Jump to content
GreaseSpot Cafe

Wierwille's Summit: Spiritual Noblesse


skyrider
 Share

Recommended Posts

For some 12 years, wierwille struggled with the pathway before him....admittedly, he wanted to bolt from his church pastorate and move into business. Mrs. Wierwille's book, Born Again to Serve, delves into her husband's temperament and outbursts in his feelings of inadequacy and direction. Yet, all of this changed when wierwille took Rev. BG Leonard's foundational class in Calgary, Alberta in 1953.

Was this class THAT liberating?

OR......was it the pathway to a class-based ministry THAT was so liberating?

IMO, it was the latter.....the class-based pathway that gave wierwille the fortitude to break from the church structure. And, with Leonard's foundational class in 1953, wierwille was able to distance himself from his church pastorate AND leonard with each passing year. That's the beauty of those one-sided isolation techniques.....it allows revisionist history to gain the narrative of one's summit climb.

Sure, we've all heard vpee's spiel about "needing power and it wasn't there....." But stepping back a moment, the question arises "Separating the genuine from the counterfeit, does the one seeking power want it to HELP OTHERS....or does the seeker desparately want it to RULE OVER OTHERS?" And further, when Jesus said that ye shall know them by their fruit....I believe we are able to answer that question regarding wierwille's intentions and motivations. Time and time again, I witnessed wierwille verbally lashing out to cower his opponent.....er, student. In a class-setting, a controlled-setting.....yes, vpw came across as a patient and paternal teacher. But....on his feet, in the split moment of addressing real situations, questions and/or dissention......wierwille was a striker.

His embedded first response was.....strike force. Juxtaposed from the gospels, where Jesus lovingly addressed one's sins, shortcomings or darkness.....wierwille displayed a pattern of promptly putting one in his place. In other words, a dress down....to make it abundantly clear that you weren't qualified to discern such spiritual matters. It had a belittling effect...to separate him from the immature, the little people. Mission Accomplished.

Wierwille's Summit: Spiritual Noblesse.....vpee was on a quest towards "spiritual nobility."

IMO.....When young wierwille attended E. Stanley Jones' Ashram in 1944

[with Rufus Mosley and Stanley Jones pictured in the front row near Jones

and little whipper-snapper wierwille in the back row barely visible amongst

the 320 or so present]....noted on page 48, mrs. w's book

it speaks VOLUMES, to me, as to victor's "placement in the spiritual community"

AND HOW FAR HE NEEDED TO CLIMB to reach any sort of recognition or notoriety.

See, that's why I believe that, all along, wierwille's drive for "spiritual noblesse"

was disingenuous, insincere. He wanted to rule over others, period. He wanted authority

and a comfortable position to rule and control at another's expense. And, every enabler...

er, trustee who pandered to this enterprise was complicit in counterfeiting the truth.

Furthermore, every splinter group leader....most notably, Geer and Lynn and Finnegan

have followed the same pattern as wierwille. But then, none of this is new. None of

this is surprising. None of this is to say that we weren't ALREADY WARNED.

Seducers and deceivers wanting to lord over God's heritage.....

.

Edited by skyrider
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's interesting to connect the dots on the Leonard class, also.

Mrs W said Leonard really knew his stuff, both from the Bible and in practice,

and taught effectively.

vpw later said (in one of the few mentions EVER of Leonard) that his

knowledge of the Bible was deficient.

vpw pushed his way into one of Leonard's classes. vpw phoned and was told

it was already in progress so he'd have to wait for the next one. vpw

showed up anyway and demanded to be let in. Leonard was a nice guy and

put up with it. Then vpw came back a few months later with new students

and to retake it.

A few months after THAT, vpw asked Leonard for permission to run LEONARD's

class locally on a one-time basis. Leonard agreed, and later received a

photo of the grads of Leonard's class. Meanwhile, vpw told all the students

that it was vpw's class, which he maintained to his grave. He also continued

to teach Leonard's class as often as he could, only later adding things like

Stiles' book and Bullinger's material.

Also, Leonard was about training the ministers so they could help their own

congregations. vpw was about setting things up so that others were

DEPENDENT UPON HIM, putting forth that himself was some great one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, Leonard was about training the ministers so they could help their own

congregations. vpw was about setting things up so that others were

DEPENDENT UPON HIM, putting forth that himself was some great one.

THAT'S WHY.....twi was a counterfeit.

At best, it was a pseudo-business MLM model sprinkled with scriptures and principles.....

and, at worse, it feasted on the lusts of the flesh and basked in idolatry.

The teacher/student relationship was the basis of twi......NOT Christ as lord.

And, therefore.....wierwille maintained authoritarian rule to his grave. It was

a slick counterfeit in the modern-era.....but very similar to Simon the sorcerer.

Wierwille continued to teach that it was about the abundance and power of God, but

in practice he commanded his followers to affix their eyes upon him.

At the far end of the commitment continuum was the corps indoctrination.

After years of jumping thru hoops, corps GRADS found that wierwille kept adding

more hoops. Some sniffed out the dependency, the oppression and bolted. Some

corps grads just slipped away. Under threat of expulsion and public shaming, a

majority of corps grads STAYED in twi for years against their better judgment....

Yet, in all its fanfare and boasting of "all nine all the time" and/or "the five

gift ministries in the church"......it didn't happen. Twi NEVER ADVANCED past

the "three manifestations operated in a twig" over and over and over again.

Note: add a big, fat sarcasm tag to this.....wierwille's twi and these 3 spiritual

toys played with over and over in twig.

In all these years, name me ONE INDIVIDUAL who spiritually rose up thru twi

with a genuine ministry of an apostle, a prophet or an evangelist? Just one.

Even the teachers and pastors were cookie-cutter counterfeit.

When measured against the truth of scripture, twi was a false ministry.

Wierwille's climb to the "summit of spiritual noblesse" ENDED IN A MIGHTY FALL: THUD.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

VPW fit the classic profile of a serial bully, constantly "moving the goal posts", sabotaging work efforts, taking credit for others work, public humiliation, and so forth. He was by no means a man worthy of adulation or emulation. Just another two-bit bully. Bullying was the only real "skill" he excelled at.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

(anip)

Yet, in all its fanfare and boasting of "all nine all the time" and/or "the five

gift ministries in the church"......it didn't happen. Twi NEVER ADVANCED past

the "three manifestations operated in a twig" over and over and over again.

Note: add a big, fat sarcasm tag to this.....wierwille's twi and these 3 spiritual

toys played with over and over in twig.

(snip)

Naturally, among all the other frauds, the only real drama vpw laid claim

to was a FAKE also.

When looked at coldly by the light of day,

the thing vpw taught bore no resemblance to the thing in the Bible-

except where it was CLAIMED to be so.

However, what we were taught was totally fake-able and able to be produced

by non-Christians trying to fake things.

That's why vpw-the-fraud was able to use it- it was as fraudulent as him!

I am not convinced the real thing isn't possible now.

I am convinced what we experienced and were taught-THAT was fake.

If the real thing is out there, we'll never find it by being convinced

that a fake is the real thing instead.

It's a nice microcosm of the entire twi experience vs God Almighty.

Those who convince themselves this fake is the real deal won't even

TRY to find the real thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Naturally, among all the other frauds, the only real drama vpw laid claim

to was a FAKE also.

When looked at coldly by the light of day,

the thing vpw taught bore no resemblance to the thing in the Bible-

except where it was CLAIMED to be so.

However, what we were taught was totally fake-able and able to be produced

by non-Christians trying to fake things.

That's why vpw-the-fraud was able to use it- it was as fraudulent as him!

I am not convinced the real thing isn't possible now.

I am convinced what we experienced and were taught-THAT was fake.

If the real thing is out there, we'll never find it by being convinced

that a fake is the real thing instead.

It's a nice microcosm of the entire twi experience vs God Almighty.

Those who convince themselves this fake is the real deal won't even

TRY to find the real thing.

I whole-heartedly agree.....what we were taught and experienced was fake,

a cheap knock-off of REAL manifestations in REAL LIFE SITUATIONS.

Heck, even wierwille's speaking in tongues SOUNDED PATHETICALLY REPETITIVE....and rehearsed.

And, all that baloney about practice sessions seemed more like window-dressing for twig/class

promo than to get out there and demonstrate the power of God.

Where is the application of the other SIX MANIFESTATIONS in twi? Zilch, nada, nil.

Even at the trustee level, who amongst them ever gave witness to power in manifestation?

As has been discussed many times, even vpee's examples were generic and lame.

But what about.....Harry? Ermal? Don? Wanda? Howard? Emogene? Craig? Donna?

See? The ruling class of trustees/emeritus was one big, pompous hoax.

THAT'S WHY.....the indentured servants [corps] have abandoned the manor. :anim-smile:/>

.

Edited by skyrider
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I whole-heartedly agree.....what we were taught and experienced was fake,

a cheap knock-off of REAL manifestations in REAL LIFE SITUATIONS.

Heck, even wierwille's speaking in tongues SOUNDED PATHETICALLY REPETITIVE....and rehearsed.

"U shan ta ma la ka si to la shon ta."

That "sentence" showed up all the time, not just in pfal.

And it's been trotted out by partisans as proof vpw was a "real Christian" and not just

a fraud from the beginning. vpw passed the standard that he made up for being a real

Christian..big surprise...but he didn't do very well at it even so...

It's like his "tongue" was exactly one sentence long.

And, all that baloney about practice sessions seemed more like window-dressing for twig/class

promo than to get out there and demonstrate the power of God.

The practice sessions were all flesh-and-blood practice for something that was supposedly

completely spiritual. It's obvious in hindsight, but it fooled us all despite being

inconsistent.

Where is the application of the other SIX MANIFESTATIONS in twi? Zilch, nada, nil.

Even at the trustee level, who amongst them ever gave witness to power in manifestation?

As has been discussed many times, even vpee's examples were generic and lame.

But what about.....Harry? Ermal? Don? Wanda? Howard? Emogene? Craig? Donna?

See? The ruling class of trustees/emeritus was one big, pompous hoax.

THAT'S WHY.....the indentured servants [corps] have abandoned the manor. :anim-smile:/>/>

.

When it came to revelation and power, vpw could cite examples from Scripture or cite

examples from other people (or claim those stories were his own a la Gilderoy Lockhart),

but never actually DEMONSTRATE them. That's why he didn't understand deeper levels and

his explanations made no sense.

"Phenomena" was his catch-all term for whatever wasn't guaranteed- and nobody noticed

that's exactly what it was. (I didn't even think that was wrong, to have a catch-all

term, but you'd think it was quoted straight out of the Bible.)

He claimed that "phenomena" for non-Christians REQUIRED spirit upon someone and couldn't

be physical (that was passed on by others, too). So, the "writing on the wall" wasn't

actual writing on an actual wall. The far simpler explanation was that the writing,

devoid of context, was MISUNDERSTOOD because the lettering looked like 1 language

when it was another. However, anything vpw didn't understand was "supernatural".

Charlatan voodoo doctors using sleight-of-hand were claimed to be "supernatural"

as well since vpw lacked the wit to understand what they were doing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"U shan ta ma la ka si to la shon ta."

That "sentence" showed up all the time, not just in pfal.

And it's been trotted out by partisans as proof vpw was a "real Christian" and not just

a fraud from the beginning. vpw passed the standard that he made up for being a real

Christian..big surprise...but he didn't do very well at it even so...

It's like his "tongue" was exactly one sentence long.

And this ADDS more credibility to my first post on this thread......wierwille was MORE THRILLED

with the class-based model of Leonard's class than the actual scriptures themselves!!

Wierwille hijacked all of it.....class registration, class format, length of sessions, class graduation,

class picture, and Maggie Muggins. Had to grab little Maggie, too? Yep.

But then.....it seems to me that wierwille COULD NOT accept or manifest with unreserved conviction

holy spirit within....[ie speaking in tongues in all its full-throated beauty]. Wierwille had a canned,

rehearsed and repetitive *U shanta.* Ole Vic had gone to Calgary, Alberta twice to "buy the farm"

and he didn't know the first thing about plowing.

.

Edited by skyrider
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Remember when vpee would speak in tongues to show everyone? Every time

he demonstrated it, he'd jolt his arm/hand motion for emphasis.

Gawd.....even back then, I thought it looked contrived.

And now, some 40 years later....I can't name ONE INDIVIDUAL

who's come up thru the ranks of twi and recognized with a gift ministry.

Not one.

Just like wierwille conning his way thru plagiarized works of others,

Geer attempted to live off his "Poop Thesis" and franchise his classes.

SEE THE PATTERN? Wierwille was a hustler who feigned to believe the Scriptures

and the men following in vp's wake are doing the same.....except with a provided

list of gullibles.....er, followers.

There's a reason why we're instructed to KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUIT.

Words have a great capacity to deceive, but fruit reveals a healthy tree.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think even the tongues may be suspect as 'malaka'is a greek curse meaning wanker !!

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ahhhhhhh ha hahahahah haaaaaaaaaaaaa ah ahhaaaaaaaaaa ha ha ha ha ha haha hah ah haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

GIANT SNORT EMOTICON GOES HERE

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ahhhhhhh ha hahahahah haaaaaaaaaaaaa ah ahhaaaaaaaaaa ha ha ha ha ha haha hah ah haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ahhhhhhh ha hahahahah haaaaaaaaaaaaa ah ahhaaaaaaaaaa ha ha ha ha ha haha hah ah haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

GIANT SNORT EMOTICON GOES HERE

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ahhhhhhh ha hahahahah haaaaaaaaaaaaa ah ahhaaaaaaaaaa ha ha ha ha ha haha hah ah haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

sounds like that made your day exie !!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

<snip>

I am not convinced the real thing isn't possible now.

I am convinced what we experienced and were taught-THAT was fake.

If the real thing is out there, we'll never find it by being convinced

that a fake is the real thing instead.

It's a nice microcosm of the entire twi experience vs God Almighty.

Those who convince themselves this fake is the real deal won't even

TRY to find the real thing.

Did anyone ever notice that wierwille did NOT want to re-do or update the intermediate class

and assigned it over to E@rl B-urton instead?

Think about it.....this "holy spirit field" was, supposedly, veepee's claim to fame

to this (cough, cough) power-filled ministry and wierwille didn't want to go before

the camera to teach its **intricacies.**

In a nutshell: 1)wierwille's speaking in tongues was repetitive and contrived.

2) As "The Teacher".....he didn't want to teach the intermediate class.

3) At roa, he stayed at microphone and directed others to "minister healing."

4) Where were the OTHER SIX MANIFESTATIONS in vpee's life and ministry?

5) Wierwille went to his grave wishing he'd lived differently.

THIS was wierwille's true legacy......not the polished version.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The idea of not wanting to redo the original PFAL series is something that always bothered me, greatly, even back in the 1970's, primarily because of the way it was rationalized..

There was a great deal of hype floating around suggesting it was sooooo perfect it could not be improved upon. I didn't buy into that back then and I certainly find it humorous now.

Another thing that bothered me was that, despite Wierwille's feigned zeal for Word Over The World!, he was not the least bit interested in making it available to anyone unless it turned him a profit. All that mumbo-jumbo about it being perceived as less valuable if it was free was just that...mumbo-jumbo. Having to pay for the class was simply a way to delude yourself into believing you had made a good choice. If the product had been all it was purported to be, it could have been free and no self delusion would have been needed.

Edited by waysider
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did anyone ever notice that wierwille did NOT want to re-do or update the intermediate class

and assigned it over to E@rl B-urton instead?

Think about it.....this "holy spirit field" was, supposedly, veepee's claim to fame

to this (cough, cough) power-filled ministry and wierwille didn't want to go before

the camera to teach its **intricacies.**

In a nutshell: 1)wierwille's speaking in tongues was repetitive and contrived.

2) As "The Teacher".....he didn't want to teach the intermediate class.

3) At roa, he stayed at microphone and directed others to "minister healing."

4) Where were the OTHER SIX MANIFESTATIONS in vpee's life and ministry?

5) Wierwille went to his grave wishing he'd lived differently.

THIS was wierwille's true legacy......not the polished version.

He was turning things over to "the keeds".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The idea of not wanting to redo the original PFAL series is something that always bothered me, greatly, even back in the 1970's, primarily because of the way it was rationalized..

There was a great deal of hype floating around suggesting it was sooooo perfect it could not be improved upon. I didn't buy into that back then and I certainly find it humorous now.

Another thing that bothered me was that, despite Wierwille's feigned zeal for Word Over The World!, he was not the least bit interested in making it available to anyone unless it turned him a profit. All that mumbo-jumbo about it being perceived as less valuable if it was free was just that...mumbo-jumbo. Having to pay for the class was simply a way to delude yourself into believing you had made a good choice. If the product had been all it was purported to be, it could have been free and no self delusion would have been needed.

I remember being at Corps Week where it was announced that the "donation" for the class would now be $100 (or was it $200?). Everyone stood up and clapped. Yeah, that would make it easier to "move the Word." It didn't last long either. Eventually they changed it to $45. That's walking by the spirit, for ya.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was profitable, too.

The US public wasn't stupid enough to pay $200 for it that year-

as the WOWs discovered-

but all the other prices made a tidy ptofit.

Even at $40, the cost of the mandatory materials was a LOT less than that.

twi provided tapes, and all other expenses were borne locally.

Then many people stayed and paid 10% of their salary, and bought lots

of stuff from twi, all priced retail. That's a tidy profit for a

non-profit organization that pays no tax and handles all stages of

production in-house.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was profitable, too.

The US public wasn't stupid enough to pay $200 for it that year-

as the WOWs discovered-

but all the other prices made a tidy ptofit.

Even at $40, the cost of the mandatory materials was a LOT less than that.

twi provided tapes, and all other expenses were borne locally.

Then many people stayed and paid 10% of their salary, and bought lots

of stuff from twi, all priced retail. That's a tidy profit for a

non-profit organization that pays no tax and handles all stages of

production in-house.

The Cult Circle Completed

...Person goes to roa and spends money --twi pockets $$

...Signs to go WOW and solicits donations --No money out of twi's pocket

...Gets enough money for WOW down payment --Other believers sponsor recruitment

...Witnesses and signs others up for pfal --Free sales force for twi

...Class is run in someone's home --Free operating costs for twi

...Class grads buy twi materials/books --Again, free advertising promotion

...Some grads bring their friends to twig --Bonus monies to twi's coffers

...WOWs return to roa with a few new recruits --Tithes and money spent at roa

...Next wave of WOWs anxiously awaits their turn to "serve God" --cha-ching, cha-ching

:anim-smile:

Edited by skyrider
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Speaking in tongues was the worm at the end of the hook that was PFAL. It was bait.

You promise "power" in the title of the class. You build up to the manifestation of that power. And then, when the time comes, you lead them into a totally phony display of so-called power that can't be verified, allegedly can't be refuted, etc. With everyone in the class performing the same totally non-spiritual action while imagining that everyone else around them is experiencing the real thing, there was an incredible amount of pressure on each person to refrain from spilling the beans. No one, myself included, had the courage to stand up and say, "BUT HE'S NAKED!!!"

Even now, there are many of us who won't admit this is what happened.

The preceding is my opinion. I apologize if anyone is insulted, but I truly believe that is precisely what happened. The only power at work in PFAL was the power of persuasion and groupthink.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Speaking in tongues was the worm at the end of the hook that was PFAL. It was bait.

You promise "power" in the title of the class. You build up to the manifestation of that power. And then, when the time comes, you lead them into a totally phony display of so-called power that can't be verified, allegedly can't be refuted, etc. With everyone in the class performing the same totally non-spiritual action while imagining that everyone else around them is experiencing the real thing, there was an incredible amount of pressure on each person to refrain from spilling the beans. No one, myself included, had the courage to stand up and say, "BUT HE'S NAKED!!!"

Even now, there are many of us who won't admit this is what happened.

The preceding is my opinion. I apologize if anyone is insulted, but I truly believe that is precisely what happened. The only power at work in PFAL was the power of persuasion and groupthink.

Yeah.....and the bait was/is tangled at every twig since.

The repetitiveness of it all, at times, really annoyed me. For a period of time,

as a Limb coordinator.....I would hold meetings or events without the manifestation

prerequisites [hey, look at me and how I manifest]. A couple of times, a self-absorbed

corps grad would question why I skipped them.

I sternly replied...."The Scriptures are the focus, and we don't need to go thru

this religious ritual [twi's format] every time we get together."

Even during my "indoctrination-daze".....I couldn't stomach the ritual

or façade of twi-spirituality.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember being at Corps Week where it was announced that the "donation" for the class would now be $100 (or was it $200?). Everyone stood up and clapped. Yeah, that would make it easier to "move the Word." It didn't last long either. Eventually they changed it to $45. That's walking by the spirit, for ya.

It was $200. I remember because I wasn't in the Corps yet and I went to the Rock and talked to our area leader who was Corps. He talked about how excited he was that the new price was $200. I thought the Corps was crazy. He went back for his final year I went back and signed no one up for the class. Then I went in residence. They announced they were going to change it to $40 a few months beforehand. Later we all got yelled at via phone hook up for not continuing to sign people at $200, even though we knew the price was going to drop more than one hundred dollars. Someone said VP was afraid that Christ could come back and some people that should have been in the class might have to go to Hell. I'm not sure if that 2nd part is true.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

God would have to be pretty stupid to allow such a thing to happen.

I mean, if He knew that there are people who would believe, but kept them out of heaven because of a church's marketing strategy, that would be pretty darned evil.

I see this as evidence that these people didn't really trust God (or have the slightest idea what they were talking about. Or both).

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...