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Originally Posted by alwayscurious
Now, I understand that nothing on this planet is perfect, no locality and no "church" is perfect, no human is perfect. But God is perfect, and Jesus was perfect. With that being said, I don't really know how to approach this. I have a good understanding of the church's history in terms of daystar, the things covered up in terms of abuse, etc.... Those aren't my points of concern because these things just show that we need the Lord even more.
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Hi alwayscurious,
I know the above comment wasn't in your request for input but I've heard this before and want to respond (of course all the following are my opinion and not immutable 'truth'). When the faults of LC founders and leaders are noted, the view is "nobody is perfect". Yet the LC was founded based on the condemnations and rejections of imperfections of others. Why did Nee and Lee leave the Baptists and Anglicans? Why for that matter did Luther leave the RCC? Why didn't they all shrug and say, "Hey, nobody is perfect".
Somehow, when we perceive imperfections in others they're intolerable, yet ours are overlooked and forgiven, and borne with patience, charity, and goodwill. Jesus calls this "hypocrisy". Can you go thru a single LC meeting where the superiority of the 'ministry' or the inferiority of 'Christianity' isn't at least alluded to? Yet on the flip side, the defects of the 'ministry' are met with, "Oh well, nobody's perfect".
I daresay we need to be more severe with ourselves, and more lenient with others, not vice versa.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alwayscurious
Why is there a sense of stigma when others use non recovery version bibles? God's Word is His Word. period. How come we don't quote other "ministry books" other than ones published by LSM?
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This sense of superiority and incipient judgmentalism is woven into the LSM. The recovery version is the 'top' version, and the other ministries are all defective. Yet as I note above, defects in the LC are shrugged off. Once, I asked an LSM promoter why, in the recovery version footnotes to the Psalms, some footnotes say the psalms of imprecation are fallen, natural, because we're supposed to love our enemies and bless them, yet other psalms of imprecation have footnotes saying that this is a type of Christ defeating Satan? Why the disparity? The reply was, "Maybe this is how it is".
But maybe this is not how it is, also. We should (I argue) subject the LSM bible and ministry material to the same critical scrutiny that all other ministries (Luther, Wesley, Billy Graham) get. If the ministry isn't perfect, then why can't we point out its imperfections and move toward something closer to truth?
Quote:
Originally Posted by alwayscurious
3. How come there is a stigma against marrying outside of the church life if the other person is a Christian? the Bible doesn't say don't marry outside of "the recovery". Is it because there might be a potential point of conflict with the non RCer? If anyone is able to elaborate even more on this, maybe give feedback/advice, that would be VERY VERY appreciated!
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You ultimately have to make enough sense of the world for yourself in order to make such judgments on your own, and stand or fall with them. This is called 'adulthood'. When you are 5 years old, you do what you are told (or should). When you are 15, still true, even though you have an adult's body, because you are eating their food and sleeping in their house.
But when you are 25, and want to marry, it should be the person that is right for you, not the person that Elder X in Local Church X wants you to be paired with. So you need to learn to think, a skill not especially cultivated in the LC (if you get my drift).
Start there, then you will figure out marriage and all that kind of stuff. Career, hobbies, etc. First, think about who you are, not on someone else's terms, but your own. You are not a pawn in someone else's chess game. You are you, and there is no other. Only you can think for you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alwayscurious
We say we are not a denomination, but come on, are we not? maybe not nominally, but in terms of practice and having LSM material everywhere..... are we not? I am perplexed and at my knees trying to understand for many months now....
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Continuing Steadfastly
Bibles for America
Rhema Inc
Christians on Campus
Affirmation and Critique
Living Stream Ministry
Lord's Move to Europe
These are all names given to entities for "the work". Yet "the church" is not named because that is a "denomination" and is forbidden by God. It looks to me like a shell game, where words are pushed around, and the end result is everyone but me is condemned. Hooray!
I see this again and again in the LC. We have "workers" and they have "clergy". We have "full-time training" and they have "seminaries" etc etc. The basis of the LC is wholesale condemnation on all else, and yet continual pleas to "Overlook our messy kitchen" as WL said repeatedly. I personally don't think that this is a manual for success. (again, all the above is my opinion)