[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by djohnson

His claim that he did not control anybody is valid. That people let themselves be controlled by him is another story altogether. And if the argument is taken further i.e. into the realm of involuntary mind control then we are taking about a cult aren't we?

As djohnson and most of us are quite aware, there was something that Witness Lee dubbed "The Vision of The Church". Lee even called it "a controlling vision" which was to guide and motivate just about every aspect of a Local Churcher's life. THIS IS WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HERE. This is how Lee controlled his followers. He didn't have to tell them where to move - the "vision" did. He didn't tell them who to marry - the "vision" did. He didn't have to tell them what to read and what not to read - the "vision" did.

But who controlled "the vision"? Witness Lee. Actually the vision was changed and updated by Lee many times over the past number of years. There were "flows" which came and went. The "New Way" was nothing more then just the final "flow" initiated and defined by Witness Lee. Since it was at the end of his life, of course it was the most important and most "God ordained" of them all. To this day this is the "flow" that controls most of what happens in the Local Church. Since Lee is dead and unable to initiate any new flow they are stuck. This is what "controls" them.

All this is a very refined and simplified answer to this issue of "control". There are many other intricate and involved issues, such as the matter of fear and addiction. These have been addressed and discussed at length over the past on these forums.

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