Good vs. Lee's Trees

John · 03-11-2012, 12:48 PM

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.
(Gen 1:31, NASB)

Quite soon after becoming a Christian, I became a member of Witness Lee’s Local Church. After spending 20 years in the group, being indoctrinated by him and his leaders, I came to the conclusion that I was in a religious system virtually bereft of the Spirit, and that I felt just about spiritually dead myself … so, I left.

Lately, after being out for almost 25 years, I have been considering in more depth what I learned from Lee through his Living Stream Ministry. I have wanted to find out what foundational ideas about the Bible that I might still hold, maybe almost unconsciously, that are wrong and that I had accepted from Lee unwittingly. (In the Local Church, we were encouraged not to think, not to use our minds.)

The trees of Lee in the midst of us

One of Lee’s over-arching teachings about the Bible is about the two trees in the garden of Eden. It goes something like this: There were two trees in the garden. One was the tree of life, and the other was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life represents Christ, and the other one, which he called, on occasion, the tree of death, represents Satan. God’s purpose was that mankind was to partake of the tree of life and not the tree of death. Well, mankind failed, ate of the wrong tree, left the garden, and was prevented from returning.

Now, according to Lee, we have been brought back to the place where we can partake of Christ, the tree of life; and, that is what we are supposed to be doing on a regular, if not constant, basis. Conversely, we are to stay away from the other tree, the poisonous tree that consists of knowledge, and of good and evil, and brings death. Witness Lee often preached against dead knowledge and those Christians who would simply study the scriptures to learn. For him and his Living Stream Ministry followers, the whole Bible is mainly about life and death, and we were to only care for life.

Put your mind in gear

As a result of Lee’s teaching on the trees, slogans began to be thrown around in the Local Churches like ones similar to these:

Don’t care about right and wrong; just care for life.

I don’t sense life in what you are saying.

I don’t feel [a sense of life] to help you at this time.

Get out of your mind; get your spirit in gear.

As an aside, to those who would say, “Get out of your mind; get your spirit in gear,” note the following from The Message:

“So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives.” (1 Pet 1:13)

Getting back to the topic, so-called “life” became equated with having wonderful times in Local Church meetings. Nothing else seemed to matter but to get into somewhat of an exuberant state that was referred to as “the enjoyment.” Eventually, I became as one with no moral compass; because, to consider good and evil (right and wrong) was to be in the enemy’s clutches. We were to focus solely on life, which seemed to mean to go along with what was called “the flow,” which was based on what Witness Lee and the leaders were preaching.

What choice do we have?

Witness Lee taught us that we had the same choice as did Adam and Eve. We were not to consider good and evil, right and wrong. We were to forsake knowledge. We were always to choose life and only care for life. This was Lee’s ongoing emphasis. This kind of thinking, I believe, still controls members and many former members of the Local Churches. What about this teaching, though? Is it accurate, according to the Bible, to say that right and wrong, good and evil, are considerations to be avoided by Christians?

Back then, this teaching sounded—dare I say—good. Now that I have thought it through, though, it does not make sense to me. His teaching sounds as if we can be mentally transported back in time to the garden of Eden and given the choice between the two trees, just like Adam and Eve, with the opportunity to just swallow the life one wholeheartedly. Actually, this is not the situation faced by Christians today. In the distant past, Eve and Adam ate of the wrong tree and came to know good and evil. Now, mankind has this knowledge, and there is no going back to a state in which we do not have this knowledge. Yes, we now do have access to Jesus Christ, the One Who is life, and the option to choose Him; but, we are not now able to simply forget about good and evil.

“Not poisoned,” says Barnes

While reading some of Barnes’ Notes on the Bible about Genesis 3:22, I found that he thought that eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil did not poison mankind (as Witness Lee had told us), as if the masticated fruit itself, going into Adam and Eve’s stomachs, could have caused some interaction with their intellects that brought them to know good and evil. Barnes stated, instead, that it was the disobedience itself that caused the knowledge, as in, “Oh no; now I know the guilt and shame of having disobeyed God, which was an evil act on my part.” His commentary may or may not be true; however, I think that it is healthy, for those of us who were immersed solely in incessant indoctrination via Lee, meeting after meeting, to read and consider a contrary view (which is what the Living Stream Ministry does not want any of its captive audience to do).

And another thing, just for argument’s sake, is that the following verse, in the context of Lee’s theology, seems to preclude the two-tree scenario that Lee painted as a choice for us now:

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Rev 2:7, KJV)

According to Lee, overcomers will receive a special reward in the coming kingdom. If God has already given all of us Christians an opportunity to eat of the tree of life now, as Lee preached from Genesis, why would John in Revelation indicate that eating of the tree of life is to be a reward just for overcomers in the future?

This question, like Barnes’ commentary, is not critical to my presentation, so I have not investigated how it might fit in with some larger theology about eating of the tree of life. What these two observations do bring up are possible flaws in Witness Lee’s teaching. My main point is to relate how Lee misled his followers to be afraid of good works in the pursuit of some nebulous thing he called life.

Taking the good out of God

Moving on with Witness Lee’s teaching, he warned us that a person is capable of doing mere human good without God; so, we shouldn’t be involved in just doing good. In the same way, I could say that a person can be involved in mere human life without God; so, according to Lee’s logic, we shouldn’t just focus on what became known as life in the Local Church as a thing in itself. In addition to that, Jesus said, “There is none good but One, that is, God,” further proving that Witness Lee was incorrect.

Regardless of what you think about the accuracy of Lee’s version of what happened in the garden of Eden, whether or not a person who is merely ethical can do good, and the choice we now have today, the result of his teaching for me (and others, I would assume) is that I was left in a moral vacuum, wondering whether or not some good work I might be contemplating was under the initiation of the Holy Spirit or if I was just simply trying to do a good work. If the latter, then it would actually be a dead work (devoid of the Spirit) and in the same category as the mere dead good works that “poor, degraded Christianity” did (Lee’s label). His teaching caused me to retreat from good works and cloister myself away in Local Church doings, things which were safe, approved, and supposedly in the domain of life.

A biblical accounting

So, what does the Bible really say about good works? I did some searching and came up with the following statistics from the New Testament related to God’s people doing good and right, and not doing evil or wrong:

56 passages related to doing good

6 passages related to doing right

6 passages related to not doing wrong

(Did not search for the word “evil”)

The following sections contain some of the 68 noted passages as examples of the good we Christians are to do and the right and wrong that we are to avoid.

The Bible tells us to do good works

Note that most of the following New Testament verses do not give a qualification that the good a person does must be in accord with the Spirit or the result of an outflow from Christ as life, or some such. (I did not check the contexts of these verses, so some may have the idea in surrounding verses.) I am not saying that a person does not need to keep in step with the Spirit when doing good; I am simply saying that most of the verses do not mention it. In other words, we Christians are simply told to do good works and that it is important that we do (to the chagrin of Witness Lee and the so-called “Lord’s Recovery.”

These are the biblical instructions that Witness Lee in some sense hid from us by ignoring them. Before you might decide to just sail through these verses without letting them speak to you, doesn’t it make sense, that after listening to hundreds of sermons about life, we should at least read what God wrote to us about good works? With that in mind, here are many really “good” verses from the New Testament:

10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: (Rom 2:10, KJV)

10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. (Gal 6:10, KJV)

28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. (Eph 4:28, KJV)

8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. (Eph 6:8, KJV)

10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Col 1:10, KJV)

17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. (2Th 2:17, KJV)

18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. (1Ti 6:18-19, KJV)

21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. (2Ti 2:21, KJV)

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, ... 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2Ti 3:3, 17, KJV)

8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; ... 16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. (Tts 1:8, 16, KJV)

7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, ... 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Tts 2: 7, 14, KJV)

24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: (Hbr 10:24, KJV)

16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. ... 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Hbr 13:16, 21, KJV)

13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. (Jam 3:13, KJV)

17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (Jam 4:17, KJV)

12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1Pe 2:12, KJV)

11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? (1Pe 3:11-13, KJV)

11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. (3Jo 1:11, KJV)

Now that you have, hopefully, considered the foregoing verses, remember that the book of James was more or less condemned by Witness Lee as off the mark, being, in his opinion, too focused on works rather than life? As you can see by the verses, James was not the only author of New Testament text who wrote about the need for Christians to do good works.

Wouldn’t it have been better if Witness Lee had encouraged us to do good works, as the Bible does, and encouraged us to pray to be in the Spirit when initiating and doing them? For new Christians like me, I think that this kind of encouragement would have had a much better outcome. At the very least, I would have been doing something biblical.

In the “wrong” garlic room

Lee taught us that life was the only important thing and that life would do it all. He not only ignored good works, he steered us away from them by telling us that knowledge and good and evil were on the same satanic tree that we were to avoid.

With Lee’s incessant emphasis on life, we probably hardly noticed this verse:

But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hbr 5:14, KJV)

Because we were in Lee’s garlic room for so long, if we did read the verse, we probably didn’t pay it any mind—our senses to discern between good and evil had atrophied to the point that God’s own word could not breach the “life walls” that Lee had built around our minds.

For me, almost everything in the Bible became translated to life by Lee’s voice in my head. I remember having the thought in one meeting in which Lee was asking questions, that every answer was turned by him to be life, that mysterious something that you came to know by experience in meetings. Eventually, I realized that as long as I went to all the meetings and experienced the thing we called life, then I thought that I was fine. This idea, however, does not line up with the Bible, which declares that we are to do good and to learn to distinguish between good and evil.

Right and wrong are important

As I mentioned earlier, it was also stated among us members of the Local Church that we should not be caught up with considerations of what is right and what is wrong. This, of course, became an excuse for leaders to abandon their duty to do the right things in regard to Christ, the members of His body, and society in general. The cloak of “life,” and the belief that forwarding the designs of “the Recovery” was the most important thing, enabled the leaders to set morality and biblical mandates aside.

Because of this mindset, I present the following verses that show that right and wrong are proper considerations for Christians:

13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? (Mat 20:13, KJV)

57 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? (Luk 12:57, KJV)

21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. (Act 8:21, KJV)

10 Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest. (Act 25:10, KJV)

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. (Eph 6:1, KJV)

25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. (Col 3:25, KJV)

15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; (2Pe 2:15, KJV)

If life is to be the only way, then why did Peter state that those who walk according to the flesh (v 10) have forsaken the right way (instead of “forsaken the way of life”)? If right and wrong are not to be considered, then why did Paul write to the Colossians that God would punish those who did wrong (instead of those who did not “do life”)?

One final thought

Why do you suppose Witness Lee warned us away from good works (works that the Bible tells us to do) and focused us on a thing he called “life,” a life that was mostly defined as a nice feeling in Local Church meetings, a “life” that indirectly included adherence to the programs of Lee and his leaders, a “life” that was only to be found in his Local Church? One of the reasons might be that Witness Lee had so few good works of his own.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
(Eph 2:10, KJV)

03-11-2012, 12:48 PM	#1
John Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 62	Good vs. Lee's Trees God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. (Gen 1:31, NASB) Quite soon after becoming a Christian, I became a member of Witness Lee’s Local Church. After spending 20 years in the group, being indoctrinated by him and his leaders, I came to the conclusion that I was in a religious system virtually bereft of the Spirit, and that I felt just about spiritually dead myself … so, I left. Lately, after being out for almost 25 years, I have been considering in more depth what I learned from Lee through his Living Stream Ministry. I have wanted to find out what foundational ideas about the Bible that I might still hold, maybe almost unconsciously, that are wrong and that I had accepted from Lee unwittingly. (In the Local Church, we were encouraged not to think, not to use our minds.) The trees of Lee in the midst of us One of Lee’s over-arching teachings about the Bible is about the two trees in the garden of Eden. It goes something like this: There were two trees in the garden. One was the tree of life, and the other was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life represents Christ, and the other one, which he called, on occasion, the tree of death, represents Satan. God’s purpose was that mankind was to partake of the tree of life and not the tree of death. Well, mankind failed, ate of the wrong tree, left the garden, and was prevented from returning. Now, according to Lee, we have been brought back to the place where we can partake of Christ, the tree of life; and, that is what we are supposed to be doing on a regular, if not constant, basis. Conversely, we are to stay away from the other tree, the poisonous tree that consists of knowledge, and of good and evil, and brings death. Witness Lee often preached against dead knowledge and those Christians who would simply study the scriptures to learn. For him and his Living Stream Ministry followers, the whole Bible is mainly about life and death, and we were to only care for life. Put your mind in gear As a result of Lee’s teaching on the trees, slogans began to be thrown around in the Local Churches like ones similar to these: Don’t care about right and wrong; just care for life. I don’t sense life in what you are saying. I don’t feel [a sense of life] to help you at this time. Get out of your mind; get your spirit in gear. As an aside, to those who would say, “Get out of your mind; get your spirit in gear,” note the following from The Message: “So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives.” (1 Pet 1:13) Getting back to the topic, so-called “life” became equated with having wonderful times in Local Church meetings. Nothing else seemed to matter but to get into somewhat of an exuberant state that was referred to as “the enjoyment.” Eventually, I became as one with no moral compass; because, to consider good and evil (right and wrong) was to be in the enemy’s clutches. We were to focus solely on life, which seemed to mean to go along with what was called “the flow,” which was based on what Witness Lee and the leaders were preaching. What choice do we have? Witness Lee taught us that we had the same choice as did Adam and Eve. We were not to consider good and evil, right and wrong. We were to forsake knowledge. We were always to choose life and only care for life. This was Lee’s ongoing emphasis. This kind of thinking, I believe, still controls members and many former members of the Local Churches. What about this teaching, though? Is it accurate, according to the Bible, to say that right and wrong, good and evil, are considerations to be avoided by Christians? Back then, this teaching sounded—dare I say—good. Now that I have thought it through, though, it does not make sense to me. His teaching sounds as if we can be mentally transported back in time to the garden of Eden and given the choice between the two trees, just like Adam and Eve, with the opportunity to just swallow the life one wholeheartedly. Actually, this is not the situation faced by Christians today. In the distant past, Eve and Adam ate of the wrong tree and came to know good and evil. Now, mankind has this knowledge, and there is no going back to a state in which we do not have this knowledge. Yes, we now do have access to Jesus Christ, the One Who is life, and the option to choose Him; but, we are not now able to simply forget about good and evil. “Not poisoned,” says Barnes While reading some of Barnes’ Notes on the Bible about Genesis 3:22, I found that he thought that eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil did not poison mankind (as Witness Lee had told us), as if the masticated fruit itself, going into Adam and Eve’s stomachs, could have caused some interaction with their intellects that brought them to know good and evil. Barnes stated, instead, that it was the disobedience itself that caused the knowledge, as in, “Oh no; now I know the guilt and shame of having disobeyed God, which was an evil act on my part.” His commentary may or may not be true; however, I think that it is healthy, for those of us who were immersed solely in incessant indoctrination via Lee, meeting after meeting, to read and consider a contrary view (which is what the Living Stream Ministry does not want any of its captive audience to do). And another thing, just for argument’s sake, is that the following verse, in the context of Lee’s theology, seems to preclude the two-tree scenario that Lee painted as a choice for us now: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Rev 2:7, KJV) According to Lee, overcomers will receive a special reward in the coming kingdom. If God has already given all of us Christians an opportunity to eat of the tree of life now, as Lee preached from Genesis, why would John in Revelation indicate that eating of the tree of life is to be a reward just for overcomers in the future? This question, like Barnes’ commentary, is not critical to my presentation, so I have not investigated how it might fit in with some larger theology about eating of the tree of life. What these two observations do bring up are possible flaws in Witness Lee’s teaching. My main point is to relate how Lee misled his followers to be afraid of good works in the pursuit of some nebulous thing he called life. Taking the good out of God Moving on with Witness Lee’s teaching, he warned us that a person is capable of doing mere human good without God; so, we shouldn’t be involved in just doing good. In the same way, I could say that a person can be involved in mere human life without God; so, according to Lee’s logic, we shouldn’t just focus on what became known as life in the Local Church as a thing in itself. In addition to that, Jesus said, “There is none good but One, that is, God,” further proving that Witness Lee was incorrect. Regardless of what you think about the accuracy of Lee’s version of what happened in the garden of Eden, whether or not a person who is merely ethical can do good, and the choice we now have today, the result of his teaching for me (and others, I would assume) is that I was left in a moral vacuum, wondering whether or not some good work I might be contemplating was under the initiation of the Holy Spirit or if I was just simply trying to do a good work. If the latter, then it would actually be a dead work (devoid of the Spirit) and in the same category as the mere dead good works that “poor, degraded Christianity” did (Lee’s label). His teaching caused me to retreat from good works and cloister myself away in Local Church doings, things which were safe, approved, and supposedly in the domain of life. A biblical accounting So, what does the Bible really say about good works? I did some searching and came up with the following statistics from the New Testament related to God’s people doing good and right, and not doing evil or wrong: 56 passages related to doing good 6 passages related to doing right 6 passages related to not doing wrong (Did not search for the word “evil”) The following sections contain some of the 68 noted passages as examples of the good we Christians are to do and the right and wrong that we are to avoid. The Bible tells us to do good works Note that most of the following New Testament verses do not give a qualification that the good a person does must be in accord with the Spirit or the result of an outflow from Christ as life, or some such. (I did not check the contexts of these verses, so some may have the idea in surrounding verses.) I am not saying that a person does not need to keep in step with the Spirit when doing good; I am simply saying that most of the verses do not mention it. In other words, we Christians are simply told to do good works and that it is important that we do (to the chagrin of Witness Lee and the so-called “Lord’s Recovery.” These are the biblical instructions that Witness Lee in some sense hid from us by ignoring them. Before you might decide to just sail through these verses without letting them speak to you, doesn’t it make sense, that after listening to hundreds of sermons about life, we should at least read what God wrote to us about good works? With that in mind, here are many really “good” verses from the New Testament: 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: (Rom 2:10, KJV) 10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. (Gal 6:10, KJV) 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. (Eph 4:28, KJV) 8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. (Eph 6:8, KJV) 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Col 1:10, KJV) 17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. (2Th 2:17, KJV) 18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. (1Ti 6:18-19, KJV) 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. (2Ti 2:21, KJV) 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, ... 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2Ti 3:3, 17, KJV) 8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; ... 16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. (Tts 1:8, 16, KJV) 7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, ... 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Tts 2: 7, 14, KJV) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: (Hbr 10:24, KJV) 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. ... 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Hbr 13:16, 21, KJV) 13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. (Jam 3:13, KJV) 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (Jam 4:17, KJV) 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1Pe 2:12, KJV) 11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? (1Pe 3:11-13, KJV) 11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. (3Jo 1:11, KJV) Now that you have, hopefully, considered the foregoing verses, remember that the book of James was more or less condemned by Witness Lee as off the mark, being, in his opinion, too focused on works rather than life? As you can see by the verses, James was not the only author of New Testament text who wrote about the need for Christians to do good works. Wouldn’t it have been better if Witness Lee had encouraged us to do good works, as the Bible does, and encouraged us to pray to be in the Spirit when initiating and doing them? For new Christians like me, I think that this kind of encouragement would have had a much better outcome. At the very least, I would have been doing something biblical. In the “wrong” garlic room Lee taught us that life was the only important thing and that life would do it all. He not only ignored good works, he steered us away from them by telling us that knowledge and good and evil were on the same satanic tree that we were to avoid. With Lee’s incessant emphasis on life, we probably hardly noticed this verse: But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hbr 5:14, KJV) Because we were in Lee’s garlic room for so long, if we did read the verse, we probably didn’t pay it any mind—our senses to discern between good and evil had atrophied to the point that God’s own word could not breach the “life walls” that Lee had built around our minds. For me, almost everything in the Bible became translated to life by Lee’s voice in my head. I remember having the thought in one meeting in which Lee was asking questions, that every answer was turned by him to be life, that mysterious something that you came to know by experience in meetings. Eventually, I realized that as long as I went to all the meetings and experienced the thing we called life, then I thought that I was fine. This idea, however, does not line up with the Bible, which declares that we are to do good and to learn to distinguish between good and evil. Right and wrong are important As I mentioned earlier, it was also stated among us members of the Local Church that we should not be caught up with considerations of what is right and what is wrong. This, of course, became an excuse for leaders to abandon their duty to do the right things in regard to Christ, the members of His body, and society in general. The cloak of “life,” and the belief that forwarding the designs of “the Recovery” was the most important thing, enabled the leaders to set morality and biblical mandates aside. Because of this mindset, I present the following verses that show that right and wrong are proper considerations for Christians: 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? (Mat 20:13, KJV) 57 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? (Luk 12:57, KJV) 21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. (Act 8:21, KJV) 10 Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest. (Act 25:10, KJV) 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. (Eph 6:1, KJV) 25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. (Col 3:25, KJV) 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; (2Pe 2:15, KJV) If life is to be the only way, then why did Peter state that those who walk according to the flesh (v 10) have forsaken the right way (instead of “forsaken the way of life”)? If right and wrong are not to be considered, then why did Paul write to the Colossians that God would punish those who did wrong (instead of those who did not “do life”)? One final thought Why do you suppose Witness Lee warned us away from good works (works that the Bible tells us to do) and focused us on a thing he called “life,” a life that was mostly defined as a nice feeling in Local Church meetings, a “life” that indirectly included adherence to the programs of Lee and his leaders, a “life” that was only to be found in his Local Church? One of the reasons might be that Witness Lee had so few good works of his own. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10, KJV)