OperaBuff

(Oh! I didn't believe I would see you)From the Bellini opera La Sonnambula, performed in recital by Maria Callas.

Twinky, thank you for sharing this. I've done similar acts of cleansing, probably many of us have. It's very much like suffering the death of a loved one. At least it was for me. We grieve, then somehow, the seemingly impossible happens and we eventually heal. The truly good memories remain. I've learned that, for me, I need to guard against false memory; don't allow time to play tricks upon my good nature and turn bad experiences of the past into fake good memories today. Screw that noise. If the other country you are in is this one (US) please PM, maybe we are close and could meet up! That would rock.

Duplicate.

The hoax, as you call it, is relatively simple to understand. It's all about getting people to jump to conclusions, waiting for them to actually jump, then making sure they don't jump back. That's the crux of it. When you get people to jump to conclusions for you once, it's relatively easy to get them to jump for you again. So, I think that's what the various snow stories and the audible voice of God story were all about -- irresistible lures to get people to jump to that all-important first conclusion. Once you get people jumping around for you like jumping beans, the sky's the limit. God bless you, I love you, you're the best jumpers a guy could ever want. Nice tits. (I say it's relatively simple to understand, which it is; but it took me about 20 years to finally figure it out.)

I remember watching them too! Such excitement was in the air. That summer my friends and I got Beatle wigs and wore them while riding our bikes, screaming and singing and laughing the whole time.

Wondering if any of you have had personal experience with the group called Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) International. Recently I attended a meeting and it seemed ok to me, but I'd be interested in hearing about any of your experiences, good or bad.

You have stirred another TWI memory from my buried stash. Gee, thanks! This one's not too bad though. I remember hearing VP tell the story of how he came to purchase the Gunnison property. Seems he was out hunting somewhere and came upon the fellow who owned the property. They got to talking, and somehow came to a sale agreement, closing the deal with a manly handshake. The seller had one stipulation, however. He insisted that a grotto that he had built for his late wife be allowed to remain standing. It was one of those Catholic madonna-in-a-half-shell grotto things, or some such. I was quite the VP devotee at the time, and I remember thinking "oh no, he compromised on God's Word, permitting Satan to keep that idolatrous statue on TWI property, what's he doing that for?" So if TWI is facing hard times at Camp Gunnison today, perhaps it's due to the compromising nature of its origin as TWI property. "You cannot compromise on God and His Word! The moment you compromise one iota, you'll burn!" Care to guess who yelled that into a microphone one Sunday night? VP developed a habit of exempting himself from his own rules and regulations.

I wonder if Craig is giving them 10% of his income today? I wonder if God is spitting in his direction? I wonder where the heck he got the idea that God spits? It's not biblical. I'm in a wondering mood today, I guess..

Thanks geisha. It really is true what's been said in this thread; I can see right through this guy. And I was trying to remember where I'd seen Driscoll's hair style before. Then it hit me. Being reproved for unmanly habits by a guy with dippitydoo in his hair and a weak grasp of rhetorical devices? I trow not.

Sheeesh. Good for Andrew getting away from there, and good for him seeking a counselor to talk with and help clarify his mind. The part that creeps me out the most in this sucker parade called Mars Hill is the voyeuristic angle; church officials wanting a young man to state in writing all of his sexual experiences. That's truly a sick request. If some other unfortunate young man were to honor that sick request and submit such a statement, he should include photographs and ask for extra credit.

Link here. Cool car. Better than a twig hopper...

Marietta's Lied performed by Renee Fleming, from the Korngold opera Die Tote Stadt (The Dead City).

I've forgotten how to type a hug, so this will have to do. {{excathedra}} This is a hug with two kisses on the cheek, one before the hug and one after. *{{excathedra}}*

I enjoyed spending considerable time studying this last year, following our discussion on the thread titled The King's English. I recall reading about it outside of Bullinger and TWI, but can't lay my hands on where or what it was. I'll attempt to retrace my steps and hopefully find it for you. It generally tracked with Bullinger, and had some vivid examples which helped my understanding. The vast majority of what I found was Bullinger and TWI. Bishop Pillai spoke of Oriental thought on the subject of Satan and permission that I think relates to the understanding of the idiom of permission. While teaching from Luke 22:31-32, Pillai said Oriental people believe the devil has no power over you unless he gets the power from God; that the devil has to go to God to get permission to attack one of God's children.

Is there a thread on this topic? It's so true, and it's vital to understand the scope of the manipulation that was used. If one doesn't understand the scope of the manipulation used, one can't identify it or break completely free from it. It will always be there in your mind, working its work. One of my last fellowship meetings was appalling in this aspect, the songs they chose to sing were almost all children's songs even though the attendees were adult. It would come as news, I suppose, to that fellowship coordinator that one can be an adult, act like an adult, sing like an adult, and still be a child of God. Maybe even a better one! Even more annoying than the singing of childish songs was the baby talk at that fellowship, how Daddy will take pweshus care of his snuggum widdle children wif power and give us pweshus hugs and bwess us weal big. ooooooohh, wub u!!

Bingo! We have a bingo! Wierwille didn't pick Martindale to carry on, he picked him to cover up. But even that didn't work out, revelation or no. I never took the AC, but like everyone else I assumed it was two weeks of powerful teachings, chock full of deep spiritual insight. I'm rather surprised to read the comments in this thread that it really wasn't. Though, I suppose i shouldn't be surprised. Next you'll be telling me those green and white rectangular AC grad name tags held no special powers.

"God told me to be an idiot." That's what my ears hear every time someone says to me, "God told me that...." whatever. I just think, oh well, I'm talking to another idiot today. It's like a spiritual version of the Jerry Springer Show. But instead of watching feuding women get up and chase each other around the chairs on stage, you can watch an idiot chase her common sense out the door. You might want to try it next time it happens to you, save yourself a lot of wasted time and unnecessary heartache. Is this on topic? I don't care, I live under grace you know.

Ours is a youth-based culture today. Growing up to wise maturity is not the solid base and goal of our culture anymore. It's all about being and acting young and hip, having no wrinkles and skinny bodies and doing anything and everything to attain self-satisfaction. I agree with what you are saying, but I think it's a lot worse than what you state. The youth are being targeted; they are also being idolized and manipulated to the detriment of our culture as a whole.

I've got a deal for whomever wrote that paean of praise to Dr Wierwille. I'll let stand every word of your work, if you write a paean of praise of equal length and heart for the 17-year-old girl in my former twig fellowship whom Dr Wierwille raped on his motor coach in 1975. Her name is Mary T. If you would like to talk with her first, let me know and I'll see if she's interested in being interviewed. Do we have a deal?

I'm not sure, but using the word 'international' in your corporate name is probably a legal strategy, having to do with your tax status and/or what you as a business can claim as expenses.

Happy Household Holiday? WTF? I'd not heard that one during my two-year TWI stint. They took the false date of Christ's birth and made it a TWI celebration? I swear, some of these things I hear I just don't believe people actually swallowed. But they did, apparently. At least for a while. Until the novocain wore off. I'm almost afraid to ask what 'ho ho relo' means..

Merry Stressmas is more like it. It's no holiday if it causes an increase in the suicide rate, and drives people with little money into further debt. Christmas does both of those things each and every year. Someone link that to the glory of the birth of Jesus Christ for me, please.

This kind of fear seems to be something one can only have towards God. Fear God, meaning have a sense of awe and a healthy respect for the one spirit who created the heavens and the earth; don't forget about Him as you go about your business, that He is alive and well and still on the throne, and that He ain't done with this world yet. One can't have that sense for any other person, place or thing. There may even be a small sense of being afraid of God too, rather like having a healthy respect for electricity. If electricity were my Father, I would have a sense of awe and a healthy respect for electricity, but I'd still be careful not to break its laws and rules for fear of being electrocuted.

The damage TWI inflicted upon people still reverberates. Some cannot conduct even the simplest of life's transactions without seeing God taking care of them or Satan attacking them. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, you know.. I was like that at first. I remember so clearly one afternoon while driving my car in Cleveland, where I had moved after leaving TWI. I had to pull over to the side of the busy city street and park because I suddenly did not know where I was. Not just what street I was on, I did not know what city or state I was in! I sat there behind the wheel and started to weep, honestly not being able to remember where I was. That was scary. I'd moved so many times during my TWI days, been to so many different cities, different neighborhoods, different houses and apartments, and it all came crashing down on me that day. After I stopped weeping, I decided to light up a joint and clear my mind. One of my ensuing thoughts was hey, you don't need to know where you are, what difference does it make where you are, it's still the Word. So you see, joining TWI can lead to so many wonderful experiences..

I need to find a copy of Mrs. W's book, I've not read it or even seen it. Thanks, skyrider.