Bringing this quote from another thread, as my reply is more relevant here:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Freedom
When these articles get put out, they really aren't fooling anyone, including those in the LC. It is simply propaganda telling people what to believe. Whether it is out of fear or it is out of stupidity, LCers choose to believe what they are told.
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I think that these articles only address the concerns of a minority, who are willing to receive what is said on face value, and "sail on", as Witness Lee urged. Most will probably look to multiple sources of information, and try to reconcile them. And as more information emerges,
from non-DCP sources, these articles are then seen as little more than brief (perfunctory) talking points.
I was interested to see, for example, an article on Eastern Lightning/Church of the Almighty God (EL) sect. DCP of course unequivocally denies any commonality whatever. But if you read this forum, someone posted here about the similarities. Deceptive recruiting practices are used in both (see the Jo Casteel testimony). Complete unquestioning submission to group leadership is expected. Etc.
Even where DCP appears to have distance, it certainly isn't as far as they wish! They write that WL "loved" the word of God, whilst EL categorically dismisses it. How could they not be more dissimilar, right?
Yet if you read RecV footnotes, probably 2/3 of the Psalms (100 chapters, a lot of material) gets dismissed out of hand as "fallen human concepts", completely at variance with NT reception of the same material. Not to mention similar issues with James, Peter, Proverbs, Job, etc.
And I remember reading that one of the slogans when the LSM entered China was, "The age of the word is over, it is the age of the spirit". Now, they will deny that, or say it was a rogue operative, but that's what was happening. Yet they deny any responsibility whatever. I doubt that. They managed the message carefully, from what I remember. People were not supposed to deviate from the script. Dong Yu Lan and Titus Chu followed Lee very closely, and their methodology was taken right from the LSM playbook.
As did, it seems, most of the Krazy Kults that LSM's efforts led to. One article reviewing 12 mainland cults, tied 8 of the 12 back to Witness Lee and LSM actions. He himself said of one, "They worship me as a god." This was the Lord Changshou Shouters. And of course he disapproved. But he could not [would not] see how his efforts had brought such catastrophes. He was Deputy God, after all. He simply could not err.