Clay, your post:emphasizes the word 'removal'. The pertinent part of the implied definition must be removal from what/where to what/where. In my layman's opinion, there are limited possibilities:- the distancing of oneself from a certain thought process or belief- the distancing of oneself from a certain person(s) or thing(s)- the distancing of oneself from a certain place- to something or someplace else.So it's either a mental or physical action of transfer. Is there any other way to distance oneself?You nail it nicely in your last sentence, "I think it is also clear that a doctrinal "departure" of the Church from sound Bible theology, in many denominational circles, HAS ALREADY
TAKEN PLACE." I agree. This mental removal from truth also preceded the physical removal of many from their places of worship to agnosticism and/or other forms of false belief systems. Others, adhering to true doctrine, simply went away from a twisted environment...to watch and wait.Therefore, as the world darkens, for those that are His, there is only one way left to depart: the physical abandonment of a certain place, in this case - the planet.Thanks for your thought-provoking post.Marie Komar