IMF yea. The tree was a big part of twi. (ever gone to a "TWIG"? - that was part of a "BRANCH"?- that was part of a "LIMB"? etcetera?????). Went to the ex-cultworld site, and saw that picture of the billboard!! I loved it!!
Green tree means life, brown and shriveled means death. The best part of that billboard that I saw, was that the green tree is on the right side (not as you face the picture, but as if you were in the picture facing out -- what we musicians call "STAGE RIGHT"
Everyone knows (or should know) that the right hand is the hand of blessing, and the left hand is the hand of cursing. Whoever put that billboard up, really had his/her act together, cause the green tree is where the blessing is -- on the right side, and I am guessing that is symbolic of us, as in you and I.
Kind of like adding a twist to the knife, or sprinkling a little salt in the wound!! But that is about all I know about the tree thing. Hope it helped.
Ex-10 /// Amen to that !!!!! The juiciest stuff ever printed about TWI seems to be right here on this site. I would rather pour a hot coffee, (or a cold beer), and sit back looking at GSC than I would going to Barnes and Noble, spending money for something of dubious quality, when I know the REAL DEAL is right here. Plus -- what happened in the past is a sickening thing, and I am not sure I want to spend money to remind me of past atrocities.
D, I am so sorry that you had S--t happen to you in TWI. I know that many of the people in TWI, were used, and exploited, and then left to fend for themselves. I pray these people get help, and are able to function in life.
I was the first one who mentioned the whole thing about post here would make a good read. I really didn't mean to open a whole can of worms. So sorry, Paw.
But ya know, this site does have a responsible moderator/moderators. Which makes a huge difference, to me anyway.
Since 2004, to my knowledge, two books by former TWI insiders have been published:
Losing the Way: A Memoir of Spiritual Longing, Manipulation, Abuse and Escape by Kristen Skedgell (2008)
" A riveting and finely crafted true story, Losing the Way recounts how the daughter of East Coast intellectuals was recruited into a well-known rightwing Bible cult, The Way International, where she was manipulated, betrayed, and abused, before being rescued by the worldly mother she rejected. Skedgell shows how easily an idealistic young person can be swept away by a spiritual quest and the quiet malevolence lurking beneath the religious exterior of a false leader."
and
Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International by Charlene Edge (2016)
"Charlene Edge’s riveting memoir about the power of words to seduce, betray, and, in her case, eventually save. After a personal tragedy left her bereft, teenaged Charlene rejected faith and family when recruiters drew her into The Way International, a sect led by the charismatic Victor Paul Wierwille. The Way became one of the largest cults in America. Charlene gave it seventeen years of her life. Believing that God led her to Wierwille, she underwent his intensive two-year training program, The Way Corps, designed to produce loyal leaders. When Wierwille warned of a possible government attack, she prepared to live off the grid. She ignored warning signs of Wierwille’s paranoia and abuse—he condemned dissenters as the Devil’s agents, he required followers to watch pornography, he manipulated Corps into keeping his secrets in a “lock box,” he denied the Holocaust, and he surrounded himself with bodyguards. She married a Corps graduate and they served across the United States as Way leaders, funneling money into Wierwille’s bursting coffers and shunning anyone who criticized him. As obedient Way Corps, they raised their child to believe the doctrines of Wierwille, the cult’s designated “father in the Word.” Eventually Charlene was promoted to the inner circle of biblical researchers, where she discovered devastating secrets: Wierwille twisted texts of Scripture to serve his personal agenda, shamelessly plagiarized the work of others, and misrepresented the purpose of his organization. Worst of all, after Wierwille died in 1985, shocking reports surfaced of his secret sex ring. Amid chaos at The Way’s Ohio-based headquarters, Charlene knew she had to escape—for her own survival and her child’s. Reading like a novel, Undertow is not only a brilliant cautionary tale about misplaced faith but also an exposé of the hazards of fundamentalism and the destructive nature of cults. Through her personal story, Charlene Edge shows how a vulnerable person can be seduced into following an authoritarian leader and how difficult it can be to find a way out.
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Rocky
Good thread to bring back from the abyss... Since 2004, to my knowledge, two books by former TWI insiders have been published: Losing the Way: A Memoir of Spiritual Longing, Manipulation, Abuse an
Tom Strange
Tony, there's an interview with the author of the book you're buying at the website mentioned in the above post...
... I've been here and I've been there and I've been in between...
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tony
I read the interview and it was very impressed!
So tell me about the bill boards did they work?
Long Live Israel !
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dmiller
IMF yea. The tree was a big part of twi. (ever gone to a "TWIG"? - that was part of a "BRANCH"?- that was part of a "LIMB"? etcetera?????). Went to the ex-cultworld site, and saw that picture of the billboard!! I loved it!!
Green tree means life, brown and shriveled means death. The best part of that billboard that I saw, was that the green tree is on the right side (not as you face the picture, but as if you were in the picture facing out -- what we musicians call "STAGE RIGHT"
Everyone knows (or should know) that the right hand is the hand of blessing, and the left hand is the hand of cursing. Whoever put that billboard up, really had his/her act together, cause the green tree is where the blessing is -- on the right side, and I am guessing that is symbolic of us, as in you and I.
Kind of like adding a twist to the knife, or sprinkling a little salt in the wound!! But that is about all I know about the tree thing. Hope it helped.
Shoot low. They are riding Shetlands
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Grace Valerie Claire
D, I am so sorry that you had S--t happen to you in TWI. I know that many of the people in TWI, were used, and exploited, and then left to fend for themselves. I pray these people get help, and are able to function in life.
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Grace Valerie Claire
WG, interesting post. I don't think anyone would want to publish any of my posts; they are probably of little interest to most people.
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Grace Valerie Claire
To me also!
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Rocky
Good thread to bring back from the abyss...
Since 2004, to my knowledge, two books by former TWI insiders have been published:
Losing the Way: A Memoir of Spiritual Longing, Manipulation, Abuse and Escape by Kristen Skedgell (2008)
" A riveting and finely crafted true story, Losing the Way recounts how the daughter of East Coast intellectuals was recruited into a well-known rightwing Bible cult, The Way International, where she was manipulated, betrayed, and abused, before being rescued by the worldly mother she rejected. Skedgell shows how easily an idealistic young person can be swept away by a spiritual quest and the quiet malevolence lurking beneath the religious exterior of a false leader."
and
Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International by Charlene Edge (2016)
"Charlene Edge’s riveting memoir about the power of words to seduce, betray, and, in her case, eventually save. After a personal tragedy left her bereft, teenaged Charlene rejected faith and family when recruiters drew her into The Way International, a sect led by the charismatic Victor Paul Wierwille. The Way became one of the largest cults in America. Charlene gave it seventeen years of her life. Believing that God led her to Wierwille, she underwent his intensive two-year training program, The Way Corps, designed to produce loyal leaders. When Wierwille warned of a possible government attack, she prepared to live off the grid. She ignored warning signs of Wierwille’s paranoia and abuse—he condemned dissenters as the Devil’s agents, he required followers to watch pornography, he manipulated Corps into keeping his secrets in a “lock box,” he denied the Holocaust, and he surrounded himself with bodyguards. She married a Corps graduate and they served across the United States as Way leaders, funneling money into Wierwille’s bursting coffers and shunning anyone who criticized him. As obedient Way Corps, they raised their child to believe the doctrines of Wierwille, the cult’s designated “father in the Word.” Eventually Charlene was promoted to the inner circle of biblical researchers, where she discovered devastating secrets: Wierwille twisted texts of Scripture to serve his personal agenda, shamelessly plagiarized the work of others, and misrepresented the purpose of his organization. Worst of all, after Wierwille died in 1985, shocking reports surfaced of his secret sex ring. Amid chaos at The Way’s Ohio-based headquarters, Charlene knew she had to escape—for her own survival and her child’s. Reading like a novel, Undertow is not only a brilliant cautionary tale about misplaced faith but also an exposé of the hazards of fundamentalism and the destructive nature of cults. Through her personal story, Charlene Edge shows how a vulnerable person can be seduced into following an authoritarian leader and how difficult it can be to find a way out.
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