[Cal]

Again we do not see clearly in the Bible that all churches in the NT were organized at the local level. All we see is that the Bible mentions the church in the city. But the Bible never prescribes, nor does it clearly describe organization at the local level.

The Bible never cites a example of a whole city church meeting together with one group of leaders who are clearly in charge over that one organizational unit. We simply do not see that. The Bible mentions instances of city churches, instances of house churches, and at least one mention of a church that spans several regions (Act 9:31). It also mentions "elders in the city." But the Bible never puts it all together and says those elders in the city all work together to lead one church in a city. And it never says that is the way it always is done or ever should be done.

The Bible just doesn't say that. And to try to insist it does explains why the LCM remains a tiny fringe group, because tiny fringe groups tend to latch onto unlikely ideas that most others can see through.

Note, however, that the way they hold to this idea is to condemn everyone else for not holding to it. This is another evidence of fringe groups. They cannot just hold to their beliefs in peace, with the quite reasonable admittance that their conclusions might be wrong. No, they MUST be right, because, well, they must be.

That's the nature of these groups. Is it possible they are right? Of course. But it's very unlikely. It's also possible the World Health Organization manufactured the HIV virus and the US government planned 9/11. Many things are possible. Only a small subset are likely.

Wise people tend toward what is likely given all the information they have. Fools roll the dice on the unlikeliest of scenarios. It's the difference between genuine critical thinking and thinking in service of true believerism.