penguin

I am not sure how to phrase this question, but another ew-twi said this to me tonight and it sort of made some sense. She said, "TWI tried to make us (females) into men" She was referring to how we learned not to be emotional, and how we were always supposed to be tough. I know that I was constantly pushed to be more confrontational and "hold the line." with people. Is this something you noticed or can relate too? I know that a lot of my emotions got turned off over time. (Except anger and frustration--and of course fear.)

I know some of the twi women were the worst a-holes around!

Oh by the way everyone--I guess you've noticed I can't seem to stay away from the cafe after all!!! lol

AmazingGrace,

Sounds like you found a decent church for now. I too have been hanging out in a non-denominational church. They believe baptism is an ordinance in the church but that it is not required for salvation. It is more like a step you take after being born again and making Jesus Christ Lord. You have to specifically request to be baptized. To me it felt like an important step to take after leaving twi --especially once I realized how much control I had allowed my leadership to have over me. I was a good twiggie and asked twig coordinator's approval on almost everything. (Even with my Way Corpse training.) I figure if one point of what I was taught in twi was wrong, (and the debt issue is my prime example) then I have to reevaluate EVERYTHING! And I cannot do that without being exposed to different opinions and teachings.

Happy belated birthday J!!!! :wub:

I am currently attending a church :o and they are currently memorizing and learning a chapter of the Bible together. The pastor asked his congregation if they would like to do that together. The congregation memorizes 3 verses a month and he is teaching on each verse at a time. (He usually has to take more than one week-he even goes into the Hebrew words.) He explained why he was excited about the idea but I thought it was very interesting that he was very concerned about his idea also. He was concerned that it would be a temptation to get legalistic like the Pharisees. He stated too much memorizing/studying of the Bible without keeping the right focus could lead to big egos and less love for each other and God.

I find it interesting that he can see the possibility of becoming legalistic, and will stop his plan immediately if he thinks it is starting to happen.

Well, I was so excited by the prospect of a new class that I made sure I left before I had to take it to stay in good standing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Well, I would recommend reading Revelation after all. I have discovered some very interesting things in there that are very clear and contradict what vpw taught. No wonder we were discouraged from reading it! I will let you read it for full lightbulb effect.

I did a lot of praying. And I gave my spouse plenty of space to process. Part of our problem was we were afraid to talk to each other about what we were thinking. We found out we were more on the same page than we realized. Even after we agreed together to leave it still took us months to do it because of other factors. When something that came up or was taught seemed odd, we would bring it up to each other. We are still working things through but we are both happier than we have been in years.

From what I have heard about the "new" class is they took a syllabus (I had assumed it was WAP syllabus) and revised it. This was from active Corpse.

DJS,

As one who stayed around during all the mark and avoid and all types of other stuff, I can say that I just kept rationalizing away anything I saw or heard that would have allowed me to consider leaving twi. I remember using the one about the ministry being made of people and people are not perfect very often. (Which is true to an extent.) After the lcm mess, I kept waiting for improvements. I eventually left twi once I realized that there HAD to be MORE to LIFE than what I was getting in twi. It was a slow and painful realization since I had devoted so many years of my life with nothing but twi as my focus. Once I left, one thing that really amazed me was how much control I had allowed twi to have over my life. Sometimes I still don't know what to do with myself! (I have been gone for less than a year.) Since leaving, my stress levels have gone down, my headaches diminished and my injury from a car accident almost 4 years ago has finally healed. What really shocked me was that I had allowed leadership to eventually take the place of my Lord Jesus Christ! Instead of listening to God working in me and following Jesus' example, I had been trained to bounce decisions off of leadership and had allowed them to tell me what to study, how to study etc. I also finally realized that so much of twi lacked balance.

Anyway there is a lot more to the story, all I can say is be honest with yourself. Even if things are ok in your area are ok, do you still want to support a ministry that won't be honest and upfront with their followers? All I have seen is all the bad stuff of the past being swept under the rug, but not being dealt with.

Feel free to PM me.

Patriot,

I can attest that as of a few months ago nothing had changed. I still have contacts that are "in" and they are as exasperated and bored as ever. It is a shame to see people allow their lives to be drained of the love, joy, peace and abundance that God wants them to have as they try to hang on to the lifeless body of twi. I say lifeless because twi has isolated and cut themselves off from the rest of the Body of Christ. TWI is now the stick that they used to say we were!

When I went to a church to see "what else was out there" and saw more love for God, for each other, more practical Biblical teaching than I had heard in a long time, and more enthusiasm for life------I knew it was time to go somehow. We had begun to see that things were dead and lifeless in twi, but for me, going to that church sealed it. It was just a matter of time after that.

If I remember correctly, when I listened to my audio tape of the anniversary this past year, there was a mention made during one of the LOOOONNNNGGG BOOOORRRRIIINNNGGG teachings that twi has taught believers how to go to college without going in debt and how to buy cars without going in debt and that they have started to share with the believers how to buy homes without going into debt.

:blink: :blink: :blink:

My reaction was.......yeah right! If you count kids getting scholarships as the way to get thru college. And I have never heard any official teaching or comments on cars or homes except save up the $$. It's near impossible to save up enough $$$ for a new car or a house when you already have to pay so much for rent and car repairs!

TWI could easily be defined as still in the "dark ages" as to what is really available now for church-going Christians. An ex-twier who doesn't frequent GS has taken some doctrinal classes that cover go from the beginning of Christianity all the way to current times. She has told me that what twi taught in 50-70's is what Christianity as a whole started to learn more of. The difference is that the churches kept building on that and adding more knowledge/practical things to it and twi stayed put. I have noticed a lot of churches do all types of things-including prayer ministry and counselling to help people heal up on the inside. I had no idea so many things were available!

Well, it has been their normal operation to not mention Jesus that much--even during weeks leading up to Resurrection Sunday. They focus on Passover and other stuff then. I think someone said the main theme for this year was based off of John 8:31-32. Maybe several innies will finally chose to be set free FOR REAL this ministry year. I know of quite a few myself

"check up from the neck up"

A phrase that sends shivers up my spine!

I LOVE IT---"Power for Anal Living!"

Catcup--As far as loyboy's joke about Way II----all the way corpse eventually had that on that nametags instead of whatever corpse they were in rez I think they were green marble-looking plastic "Way Corps II" on the bottom.

Hey in the 90's the folding chairs got replaced with those nifty plastic/resin chairs that could stack one on top of each other into a tower. Normal people use them outside on their patio. I remember cleaning plenty of these things for special events.

The scene from Holy Grail---the Black Knight saying "None shall pass" Then King Arthur engages him in battle--and proceeds to chop off first one arm, then the next, then a leg, then the next --all while the Black Knight says things like "It's only a flesh wound" "Tis but a scratch!" At the end as King Arthur "gallops" away the Black Knight is calling out "alright then we'll call it a draw then."

Well I was trying to be nice-silly me- by not saying, "What does twi worship?"

Venerate is defined in Webster's Collegiate dictionary as "to regard with reverential respect or with admiring deference." Veneration is defined as "Respect or awe inspired by the dignity, wisdom, dedication of a person"

Leadership taught us the awe-inspiring WORD of GOD...so they became objects of worship along with the Bible. Hence, the Father in the Word concept and obey leadership even if they are wrong concept. (Though I guess your defiintion fits too oldies since many people really did and still do worship our deceased teacher vpw)

Lizzy,

I like the work analogy. That WAS my viewpoint also. My boss at work can tell me what to do or I can get fired but his authority ends with work issues. I have been reading different books and more sections of the Bible and have realized that twi's leaders set themselves up and took authority that Jesus Christ never gave them. A great book that doesnt get mentioned as much is Twisted Scriptures. It has been very enlightening. I have found it very odd not to have a leader to tell me what to study or do in my walk with God--and it is EASIER to allow someone else to tell me what I should do. I have stepped outside of my comfort zone and am allowing myself to REALLY decide what is best for me right now. The freedom is amazing!

I have started attending a church, and this pastor asked his congregation for their blessing on his new teaching topic for the year. He has also NOT advised me on several issues and left it up to me to figure out. When I have a question about what the Bible says, he answers it..but without telling me what to do. It is all about Jesus Christ and not about men. (In fact, NO ONE, including elders and the pastors, in this church is allowed to give advice unless a person first asks for it!) I am being forced to really stand on my own two feet for the first time since getting born again. (And I thought I was spiritually mature) I have discovered that I was really in 'Way wonderworld" which closely resembles Disney World and acting like a spoiled brat by demanding and telling God what He should do. How embarassing!

Anyway, if you are happy then ok---Just really watch out and make sure you don't allow yourself to get enslaved. Things are great outside of twi!

Well, without getting sent to the doctrinal thread.... I think God made salvation simple enough that as long as we make Jesus Christ Lord over our life, it doesn't matter if we think he is God or Son of God. I have ran into several Christians that feel this way. (Not saying that they thought I was right to believe he is Son of God only, but that is another story.)

But I DO believe that Jesus Christ as Lord is a heck of a lot more than just saying the words. If he is really your Lord, you will want to follow his commands and walk with the love and compassion he had. Our life should be different than before we believed. I think a lot of people will be surprised at the bema. I am just hoping to hear "well done my good and faithful servant" B)

Excie,

I admire you for telling your story---I don't think I would have stopped my werewolf worship without it!

BTW I am now blissfully taking advantage of the ignore feature regarding 2 posters on this thread. :D

Now I can stop doing this===

Back to my newly happy self

My question would be when did Solomon "get revelation" to write the books still included in the cannon of the Bible? I would think (this is opinion only) that it would have been at the beginning of his reign before he got distracted and spiritually off.

If his books were written before his errors, then ok. Then the BIG difference between Solomon and vpw is that most of what vpw taught and researched he did while exploiting young women sexually and cheating on his wife. That would disqualify him from being a leader in the church--he wasn't even qualified to be a deacon let alone a bishop!!! (You all talk about all the alcohol he was constantly drinking--anyone ever see him drunk?) No wonder he talked about sin is sin--there are no big verses little. (Remember the big "X" and little "x"?

And yes Oldies I agree with you that these sins are some of the reasons twi is in the state it is today.

For holiday giggles:

My vote would be a tie between themselves and the Bible as taught by twi