waysider

See. This is why I think the "secret initiation" thing at the AC was more than just a silly joke. It was VPP's twisted way of poking fun at our gullibility.

Wild guess here. Was it "Like A Rolling Stone" sung twice?

Exactly. And how come nobody ever saw them by virtue of their super duper powers? (ie: discerning of spirits)

I'm not sure why but the topic reminded me of .

A friend of mine, who is now deceased (R.I.P., Billy.), after hearing "MacArthur Park" for the first time, stuck his thumb out in Cleveland, Ohio. Within minutes, a driver stopped. When he inquired my friend's destination, he told him, "MacArthur Park". The driver said he was on his way to L.A. and took him all the way there. Of course, his trip back took 3 or 4 months but, that's another story.

Simple, they toss in a sound bite of VPP talking about how you can learn more about God by hitching than studying the Bible, especially if you combine it with the bogus "law of believing". It's an old public speaking ploy called, "speaking from a platform of success". We all thought VPP had reached a high level of success in dealing with spiritual matters so, as far as we were concerned, whatever he was saying must be true. It all goes back to us believing he had credibility.

This is a bit off topic but here goes. I remember a guy from Witchita named L@nni# 3arN5 giving the blessing over a snack. He said, "God, I thank you for blessing the tar out of this soda pop." After the amen, I turned to him and jokingly said, "Gee, I didn't know there's tar in soda pop." He looked back at me, smiled and said, "Well, there isn't NOW."

I think it's all symbolic. That doesn't mean, however, that it doesn't contain some valuable lessons about life and living.

He knew better. Kinda like a pusher knows better than to consume the product he's selling.

Yes!! In fact, the AC I took in 1973 culminated with a healing ceremony at the last night of ROA. Wierwille barked out an order from the main stage for ALL AC grads to come front and center and find someone to "minister to". I did not go. I felt that if God had wanted me to go, He would have told me himself. It was one of the few moments at that point in my life when I felt so strongly that my defiance was justified. It didn't take long, however, for doubt about my actions to start to creep in. I can't begin to tell you how long I carried around the guilt for what I had done (not done) that evening.

"this" = what could have and should have killed us except for the intervention of Lady Luck.

I hitched a lot in the '60s, in my pre-Way days. My bad experiences far outweigh the good. So much for the good old days. I tried to vote on the car crash thing but it wouldn't let me. I got dragged outside the vehicle for about 100 feet but was not seriously injured. It's only a matter of time before reality comes crashing down on the SOWERS little flirtation with death and danger.

Jeepers!! I wonder what would happen is someone emailed Dan regarding this!

In 1973, the AC was promoted as being all about "the other 6 manifestations". Mostly though, it was about devil spirits. (Or at least that's how it seemed at the time.)

It's like a bad penny that keeps coming back.

Nah-----just Genesis.

In a way, in reminds me of what the big tobacco companies did. They knew they had a product that was killing people but, they continued to romanticize it for the sake of increasing sales .

Ha! Never noticed that before. I suppose now we need to have a poll of who clicked on view. *Clicked..... *Didn't click..... *OOPS! you caught me.....

I think Popeye said it best when he said, "I yam what I yam.".

Well, according to the definitions set forth in the Advanced Class, Wierwille would have had to be riddled with devil spirits. Did they writhe in pain when he stepped into the pulpit? So, either they don't feel physical pain or Wierwille wasn't really speaking "The Word" or nobody really knows what "The Word" is or there are really no devil spirits to start with or, or, or.......I'm sure I must have missed a few other options.

Tony There is no "leader" here. Pawtucket is the owner of the site. His name is derived from his hometown, Pawtucket, R.I. We call him Paw for short for that reason, not because he is a father figure or some such. He owns the site. It's his "house". It's that simple. We are all guests in his "house". There are volunteer moderators here, much like there are on many other forums, but, for the most part "Paw" is very, very tolerant and patient and he tries to let things run with minimal interference. So, when you're in his house, it's recommended that "house rules" be followed. You can find them listed on the front page of this site.

It has an almost militant ring to it. :o