Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
But if you question them, they bristle, and brandish their orthodoxy card. "We want it to be known by all that the Christians in the local churches are absolute for the common faith and are the most orthodox of Christians." -- Beliefs and Practices of the Local Churches, 1978. They are the "most orthodox of all"; didn't you know that? The number one thing you must always do to fool the gate-keeper of orthodoxy, is don't tell them that you're not orthodox! Instead, you must tell them that you're "most orthodox"!! Never go to the gate-keeper and tell them, "We are a deviant sect, narrow, factious, quarrelsome, opinionated, judgmental, and controlling. Please join us - it'll be fun!" No, it's all about aspiring to orthodoxy, legitimacy, normality. Once you are in, however, then you get the special sauce.
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Lee created a fundamental problem for the LC. He wanted to challenge orthodoxy - characterizing it as worthless. He also wanted to attack other Christians, yet he burdened everyone with having an increase, and put forth the notion that massive amounts of people would join the LC eventually.
Because Lee really got everyone into the "religion killed Jesus" mindset, the rejection of orthodoxy was an easy sell for him. When I saw recently on this forum the story about everyone marching around the Moody Bible Institute as if it were Jericho, I really came to realize just how opposed to anything "religious" LCers really were.
As the years went by and the cult label was applied, I think the desire to appear to be "orthodox" became a big concern for the LC. If nothing else, they wanted an increase, and they needed a way to settle people's well-founded concerns about what kind of group the LC really was. So LCers thus found themselves confronted with a different kind of "dox" - a paradox. How can they claim orthodoxy without retracting Lee's teachings? Statements bashing Christians, statement like "the traditional explanation of the Trinity is grossly inadequacy..." all raise red flags, as they should.
LCers had to resort to unscrupulous methods to attempt to improve their reputation. What group claiming orthodoxy besides the LC would engage in lawsuit after lawsuit? Why is the CRI one of the lone supporters of the LC? LCers rely on controlling the flow of information so that they can present their group as orthodox to uninformed people. Once new members are convinced of the LC being a legitimate religious organization, then the unorthodox teachings and behaviors can begin to work their magic.