Quote:
Originally Posted by Curious
I now have the dragging feeling that WL’s ‘Economy Of God’ had a purpose all along.
Considering himself to be God’s only ‘deputy’, setting up his own ‘economy’ to benefit himself and family personally. He had already set up an environment to make this logically acceptable to the members of the LC. In other words, he was just reflecting the nature and pattern of behaviour of the ‘god’ he has successfully portrayed through his teachings: they work together to give him both licence and permission: god’s economy means business is His intention, and WL has the deputy authority to behave in like manner to god. Is this the real purpose behind these teachings? Its my new question.
I invite some consideration from those more acquainted with it all than I.
To explore this can I start with the following question: Can we group all his teachings into one of the following categories:?
1. Laying the trap, ie ensnaring people
2. Cutting off the outside (balancing) influences
3. Tightening the chords; drawing in the nets
4. Fleecing the flock
Am I being too hard on him?
Might he have carefully and diligently constructed all of this ON PURPOSE? Cal sees that Watchman Nee returned to his former role, after being axed for wrong behaviour, prepared to entrench his position this time, with a fresh (and self-contradicting) theological approach all worked out in order to achieve it. Could WL have done the same?
WL sought to get away with, the second time, that which caused for him problems in Taiwan the first time…setting up his own business in an unethical way, for his own personal gain. He possibly took a more considered approach, prepared the way better, developing teachings in a skillful and deliberate way, and then sought to do the same unethical business again in America, but on a bigger scale!!
Were his motives corrupt all along? Or was it an instinctive thing that he just found himself doing?
I guess we’ll never know how deliberate it could have been.
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Those who defend his ministry say that there's basis for an "economy of God" apart from WL's stressing it. Paul also espoused teaching it, per 1 Timothy 1:4 as "oikonomiea theou". But notice Paul doesn't say what "oikonomiea theou" is. He doesn't define it. Paul doesn't say, "which is masticating the processed and consummated Triune God to be metabolically transformed into God in life and nature (but not in the Godhead)" or some such. Paul never defines what "oikonomiea theou" is, even as he reminds Timothy to promote it. So my sense is that his readers would have known what it meant.
Now, to your question: did WL set up his personal version of "God's economy" to benefit his immediate family? Answer: yes. In fact if you look at recent financial statements of LSM, I believe they're still cutting checks to his grand-children, in the amounts of tens of thousands of dollars. Did WL do this on purpose? I suspect it was merely ignorance, plus he had children to take care of, so his interpretation was subconsciously guided by perceived needs on the ground.
If you look in the gospels, however, Jesus taught not to amass physical wealth but to give it away, which would bring you "treasure in heaven" per Matthew 6:19-21. The Acts of the Apostles continues this vein: people laid sale of property at the disciples' feet, but they didn't use the $$ to start up companies and install their children as CEO. No, they gave it
all away to the poor. That continues right through the end of Acts: "After many years I came bringing alms to my nation" said Paul in 24:17.
I suspect this is what Paul referenced with "God's economy" but I'm not sure there's any way to definitively prove it. But there are more verses lining up with this view than that espoused by WL. Just look at "rich and poor" in the Bible and there are many. Here is an example from a Google search.
https://www.openbible.info/topics/ri...iting_the_poor
And it's consistent with Jesus' message. Think of his story of the rich man, with Lazarus the beggar. The rich man wouldn't share, and this became a torment to him later.
If you look at all those verses in the linked page, and see a pattern there, and remember Paul quoting the OT: "Those who gathered much had no excess, and those who gathered little had no lack", and realise that what he was talking about wasn't socialism or communism, but loving your neighbour and sharing, then it all makes sense. Oh! God's economy! Hey! But Lee was a master at missing the obvious, and making sure nobody else saw it either.