[OBW]

The problem I have with the Witness Lee I remember is that it was seldom of any consequence how out of line with actual scripture his words were, they were taken as God’s.

I often complain about people who use that worn out saying “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” The problem is that too often they do not really understand what God said but read scripture with a decision already formed and find confirmation of that decision without any consideration of the actual words written.

But the LC too often takes it one further. They not only make that stupid “God said it…” statement, but they also say that about the words of Witness Lee. They may not actually say, “Lee said it…” the way they would about God or scripture, but they mean it. I recall one time my sister asking me whether I agreed that something Lee said was the truth. It was not spoken as an inquiry into what I thought, or as fodder for discussion, but was said in a “this is what Lee said and it is true — right?” kind of way. She presumed that I would agree. She was surprised when I did not.

But the Lee I remember said things with no suggestion that there was anything left to discuss. He made statements not consistent with scripture in such a manner that we accepted them as better interpreting scripture. We were too ashamed to admit any disagreement or question concerning his sayings. He would latch onto the irrelevant and suddenly that was the most important thing in the passage. Words spoken in scripture became irrelevant and only the comparison to some other passage or an analogy — such as one about a power plant — was relevant. In fact, Lee’s analogies became more important in much of his theology than the actual scripture he claimed to be leaning upon. Upon closer inspection — something I don’t think he really wanted — verses were often abundant, but they did not support his theology. Without the stories, analogies, and overlays (such as “Christ and the church” or “God’s economy”) there was often no way to get Lee’s theology out of those verses. On their own they were useless to him.

In fact, at times I am not so sure how truly spiritual he was. Since he threw verses around so freely yet actually relied on them so little, I have begun to question whether his theology was really even scripture-based in his own mind, or instead he realized that he could only get Christians to follow if he used a lot of scripture.

I know that sounds really skeptical. And I probably to not believe it that strongly. But there was something seriously wrong with someone daring to trample the clear words of scripture so easily in favor of stories about power plants and pajamas with dragons on them. And creating teachings like “teach God’s economy” from a verse that only says that correct teachings will result in “God’s economy.” This last one sticks in my craw so badly because it was such a leavening of the Christian life. It dismissed so many significant teachings and replaced them with “dispensing of God.” It took away our own actions in our sanctification and made us into spiritual couch potatoes.

That is the Lee I remember. The one who spoke and then disappeared. Who never suggested that something someone else said in a meeting impressed him in some way. Who was simply “right,” and if he was not, he was in his spirit so it wasn’t important.