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Something about spiritual mashed potatoes errr ...somethin'. "I am just a poor boy Though my story's seldom told I have squandered my resistance For a pocketful of mumbles such are promises All lies and jest Still a man hears what he wants to hear And disregards the rest, mhmm"...Paul Simon (The Boxer)

The MIRACLE of YouTube.

2. Making up words based on how they sound in the King James does not work. Colossians 3:5a "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; " Intermediate class: "What does 'mortify' mean? It means to blow it to smithereens." No, you're confusing "mortify" with a "mortar", a modern artillery weapon that was completely unknown in Paul's time. The KJV "mortify" is related to the latin word "mortis", which is "death", as any "mortician" could tell you. The Greek word for "mortify" there is "nekrosate". "Nekro" is the Greek prefix meaning "death." It's used in English as well- "necromancer" is one word you can even find in the KJV. 3. Translating from language to language doesn't work like the Intermediate class states. We're told the translations should match in exact number of natural breaking points, approximate number of words, and approximate time of speech. That may "work" with "interpretation of tongues", mainly because it's what's expected. In real life, with real languages, that can be very different. Greek and German, for example, are very compact languages. Translating to and from one of those to a "Romance" (Latinate) language will completely break the rules set out in the intermediate class. If you ever get the chance, catch the "I Love Lucy" episode, "Paris At Last". Towards the end, Lucy -who only speaks English- has to explain what's happened to a French Police Sargeant. The Sargeant calls on one of his officers who speaks French and German, and a lost tourist who speaks German and Spanish. With Ricky there (who speaks Spanish and English), the sargeant can ask his questions in French, and they can be translated to German, Spanish, then English, and Lucy's responses can be translated back the same way. The German step is INCREDIBLY short, especially compared to the French and the Spanish preceding it and following it. (They're all grammatically-correct translations that correctly translate what's being said, so that's not the fault of bad translating or bad writing.)

1. The mechanics of inflecting an interrogative while SIT are not taught. Lo shonta? Lo maka seetay?

And in much broader concerns – why do I have to pay for classes that teach how to do or improve on “my operation of the holy spirit” ? There’s 3 bigger issues in this. 1. Paying for worthless information. I don’t find instances in the Bible where someone was directed to… authorized to do…or even just did it without God’s approval – where they charged people to learn how to interpret the Scriptures…or where someone is charging people in the distribution of the holy spirit/manifestations of the spirit…where someone is charging people to teach them how to speak in tongues, interpret tongues, prophesy…I don’t find accounts of someone charging people to teach them the keys to walking by the spirit…creating a leadership training program like the way corps that I was led to believe was operated out of an accredited college…All in all, I paid for worthless information! ~ ~ ~ ~ 2. False assumption that people must be taught how to use a spiritual ability…I bet some PFAL/TIP/Advanced Class devotees will probably make a smug reference to Jesus teaching His disciples how to cast out devil spirits. But look at Mark 9 14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. 15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. 16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?” 17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So, I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” 19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I [c]bear with you? Bring him to Me.” 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. 21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” I don’t know what the problems were here, the disciples not being able to cast out the devil spirit – but I would like to take a stab at speculating based on the backstory of the disciples: 12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. Mark 6:12, 13 Perhaps the disciples were overconfident from their earlier successes (in Mark 6) – maybe being so fascinated with "their very own" God-given abilities, they failed to keep in mind the source of their “divine” power – God! With Jesus’ saying this kind can come out only by prayer and fasting I tend to think Jesus was telling them how to recover from being “off their game” – by prayer which focuses on God – and fasting which in neglecting the physical needs of one’s body is an exercise in self-control to give God the highest priority…but that’s just my opinion – I could be wrong. ~ ~ ~ ~ 3.God helps us even if we feel we are stranded in unbelief. God is never limited by our belief/unbelief ...Notice the man’s dialog with Jesus: So, they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Note – the father asked Jesus to help him overcome his unbelief. What did Jesus do? Did Jesus say “Here’s a green card – sign up for my class that teaches you how to believe better.” ? No – there was no time to dilly dally – a crowd was rubbernecking on what looked like a train wreck about to happen – basically Jesus stepped up to the plate and said I’ve got this, and He commanded the devil spirit to come out. The moral of the story is we don’t need wierwille’s stinking sucky classes.

POWER POWER POWER! As I posted somewhere else, the very name of the class Power for Abundant Living is a huge clue to the misdirection of the gospel of Jesus Christ provided therein. Did Jesus talk about power? Sure. Was it the dominant theme of his ministry? Absolutely not. His was a message of selfless service in love. Interesting that “all nine all the time” is mentioned above. Even on the face of it it is ridiculous and it is a wonder it ever became a catchphrase. Even the classes taught that 6 of the manifestations in 1 Cor. 12 could only be ‘operated’ by God’s prerogative. Really starting down a rabbit hole, just because there are nine manifestations of Holy Spirit listed consecutively in a reproof epistle should not cause someone to assume that there are only nine. Manifestation simply means evidence, and even a cursory reading of the church epistles show that the primary manifestation of the spirit is love. The gospels confirm this, and it is the glue that holds the entire Bible together. In truth, Paul notes in 1 Cor. 13 that manifestations not produced and governed by love are nothing but lying signs and wonders. Focusing on manifestations as something you can ‘operate’ instead of realizing that what they are is the love of God being shed abroad leads to nothing but confusion and every evil work. I cannot judge VPs heart, or LCM’s - just because they were big shots at one time does not mean that they were not misled. Unbelievers are not enemies, they are merely more people who need Gods grace and mercy, just like me. Evil works and putrid fruit, however, are manifestations of something other than Holy Spirit.

Baseball cards in bicycle spokes do not a motorcycle make.

I think you’re getting ahead of yourself. PFAL is a microcosm of the ectoplasm handled in the Advanced Class. For those who’s memory is held in abeyance, Ectoplasm is that super-stupid-naturally vicious baloney that “the teacher” exudes profusely- I mean he’s got it coming out of both ends! Now if you could get a minimum of 7 Grease Spotters to sign up for the Advanced Thread on Why the Advanced Class Sucks we could run both threads concurrently AND at the same time. I’ll be Lo Shonta-ing like a house afire so everyone bring babes, fruit and a newly minted person (i.e. clone) to Twig. Go the post has ended…thanks be to collateral damage!

34. Encourages an us-versus-them mindset - great for fortifying groupthink and isolation. “I have no friends when it comes to the Word.”

33. Declares students should just read what “the Word” says instead of reading what others said about it - even though PFAL is made up of a lot of stuff that he stole from what others have said about the Bible.

It started out with broad, grand statements like the Bible is the revealed Word and will of God, but quickly devolved into a spiritual bonsai tree, with nutrition stunted, light limited, and limbs pruned and tied off into grotesque caricature of their natural development. The result bore little resemblence to the gospel the Lord had brought, lived, and died for. It is no wonder that so many people, gazing back at a life they were so invested in, are not merely puzzled, but horrified, at the ways in which they were misled. Fortunately, God works ALL things after the counsel of His own will, so we can be assured that the wrongs will be righted and the tears wiped away.