Re: How Was the Conference? -- RSQUBF discussion forum

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Date Posted: 07:03:09 08/12/04 Thu
Author: Chris
Subject: Re: How Was the Conference?
In reply to: former 's message, "How Was the Conference?" on 08:25:32 08/02/04 Mon

An ex member wrote to me in an email that he sometimes "misses" the wired awareness of life inUBF which was a strange mixture of self-humiliation and self-aggrandizement.

I think there is some truth in it. On the one side, UBFins are super-humble and obedient "sheep", but on the other side very arrogant "shepherds", believing they (as UBF) are the royal priesthood, have "real greatness" and will turn the whole world upside down which is lost without the help of UBF. It's kind of schizophrenic.

You can find this inconsistent self-esteem also in the organisation as such. On the one side, they say they claim to be a "manger ministry," on the other side, you have that boasting that they are the biggest and most active Christian movement at the end of the 20th century, that they will send out 1Mio missioanries. They charter the Wharton Hall at MSU, and Samuel Lee even faked the photos, adding a third level filled with attendants to the building. Samuel Lee even chartered a whole airplane for guests at the MSU conference. In German, will call that attitude "gigantomanism."

This is also reflected in their use of the word "historic." They like to call their conferences "The 9th Historic International UBF Conference at the Niagara Fall" or something like that. With the word "historic" they want to create a feeling of euphoria for something much larger to come, and they promise every UBF they will become famous in history because they attended UBF when it was small, but once it will rule the world, and the early members will be the heroes of all.

I wondered whether they used the attribute "historic" for the last MSU conference again.

Lee also liked to teach that UBFins need to have "awareness of history" ("Geschichtsbewusstsein" in German). With this, they don't mean world history, church history, or God's salvation history, but only UBF history, which they believe to be identical with God's salvation history.

I believe that at least in the early time of UBF, many UBF Koreans where completely tainted and absorbed by that belief to be the beginning of a gigantic historic movement. The historic "Niagara fall conferenc" and things like that pushed that belief, and they try to hold up that belief until today. However, this whole belief seems to get serious cracks. Most of the elder UBF Korean missionaries are not euphoric any more, but only function out of obedience, fear and by habit. They don't do anything beyond the things demanded from them and need constant pressure to move at all. I wonder what the final stage in that whole process will be. How long can they hold up the claim to be the beginning of something REAL BIG, while the gap between the number goals (1Mio missionaries) and the real numbers iuncreases unto ridiculousness?

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