[aron]

Paper: The divine and mystical realm: Removing Chinese Christianity from the Fixed Structures of Mission Church and Clergy By Teresa Zimmerman-Liu

In: Brill Social Sciences and Mission 2014

"Indigenous Chinese preacher Watchman Nee is considered to have had the greatest theological influence on China’s vibrant house church movement, yet there are few studies detailing his influence on church practices. This paper analyzes the writings of Watchman Nee and other Local Church members to show how Nee contextualized the message of Western missionaries to China, using subaltern strategies of returning to scriptural fundamentals and reducing the scale of organization and worship. He divested mission Christianity of its hegemonic trappings and created flexible Christian practices, which take place in the ‘divine and mystical realm,’ out of reach from ‘worldly’ power structures."

The above is how I came into mysticism. In the Local Churches, under Witness Lee. Today I see it as pure manipulation. Nee got caught, then Lee, then others, then eventually I was there. Thankfully I got out.

As far as practice, Jesus withdrew and prayed. He sang hymns with the disciples. Nothing out of the ordinary Jewish life. He spurned the asceticism of John the Baptizer (and the Qumranians). But he was "always connected". He was either a megalomaniac who thought the Bible was about him (!!!!!) or he was the Christ.

Now, my objection is this: how many have tried to follow. Watchman Nee, Witness Lee, Sun Myung Moon, Elizabeth Claire Prophet, Joseph Smith, Haile Selassie, Jim Jones, David Koresh, David (Mo) Berg, Mary Baker Eddy, Apollo Quiboloy. All of them today's Christ. God's Unique Television Channel.

Now, Jesus, I give him a pass. He said, "All these things were written about me". But anyone else, no. There is only One Christ. The only thing I know about "The Divine and Mystical Realm" is from a book by Witness Lee. And I reject it today.