[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by Ohio

The use of drums or not is 100% cultural. TC doesn't like them, but instead of just saying "I just don't like them," he shrouds his "feelings" in spiritual talks to persuade others under his influence. He provides no scripture, because there is none

Witness Lee taught that there should be no culture in the church. He also taught we should have no opinion. He also taught that we should all speak the same thing and that all the churches should be the same. Now this would be all well and good if humans were nothing but a benign blob of molecules of oxygen and carbon. This is the part of man that God "formed from the dust of the ground" and in this respect humans are all basically the same. But God went further then to just "form" man, He then "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul".

Funny thing about us living souls, we all seem to have different tastes and preferences. Different tastes and preferences in food, different tastes and preferences in clothes, different tastes and preferences in friends and on and on. And guess what? We all have different tastes in music. My observation and experience (coming from a very large family, being married for 25+years, raising 2 kids and just life in general) is that when you FORCE another human to take on your tastes and preferences, you are simply making them exchange their living soul tastes and preferences for yours. The truth is that one living soul cannot really change another living soul - ONLY GOD, THE ONE WHO BREATHED LIFE INTO THE LIVING SOUL, can really change us. Eventually He will even change our bodies but we'll have to wait on that one.

Religion only pretends to change us as a living soul. Religion is just putting lipstick on a pig.This includes the "christian" religion and this includes the religion of the Local Church of Witness Lee. When Titus Chu, longtime member and leader in the Local Church, speaks of his dislike of drums he is simply exposing his personal tastes and preferences in music, which in turn he probably just took from Witness Lee.

As an aside, I think Titus has every right (and even obligation) to influence those brothers and sisters in the local church in Cleveland - I assume that he is still the lead elder/pastor there. I would find it somewhat disingenuous, however, that a LOCAL elder from a LOCAL church should attempt to influence (must less force) an entire region or large group of churches to conform to his tastes and preferences. This flies in the face of the teachings of Nee and Lee. Now we all know that Witness Lee never really practiced the biblical autonomy of the local church, but at least he talked a good game. So what the hey, Titus learned from the best so what do you expect?

Finally, those members of the local church in Cleveland who strongly disagree with Chu here are free to simply express their opinion with their feet and "get out of Dodge" so to speak. That's right - go to another church that suits your living soul better! Life is too short to worry about such silly things as drums or no drums.

"...and my soul-life at last I lay down" - Always hated that one.

Rant over.