imbus

In responce to not trusting anyone who carries a bible is setting a very strong boundry to protect myself. TWI was the 3rd and final cult I fellowshiped with. Before TWI I belonged to a doomsday cult and before that a Bible college that believed like TWI, they had the conor on truth. Having been abused with the Bible on multiple levels, it is difficult for me to engage in a face to face dialog about it. My anxiety level sky rockets and I want to hide in a closet. A councelor once told me I might not ever get to the place that I can comfortably read it. I do however read different opinions and veiws on it. This seems to flat line some of the emotional trauma surrounding the Bible and allow for intellectual pondering to happen. All this takes place on my terms and has been effective. So I guess my distrust is a healthy thing and allows for spirituality to happen from other sources.

Uncle Harry, Well said. I'm was in that catagory. Thank GOD not anymore. Preach it brother! ;)-->

My additions to organized controlling folks(codependency) or organizations are no longer a compulsion in my life. I have all my weaknesses in check and an awsome support system. To go back would be Intellectual Suiside...For me. :D-->

Hands down...John Shelby Spong. Books: Born of a women. Living in sin. Rescuing the bible from fundementalism. This Hebrew lord. Resurrection...Myth or reality. Meeting Jesus for the first time. Christianity must change or die. Just to name a few books. This man has done more to challange my thinking then anyone or any thing. Just what the doctor ordered.

ROY, BOUNDRIES,BOUNDRIES AND MORE BOUNDRIES! Buddy you need boundries to keep other peoples stuff at bay and to keep your stuff contained. EX. You get up set with a store clerk for ignoring you when you asked where the Cheetos are. So now your angry and you take it out on the casheir as you check out with your Cheetos. Keeping your self contained is making sure your emotions are not displaced on another. Now let say...That store clerk ignored you because his hearing aid is turned down to low. Is his ignoring you about you? NO! So possible you can put up boundries and think..,What ever his problem is...It is not about me and ask someone else for where the Cheetos are. Boundries are vital and without them it opens you up to be victumized or be the offender. Think about it. :D-->

I wqsn't emotionally connected to the man just his ministry.

To me... it would be a huge trigger. Every year for well over 10yrs., I willingly allowed myself to be told what to do , where to go, and had to be of the same mindset to be loved. I think a function like that would cause me to take 3 steps back in my recovery from a cult. Besides I have a huge distrust for anyone who carries a bible.

This is a hard story to tell. When I worked for an eating disorder residential treatment center... I was sitting at a table asking about folks spiritual background. One girl said she was involved in a cult. She said her eating disorder started when her parents divorced over beliefs. She hated when her father would have her for the weekend and all he would do is go to fellowship and attend classes. That was the only time spent with her. I asked her what organization and she said TWI. My mouth dropped to the ground and I told her that I had fellowshiped with the same group also. She went on to saying how TWI took her father away from her and how angry she still was. I told her that my involvment was at the level of a leader and immediatly she started crying. She wept deeply. I went to where she was sitting and picked her up and held her. The pain of losing her father to TWI was immense. Sofly in her ear I whispered,"I'm sorry this happened to you and as a leader do you accept my apology?" She just kept on crying. This went on for about 5 minutes, I kept saying I'm sorry and she would not let go. Finally she said I forgive you and let go. To this day I have a sence of sadness and yet joy about that whole moment. Sadness that someone like her, as a child was traumatized needlessly. Joy because she was able to move on spiritually. Besides that it was cathartic for me to. The shame I carried for misleading people was addressed and delt with in a moments time.

When I left TWI, I was to broken/wounded to think about ITS brokeness.

Johniam, Tell us what your really thinking! :D-->

1. Micro-management 2. The whole Dam thing! The spiritual nuclus of TWI is very toxic and it filters down to the rest.

My position on Jesus Christ has come from a myriad of sources. My real first intro came while I was at Gunnison. I read the Gospels like a novel and fell absolutly in love with Jesus. Since that time I have read different works and my understanding has been inhanced. I believe he was a gifted man that was able to reach a spiritual place and an awareness with all his being ...like no other. Because of this, I have hope...in acheiving the same thing. He lived a resurrected life on earth. He lived among the spiritually dead and pointed a way for a life beyond the sences. His example alone spoke of a life beyond our known understanding with endless posibilities. I am forever thankful for those posibilities.

I miss all that was loving, honest ,forthright and comedic. ROA was always a time of longing fellowship, with old frienships, to be met. There was always a sence of total acceptance among friends and time did not deminish that. I also miss the craziness of Twig. I hated stuffy meetings and with others go dancing afterward. Prior to POP the influence of H.Q on the Twig fellowship was minimal. So there was a lot of room for inspiration and creative activity. Nothing like running a PFAL class with the smell of beer on everyones breath from the night before. :D-->

For me...My sister and brother-in-law came out to Iowa to deprograme me. I was a WOW in Ames and that was their mission.Well they never got past 1st base and left me alone. Oddly enough they got involved with a Bible study group that was much like TWI. They attended for years and later was "marked and avoided" They have since gotten through the craziness of it and still live in Iowa.

When you still practice the 3min. shower you learned at Emporia. When driving around these United States, you still think where you are in relation to H.Q, Gunnison, Emporia or Indiania and you think how many hours it would take to get there. When you see or smell a pig farm you remiese your on Hwy 29 and 1 1/2 hrs. away from ROA. When passing by on the Interstate...any of these locations, a great sadness hits you.

Having left before LCM could influence my life... I am really embarrassed and ashamed he said those things. You know on occasion I veiw him as a ruined man. I think of him as my brother in Christ and chrenge when I think what he has done to fellow believers. He is a slap in the face to Jesus Christ and all that is right about Christianity. What a disgrace. OM, Thanks for posting that stuff. I knew it was bad but My God that is horrible. :(-->

Ex, It has taken me years to learn how to make friends, keep friends and be a friend. All the friends I have are not TWI imprinted. When I come here to GS it is like comming home to a part of myself that has been denied or has had no creative expression, but does now. (Here there is an itch that gets scratched). I ponder weither I am recreating the same addictive cycles that once plagued my life being apart of TWI. I think not. I'm older, wiser and hopfully alot smarter. I do realize that I have no face to face ex-friends of TWI and to be honest I am frightened to go there. It is so much safer being in front of a P.C then a person.I guess that part will come in time.

Are you kidding? "The smartest thing"... Isn't that an oxy-moron? A moron lacking in oxyigen but professing to recieve new truth while fondling himself. OOOOppps sorry my potty mouth got away from me. :D-->

Wordwolf, Thank you. You stated things factually , logically and in a manner that at the end supplied room for opposing opinion. Thank you! :D-->

Why did I stay? Every thing was going fine(tolerable) till I went into the WC. Sure there were moments of chaos prior to the corps. You just chalked it up to personal attacks or broken principles. Never concidered the "milk was sour". Rose colored tasting. I got a lot of my secondary needs meet.

Thanks again folks. Let me say..." Foe Me, to take the bible literally would be intellectual suiside,... FOR ME" Went and saw a movie this day. "What the blankety, blank do we know?" It is the most informed simplistic peice of work I have ever read or seen on Quantuim Physics. There is a moment where Jesus Christ and other great men are mentioned. What is said about Jesus is starteling. If you want to get a different slant on your existence and what you possibly believe...GO see this movie. Thank again. :D-->

Thank you all that reply to my question. Wordwolf, My beliefs are not up for scrutiny neither are my resources. I asked the question wanting to here others belief since TWI. Johniam, again same as Wordwolf. To catagorize folks as liberal ot literalist speaks of fundemental thinking with a tad of arrogance. I am very catious about the Bible and will remain so. Jut thinking, Never occured to me post this in the doctrinal section. Sorry :(--> As for me I have the utmost regard for Jesus Christ. He is the only man I know that got it right and did it right. I love and respect him more now than ever, which speaks volumes of what littel I knew before. Thanks for you imput.

P.S I'm not into arguing a position or doctrine. I just want to know what you think personally. Lord knows we have been discouraged from knowing this man that changed history. And the picture that was painted by TWI was so darn vague.

"You tell me what you think of Jesus Christ, and I"ll tell you how far you will go spiritually" V.P.W I'v wanted to post this Question for a while now. The more I read about the historical Jesus and ponder other scholarly writings (on the Gospels and New Teastiment), the more I am convined that Jesus Christ was a very special spiritual man but not the only begotten son of God. Like other spiritual leaders he lived a message of love, compasion and wisdom. He was commited to his message to the very death. Do I believe he was raised from the dead? No! I find tremedous contradictions in the BiBle, although I think that there are spiritual messages in it. I do not believe it literally. For me to take it literal would be intellectual suiside. This I did for 13 yrs. So my question is "Who is Jesus" to you.

I loved when he "snorted". After that I could'nt get focused.