waysider

I don't want to run this off-track or initiate a meta discussion but I was bothered by this bit of contradictory information in the article: "One of the hallmarks of the Way — and, in the beginning, the River Road Fellowship — was the belief that everyone should read and interpret the Bible for themselves, rather than rely on clergy, the inner-circle member said." While it could be argued that the stated intent of PFAL was to enable the student to come to a self-understanding of the Bible, I think we all know we were supposed to only accept opinions that conformed to Way Theology (opinions that were formed by those who were supposedly "more knowledgeable" than us.). This point, in my opinion, somewhat explains why Barnard wasn't questioned more closely by his followers.

Sorry, this is a weak analogy, as well as a red herring. There is quite a difference between receiving a product you never requested and finding the product you requested was misrepresented.

Regardless of where he is, it's just a matter of time. Karma is a mean old lady.

The "programs" were like a boot camp that never ends. ("Do what we say, when we say, how we say, if we say.") At least the military has a vision for how they would like you to advance, once you've progressed past the initial indoctrination.

Wierwille wouldn't have known real leadership ability if it bit him on the arse. He, himself, was not a leader. He was an arrogant bully who acted like a spoiled brat when he didn't get his way.

Don and Harry W. both died of cancer, too. And now John L has cancer, as well. So much for the greatness of the Advanced Class.

For those who have never read the article dealing with actual errors in PFAL, here is a link. HERE

Wierwille was not always consistent in his stance on the Trinity. For example, in the PFAL class, he goes into a homoletic rant about how "Christ is coming back as God Almighty". As class instructors, we were expressly taught to gloss over this section of the class and explain it away as an emotional slip of the tongue, fueled by Wierwille's Trinitarian past. That was filmed in 1967. In later times, he speaks in veiled condescendence of other men, such as Bishop K.C. Pillai, who held Trinitarian beliefs. On one hand he praised Pillai for his "knowledge" of Oriental customs and on the other hand subtly criticized his Trinitarian position. Wierwille compared the Trinity concept to a common household product, saying it was like calling God "3 in 1 oil". (His own words) My own belief on this matter is not relevant. What matters is that Wierwille was perfectly willing to adjust his story about anything to suit the ears of the audience. He was a flim-flam man. That's what they do.

VP had lots of fun tooling around on one of .jpg"]THESE so you wouldn't have to.

From what I understand, he talked to Doop or Heefner about the possibility of going to orgies, but I don't know if he ever followed through and went. Of course, the mere fact that he inquired is enough to make me suspicious of his intentions.

I'm sorry my post seemed so callous. I know this must be an extremely difficult time for him and I certainly wish him all the best. I hope you will accept my apology.

I'm not sure about the "REAL" sort of thing. My Mom didn't know a whole lot of scripture but I think she understood the overall messages it conveyed much better than many of the so-called leaders. She knew tons about how to love your neighbor and treat everyone with respect. Without that much, the rest is just another Sunday School lesson.

They were in their mid 40's.

I was not quite as fortunate.....my family actually bought what I was selling. :(

If it's true, what will he do, now that he's denounced "the law of believing"? edit: I'm not trying to be cruel. I'm just saying you can't have your cake and eat it too.

This one might have been a good choice:

Yes, it was used as an ambiguous reference to clearing the table.... That's probably why it became ROLL Away instead of ROLLED Away. Just a guess on that part.

With hand motions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFlMRCoWcDA

Yeah, well, you probably didn't sing it 730+ days in a row. :(

Shortest verse in the (WRV) Way Revised Bible: "Jesus strung."

I have a red car. It's a dark red. Birds poop on it.... but they also pooped on my silver car, my blue car, my white car...well, you get the picture. What I suggest is that you always keep a good coat of wax on the car to protect the finish. In addition, I recommend you buy a bottle of detailing fluid such as Eagle One *Wipe and Shine*. Bird poo contains uric acid so it can damage the paint if allowed to remain on the car too long. What I do is spay a fine mist of detailing fluid onto a microfiber cloth. (do not use terry cloth.) Then, I gently remove the poo, moving the cloth in one direction. You can spray a small amount directly on the spot and let it soak a bit if needed. (Do not move the cloth in a swirling fashion.) If the wax is still good, removal will be easy and no damage will result. The key is to never let the wax coating become depleted. I wax (by hand) about 6 times a year. I use a synthetic wax called Collinite 845 Insulator Wax. it's a personal preference. (Asking which wax is best is like asking who makes the best pizza.)

Lining up a butter knife: Table etiquette in the programs had to follow a strict set of rules called Christian Etiquette. There is even a booklet that outlines all the details. I still have a copy. All the eating utensils had to be precisely placed. There was an exacting protocol that had to be followed regarding seating, passing food,asking for seconds, and on and on. Now, I'm not saying that table manners are a bad thing, on the contrary. But, holy mother of pearl, every meal has to follow a strict regimen? In FellowLaborers, we ate with these same 50 people, day in and day out, year after year. Was it really necessary to say "mother, may I?" every time you wanted a second helping of deliciously steamed millet deluxe or wilted endive and flax seed salad? What was supposed to happen if you didn't follow the rules, spiritual flatulence or something?

If the information in the study is transferable to humans, I think this is quite possible. This would be very different than rationalization in that they would literally believe the information to be false. I've heard of people would could, in detail, tell you about the wonderful experience they had at the high school class reunion they never attended but thought they had. This is one of the great things about GSC. You can finally see that after all these years of thinking it was maybe "only me" that experienced certain things, there were, in reality, many, many others who experienced the same. edit: Now that I think about it, weren't we taught in Renewed Mind or one of those classes to ignore the emotions because they can be *false*? We were supposed to only trust "The Word". Problem with that is it was just another way of saying you should only trust emotional input if its in compliance with Way Theology.

Well, there you have it, folks, the veepster was not on the level. :P

"I'm not entirely meaning the interpretations, but the facts of the events themselves. Being able to rewrite history is quite a tool." Not so long ago, I listened to a show about false memory implantation. I don't recall off hand where I heard the show but here is a link that references the study that was being cited: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23447600