Twinky

This. A rant. Not a conversation. This too. There are plenty of men around who are kind, considerate, wonderfully well rounded men, who are so far from the "macho" male image that they must be from another planet - the macho nitwits, that is. And there are plenty of women who are pioneering, bold, won't-be-told women who have broken the "ceilings" imposed on them (generally by patriarchal or paternalistic societal norms). All power to those who want to smash those restrictive norms, whether they be male or female. But calling a dog a cat, or a cat a dog, doesn't make it so.

My understanding is that SEX refers to whether one is male or female. GENDER is a grammatical term, used in some languages (like French and Spanish) when nouns take certain word (Work-endings). Why? Lost in the mists of time - probably based (in Europe) on ancient Latin, but why did those who spoke ancient Latin choose to do this? But in recent years, gender has been co-opted by the woke brigade to try to distinguish between - between what? What one is, and what one wants to be? With all the problems being a woman brings, it beats me why men, with so many advantages, should want to "be" women. The use of "they" to define a single person is just plain weird. He/she/it. They?? What, do such people have split or multiple personalities as well as "gender dysfunction"? To use "they" to mean a singular person is confusing - I'm always looking for the other person or people involved. "They" is plain lazy, and ignorant, or both. I do wonder if there would be less of this "gender dysfunction" if the pressure to be a thuggy macho male were less prevalent. If men were able to enjoy their more caring or sensitive side instead of being beer-swigging football fans with noisy cars.

If you hired a contractor to build your home, and right from the beginning you, or someone else, kept interfering with the plans, the contractor might reasonably get pretty ticked off. How many "design and build" contracts have you heard of - one thing was designed, and then multiple changes were introduced as, or after, the building was started. Maybe the building needed to be built bigger - or smaller, because the money ran out? Maybe there was a problem with the foundations - the subsoil wasn't as expected, there was an unknown hole or a load of archaeological artefacts. Maybe a shortage of a type of building material? A bespoke builder needs to accommodate changes.

That's what a certain cult teaches. Maybe more than one teaches it? Exactly. God never removed the ability of his creation to talk with him; and God has continued to talk with his creationS since time began. Question is: do the creations listen? Or have they failed to pay any attention?

Good lord, is that Craig? His vaunted golden hair has slipped down to his chin, and gone grey? Still got the scowl, though.

I googled her name and found this music by Claudettee. I listened to a few clips. It's 43mins long. Not my kind of thing, but others might be interested. Looks like a TWI production. By clicking on it, you might be giving royalties of some minuscule amount to TWI. Make your own decision about whether or not you want to do that, or have given enough to them already. Of course, doesn't tell us what she knew about what was going on, and I don't know when this album was made.

Maybe a bit off topic but : "Would you be blessed to ...?" Which usually meant, "You will do this whether you want to or not. Because I'm telling you to."

Aincha glad there wasn't Zoom or Skype in those days? If there were, you can imagine somebody in Security examining the feed from every single household on line, and looking out for "off the word" things. Not just the nametag slightly askew, or the shirt not being ironed to perfection, or having the wrong hairstyle - but they'd be examining everything in the background. The state of your lounge, kitchen, or wherever you were sitting; whether the curtains hung correctly; what TWI paraphernalia was on display; how tidy the place was; and a zillion other irrelevant details that they have no business knowing. They really would "have eyes on you."

Like, "the word of God is the will of God." Means, "the Bible as I teach it is the will of God as I interpret God for you." From the TWI PoV, it certainly does NOT mean: "Jesus Christ [and what he preached] is the will of God." Particularly since we were actively discouraged from reading the gospels, those naughty OT records!

"Generation." Hmm. Might mean something along the lines of "administration" if one still buys into that idea (I don't, well not in the way TWI teaches it). In places in the Bible it puts "week" for a period of a year, or "day" for a period of a year or some other length of time, not just a period of 24 hours. So I wonder if "generation" (a vague word, not a specific length of time) is used in a vague sense, to indicate some future period, that those currently alive might or might not see. I think all that Gen X and Gen Z and other stuff is a little ridiculous. Though without doubt the "Swinging 60s" generation with its funky fashions and mini-skirts had considerably different aspirations from the 50s generation of post-war austerity leading into more peaceful and settled times, or the 70s, with heavy rock and psychedelic drugs.

Sexual and violent offenders should be, and in the UK are, required to register with police and/or other offenders. And certainly paedophiles should not be allowed to live near schools and playgrounds. Registering as a sex offender may be for a period (of years) or may be for life - depends on the severity of the offence. https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/victims-witnesses-and-offenders/registering-as-a-sex-offender/ In the UK, we have provisions that (potential) partners can now approach some aspect of police to enquire whether a person with whom they are thinking of starting a relationship, or where they have concerns for a child, has a relevant record - whether they've been convicted of assaulting previous partners or children. There is a strict procedure around this but I don't fully know the details, but there's some info in the link below. It's to help women (usually) to avoid (usually) men who've abused previous partners or their children to avoid future risk. Nobody wants to live with a violent rapist or kiddy-fiddler. These provisions are known colloquially as Sarah's law and Clare's law. https://www.met.police.uk/rqo/request/ri/request-information/sarahs-law-beta/sarahs-law-child-sex-offender-disclosure-scheme/ But the information should not be widely (publicly) available. Vigilante groups could otherwise access the information and carry out their own form of justice.

That sounds so TWI-ish. The "standing in the gap" dange and "participate and be special." Ugh. Good if Christians can come together to pray for common cause. Bad if Christians get elitist about it. "Remind" God ???

It's totally misused anyway. A "graduate" is one who has completed a course and been graded. In the US it would be like your GPA, I think. Lot of difference between a GPA of 2.3, 3.3 and 4.0. If you ain't graded, you can't be a graduate. But you can be a course completer. Doesn't sound so good, though.

Realistically, the Romans liked mass executions and there were probably dozens crucified at the same time. Jesus could have been crucified in a bunch, fore, aft and either side, of other unfortunates, quite possibly some of whom were also innocent, or were innocent of any serious crime. There's a report of about 2000 Jews being crucified in 4BC. https://www.livescience.com/65283-crucifixion-history.html https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/crucifixion/roman-crucifixion-methods-reveal-the-history-of-crucifixion/ Wikipedia has this article, which is not for the fainthearted https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion. You read it? I warned you!

I listened to the first few minutes. I was surprised at how calm he sounded. No rant!! (yet) However, full of praise for the achievements of the great doctor W. I wondered who he was trying to impress. Maybe he was appealing to the nostalgia of his "followers" for a bygone VPW era. No thanks. Not for me.

Where did he get that rubbish phrase anyway? I can appreciate that a trained physicist might feel that way. But vpw? If his maths skills were anything like as good as his English skills - well, hahahaha. The man didn't understand English, neither words nor grammar. (Let alone Greek or Aramaic, what a joke.) That has to be another phrase that this thief stole from some more worthy person.

You appear to be asking two different questions. The first is how people deal with the person so diagnosed. The second, if I understand you correctly, is how to talk to the families. Two different things, but not necessarily two different answers. The answer, really, is LOVINGLY. Kindly, gently, respecting where individuals "are" presently. If your friend is in a schizo phase, deal kindly. If the family are anxious, concerned, tearing their hair out, deal kindly. If you can't say anything, just be present, available, and quietly helpful. And silent.

Now that RFR has retired/been retired from being Prez, I wonder what she is doing for healthcare needs. Perhaps her health is reasonable at the moment. Will she get some kind of free support from TWI? Or did she get (on a need basis, of course) sufficient to provide a pension plan and insurance cover for increasing health needs? Seems likely that she won't have put herself in the position of being thrown under the bus, as Mrs W was.

These days, I still aim to give away around 10% of my income. I cheerfully donate to the work of my church, which is big in outreach, especially to underprivileged families. I also choose various international charities, and a couple of local charities working to support and uplift very vulnerable and street homeless people. I do this because I have a thankful heart that acknowledges how very much I have myself, in healthcare, clean safe water, food, education, housing, etc; and how very little some people elsewhere have. All of these charities I'm satisfied meet real needs. Yes, some of the money goes in administration and staffing costs. But the bulk really does go to supporting the people in need. Whereas, money given to TWI goes into coffers to pay for - what, exactly? Sure, some salaries (but then, don't people live on a need basis? LoL) and buildings do need upkeep (but usually the labour costs are free, it's just the materials that need to be paid for). I am aware of a "scholarship" that was given to a trainee in my WC to a male from a poorer African country - but again, the "costs" of training in the WC are negligible, and I'm sure there'd be an ulterior motive - send him back where he came from, to recruit new people (and gain thus their minimal income). PFAL sucks because it doesn't teach giving from love and a thankful heart, it teaches giving from fear and obligation. And it's absolutely nobody else's business what any individual chooses to give, in the quiet of their own heart, whether that be the smallest or the largest amount.

There ya go. The "get out of accountancy jail" card. Furthermore, and Nathan (I think) raised it above: there is a religious duty to care for widows and orphans. Though their "get out of scripture jail" card would be this (1 Tim 5:3-4, 16) 3Honor the widows who are truly widows. 4But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they [the children or grandchildren] must first learn to show godliness to their own family and repay their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. 16If any believing woman has dependent widows, she [the widow's daughters] must assist them and not allow the church to be burdened, so that it can help the widows who are truly in need. but - but - but - we're family, aren't we? Ah, right. All brothers and sisters in Christ. So we don't have to care for our sisters, is that it? Except that they forget 17Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. And Mrs W had been a "teacher" in many ways (some honorable, some less so) in her own right. So therefore, she needs "double honor." What does "double honor" mean, anyway? They honor VPW; they should honor his widow (the double honor?? arguably) also. Disgraceful.

TWI is a registered charity, is it not? What are its charitable aims, as stated on whatever charitable body oversees suchlike in the USA, or would it be in Ohio? While "care of the elderly" could be a charitable aim for some organisations (though not in TWI's constitution), there could be ways around that.... maybe. Y'all got me thinking. About charitable aims. Huh, I will start a different thread when I've sorted some things out.

i partake of communion when offered at church. Can't say I particularly enjoy it. A crispy wafer and a sip of delicious wine. But so formal. In my opinion, eating and drinking in recognition should be done at every meal. In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” I don't think it was instituted as an annual event, but as a daily one. People drank weak wine or weak beer because it was cleansed in the fermentation process, as opposed to water which could be contaminated. Bread (flatbread) was commonly used at every meal. We are to recognise daily what the Lord has accomplished for us. A meal with family and friends is, IMO, what and where the Lord intended us to celebrate his accomplishments. Most Christians reduce this to "grace" or "giving thanks" before they eat their main meal each day.

I very much doubt that that was a VPW original, Rocky.

A bit this, but if these souls under the altar are capable of thought as we know it, how horrible it must be for them to have to wait, knowing that there are others whom they are waiting for who have to be martyred and whose deaths they cannot prevent. Are they under the altar going, "No! Keep away from xxx, they plan to kill you!" or are they saying, "Hey, come on up! Being murdered isn't so bad!"

You might find talks and shows by Derren Brown interesting. He has a big YouTube channel and a large following, all of whom want to be entertained. But there's a serious side to what he does and says, too. He doesn't explain how he does what he does in this episode, but there are others you can watch that do explain more. He's done episodes on Faith Healing and on Religious Experiences. Very good at debunking - whilst still leaving you mystified. Watching too much of his stuff can make one very, very sceptical.