Twinky

Keep it in one place, please. Doesn't need to sprawl all over the Café.

Reads like the green card.

Funny fellow, T-Bone, you put yourself down too much. I know you've done a lot of careful and very deep thinking.

I do recall being at RoA whilst being in rez, and people from my country came to that RoA and wanted to see me. These are people who have come from overseas, paying out not insignificant air fares (and generally paying those from a generally lower income level than in the USA), to come and hang out; and naturally, as most of them were also supporting me as my spiritual partners, wanted to spend a little time with me. This was not permitted at all by my shift leader - and as we all know, shifts were basically all day, every day. Some of my people came to find me. And some I met by sneaking off for just a few minutes. Wasn't even allowed to spend an hour with them as a group. Pathetic.

Gosh, I found one of those Red Thread long-sleeve shirts the other day. Had forgotten I'd got it. It could be a nice shirt to wear, but I don't like its connotations. And no doubt it has TWI's name all over it and I wouldn't want to "advertise" them. Might have to make dusters or some such out of it.

True, Rocky. My bad.

You might ask if God ever changed his mind about this - because originally when the Israelite nation was founded, it was itself supposed to be a beacon of God's love, to show the nations and thus draw all peoples from all nations to Him. And this group of people was only chosen because God's pre-Israelite plan for all to know Him had failed due to people's egocentricity and hardheartedness. Genesis 11: 1Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech. 2And as people journeyed eastward,a they found a plain in the land of Shinarb and settled there. 3And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar. 4“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.” 5Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. 6And the LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them. 7Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why it is called Babel,c for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth. God's plan had been for all to know him, as in the beginning with Adam and Eve. But people's egos got in the way, right from the beginning, and going forward even to today. You could say, He changed his mind and scattered the tower-builders (and thus, the nations); then (maybe) changed His mind back (Plan C, D, or whatever) - resumed the original plan - when establishing Israel. But Israel was itself only a "temporary measure" because God's plan (1 Tim 2:4) has always been for "all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

Dotty was the "Dean"? I recall when out Lightbearers, we ran a foundational class and this young male was thrilled to receive his certificate. Said it was the first certificate for anything that he'd ever received. Hm. Had forgotten all about the certs, though I didn't forget his pleasure at getting one.

Hell's bells, WW, that's an essay and a half. To be read at leisure later. I got through the first paragraph so far of this waffle.

"Mosaic law"? What about pre-Mosaic laws? Abraham wasn't subject to Mosaic law. Neither was Noah. Presumably there were some laws that we don't yet know about, before they were encoded. The "chosen people" (tribes comprising Israel) had gone from the deserts of Palestine, inhabited Egypt with a different set of laws for some 400 years, then escaped back to the desert of Sinai. To the extent that the Exodus story is true, or a myth encapsulating truth, I'd think, actually, that Mosaic laws were an override or perhaps a codification to pre-existing, ie, pre-Egypt, law, perhaps also taking into account the Code of Hammurabi (=Persian) and other legal codes known to "Moses" and altering or softening some of those sets of laws. The Mosaic laws were, as much as anything, a political statement to unify the 12 tribes, to make them distinct from Egyptians, Persians, Syrians and other groups/tribes in the middle east, as well as giving a common foundation for all the new nation to build upon. As well as being political, were these laws God-given? Well, why not? God works in leaders of all types to bring about the good of those who love God. But needs change. And therefore laws change. And therefore, it might be said that God changes, or changes his mind.

Ah, them wuz the daze when they wuz lots of peeples. Nothing like that when I was at RoA. I seem to recall some sort of casual area in a tent where people could play their guitar and sing, very low key. But I might be mistaken. Hard to be certain what goes on when (as Corps) one's busy making sure every attendee is catered for. And "Loo Crew" (cleaning several blocks of toilet trailers) doesn't leave a lot of time for investigating and enjoying what went on.

What was the music challenge? Sounds like a sort of Open Mic stage.

Yes, I saw he had been exiled to Montana. I suspect they are there licking their wounds and having a deep think. I'm wondering where they'll be in a few months. In six months. In twelve months. I wonder if they are expected to write some grovelly letter to Rosalie, denouncing themselves, crawling through the dirt, so that they'll be "allowed" to live in, say, Indiana or Illinois or even Kansas?

Where to now, for JY? Seems to me there are three choices: 1. Stay with TWI in whatever role is now assigned to him. 2. Depart TWI and start his own splinter group. Not sure he'd be welcome at R&R. 3. Depart TWI and get a real job. What do you put on your resume, when you've been booted from being the (apparent) head honcho?

They moved onto "The Prevailing Word" after "Word Over the World." So clearly, it didn't prevail very successfully if they had to go back to "Word Over the World." Anyhow, they don't mean "Word Over the World" so much as "Way over the World." In which, thanks be, they have failed dismally. Somehow, "Way International over the World," honest though it may be, doesn't quite have the allure (?) of the catchphrase "Word over the World."

400 years? Jews have apparently been counting for over 5500 years. In fact, today: 14 April 2020 / Gregorian calendar 20 Nisan 5780 Do you say also that Adam and Eve had a sabbath day which fell on a Saturday? Are you really sure, like really really sure, about the actual day the world was finished being created, and upon which God rested?

You're right, that'd be very transparent. So much for "word over the world." Normal religious institutions (churches and suchlike) are posting services, sermons, short homilies, uplifting hymns, songs, and music; offering a normal-ish Sunday service to all who want to log onto the church's website/YouTube channel, etc etc. That's making the "word" freely available to all. I also know the churches both individually and collectively are carrying out their sub-ministries as best they can - ensuring that people get food, get debt help, get regular phone calls or online meetings; Children's ministers put together activities for children of various ages; Seniors ministers facilitate conference calls to others in the seniors group. I believe also my own church has helped re-house one or two women from domestic violence situations that have flared up or got worse during lockdown. And no doubt TWI is still singing the same song from its gilded cage without realising no-one is listening.

Me too. Waxit's proposition was raised in open forum; should be responded to in open forum. Waxit, I have your PM. A page and a half is hardly succinct. I'd expected no more than two paragraphs. I am not remotely interested in reading a 80+ page document about a topic I'm not bothered about, and where its proponent is not concerned to make it interesting or relevant. It may be better if any discussion of how many crucified be kept to those threads, rather than jumbling all that up, too, on this thread. Does it matter, in context of this thread, if it were 2, 4 or a hundred or more?

They are still sending out "Way Disciples"? Must be even more interesting living with a bunch of strangers - and having to "witness" to people from 6ft away. What's the justification for driving from Georgia to Ohio? Most churches are doing their services online by compilation of individual segments pre-recorded by the sermon-preacher, the prayer leader, the music group, and others involved. Perhaps that's too technical for TWI. In, or at, what did JYdL say he'd failed?

Okay, no answer then. Not interested in lengthy essays by other people; you have a voice. Use your own words. Be succinct, if you care to respond. Over and out. Bye.

Some of you might enjoy this, a bit zippier than you might have sung it before:

@ Waxit. I asked you this question (among others) and await your response. It appears to me that you are missing the point, in a big way. Mt 23:23 I think you're busy focussing on the "letter of the law" and forgetting the more important matters: justice, mercy and faithfulness (so Jesus says). But those are, in fact, the details of life that I focus on. May I have your answer, please, to the question I put to you on 8 April?

I've got a very good life. Don't hang out here so much, but I do look in to see if there's anybody new, who I can help to "get a life."

I think I'm done with this conversation. There is no need to be insulting just because someone presents a different and well-thought-out view.