[OBW]

Yep. There it is. A "cleaning exercise" in 1965. A man who was no longer functioning as an elder, or anything else, in Taiwan returns to oust those who will not put him back on the throne of the MOTA. The term was not yet in play, but he was claiming the top spot that Nee had defined in Spiritual Authority.

Meanwhile, back in America, he was still an itinerant preacher with no place of authority.

He may have been seen in the corner saying "Oh Lord, Mercy" over and over, but since the U.S. history is not older than 1962 or 63, to be so dictatorial in 1965 is not really much of a time off.

Meanwhile, we in America were just getting ready to see the first of his venture failures in the early-mid 70s. So we had this continuing honeymoon while he was acting very differently to the churches in Taiwan (and possibly elsewhere?). I am having a hard time being very generous concerning his period of repentance because it seems more like those brief forays into Christianity like Bob Dylan did. When things get rough, cry out for mercy (which Lee mocked us for singing in the Psalms) then toss it aside and return to the SOP when things get better.

I begin to wonder if he was ever more spiritual in any way than any of the rest of us. Just had the look of it.

Reminds me of a discussion between Elizabeth and Jane Bennett concerning Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham. I can't find the exact words now, but the paraphrase would be something like "One has all the appearance of propriety while the other actually has the propriety." (I thought I could find a copy in my nook (shared with wife) but it is not there.)

Lee clearly created the appearance of a man of God but whether he was actually capable of ever being so is much less certain. (Actually sort of like another comment about Mr. Wickham.)

I know that I am being hard on someone who many still think of as a good teacher gone bad. I once thought that way. But my mind began to change in about 2007 (fully 20 years after leaving the LCM). Now I keep seeing reasons that he should never be accorded the rank of "good teacher," or even be a teacher at all. They just keep piling up.