T-Bone

Allan, I don’t classify former or current members of TWI as “non-thinkers”. What I said was TWI had a tendency to suppress thinking in its followers. By that, I meant they discouraged critical thinking. And I was referring to my personal experience with TWI – for my 12 years of involvement I have to admit the “critical thinking” function of MY brain and TWI stuff was an atrophied muscle.

What is critical thinking? A simple description is the mental process of analyzing, evaluating, questioning, and checking information coming into our heads – in order to ensure we’re making a good decision. It also involves reflection – we even can turn a critical eye inward – think about the way we think. Critical thinking is a vital tool that people use all the time – asking a sales rep lots of questions about a product, checking out a company to see if it would fit with our career goals before we apply for a job there, etc. When it came to me figuring out what model car to buy – my critical thinking was engaged. When it came to TWI stuff – I swallowed it completely – no questions asked.

Why do I say TWI discouraged critical thinking in matters of faith? Here’s a quote from a handout LCM gave us in the Corps in December ’85: “If you think there’s any help outside The Way Ministry, if you think there’s anyone else out there standing on the accuracy of the Word of God, you’re wrong. They may have bits and pieces, but all of that is just a counterfeit; it’s crumbling; it’s dying. The Christian Fundamentalist and Evangelical world is a hodge podge of doctrinal confusion and ego.”

I remember how I used to think – that there is no outside, no where else to go. About a year after I left TWI I read a book “The Closing of the American Mind” by Allan Bloom and found a quote in it: “Freedom of the mind requires not only, or not even especially, the absence of legal constraints but the presence of alternative thoughts. The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes the awareness of other possibilities that makes it seem inconceivable that other ways are viable, that removes the sense that there is an outside.”

Allan, I don’t think TWI had cornered the market on suppressing critical thinking. You said with my way of reasoning there must be numerous Trinitarian churches full of ‘non-thinkers.’ I’d like to refine that a bit by saying it doesn’t matter what church you look at – you’ll always find some who are there just because they’re following the crowd. Let me put it a different way: “The beliefs in your belief system are they yours – or someone else’s?” For instance I used to believe that Jesus Christ is not God – a belief I adopted from VPW’s book. Now I believe Jesus Christ is God - a conviction that I have come to after much personal study and reflection [critical thinking]. I don’t condemn people who think Jesus is not God. Who’s to say my critical thinking is 100 % right – no one’s is. I like Goey’s comments – “the trinity is not a big deal for me anymore…I don’t see where being Trinitarian or not makes a whole lot of difference. There are wonderful Christians on both sides…”

My point in all this is that critical thinking is a powerful and vital tool! The way you’ve developed your belief system is important. In matters of faith I mindlessly adopted a belief system that was conveniently handed to me on a platter called PFAL. There’s a way I’d like to explain the difference between adopting another person’s beliefs and figuring things out for yourself. I liken it to my older brother giving me a 1967 Chevy Malibu [he paid only $200 for it and fixed it up for me] when I was 17 years old. It ran great and best of all – I got it free. Years later, having to spend my hard-earned money on a vehicle, I read Consumer Reports on the maintenance record of vehicles I was interested in, as well as test-driving them, talking to people who owned them, etc. – so I bought a Honda Accord. With the Chevy – the only choice I had was if I wanted to accept it or not. I bought a Honda after putting a lot of thought into what was important to me [low maintenance, options, cost, etc.].

Being a newcomer to Grease Spot Café here’s some thoughts of my Café experience thus far and why I come here. I haven’t figured it all out. I’m not trying to lead a bunch of people along the path of my way of thinking. I look at Grease Spot as a forum of critical thinkers. Why do I come here? Because it’s therapeutic. My signature line “exceeding abundantly above all the bs” is a GOAL of mine – I’m not there yet – and won’t be in this lifetime.

Now there’s a big difference in the way I put thoughts together and communicate to others. In TWI my motivation in teaching and communicating was often to impress others with my knowledge or manipulate them to do something I thought they should do. I’m not saying I have pure motives now – I’m still self-centered. I come to the Café for healing, closure on my TWI years, and to develop my critical thinking. It’s painful to the ego but necessary for change and growth when people shoot down my bs.

Concerning the Trinity, I was raised Roman Catholic – with most of the Mass in Latin and full of ceremonies I never gave any thought to what the Bible was all about. Needless to say, I was easily impressed with Way believers quoting Scripture and explaining everything. While in The Way, I certainly believed Jesus Christ was not God. For that matter, I believed every doctrine of The Way.

Things are a lot different since I left in 1986. I now believe Jesus Christ is God. I’m not about to present arguments for the Trinity. I will say this about the Trinity and so many other theological topics – they are but feeble attempts of finite man to understand and explain the infinite. I read about an analogy how Bible doctrines are similar to Botanical studies. A botanist goes out into the wild and gathers certain species and puts them together in one section of a Greenhouse. Theologians go through the Bible and gather together all the verses they THINK should be in the same group [salvation, prayer, Jesus’ humanity, Christ’s divinity, etc.]. And that’s okay – just allow me the same privilege – allow me to think! Thinking is a fun activity – and foreign to TWI.

And that’s where I fault The Way - in their tendency to suppress thinking in its followers. When it came time to work on our research papers I recall LCM telling us not to try and re-invent the wheel – instead, draw our themes from PFAL. While in The Way I had The Way Slant on the Bible [interpreting everything through VPW’s glass eye]. There’s a very revealing quote from the September/October 1986 The Way Magazine: “The Foundational Class is the touchstone of truth from whence every handling of God’s Word, however basic or specialized, must germinate, grow, and blossom. It should be the standard of the study, application, and teaching of the Word of God.” Touchstone is any test or criterion for determining what is genuine or has value. The Way bred mental weakness in people as they accepted this faulty standard [PFAL] for truth.

There’s something eerily similar with my thoughtless Roman Catholicism and my wholehearted acceptance of The Way’s doctrine. It’s probably the fact that I didn’t have to think with either one. Here’s a personal belief of mine: The Bible is a means to an end [connecting with God] and not an end in itself [becoming a Bible know-it-all]. I also believe God gave us His Word to bring us into a transforming relationship with Him.

Around the time when I left TWI, I remember reading Jeremiah 9: 23 & 24 – and it hit me. I saw a chasm – on one side was how much I knew [or rather thought I knew] about God. On the other side was knowing God. It’s the difference between reading an autobiography of someone famous and being their close friend. What freedom! I’m no longer bound to think of my Lord through the filter of a priesthood [whether Roman Catholic or German Plagiarist]. And It’s okay if others don’t think like I do.

What is the time limit when drafting a reply? It seems awfully short - after I'm done typing I click on "add reply" and I get error message I'm not logged in.

I understand TempleLady's comment on what makes sense sounds like a highly subjective call and Socks' saying subjectivity needs a standard. I agree. Dictionary definition of "sense" is the ability to think or reason soundly, normal intelligence and judgment; soundness of judgment or reasoning. something wise, sound or reasonable.

Turning your brain off - as Tonto put it - is suppressing your critical thinking, reasoning, discernment, conscience. I don't think that's a good thing.

Thanks for the warm welcome...Bliss, I'm glad you liked my signature line - it was sort of inspired by this website - I love the way everyone is pretty much straightforward...Moony, thanks for the huge Cappuccino [it looks to be about 4 gallons - after that I could re-model my kitchen in under 3 hours]...After which I'm gonna need Belle's Monkey Bread to soothe the savage stomach.

Yeah Garth, I think the dissonance thing happens a lot. I've heard of another term "compartmentalization."

On changingminds.org it's describe as a 'divide & conquer' tactic in the art of persuasion. It's a process for separating thoughts that will conflict with one another [different beliefs or conflicting values].

This goes back to Tonto's thread of "when did you turn your brain off?" We all remember times when we'd see or hear something we thought was morally wrong - or made no sense. And the "spiritual compartment" of our heads would say 'pipe down - renew your mind - you're not being spiritual minded.' I think faith and reason are allies - the Bible shows faith and sight to be in opposition.

I was leading a simple, care free life - until the day I walked into an Exxon on the Run and bought 24 ounces of their French Vanilla Cappuccino. Now I'm hooked!