Quote:
Originally Posted by Curious
The understanding and expectation the LC leadership promote to its followers is the Chinese religious model not the biblical one.
The Chinese goddess of mercy is named Guan yin. Personified as a woman usually looking rather floaty and serene. Guan yin deals with ‘sin’ by EXCUSING it. that’s how it works in the eastern religious system. This cultural mindset is contrary to Christianity and the harm it can do is well documented elsewhere on this forum. It is why all situations of accountability mentioned in the bible, especially form the prophets etc are ignored by the LC leadership and their twistings of the Noah story etc are cited. They have been used to back the practise and thinking of another religious system.
Biblical forgiveness actually exposes and names sin. It identifies and confronts it and is already willing to reconcile, bestow its blessing. However it requires acknowledgement from the offender in order to be received. The offender can only benefit from it and submit to some consequences as a result, if they hear, receive, and repent. Like the city of Ninevah is a good example. That is the pattern God has provided for the provision of forgiveness. Not excusing sin. Not His idea or plan. That is just giving licence to a system that is actually in rebellion to God.
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The system as pushed by LC leaders took great pains to appear strictly adherent to the Bible, both in letter and spirit, often using coded terms like 'proper' and 'genuine' and 'normal', but under stress they'd abandon this while church members pretended not to notice. But it's just been too obvious.
I'm thinking specifically of Lee's own hand-picked cadre of senior co-workers (Mallon, So, Ingalls, Rapoport et al) who used Matthew 18 principles to confront him with concerns about his son. People were being damaged. But repentance (i.e. acknowledgement of vulnerability, error and willingness to change) for Witness Lee was impossible. His cultural model demanded a different approach, alluded to by
Curious above.
When challenged, all that rhetoric about propriety according to scripture went right out the window, and the LC system showed itself to be just as 'deformed' and 'fallen' as any in Christianity that it so often derided. Conversely, LC members who violated its unspoken tenets, even if raising concerns using Matthew 18 principles, were called 'rebels' and summarily ejected.
The lone sign of repentance was at the end, in a vague statement about failure in "receiving others", as if leaders needed more charity toward fellow Christians, even as 'deformed', 'fallen', 'satanic' and 'Christ-less' as they were held to be. Evidently Lee felt that they could have been more magnanimous towards others. But any facing of internal flaws - no. The system was predicated on avoiding this.