[Freedom]

Now I will point out some things that Nee says about this “latent power”. This also comes from chapter 1. Here 2 quotes on how Nee thinks this “latent power” works:

Today in each and every person who lives on earth lies this Adamic power, though it is confined in him and is not able to freely express itself. Yet such power is in every man's soul just as it was in Adam's soul at the beginning. Since today's soul is under siege by the flesh, this power is likewise confined by the flesh. The work of the devil nowadays is to stir up man's soul and to release this latent power within it as a deception for spiritual power. The reason for my mentioning these things is to warn ourselves of the special relationship between man's soul and Satan in the last days.
We have already seen how Adam possessed special supernatural ability, though in actuality what he had was not at all special or supernatural, however much it may appear that way to us today. Before his fall Adam could quite naturally exercise this ability with ease, since it was embodied in his soul. But after his fall, this power of his was interned by his body. Formerly the body was a help to Adam's powerful soul; now the soul had fallen, and his power was circumscribed by the shell of the flesh. Satan, however, attempts to break open this fleshly shell and to release the power dormant in man's soul in order to gain control over man. Many do not understand this strategy, being deceived into accepting it as of God.

The modern-day Church of Christ, Scientist was founded by Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy. She denied the existence of sickness, pain, sin, and death (though Mrs. Eddy has already died. Since according to her teaching there is no such thing as sickness, whenever one is sick he only needs to exercise his mind against any recognition of pain and he will be healed. This means, then, that if one believes in no sickness he will not be sick. So too, if he does not believe in sin he will not sin. By training man's will, mind, and emotion to the point of absolutely denying the existence of these things-viewing them as false and deceptive he will find them nonexistent indeed.
When this teaching was first promulgated, it was opposed by many people. Physicians especially opposed it, for if this were true, then there would be no need for physicians. Yet following their examination of those people healed by the Christian Scientist, these doctors were unable to repudiate it as false. Consequently, more and more people believe; even many famous scientists and physicians embrace this teaching. This is not at all surprising, though, since there is a reservoir of tremendous power in the soul just waiting to be released from the confines of the flesh.

Notice the second quote in particular. This one caught my attention, especially the part in the bold. Because Nee believes that current the work of Satan is to release this “latent” power of the soul, it leads to all type of strange conclusions. Nee makes the claim that people belonging to a cult (Church of Christ, Scientist) can indeed heal themselves from sickness by utilizing this latent power. Is this not a bizarre teaching? According to Nee, the same thing that many Christians pray for (healing from sickness) can be accomplished through other questionable means. These type of statements by Nee are the reason I wanted to have a discussion on this book and possible other books of Nee that those in the LC doesn’t discuss. If it was really possible for someone to be healed by not believing in sickness what would stop people from trying to heal themselves in that way? If someone had found out how to do this, why wouldn’t many people be doing this now? This kind of teaching obviously proves itself to be false.
Here is something else that Nee says which is just as peculiar:

Several years ago I made the acquaintance of an Indian. He told me of a friend of his in Hinduism who could reveal secrets of people accurately. Once he wished to test the ability of his Hindu friend. So he invited him to his home, and sure enough the Hindu was able to reveal everything that had been put into each drawer of the home. Later my Indian acquaintance asked his friend to go outside and wait while he wrapped a most valuable object in cloth and paper before placing it in a box and depositing it in a locked drawer. His Hindu friend returned inside and was able to reveal what the valuable object was without error. This was unquestionably due to the exercise of soul power that was able to penetrate all physical barriers. Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, whom we have quoted earlier, once wrote the following:
I once met a man in North India, who had access to the highest circles of society in Simla, the summer seat of the Government of India, who told me one evening of his connection with the Mahatmas in India and in other countries of Asia. He said that he knew of great political events weeks and months before they came to pass. `I do not depend for news on telegrams and newspapers. They only record past events, we know events before they take place,' he said. How can a man in London know the events happening in India, and viceversa? It was explained to me that it was through `soul-force' being projected by men who knew the secret of the Mahatmas.* (*Overcomer magazine for 1921-23, quoted in Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Soul and Spirit. Poole, Dorset, England, Overcomer Literature Trust, 1968?, p.55-56. Also available in the United States from Christian Literature Crusade, Fort Washington, Pa.)

I can honestly say that before reading this book, I had no idea that Nee believed these things. Regarding the things of charismatic Christianity, I don’t dismiss that modern miracles or other works of power may occur, but I am always cautious whenever I hear of these things. What strikes me about Nee’s beliefs is that he believes that people can do these miraculous things in the absence of God. I don’t know if Satan empowers people to do “miraculous” things, however, I can say that I have never seen any example of this. I noticed Nee’s examples are not anything he has witnessed directly.