Westmin's Philosophy - Fallen Bipartite Calvinist

Westmin writes (owner/administrator of the philosophy site, Philosophia Christi),

Based on your high self view I wonder if the “best thing ever written” refers to the book by Nee or your own article? <shrug> I read the book by Nee close to thirty years ago and though Nee himself considered it his magnum opus it is not his best work. That would probably be “The Normal Christian Life” which avoids most of the ontological error that permeates his Spiritual Man. Nee is a trichotomist who draws a false distinction between soul and spirit and unfortunately falls prey to the typical anti-intellectual bias that characterizes those holding to the tri-partite view of man. Nee’s theology ends up being affectively based. While advocating knowledge by spiritual revelation, it describes such as being independent of the intellect in a way that leads to a theology where sense experience is mistaken for knowledge. Nee believes that the soul is an interpretive organ that lies between (but independent and distinct from) the spiritual and physical realms. Invariably one is lead to interpret positive feelings as spiritual and negative feelings as fleshly. In reality man is dichotomous and if a distinction is to made between soul and spirit it is the distinction of essence and identity.

Troy responds (banned from the philosophy site, censored out, unable to respond on their calvinist site),

I consider myself of no account. The Normal Christian Christian Life is founded on The Spiritual Man. The truths found in The Normal Christian Life are based on the truths needed to cleanse your spirit, found in The Spiritual Man. The Spiritual Man runs deeper for it speaks of the dividing of spirit, soul and body so as to walk after the spirit, that is your inner man, following the leading of the Holy Spirit therein. There is no error in having an inner man (spirit) and outer man (soul and body), but it is the fact of our nature. Praise God! Watchman Nee had a photographic memory, able to recall any verse, and had an IQ some estimate close to 200, one of the smartest men that ever lived. To accuse him of lack of intelligence really speaks of your own lack of intelligence Westmin and your own self view as noted in the prideful statement, that you read Nee "30 years ago", therefore, you know better. What a vain statement having no humility. 30 years now, and you still don't understand this awesome work, so much so, that all you can do is blame it, but not identify anything wrong in the material specifically. You did not even quote Nee once. I have read this book 5+ times, and it is flawless, the best work ever done on the redemptive design, covering all that which is in The Normal Christian Life, so to say the latter is better than the former is mindless. Man is tripartite for he has a spirit, soul and body. It is fallen man that believes man's soul is his spirit, that there is no distinction from man's outer and inner man. The bipartite view shows either carnal Christianity or unregeneration. This unsalvation is also seen as the pride of believing you were premade for salvation under calvinism which shows you are either unregenerated or a fleshly Christian at best. I am convinced that you are unregenerated, but there is some who believe as you do that are fleshly yet saved. Though, I do not believe this applies to you because your heart is inordinately stony. Affection is of the soul. If you had read The Spiritual Man and not just as a cursory read over 30 years ago, you would have realized that Nee said that affection is one of the 3 aspects of emotion in the beginnings chapters, not of the spirit. And he gave many verses to prove it. Praise the Lord!

In our spirit is spiritual revelation, and an intuitive spiritual knowing. This knowledge is imparted by God by the Holy Spirit. What is communicated therein is then realized by the mind's understanding, and stored therein. The problem with reformer calvinists is they start from their outer man, and their intuitive ability and conscience of their spirit is insensitive to things of God because the focus is elsewhere on their mind. That is why you never get anywhere. For example, thinking they were premade for salvation, while others were premade for hell. This is unethical. For it assumes their god actually premakes men for hell. That is an evil god.

The intellect is of the mind of the soul, and plays an important role. See Nee's "Mind Aiding the Spirit" in The Spiritual Man. Another mistake you made Westmin (sucked into the ezSystem) is that you think Nee, or spiritual Christians, believe that the spirit "lies between spiritual and the physical realms". Not at all. The spirit is very much actually in the spiritual realm for the spirit is spirit, and we communicate that which is spiritual by the spirit, "comparing spiritual things with spiritual (1 Cor. 2.13).

The fleshly Christian or non-believers will "invariably....interpret positive feelings as spiritual and negative feelings as fleshly". But the spiritual man will not. That is what the spiritual man does. He does not make those mistakes, certainly not as often. It is the hardened calvinist, on the other hand, who is so into the mind of his soul, rationalizing, that he will confuses his stony heart and emotion for that which is spiritual as well as his mind's mental stirrings. This is ultimately the problem of confusing that emotion of the soul, the will of the soul and the reasonings of the soul's outer man with the intuitive communing conscience functions of the spirit's inner man. The latter runs much deeper while you are on a rampage in your mind, cold to the touch this always smothers your spirit, insensitive to things of God, and that is why I can not sense God's life being imparted in your words, because you are without God's life. You are just going through motions as if you do have God's life. Call it pretend Christianity. In other words, you are one of the pigs in the church (see reference #8). A spiritual man is able to distinguish between what is spiritual and what is not, irrespective of oscillating emotions, negative or positive ones because He is walking the spirit with the Spirit. Praise the Lord!

The rationalization that you, therefore, conclude with is that of "essence and identity", to deny spirit life, to stay in your mind's excitement, for both essence and identity are both still big words of the mind, not touching spiritual life in a quickened spirit, and renewed conscience, imparting God's life and love. Let us make the focus on the conscience of our spirit, and not big mental words such as vague undealt with words such as essence and identity unable to expand on, which you do not. I have died with Christ on the cross. This is called identification. In essence I have the same life, eternal life. And in that life, my inner man is strengthened in giving my life to Christ. This is the joy of the Lord, the joy in my spirit as distinguished from the joy of one's emotion man experiences say from a good mental argument or certain accomplishment, or even natural love. In other words, the joy of the spirit runs much deeper than the other ever could because the other does not have the foundation of the former, necessarily always. To understand why you are fallen in your dichotomous view, read the first chapter of The Spiritual Man.

Westmin carries the conversation to denounce Biblical locality for corporate structures of the church,

There were local churches in the Bible but none of them operated outside the sphere of apostolic authority so there most certainly was a structure that secured (at least at the authoritative level) the consistency of doctrine. The Pauline epistles are rife with corrections and instructions to local bodies who, when out from under the influence of authority for any length of time, fell prey to error.

Troy responds easily,

To accept apostolic authority, and then automatically assume from that, it must lead to "at least at the corporate level" exceeding the boundary of locality, like a corporation is asinine, and to conclude this is "consistency of doctrine" when no example of such corporate structures existed in the Word of God. There is no examples of any exceeding the boundary of the local assembly. Therefore, any other possibility is adding to the Word of God (Rev. 22.18,19) that which is not there, thus giving way to power entities in christendom, which is exactly what we see in your faith. This is your flesh rising up. e.g. eastern orthodox, rcc, protestant, baptist, anglican. There is a better way. God's way which begins with the "body of Christ" operating in proper locality. Obviously, Westmin, you are not even close to being ready for you prefer to stay in a spirit of dissension amongst these groups. This is at the essence, unloving and not identification with Christ. You counter this through banning, censoring, and silencing God's voice through the pride of believing you were premade for salvation. This is a heinous self-exaltation. Now you know why the Top 100 Christian Forums has started. Top stop this activity. Praise the Lord!

The clan at this website of philosophy has one or more of it's adherents further state,

Goodbye scott branson.

Troy responds,

No, I am not Scott Branson. I have no association to Scott Branson. And God forbid, I don't believe any of these bizarre claims he is making. How weird man's comparisons are. I am not into revivals for they are more like the Sardis church of constantly refilling the glass with less and less water each time. And I certainly don't believe in Branson's vegas revival. How vain. No. The church will grow according to Biblical locality, always, no more, no less, and by each locality only, not some vegas revival initiative followed by a Canadian revival as Scott and Benny Hinn say. These are still regional affairs or specific issue affairs such as gambling in that article. Therefore, based on these false prophets, you would be bearing false witness attaching me to these men: Benny Hinn and Scott Branson are in error (false prophets), despite their claims those that reject their move will suffer greatly. In conclusion Philosophia Christi is no place for a Christian for it is smothered with the pride of believing they were premade for salvation over there.

Troy Brooks