Quote:
Originally Posted by Freedom
No doubt, Nee and Lee did correctly identify some of the shortcomings in various groups. That probably would have been fine if it had stopped there. Instead they sought to use that as a means to position the LC as something superior. Not only that, but it seems that at some point, a notion developed that there is some singular path that can be traced throughout church history, with the brethren as the immediate "successor" to the LC. Everything that happened outside of the LC after that point in time was completely irrelevant as far as the LC was concerned.
Lee even went on to make statements like "From 1945 to 1984, I found out that in both the English-speaking world and the Chinese-speaking world, there was not a weighty spiritual book published." Upon what basis could he even make such a claim? He could only do that because people in the LC were conditioned to believe exactly what they were told. It's ironic how things all started out with a seemingly fair assessment of church history and then became just another form of information control.
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Great observation! T. Austin Sparks certainly pointed out shortcomings in Christendom, but I never get the sense from him that he's setting himself up as something superior. (and BTW - Sparks certainly had books published during that time, which is certainly not lightweight stuff!)
What a prideful trap we all fell in back then . . . hard to believe it now! I remember the elation and freedom I felt when the Lord directed me to some books by John Piper. I was so happy in spirit that someone else outside the LC could write things about being seriously in love with God and about how we were meant to be enjoying Him daily! I had been in a really deep despair because I knew I didn't want to return to the LC, but I thought there was nothing else out there of genuine spiritual value. God led me through that despair to find Piper's "Desiring God." Through that book I was led into fellowship with some ex-LCers nearby.