Quote:
Are you in Anaheim as a spy, investigating whether or not Witness Lee has any "dung"? I cannot live without "dung." To be sure, both "feathers" and "bones" can be found here in Anaheim. The elders have made many "bones." But I would stand, even dance, upon all the "bones" they have made; I would not be so foolish as to eat them.
Three or four of us knew Brother Nee very intimately. He fully opened himself to us, and we knew his imperfections… When a great turmoil was aroused against his ministry, I was not ashamed to say that I was an absolute follower of Brother Nee. I did not care what others said about his mistakes…
How foolish it would be for anyone in the church to devote his time to finding "dung" or stuffing his pockets with "feathers," saying, "This is a 'feather' from that 'chicken' Witness Lee, and these are the 'bones' of the church in Anaheim. Don't you know that the church in Anaheim has made mistakes?" If this is your intention, you are wasting your time…Whatever Witness Lee is, he is what he is. Whether the church is genuine or not, the church is what the church is. Neither the church in Anaheim nor my ministry is afraid of exposure. On the contrary, we appreciate it. But what will you gain by exposing us?
Life-Study of Genesis, Message 88
|
I had to post the above excerpt, because I remembered coming across it years back when I was reading the LS of Genesis. At the time, it struck me as a bit peculiar, because I had never considered there could be much of any "feathers and bones" in the LC. I was so caught up in what I perceived to be the "good" of the LC, that it didn't occur to me that there would be any reason to concern myself with such matters.
When I read Lee's words now, I see him pushing the notion that everyone was out to find his faults or the faults in the local churches. I really think that I would be hard-pressed to find anyone who has made a sport out of criticizing Lee. As far as I am aware, all of the criticism which has been directed at him and the LCM has been done out of
genuine concern to address serious matters related both to doctrine and practices.
I'm sure Lee knew that there was a bit too much "dung" surrounding his ministry, and he needed a way to insulate himself from that. What better way than to tell everyone not to worry about the feathers and bones? Generally speaking, people are often willing to ignore the bad for the greater good of things. Lee knew that, and he took advantage of that.