waysider

Thanks for your response, Mr. B. That what I was looking for.

Had you posed these questions 30-35 years ago, I could have answered, without reservation and based on first hand experience that The Way was absolutely willing to trim, as they called it, "deadwood" in order to generate a more profitable following. I saw it myself. Now, however, I'm not privy to their current business plan and can only guess. That's where people like Bolshevik, who have close ties to the organization, come into the discussion. I, for one, would genuinely like to hear his honest take on some of these matters but without unnecessary rhetoric.

Apparently you must care or you wouldn't have brought it up.

I didn't say it wasn't a problem. What I said was if you want to discuss this: "Mocking TWI is ultimately mocking The United States as a whole." or this: "Defining what TWI is . . . most here leave to relative few people to blame.", start a relevant thread or threads and see what happens. edit: I just saw this: "And those other discussions I have other websites for." So then why are you bringing it here instead of there?

Sooooo........Start those discussions. See how it goes. It wouldn't be the first time someone doesn't "like it". edit: on a new thread/s, of course.

Nope, in and of itself, that doesn't make him real. Those are merely artifacts that happen to coincide with his existence. You need to separate the man from his myth to appreciate the point being made.

The parallels are remarkably similar, although, Cosby's doctorate is real (University of Massachusetts Amherst).. VP's was of the degree mill variety.... You did know VP wasn't really a "DR.", didn't you?

There are some grown people who will go to their grave believing Santa Claus is real. Maybe this is the year they'll finally get those Lincoln Logs they've always wanted.

Will there be refreshments?

A peninsula is attached to the mainland. You tell me.

The question should really be why they ONLY have $50M. With prudent real estate investment strategies, they should have amassed a portfolio worth much, much more than $50M.

Good for you, Johnny. I wish you luck with that. "No man is an island.".....John Donne

From the Victor Barnard thread in Open Rocky said this: "..... the harshness that was modeled by Wierwille and Martindale was something it took me a long time to shake and it adversely impacted my relationship with my daughter... which I very much regret." To which I replied: I could say the same about marital relationships. All the hooey about "Be a man! Grow a pair! Take charge!" Where's the room for compromise and free exchange of ideas and feelings? There were guys out there beating their wives, beating their kids, both physically and emotionally because that was the example they were presented by so-called leaders. Sure, Wierwille talked about compromise in Christian Family and Sex class but that was all just a bunch of talk. In real life, the man was a tyrant with his wife. Too many of us patterned our lives after his "machismo" example. It took its toll. I'm sorry I ever thought the man knew anything about marriage, sorry I tried to pattern some of my behavior after leadership.

"..... the harshness that was modeled by Wierwille and Martindale was something it took me a long time to shake and it adversely impacted my relationship with my daughter... which I very much regret." I could say the same about marital relationships. All the hooey about "Be a man! Grow a pair! Take charge!" Where's the room for compromise and free exchange of ideas and feelings? There were guys out there beating their wives, beating their kids, both physically and emotionally because that was the example they were presented by so-called leaders. Sure, Wierwille talked about compromise in Christian Family and Sex class but that was all just a bunch of talk. In real life, the man was a tyrant with his wife. Too many of us patterned our lives after his "machismo" example. It took its toll. I'm sorry I ever thought the man knew anything about marriage, sorry I tried to pattern some of my behavior after leadership. I know this is off-topic so I'll start another thread.

(I posted this on another thread, as well. It seemed to be relevant to both threads.) Here is one for the "for what it's worth" department. It's not just The Way. Here is the accompanying video.

Here is one for the "for what it's worth" department. It's not just The Way. Here is the accompanying video. edit: I also posted this on the ABS thread.

Problems shmoblems. Everyone has problems. Just keep sending us those blue forms and lots of money. And make sure you don't dip into the ABS to pay the postage. God will know.

The die-hards will find a way to rationalize it, at least to themselves. It's good that it's out there for all to see, though.

Yeah, they probably both said it. It was a common sentiment back in the day, as was the idea that life insurance was unnecessary. Of course, like a lot of these things, it only applied to us , not them.

[Where's the money for retirement? twi veterans are SUPPOSED TO "work until they die." That's a quote from one of the higher-ups.] That would be Harry (He wasn't my uncle) Wierwille.

It's like Amway. Everybody is so busy selling dealerships, the soap gets relegated to the sidelines.

John You have a wonderful knack for twisting what was said. I never said that giving 'til it hurts was non-Biblical, I said that ABS is non-Biblical. That is a position I still maintain. As to investing, neither one of them had a clue about prudent investing. This is evidenced by the massive blunders they made in property acquirement. But, here again, that issue is really a straw-man as this thread isn't about investing, it's about the practice of giving money to the ministry, above and beyond the customary 10% tithe. edit: grammar

Hello, Roy. It's nice to see you again. I think the feelings you're going through are something we all experience as we age. I can remember how my grandparents talked about how the world was going down the toilet. Then, as they got older, my parents talked about the same things. Now, here we are, still talking about how the world is going down the toilet. Well, maybe it finally is. Or, maybe our perspective just changes when we reach a certain age. I suppose it will be any day now that the generation following in our footsteps will be telling us how the world is going down the toilet, like it's some new kind of thing that just happened. Just act surprised and pretend you hadn't noticed. It'll drive them bonkers.

I just had a Homer Simpson moment, one of those where he smacks his forehead and says, Doh!". :doh:/> All these years we've been calling it Abundant SHARING. It wasn't sharing at all, it was GIVING. Sharing is a two way street. ABS was a one way street. Everything went to HQ and nothing ever came back, nothing got shared.

Here's the long and the short of it: There is nothing in the Bible that says "9/10th's will go farther than 10/10th's" (Adjust the verbiage to make it more Biblical if needed.) It's just not the there. It's a clever phrase, no doubt, and a good marketing ploy because it appeals to human nature. But, Biblical? Nope. It just isn't. Now, does that mean you can't give to a cause because that's what you want to do? Of course not. Give until it hurts if it makes you happy but don't attribute it to a Biblical mandate..