Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
We have a choice. We can believe the numerous accounts of all the men of God who left the LC's, or we can believe Witness Lee's farcical account of this "vast global conspiracy," which btw is the same version of events he has used for every "storm" in the recovery.
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from a piece by Nigel on G. H. Lang
LSM’s Vilification of G. H. Lang (excerpt)
The Brethren Bible teacher, George Henry Lang (1874-1958) was
unjustly maligned by LSM’s ‘Local Church’ movement. LSM exhibits a schizophrenic attitude towards Lang. On one hand they laud him, saying “G. H. Lang [was] one of the greatest Bible expositors and scholars during the past century and the author of 40 Christian books...” Plus they appeal to Lang’s support of their
‘ground of locality’ doctrine. On the other hand, Lang was a
whipping boy’ during LSM’s 1980s campaign against local church autonomy. Among members of LSM’s Local Church movement this latter aspect—the vilification of G. H. Lang--dominates their overall impression. LSM publications—books authored by Witness Lee--document over a dozen instances in which G. H. Lang is vociferously berated for teaching the autonomy of the local church. We argue that LSM’s maligning of G. H. Lang is undeserved; during his lifetime, Lang was an enthusiastic supporter of the Local Church’s ‘founding father’—brother Watchman Nee. Christian history scholar, Dr. David O. Woodbridge, asserts that1 Watchman “Nee...received enthusiastic support, particularly from...[G. H.] Lang.” This claim is substantiated by G. H. Lang’s personal correspondence with Watchman Nee—a resource LSM totally neglected. Moreover, Lang’s teaching on “autonomy” was not significantly different for W. Nee’s own teaching. It is hypocritical therefore to denounce G. H. Lang, while claiming to faithfully follow Watchmen Nee. It appears that G. H. Lang was simply a ‘scapegoat’ during LSM’s campaign to undermine a fundamental tenet—the autonomy of each local church. “The Body” was used to trump the local church. Meanwhile LSM’s soon-to-be ‘blended brothers’ began promoting W. Lee under the rubric of being ‘one with the ministry.’
In retrospect these events marked the start of LSM’s subversion of the local churches and began the globalization of Witness Lee’s ministry.