waysider

Yes, and if you weren't worried about your own personal safety, what about that of your wife, your kids, mother, father, etc. And, I remember a teaching one time from the O.T. about how disobedience would have repercussions that could last for generations. Who would want that on their conscience? Not threatened?? Not hardly. edit: And,then, you couple that with all the talk about the consequences of not fulfilling "commitments to God" and what do you have?

"I don't really think this phenomenon is specific to TWI. I'm sure Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and Roman Catholics have a similar range of experiences with their missionary or seminary programs." ....................................................... Exactly! That's why I'm of the opinion that it so important to come to a realization that W.O.W. (and the other programs) were NOT some special, noble undertaking. We weren't "God's elite", to restate a popular cliche. We were just another zealous organization, doing the same things that thousands of other zealous organizations have done and continue to do. Sure, people had some good times, met some great people, experienced personal growth. I would never want to deny anyone their memories of those things. But, unless we can see it in perspective, we become like Al Bundy from Married With Children, who constantly relives his and exaggerates their importance to a pedestal-worthy level.

Dog Days of Summer

I must be slipping. I haven't welcomed you, yet.

I'm not very good at doing searches. It's all here in the pages of GSC, though, for anyone who really wants to know.

It's not the first time I've heard of this kind of thing. In fact, there have been reports here of incidents where W.O.W.s were actually murdered by members of their W.O.W. families. If it's all a joke, I must say, I just don't get the punchline. This is why I sincerely hope this new wave of W.O.W.s are not being mislead into believing it's going to be sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. 'Cause it ain't.

My place of employment is on the fringes of farm country. Sometimes I will leave for work a little early and wind my way there through a maze of back roads. Nothing to see but rows and rows of corn and Red-Tailed Hawks. It's kind of liberating, in a quirky sort of way.

I think I could go days without any human interaction and be perfectly happy.

I dunno. Fred Flintstone had a wife and kid and two obligatory house pets. That didn't stop him from having a gay old time. Yabba Dabba Doooooo!

I haven't heard that one in quite some time. What a great song! (I don't mind the "copy and paste" method. I mean, you have to click anyway, right?)

In Studies in Abundant Living, Volume III (The Word's Way), there is a section called "Viewpoint: God's--Man's/Studies in Human Suffering". I can't attest to the accuracy/inaccuracy of this piece, but I think it shows that Wierwille was concerned enough that people would be interested in this subject to include it in the PFAL class.

It's next to the "post" box.

While we are on the eye analogy: If the image that one eye is sending to the brain is too blurred different to be combined with the image the other eye is sending, the brain will make a choice. It will shut down the image it can not resolve. The condition is called amblyopia, or "lazy eye", though it's really not a "laziness" at all. If something isn't done to help the brain resolve the unclear image (such as eyeglasses, contact lenses, surgery) the brain will learn to ignore the image it doesn't like. If the situation lasts for too long, the brain will shut down the eye with the unclear image permanently. When this happens, the brain will refuse to process information from that eye, even if the image is subsequently resolved.....sound familiar?

copy and paste "use full editor" "click to configure post options" HTML off post

Wordlessly watching he waits by the window and wonders at the empty place inside.

Get back, Honky Cat!!!

That thought has crossed my mind, as well.

"Same material over and over again? How is that really different from college or the military?" Wow, John. You're scaring me here. You really don't see the difference? Most people who go through college follow a program of academic discipline. That means you follow a program that builds on itself in incremental steps. It's not at all "the same thing over and over". "The same thing over and over" would more aptly describe The Way's approach to learning.

I don't think it would change my theology in a broad sense, but I'm sure it would change the way I interpret some of the specifics of what he wrote..... like when you first discovered there were hidden (dark) meanings in some of the things Wierwille said. For the record....That does not mean I am comparing Wierwille to Paul. Just saying that sometimes you discover another layer of information in something that you thought you knew.

If devil spirits are real and fit the profile that was outlined in the Advanced Class, Wierwille, himself, was a poster child for possession.

Testing Fire-Proof Undies "Except, of course, that members of the Sanhedrin were expected to be married, over 30, and in good standing in the Jewish community." How do we know that to be factually accurate? Also, I think , though it definitely has doctrinal elements, it also belongs in About The Way because this basic premise regarding Sanhedren admittance was taught in PFAL to stress a point that Wierwille was making. (ie: Perhaps another Actual Error in PFAL?)