee. When John So stayed with us in Los Angeles, he knew nothing except to absorb everything of the ministry…Even when they say mistakes, they forgot about them, having no time to waste discussing them. Life Study of Genesis, Message 88 - Print Version
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This is how the same quote appears at present:
Quote:
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Let me now tell you the secret to being solidly perfected to be a strong pillar for the Lord's move. Certain brothers have been perfected because they have had no concepts of their own. Recently, one brother declared strongly that he only knows to follow the ministry of Brother Lee and to absorb everything of this ministry... Even when they see certain mistakes, they forget about them, having no time to waste discussing them. They only desire to soak in all the positive things. Life Study of Genesis, Message 88 - Current Online Version
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The "historical revisionism" by LSM is a different subject, however, it brings up an interesting point. When the "Local Church of Witness Lee" article was published, brother like John So were still in the LC saying things how they "knew nothing except to absorb everything of the ministry." The article also cites a testimony by Gene Ford, whom I understand to have left the LC in the late 70's. At the time, such statements were viewed by people like the Passantinos as red flags, and rightly so.
When CRI retracted their former position on the LC, why didn't they take into consideration that many of the brothers who said these peculiar statements have long since left? On pg 389 of the article it is stated that "The authors have on file testimonies from ex-Local Church members to whom these "divine threats" were made." Again did such testimonies by ex-members not matter to the CRI when they made their retraction? I have to wonder what kind of "research" was really taking place in recent years. I know the LC can put on a very welcoming face for new members and probably for the CRI, but the side of the LC that I have seen is not pretty and it is not something I would want to bring others into.