waysider

I'm not sure how American freedom of speech is related to a conversation between two individuals in Australia. It sounds more to me like you're trying to push someone's hot button.

Room/house changes: What was that all about? (Says he, rhetorically.) They were never done at times that were convenient. You would think with all the heavy revelation that was taking place, they might have known it would be pouring rain, or there would be blizzard-like conditions or it would be 95 degrees out. Those impromptu ones that happened at 3AM were peachy swell, too.

And this stuff was supposed to make us better leaders? Leaders of what? How?

He's the head honcho.

I don't recall what it was called but there was an incident in FellowLaborers where we had to stand in front of 50+ people and declare our uselessness as individuals. Oh, the fun times. How I miss it. .

That they still refer to him as "Dr." is rather telling, in and of itself.

The Way Corps still exists, it simply put on a disguise, changed its name and moved to Mississippi. HERE

Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus have a sword fight. Permission slip Caution: Some may find portions of this offensive.

......one woman to have to amputate her own toes/toes and others suffering from severe frostbite. I think it was Eyesopen who posted that incident. I'm not sure how to find the thread. edit: HERE it is.

At least you didn't confuse it with TUTU.

I can't tell you one way or the other if it's true. I wasn't there. I know, however, it was not too uncommon for TWI to do things that were similar in order to build a sense of group identity. It often had an element of peer pressure, as well, because, if one failed, all failed.

Yes, there is a bad joke forum.

"What Mike wars, I don't know what it the world you are talking about." Mike is a guy who firmly believes that PFAL was God breathed and replaces the Bible as the written word of God. At one point, he stated it was revealed to him that when Christ returns, he will be holding a PFAL book in his right hand. Some of Mike's comments are what prompted Raf to develop his work on Actual Errors in PFAL and his analysis of The Blue Book.

Ah, the Mike wars...good times, good times...hahahahahahaha!

Not only have we changed in those 11 years, the internet, in general, has changed. Social media has changed. On-line behaviors have changed. And, best of all, TWI has changed. It's shriveled up and become an insignificant player in the greater scheme of religion, due, in part, to people who have had the audacity to tell "the other side of the story".

Just in case anyone was sleeping when the news broke, VPW did not have a real doctorate, though he had no problem with letting people think he did.. HERE

I took it in 1973. I doubt it was any more "spiritual" than the 1993 version.

One did not share any of this because, somewhere deep inside, you knew people would think you were bonkers for believing it.

The "release groups" have nothing to do with releasing [what you are really thinking]. They are designed to reinforce and regurgitate the day's teachings. No questioning. Usually, a corps person is in charge and monitors the group. Peer pressure and intimidation are used as an effective hammer to silence any dissent. For those who never had the privilege (cough) of attending an Advanced Class, these release groups were small, assigned twigs that we were required to attend and participate in every afternoon. The above description is right on point. They were designed in such a way as to keep the individual from thinking critically about the material being covered and the overall experience. They were monitored closely. P.S. Don't get me started on the "initiation into the inner sanctum".

The Advanced Class was a massive disappointment. I came away in a severe state of depression, disappointed and concerned that I seemed to be the only one who didn't "get" it. Even worse, I was starting to wonder why so much of it seemed like nonsense.

Oh my! now THIS is just awkward!

The molestation is a big deal, no question. A far bigger issue, though, is how a concerted effort was carried out for 10 years to sweep it under the rug. Even the state police were involved. The TV series is a high revenue producing franchise. In addition, the Duggars represent a fundamentalist organization (Family Research Council) that preaches the values of honesty, purity and chastity. Not only is a loss of revenue at stake, hypocrisy looms ominously over their heads. Now, it seems that the police report has been uncharacteristically destroyed. Fortunately for us, nothing ever really disappears from the internet. HERE is the police report, all 33 pages of it. edit: I chose this particular source because it ironically represents a part of our society (LGBT) that Family Research Center rails against.

What if we just say that what they did was vile? I think we can all agree on that.

HERE HERE HERE HERE Lots of sub-links to follow in the above if so desired.

The show began in September, 2005, as "14 Children and Pregnant Again!". It has since gone through an evolution that included name changes. In 2006, Oprah Winfrey planned to feature them on her show. During the week she and her staff spent interviewing and taping them, the situation came to light. She immediately contacted a child abuse hotline who in turn contacted Arkansas state authorities. She then canceled production and the show never aired. Law enforcement agencies became involved with the situation almost immediately. That was 2006. It's now 2015. During the years between, there have been about 230 episodes/specials aired under various titles. We are just now finding out about the situation. The essence of the controversy is much larger than the molestation, itself. It's about sweeping things under the rug and hiding them for the sake of continuing the show while millions and millions of dollars continued to change hands. It's about promoting themselves as examples of purity while simultaneously practicing deliberate deception. It smacks of The Way's "lockbox" policy and keeping silent "lest the ministry be blamed".