[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by OGOP

My girlfriend is the exception (dating outside the LC)

Originally Posted by Drake

No, she is not and you could not possibly know differently given your limited experience. And "dating" probably happens more outside than it does inside since dating is not encouraged,

And Drake could not possibly know OGOP's girlfriend is not the exception in their particular LC...unless he is claiming to be like Witness Lee, who claimed in his speaking to be virtually omniscient and omnipresent, everywhere in every place since the beginning of the church. To say that "dating is not encouraged" is a whopper of an understatement. In general, entering into any serious relationship outside the Local Church denomination is considered as "unequally yoked" (as if a Christian brother or sister is some sort of unbeliever) and this should not be a hard concept to understand considering the horrific attitude towards Christians outside of the movement.

Originally Posted by Drake

..and yet you talk about laying out plans and schemes. There is love, then there is love. There is love that makes a man desperate, then there is love that puts her first, shares the heart, that can wait for things to be right, that relies on the Lord and His timing.

Please excuse our friend Drake, he apparently lives within the hermetically sealed confines of the Local Church of Witness Lee, where people are not free to make their own plans, especially young people, who are expected to follow the person and work of Lee in every aspect of their lives, even in such intimately personal matters as choosing a spouse. This is especially frustrating and confusing for American young people, who are being adversely affected by the Chinese/Asian culture of meddling and matchmaking. As has been noted on this forum, this culture of meddling and matchmaking has made for quite a number of unhappy and even miserable marriages. Due to the culture of secrecy in the sect, we will probably never know just how many marriages fell apart, but it seems there were far too many for a place that claims to be "THE Lord's Recovery".

I certainly can't blame OGOP for being at least a little desperate. The woman he loves and wants to be with for the rest of his life is being influenced not by "the Lord and His timing", but by the teachings, practices and culture of some obscure religious movement whose teachings, practices and culture stand at odds with not only traditional Christian teachings and practices, but with the common and accepted cultural norms of modern Christian people in this area of the world.
-