[aron]

I posted the below, in blue, on the now locked-out and password-protected 'alternative views' thread. Placing it here also because it is my own testimony.

Moderator note: I don't plan on doing this much if at all. Just wanted to append this as a conclusion to both my discussions of theology (such as it is) and my own journey, my own testimony. Thanks for your indulgence.

I was just going to say that I find it interesting that we have our theology, and we have the text. And if you look carefully you realize that the theology and the text don't always match. And if you start asking questions people say, "Don't read too much into it." In other words, don't pay any attention. Just recite the creed.

And if you try to propose alternative theories, then people will start calling you blasphemous and heretical.

So the moral is, ignore the text. Only pay attention to it where it agrees with your theology. That seemed to be Witness Lee's path, and it did him pretty well, no? He got a couple of hundred books published.

Of course, I don't have any good answers. Actually that may be the best answer. The text says, "God loved us and sent His Son." The text says, "Love your neighbor." The text says, "If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved."

Maybe that is good enough. Probably Dorcas didn't get queried too deeply on her theology when she went to be with the Lord. Probably the fact that she loved the widows and orphans was good enough. Blind Bartimaeus shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy!!" Good enough.