waysider

Only 2 choices? I never said or implied any such thing. Period.

Did I suggest the scriptures should be read willy nilly? I'm pretty sure I never said that.

Is the Advanced Class considered part of the collaterals?

Well, that's your opinion (private interpretation) and you're certainly entitled to it. That doesn't guarantee your opinion is correct, though.

Can confirm But, of course, it's secret knowledge that's only revealed to those who are spiritually mature enough to receive it. /s

I think, maybe, we invented the secret decoder ring, ourselves, by perhaps trying to read something into the scriptures that the original authors never intended to convey.

Here's my take, though I'm surely not insisting I'm correct. Flying Spaghetti Monster is disrespectful to God and, thus, people who have Him at the core of their belief system, as well. Ditto for Sky Daddy. Secret Decoder ring is different, in that it doesn't attack God or people, it attacks a concept. That concept is expressed in I Corinthians 2:14 . Reason is the vaccine that attacks the concept.

This is a wild guess, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that someone or some group with a vested financial interest in the fishing industry lobbied the Vatican at some point in time.

Yeah, it's a real cliff-hanger.

Do you still remember when PFAL promised to answer these questions? Pepperidge Farms remembers.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Penworks fault because of ...uhhhm...location.

It's a long book, T-Bone. Cut him some slack.

Well that sure didn't take long. All discussions lead back to Wierwille, The Magnificent. All hail the Mighty Wizard!

Beautifully articulated.

"You just stand, Baby! Stand and don't budge." Can you hear it in Wierwille's voice?

Righteous anger is another one of those nonsensical ideas that has no real valid meaning. It's simply a self deluded justification people used to excuse unacceptable, irrational reactions and behavior.

I can only speak for myself. I have stated many times that I regret having led people into that horrible mess and have apologized many times, as well. Beyond that, there is not much I can really do.

So, let me get this straight. "Empties floating by" is an insult, too? Who could have imagined?

It was a 2 year commitment. I ended up being there for 3... Long story. The stated goals were the same as Way Corps. The mission objective was to live as they did in Acts (cough) and return to our home areas as better prepared leaders. (Never happened)

In FellowLaborers, we were NOT allowed to have outside sponsors, we had to pay our own way. This included a general fund which essentially covered our rent. I no longer remember if this included utilities or if that was covered by the individual "house funds", which took care of toilet paper, dish soap and such things. There were 8 "houses" which were duplex townhomes in an outlying, rural area. Then, each person was responsible for their own personal needs like tooth paste, deodorant, hygiene products, laundromat, etc...If you don't pay, you don't eat. period. The way we did this was to work fulltime at outside jobs through the day. No part time jobs were allowed. A typical morning began at 5 or 5:30. All 50 of us met in one of the townhome basements for daily announcements, prayer and manifestations, after which we did a one mile group run down a rural side road. From there we went immediately to breakfast in the individual townhomes (Familia, wheat berries, mush, fresh fruit and the like were the typical menu) I usually had breakfast duties in my house. Next, we left for work as soon as we were dressed and ready. After work, we either went back to the townhomes to prepare the evening group meal to be held at limb HQ, work schedules permitting, or went straight to limb HQ if we worked slightly later hours. We had a half hour group meal, complete with hosts and hostesses. We followed Christian etiquette protocol at meals. Wednesday night were FellowLaborer group meeting/teaching. (Basically a branch meeting) After the evening meal, we did various limb work such as painting, mowing or gardening. (We had a large vegetable garden that provided most of the vegetables for 50+ people) Some others worked on the food co-op or menu prep and distribution. When our work assignments were completed for the evening, we went back to our "houses" (about a 20-30 minute drive). We met in individual twigs which did not reflect our housing assignments. Then we went back to our assigned houses for a short house meeting, preparations for the next day, dishes and lights out at midnight. There was some time allowed on Saturday afternoons to go into town to do laundry and shop for personal items. The routine did occasionally vary, but this was a typical day... Self funded.

Thanks, JoyfulSoul, for reminding me that, despite all the madness, there were some good times, too.

Nah. Basketballs existed before VPW, but nobody knew what to do with them so he invented the hoop.

Really? I must have missed that part. HERE

Maybe you could start with the collaterals? I've heard everything you need to know is in them.

It's only been 50 years. These things take time.