Quote:
Originally Posted by Sons to Glory!
I just wanted to post the feedback from an ex-LCer, Ron M, who gave me his answers to this little poll in an email. Some background - he was in the ministry with the Independent Baptists in the early 60s and knew a few people like Don Rutledge and DeVern Fromke who had come to the LC. He and his wife moved to Eldon Hall in LA around 1968 and said the experience of Christ, church-life and the moving of the Spirit was "absolutely off the charts" among them back then. But by the early 70s they began to see some very disturbing things with WL and LSM, and bailed on the whole thing. They then moved and went to some different non-LC churches in the Albuquerque area, before being drawn in the early 90s to the Scottsdale group, which had been split from LC/LSM several years before. (He and his wife actually meet most regularly with their family's church nearby, but still frequently fellowship with our group - lots of "cross-pollination" between our two groups)
Ron said his answers would probably be a B/4-5 (which surprised me a little, as I thought he might actually answer a bit lower)
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StG thx for the input. I found this informative.
1. The person had some experience with what we'd probably term "solid" Protestant Christianity.
2. Experience of Christ, church fellowship, Holy Spirit moving among them "off the charts" at Elden Hall.
3. Saw "disturbing things" with WL/LSM & moved on, but remained connected to the LC experience thru other LC expats meeting corporately elsewhere.
The LC experience sells itself as a legitimate heir of historical Christianity. It cloaks its self-narrative in the Protestant Reformation. But the "experience" that is so phenomenal may be a seduction to look away from the historical person Jesus Christ and at your own ephemeral and subjective responses. It may indeed be the Holy Spirit but it may be darkness cloaked as light. So we must be very careful of novelty. We all know the verses, like "If the light in you becomes darkness, how great is the darkness" and "Satan himself disguised as an angel of light". So great care and discretion is advised.
And if we were seduced by the wrong spirit, then we may stay waaaay too long, after "disturbing things" come to light. Because we got tricked, and put to sleep, spiritually. We lost all spiritual discernment. Our conscience got fried. We didn't trust our own capacity to think. All because, initially, we thought we were "off the charts" in "experiencing Christ" but it was something else, being deceptive. (this is not to characterize anyone's personal experiences but rather to make a caution for everyone).
Here are a few groups - guess what they all have in common:
Shincheonji Church of Lee Man-hee
Iglesia Ni Cristo of Felix Y Manalo
Gloriavale Christian Community of Neville Cooper
The Family of David Berg
Branch Davidians of David Koresh
People's Temple of Jim Jones
Heaven's Gate of Marshall Applewhite
Rastafarians of Haile Selassie
Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon
Latter Day Saints of Joseph Smith
World Wide Church of God of Herbert W. Armstrong
Answer: they all preached the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But they all added proprietary stuff which effaced the victory of Christ over death, and subverted his rule. And many also used "experiences that were off the charts" else why would people follow them into such foolishness? First, they'll get you in a weakened and excited emotional state, then they reprogramme you. And then they control you. So my question is, how much different, fundamentally, are all those 'F1' groups from the Little Flock of Nee, and the Local Church of Lee? If it's only a matter of degree, then how to tell where "grey" becomes "black"? Best to avoid them.
Back to that song that I quoted in post #49: in two places it says "just"... that simple, innocuous word in a stroke cuts off historical Christianity and opens the bridge for a "new" or "novel" Christian experience which may not be Christian at all. It's very subtle and clever programming.
Imagine if I taught that by some revelation, in God's word, I found that you could wiggle your pinkie finger and God would come. A giant shining angel would come and do your bidding. Of course
only you could see the angel, and hear his voice, but the Angel of God would appear, and you'd be brought "into the spirit world" and could control/manipulate the physical world. All you have to remember, is to "just" wiggle your finger a certain way. Like the song says, "It's so simple and easy" that any HS student can do it.
And the verse is right there - Luke 11:19. “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” And nobody seen this but me!! Hey, everybody, come join my Group - The Finger of God!! We can have conferences... I'll put out books on Daniel 5, with Belshazzar's feast, another on John 7 & 8, with Jesus writing in the dirt....
Do you see where I'm going? Anyone can get a "revelation" and drag some naifs along. Remember that useful word: "just". Make it simple. Give them one magical move, and the universe is theirs. Then they are yours. Now look at all those groups above, again. See how simple it is? Anyone can do it.