waysider

That kinda sums up how I felt at the advanced class. (Not the husband part, of course....Heh.)

It's actually good for business for the offshoots to have the organization continuously flounder. Like a massive car recall. Everybody flocks to the competitor to see what they have to offer.

I haven't lost sight of W.O.W. In fact, it's never been clearer to me what is real purpose was. It was a massive sales campaign that utilized an uncompensated sales force, to promote a class that was, in reality, a platform for indoctrination into the MLM organization.....Leaving a legacy? More like a path of destruction.

Maybe they have something to gain by keeping her in the big chair that isn't obvious to outsiders.

It's never pretty when a coup fails.

Two particular items in your post caught my attention First: .... I don't think this forum is about doctrine. So I will leave it at that. If you look toward the bottom of the page, you will find a doctrinal forum, if that sort of thing interests you. Second: ...I have friends of other faiths and denominations that we dialogue and debate over our differences. It seems though you can't do that with the people in The Way. That may be because The Way very specifically teaches people to resist the temptation of considering opposing viewpoints. In session seven of Power For Abundant Living, Wierwille uses the example of Eve and the serpent to "demonstrate" a five step system that the serpent used to trick Eve. Step one was that she "considered" what the serpent said. Wierwille goes on to say you must never "consider". Instead, his admonition was..."Having done all, STAND!" In other words, stubornly resist giving thoughtful consideration to other opinions. In fact, the are even two separate, three session classes that deal with the issue called Dealing With The Adversary and The Renewed Mind.

You could fit my knowledge of opera in a thimble and still have room for a semi truck but, WOW! what a powerful and moving voice. Excellent!

People, people people......Why isn't someone standing in the gap?...I mean, whose turn is it, anyway?...We need to get a little clearer on these standing in the gap shift assignments.

It's like driving past the house you grew up in to see the big, old tree in the front yard and realizing......well, it really wasn't as big as you remembered it to be.

Now that I think of it, R. Crumb's The Book of Genesis might be an enlightening read, as well.

As I stated, I do have the book. Feel free to ask anything regarding its specific content. I don't have a scanner but, I will type the text verbatim if requested. (Not the entire book, of course)

I spent 2 weeks there in the summer of 1973. It was, perhaps, the most depressing 2 consecutive weeks I've ever spent in the last 61 years.

I have a copy here in front of me. First...and you may have heard me say this before....Wierwille was not a "Dr." Yes, "it paints a nice picture of TWI paradise"... a place that existed only in the minds of those who have chosen to romanticize what never was. It's a veritable Camelot tale for the 20th century and beyond.

Wasn't he a bullfrog? His oratory must be ribbeting.

I think The Brothers Karamozov might be a good choice. "Dostoyevsky intended it to be the first part in an epic story titled The Life of a Great Sinner, but he died less than four months after its publication."

I kinda thought Catcher in the Rye was pretty good. “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.”...Holden Caulfield

Excie I think he probably knows how to use the quote feature but, chooses not to because it lends an element of designed confusion to his posts. That's just my opinion.

WW The point I was addressing was simply this: The statement was made that it's the only belief system involving resurrection of the main character and that this is what sets it apart from all others. Whether any or all of the resurrections actually happened is totally irrelevant to my point.It is NOT the only belief system that focuses on this concept as a major point of doctrine. For what it's worth, I heard Wierwille teach on this in some time and place I can no longer remember. He acknowledged this was true and said all of the other predated examples were counterfeits, arranged by the adversary to dilute the significance of the mystery when and where it would eventually be revealed. It made sense at the time. Now, years later, it just sounds like some kind of mumbo-jumbo, rationalized, concocted attempt to offer an explanation of something for which he really had no honest explanation. edit: Ever notice how so many things that weren't understood were explained away as being "counterfeit"?

This is not completely accurate. HERE HERE

No, it's not but, Yes it is. FREE POST!!!!!

Nope. You do, however, have to click my link and drink in the testimony of Mr. McKinley Morganfield.

Incrementalism had a daily aspect as well. You get up at 5:00 or 5:30, do this, do that, a bunch of something else, lots of nothing worthwhile, go to this or that meeting or class, get chewed out for always being wrong and.... BOOM!...it's midnight, lights out, get up and do it all again tomorrow in unexplainable, inconsequential, incongruous, incremental chunks of time. There was no course of study or meaningful academic pursuit involved with FellowLaborers, just more and more incremental indoctrination.

Non-informed consent. This is an element that is frequently ignored by people who say things such as "No one held a gun to your head." Yes, we made our own decisions ......but sometimes those decisions were based on erroneous and/or deceptive information. Here's a simple example: I go to buy a used car. Part of my decision to buy it is based on the mileage. Unknown to me, the seller has illegally rolled back the odometer. Sure, the decision to buy it was mine but, it was based on flawed information..... Don't let the "seller" off the hook.

........