Twinky

I found it really hard when I got out. I'd hooked up with some exWayfers who were running fellowships in their home: two fellowships in nearby cities. And one of these exWayers generously allowed me to stay with him while I was in the process of buying my house. None of these people had been Corps - in fact, I don't even know if any of them had taken the advanced class. I was pretty broken and smashed about at the time, but they couldn't hear the pain I was in, couldn't hear the things I said. The female most sympathetic just thought I should get over it; another male thought he could lord it over me; and the one I was staying with seemed to idolise VPW. None of them would hear a word against VPW, his plagiarism, the stuff that went on at HQ, etc etc. A couple of years later I learned that a lovely young man in one of these fellowships proposed to go and join Sowers. Having read a lot about that here, I took him out for a walk in the park and told him a few home truths about the likely setup, based on what I knew of WC training. He decided to go ahead anyway but (happily) couldn't get the visa and never went. I stopped hanging out with these groups before very long - a few months. And happily I found a very good church where people realised I was hurting about something I wouldn't talk about, and they just gave me space, but kind space. Still nobody in the church knows my history. But I do know that that church has become home to quite a few people who have got out from other abusive church relationships - Plymouth Brethren, among other cultish stuff/

Interesting vid, Waysider. Yep, seen it all before; far too familiar story. Right down to the enormous effort needed to break the hold of cult-brain. Glad the young woman's parents were able to rescue her. (Zumba in dark glasses!)

Ah! The long white night. Enjoy Alaska. I would like to visit there one day.

I think this is a serious question, but not quite the one posed. What is witnessing? I don't think it's going around banging on people's doors, and harassing them in parking lots and shopping malls. I don't know who has ever been "won to the Lord" by such means. More, it's likely to turn them off and certainly make the "witnessee" regard the witnesser with a cautious look. Witnessing is more like "living it" and letting your life show what you believe. "...be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you..." (1 Pet 3:15), is what we were taught. But the wider context is this (1 Pet 3:8-16): Do No Evil 8Now finally, all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble, 9not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing. 10For the one who wants to love life and to see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, and he must turn away from evil and do what is good. He must seek peace and pursue it12because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their request. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil. Undeserved Suffering 13And who will harm you if you are deeply committed to what is good? 14But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear or be disturbed, 15but honor the •Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. 16However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscience clear, so that when you are accused, those who denounce your Christian life will be put to shame. So: witnessing is, among other things, being kind, loving, compassionate and humble; blessing others, guarding one's tongue, watching what you say at all times, seeking peace, etc. This theme is common throughout the epistles. You will see that Jesus spoke kindly to those who sought him for the truth, but quick to perceive those who were being dishonest in their questioning of him. He confused crowds with his parables, but spoke plainly to those who were prepared to listen. You will not see Jesus going from house to house, but going about his own business and speaking to people he encountered on the way, people also often going about their business and daily tasks. You will see he sent his disciples out in pairs to speak, but not to harass: if they themselves were harassed, they were to move on without regret. Because of the lifestyle Jesus lived, he didn't have to hammer on doors; rather, those behind the doors came hammering on the doors of places where he was. Early Christians were known for their community lifestyle: sharing food, sharing financial abundance, non-discrimination, generosity of heart, looking out for each other. That's what got them noticed; that's why people wanted to join them. I'm sure they were asked many times, "Why do you do this?" And additionally then, naysayers came in also, accusing, being divisive, and that's where the Christians' answer of truth, the defence of the gospel, came in. I loved the passion of the young believers I met when I first got "witnessed to" - enthusiasm for God; knowledge of parts of the Bible, ability to open a bible and find verses. I met the person who witnessed to me at a party; there seemed to be a glow about him, a real light and charisma. Not everyone has charisma; but we can all have passion and a commitment to speak truth in all circumstances. And we can all be kind, loving, compassionate, watch what we say, and seek peace. That will still catch people's attention. Not banging on their doors!

Er ... what are you on, T-Bone? Too much wine, too much weed, something else?

Mike, JCOP, JCNG and JCPOS are not in the Orange Book. And - the epistles were seriously venerated; the gospels were despised. (Yes they were, Mike!) JCNG was pushed, as a way of distinguishing TWI from more mainline churches. The others you mention weren't particularly promoted; they are better and more researched (but still with a lot of bias) - but much more emphasis was on the PFAL books and venerating TWI's "Promised Seed," Victor-Paul Wierwille. And besides hardly giving the gospels a mention, the schedule, especially in the WC, was so controlled and so overburdened that there was hardly time to read anything. Study PFAL, work, study Corps Night notes, work, study the Sunday Service, work, study the "lunchtime sharings," work, work, work, get ready for this or that ministry event... Gospels? You should be reading Ephesians - the breakfast of champions!

I noticed that, too. I thought it too pathetic to even mention. Such an amazing offering.... not.

I wonder if Mike has seen this? What's his take on it?

What we say: "Church policy explicitly demands Scientologists abide by all laws of the land, including the reporting of crimes. This is blatantly clear in the documents we understand were put before the Court — and many others,” Pouw wrote, repeatedly noting the church is not a party in the criminal case. “The Court either did not read them in full or ignored them. It should have done neither. Interpretation of Church doctrine by the courts is prohibited and the ruling is evidence of why.” What we do: "the church document amounted to an admission by the woman that her encounter with Masterson had been consensual and driven by her promiscuity... "...when she reported the alleged rape to church officials, she was told to read the chapter of “Introduction to Scientology Ethics” that instructs members not to go to police in such cases. In a one-on-one meeting, a church “ethics officer” told her “not to use the ‘R-word’” and said it would be a “high crime” to report another Scientologist to law enforcement, the woman testified." Where have we met "victim blaming" and "not bringing the ministry into disrepute" before? Hmm. Let me think. Somewhere not too far away...

I'm not sure that God was left out of the class; but certainly Jesus was. I found myself in later years with a deeper knowledge of God, and very little of Jesus and what he did and accomplished. That's because the gospels were ignored, and instead, the focus was only really on the epistles. Only passingly touched the OT. God-conscious, but not Jesus-conscious. Still working on that.

Hey Socks! Long time no see! Welcome back. Yes, exactly. I wonder if a digital subscription like this is going to become "required purchasing." I am fairly certain that most (all?) people who post here would not be welcome to subscribe. Feel free to visit most normal religious organisations, for free services and teachings.

Thanks, WW. Saved me the trouble. Apologies for the accidental strikethrough. I can't get rid of it. Unintentional

It's your hard-earned money that these people are spending. Yes - give locally, where you can see what the church is doing. Give generously - but give wisely. Also give to genuinely worthwhile charities - you should be able to check out a charity to see its status and effectiveness - there are websites dedicated to assessing charities' effectiveness. There are very good charities that won't score highly on such assessment sites, so find out at a local level what they do. Part of my personal "scoring" level is the things I am thankful for (good, free, healthcare, clean water etc) and give to charities supporting those aims in impoverished areas or countries. No prizes for giving to a fraudster, dropping dollars into a money sink, or impoverishing oneself to enrich another who is already plenty rich. These prosperity gospel preachers are in it for themselves only, and are taking the Lord's name in vain. You'll notice Jesus didn't travel by jet plane - or even "express donkey."

Hilarious, T-Bone.

Of course, you can still subscribe for CDs and DVDs: The Way International News and Events | The Sunday Teaching Service—Available in Your Own Home Huh. They always did charge for the CDs or audio tapes or whatever they were. I could understand that they might want to cover postage. But to charge for online?? Gosh! Every other church I know does livestream AND usually makes available on a YouTube channel - FREE!! Anybody can look in. Hey, for starters, here's last Sunday's service. Part live, part pre-recorded. But hey! Things will be back to all-live very soon. (1) 16 May 2021 - 10.30 service at Holy Trinity Combe Down - YouTube. We are one church in four different locations; get a great welcome at each one. And guess what?! Our livestream is available to people all over the world (we have one regular joiner from Spain), and people up and down the UK join us. Now we are allowed back to worship in our buildings, we've found that we have new people joining us in person... because they found our streamed service and wanted more of that, in reality in their lives.

I just found this: The Way International News and Events | Digital Sunday Teaching Service Subscriptions

So I tossed something new into the mix. You clearly didn't think that worth discussing. Mike, you might get less flak if you started discussing, and stopped obsessing. Remember 2 Cor 5 "Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ," (Can I say that again? for CHRIST. Not for a class, not for any other individual) and ... ... (2 Cor 6) We have spoken freely to you, Mike, and opened wide our hearts to you. 12We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. 13As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also, or, as Authorised Version (KJV) puts it, Be ye enlarged. Be enlarged by not being locked into your old thinking, but be enlarged by God's abounding love and grace. Learn to experience that and grow way beyond what you were taught, by letting God lead and teach you. I am glad that you learned something from PFAL. So did I. So did many here. But we don't limit ourselves simply to what's in PFAL but take the totality of God's (GOD'S) word, to learn more about God. Some of that totality is found on lips other than VPW's; some indeed from people of very different backgrounds from what might be familiar to you (you seem to have found some in dance and in rock music). All of it, God's word, manifests in action, in doing things that show God's love to the world. Then, when you preach here, you may find your words have more power, because they're energised by you in action, honed by God in action in your actions and words. No class, in any thing at all, is of itself of value, if it doesn't lead to doing something with it.

Thing about a "class" (any class) is that it should ultimately become invisible. It should become a basic instruction - about anything - and one builds upon it, with experience. For instance: I know where I did my legal studies. I know what classes I took: land law, constitutional law, tort, etc etc. I studied law for three years for my Bachelor's degree, then did my Law Society finals (a really intense year) then did my legal apprenticeship ("articles") for another two years. Then, I was admitted to the Roll as a lawyer. And I practised and got better at applying the law, and finding new law to fit different situations. But what I learned, in which class, well, sometimes I can say and most often I can't. The real learning isn't in whatever classes I took, of varying levels of depth and complexity, but it's in the application. Mrs Smith, getting a divorce, doesn't care where I learned matrimonial law, but she does care about custody of the kids, whether she gets a good settlement, my being able to read her husband's company's accounts (and discern less-than-legit entries therein); what to do when husband assaults her or steals property or badmouths her; and so on. Which is lotsa different classes, and not necessarily interlinked in the teaching. That's lifelong learning, basics plus updates plus a lot of experience, understanding, thoughtfulness. And learning scripture is about that. No good unless applied, and no-one cares where you learned it as long as you apply it, and then learn to apply it better next time. There is so much more to learn as set out in the Bible than is ever covered in PFAL. Of course!!

I think Mike has left the building (again).

In the same way that "it takes a village to raise a child," it takes a whole congregation to raise - each other! We are to have the humility to consider others more worthy, and to learn from them; to let them mentor us. In the same way, we also are examples and mentors to others; always bear that in mind. A Prayer Coordinator in a Christian group talked to us about the "smorgasbord of ways to pray" - some like to sit or stand, some like corporate and some private prayer; some sing, doodle, draw, etc. What about the smorgasbord of "acting out" Christ? You know Jesus on this earth had lots of different ways to interact with people, to match "where they were coming from" - so watch, and learn from other people.

Mike, I really thought you were going somewhere with this. Because then, and now, we should all be looking for people who are demonstrating the love ofG od (if you like, "the Christ in them") . I thought perhaps you were being honest in seeking mentors. But then you say: Please, Mike. Understand that Christ is bigger than PFAL. To find a mentor to "act out" Christ, widen your search. Look at lives of others: Here's Phil 2:3 in Amplified: Amplified Bible Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves. If you are only looking at one group of people, one faction - are you not in direct contradiction to what this verse says? In every translation, we are urged to ESTEEM/ REGARD/ CONSIDER (etc) OTHERS as MORE IMPORTANT than ourselves. You can take that as an individual context, or in a group context. Who should you esteem more important? Who should TWI esteem more important? Seek mentors from other backgrounds. Look at how, say, Mother Teresa "acted out" Christ; Martin Luther King in his calls for social justice; Jon Bon Jovi, or Bono, if you like. Look at churches in other countries; the persecuted Christian church in Syria, China, most Muslim-dominated countries, elsewhere; how do the people there live? What can you learn from their examples? Go to an outgoing church near where you live, and see how they practice what they preach. Talk to people there. You are more than welcome, should you ever come to the UK, to come to my church to see what we do. For a little congregation of maybe a solid 40 members, my church cooks about 50 meals a week and gives out to vulnerable people in the community; also gives them food parcels. This weekend we are having a StACCtion day: our little church hires 3 skips for the local community to dump old junk, so as to keep the neighbourhood looking nice. We show the area that we love them and want the best for the people. They are drawn by the love we show; many now are interested in our offering. In lockdown - our congregation has grown! After the StACCtion day, I am going to volunteer at a mass vaccination centre in this city. I am not scheduled for this, but my fellow church member has to go to help his father who will be recovering from an operation (helping his dad is great Christian practice) so he asked me to sub for him (that's some of my great Christian practice). Are we as individuals and as a congregation "acting out" Christ enough for you? Or would you like more information about the many other things we do? Probably the best mentors are actually those who have risen above the traditional teaching of their churches, throwing off doctrinal shackles, and living more purely according to the great heart of the teachings of the bible and in particular the NT.

I know some seriously smart people, Mike. Like, seriously. Theologians (and yes, he's a respected international expert), linguists and English teachers, and others whose livelihood depends on words. Bullinger had some serious creds, too, and an intense background in Hebrew and Greek. I don't know if he made up these FoS, but if nobody else has heard of them... I wonder... Of course, if a clever preacher from Ohio (and a non-academician) knows better... I'd have more confidence in that preacher if he understood tenses in English verbs, even the more simple English tenses that I know I learned in primary school and developed an understanding of in secondary school... but that preacher doesn't understand simple verb construction at all so I genuinely doubt his comprehension of more complex FoS.

I think he invented a lot of his FoS - not all of them. I have talked with academicians, one a very respected, genuinely published theologian with mighty tomes to his name, and questioned them about whether xxx FoS fits with what they're saying about yyy in the Bible. Guaranteed blank looks; they've never heard of the FoS xxx.

Please don't put words in my mouth (or words on my posts!), Mike. I asked an honest question. An honest answer would be nice. Now that is so important. Especially for me, right now. Such a lot going on regarding people around me, and their "stuff" impacts negatively on me. I need to remember God's abundant blessings and that God has always "come through" for me - though not necessarily at the time I think it's necessary. And often, not in the way I expect. There is "being anxious for nothing" and "casting all your care on Him - and then, there's leaving it there - and that's the hard part. So did you learn anything useful? That you care to share?

Just to be clear, Mike, that's three things I'm asking you to comment on. Might be easiest if you tackle them separately.