Excerpts from a collection of thoughts from 2002-2003 that I had dubbed "Utter Biblestudying Futility":
These are random ramblings and reflections on my former life in the pit that was Chicago UBF and on UBF in general.
- Sam Lee was and is praised as one who "didn't pay attention to people" or "didn't care what people thought" and only "lived before God." This is a distortion of what actually happened to Lee. The truth is that Lee lost a clear sense of right and wrong because he was never challenged by the people around him when he did wrong. When he had no one to be accountable to ("didn't pay attention to what people thought") he ran amuck, not knowing right from wrong anymore. He disassociated from other churches because they were a possible source of criticism and accountability for himself. He squashed, intimidated or kicked out any possible sources of criticism and accountability from within UBF. This "Didn't pay attention to what people thought" is just another way of saying, "Refused to be accountable to anyone." Unfortunately, Sarah Barry, the current Director seems to admire this trait of Lee's. "Didn't pay attention to what people thought" sounds good, doesn't it? But look at the result in Sam Lee's life. This so-called Christian leader lost one of the most important traits that a Christian or even a human being should have: a conscience or a sense of right and wrong.
- "Whatever occurs from love is always beyond good and evil." (Friedrich Nietzsche) Again, words that sound so good can be so dangerous. Even the use of the word "love" in this statement by Nietzsche is so dangerous. Even love can be distorted and twisted to justify the evil that sinful men do. And this is just what happens in UBF. When Sam Lee committed an obvious sin, an obvious abuse, we were told to "examine his motives," that behind the obvious malice, greed, lies, and abuses there was "love" and a "shepherd heart." So somehow, the evils he committed were somehow "beyond good and evil." "Whatever occurs from love is always beyond good and evil." These were not the words of a Christian. This is not the way of the Lord.
