Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
I just always wondered how much of the "wonderful move of the Spirit" was some special benefit from the Spirit v the general state of mind because of the freedoms they enjoyed and the camaraderie they shared. Not trying to suggest there was no "spiritual" enjoyment, but rather that we are prone to describing positive experiences as being from God or the Spirit and negative experiences as from "the evil one." Lee perpetuates this when he suggests that the sinking feeling in your stomach (or heart, or wherever you want to centralize it) when someone suggests a problem with LRC teaching is "from the evil one" instead of admitting that it might be a legitimate sinking feeling from the fact that your mind has caught on to the problem in the teaching you've been following for years. But there's Lee, ready to help you ignore your mind and that sinking feeling and blame it on Satan.
Then we just need a pep rally of "we are special" songs, cheering, and chanting to return to our anesthetized selves.
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I have found it interesting to read all the various accounts of LC history available, as well learning about the various spin-off groups. It seems all those who were around in the early days of the LCM were awestricken by the rapid increase/growth of the LCM in the U.S.
I don't intend to question what people have claimed to experienced at that point in time, however, it seems much of the growth of the movement was fueled by the perception or belief that the LCM was something exceptional. So the meaning attributed to the growth of the LCM was most likely a false cause fallacy.
The initial growth rate of the LCM in the U.S. has been unsurpassed by anything happening now in the LCM. Therefore, it seems fair to attribute that initial growth to some factor not pertaining to anything that the LC stands for or claims to stand for. It could have been as simple as an initial zeal that died off.