Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
My point here is that we are all, or most of us anyway, too cunning for our own good. We're too complicated; we're not simple enough. We try to follow God but we end up in religion. Ohio's descriptions of the Brethren movement, and JN Darby, of whom I always heard "one" side when I was in the LCs, are indeed apt here.
"Power" (not the divine kind) was seeking WL and he got snared by it, and corrupted. Maybe that is the demarcation between early Lee & later Lee. But we have testimonies of problems in Taiwan before he came to the U.S., early '60s, so maybe "early" Lee is earlier than we realize. Or maybe, he got chastened by the failures there, and was really that humble and unassuming man when Hope ran into him, and later, when things got built up, the temptation to seize the reins of 'control' was too much for him and he began to try to run things again. Certainly the testimony of DKrieger in Berkely is a glaring example. "We" don't want jug bands means "I" don't want jug bands.
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I believe that their is fundamental problem with the theory that he came to the US chastened by his failures in Taiwan and wanting to have a new start (I know I'm just assuming this was what you were arguing here). That is that after he came to the US for this new start in the early 1960s he then proceeded to go back to Taiwan in 1965 to carry out what Larry Chi refers to as the 1965 massacre in order to maintain the status-quo there (him on top).
Furthermore I have heard many testimonies from people who met Witness Lee personally during the 80s and 90s. They were of course glowing. Do I think that they were lies? no. At the same time I have to say that person who based upon there observation was such a bright, kind, humble brother is the same person who made himself the minister of the age, published fermentation of the present rebellion and covered up the misdeeds of his son Philip. Likewise I have to say that the Witness Lee which Hope met in 1966 and 1968 in the first post in this thread is the same Witness Lee who in 1965 booted 4 of his long time Coworkers and their families out of their homes and stopped their salaries which were their only means of support (see
http://www.thebereans.net/forum2/showthread.php?t=41723) for not being in lock step with him.
Lastly based upon reading ministry, and I believe testimony of current coworkers also Witness Lee was somebody who would apparently get down on his knees and make a thorough confession of his sins with tears before every message he gave, due to the fact that even a little leaf can blot out the sun (even a little sin can prevent the Lord from shining on us). This bothers me greatly because if this is true he would have done this before all the Life Study messages. Therefore he would have done this right before going out to give a message which he was charging money for. Money which would be laundered through the churches (that which the Lord wishes to be presented before him without blemish) to pay of debts which if they went unpaid could land him in jail. That he could set up this scheme, let Terry Reisenhoover be excommunicated to keep things from coming to light (maybe he didn't know about the excommunication but if he did would he have stopped it), and give the life study messages. Well, either he was capable of being extremely duplicitous or he was blind as a bat.
P.S.
That said I do agree that their that it is very likely that part of the situation came from the people saying "We want a king!!" And that we have to admit that and repent for that.