waysider

Ya know, as age starts taking it's toll, pitching a tent is not quite as easy as it once was. :o

I never liked to fly---ever. OK, let me rephrase that. I always enjoyed the physical sensation associated with being in-flight. But, I have always detested all the protocol it involves. And, I haven't even flown since 9/11! Not necessarily because of that particular event, just because I haven't needed to. Customer service: I work in a customer service driven industry. We get the frequent company pep rallies where it's stressed to us that "the customer comes first.", blah, blah, blah. Guess what? If, as a technician, you really adjusted your already over booked scheduled to make every customer happy, you'd be working 25 hours a day. It's the way these companies operate that needs to change, not the poor souls who are trying their best to provide a decent level of service. I think that's a point that needs to be remembered when addressing complaints.

Ya just gotta wonder if it will come down to pulling straws. Short straw gets the job.

The BRC was bugged.

PFAL---pages 30, 31 At the next stop a man came to our compartment in the train saying that he represented his master who wanted to come and meet the man of God. He said his master was so-and-so, a member of Parliament in New Delhi, who was riding on the train. The member of Parliament came to our compartment to tell Mrs. Wierwille and me that what he had seen in Jubbulpore was the most tremendous Christian event he had ever witnessed-that a man of God would bless all God's people irrespective of whether they were Christian or Hindu, He offered us the keys to his city and said that any time we wanted to minister in India, the doors of India and the Far East would be open to us to teach the accuracy and the greatness of God's Word. Sooooo-----Just like that, a member of the Indian Parliament took it upon himself to represent the other 795 members of Parliament, as well as other entire nations by opening the doors of India and the Far East? There is so much wrong with this whole scenario, I'm not sure where to start.

I just looked at the review. From what I can see, at least, it looks like there may be quite a bit of similarity in what Welch wrote and what appeared in PLAF (The Wonder Class) as Sonship Rights and God's Classification of People.

I had a Karma Ghia once but it just kept going around the block and back again.

Good point, Steve. This line of reasoning also brings us back to the subject of inerrancy and Theopneustos. There is plenty of room for the scenario you suggested if one is not so insistent that everything has to fit like a hand in a glove.

One quirky little derivation that may or may not have been unique to The Way was the idea that errant born-again believers would not be punished in the after-life but would, rather, receive less rewards when they approached the bema. This idea provided a pretty handy tool for rationalizing all sorts of deviant behavior in The Way.

The concept is certainly not unique to The Way or any other singular religion. I think it's a built-in sort of defense mechanism that helps your mind make sense of things and events that, otherwise, make no sense. Let's say, for example, that your boss is being a total butt head for no apparent reason. Your mind finds some degree of comfort in the idea that "what goes 'round comes 'round". Or, maybe you have a family member that gives of their self tirelessly but is unappreciated. Perhaps this concept helps them deal with the inequity. I think there must be a part of the human psyche that actually wants Karma to be real. Maybe that's why it has found its way into so many belief systems. edit: I suppose you could even extend the idea to encompass rewards and punishments in the after-life.

That's the most honest response I've heard thus far.

"As such, we are not qualified to deny people the right to live in a private, loving relationship just because we disapprove of their sexual orientation." :eusa_clap:

It's before my time so it's probably been archived.

Probably a leaf or vegetable or something from that garden. It kinda reminds me of a lot of the photos I've taken over the years. "Geeze, Dad, What the heck is that in the picture??" "Why, it's a right front fender from a '57 Chevy, can't you plainly see that?"

Well, of course not. You've already made that payment. :P

A provable history of systematic financial giving was used as a requirement for acceptance into the Advanced Class.

From Christians Should Be Prosperous: (no copyright displayed/approximate date: 1971 ) Pgs. 10 &11 Tithing is God's absolute minimum law of financial liberty, prosperity and abundance. ------------ Tithing is our minimum financial insurance, health and accident insurance. ------------ Tithing is a divinely-assured income tax, paid freely in offerings with love. ------------ When we allow anyone or anything, such as our government, to take from our incomes before we have set aside at least one-tenth for the Lord's work, we are simply defeating ourselves and indicating by our actions that someone or something is ahead of God in our material life. (This last paragraph answers the question of whether the tithe (The Way version) is based on gross or net.) Page 36 states that the tithe is one-tenth of your net income, however, the example depicts it as being based on the gross. "Do you know what the tithe is? It is one-tenth of your net income. If you earned a dollar, you have ten cents for the Lord. If you get $10.00, you have $1.00, if you have $100.00, it is $10.00."

In Christians Should Be Prosperous, one of the pamphlets included with the PFAL class, it was established that the tithe (10%) was the "absolute minimum" requirement. That's why the term "abundant sharing" (ABS) came into existence. We weren't supposed to merely fulfill the minimum requirement, we were supposed to give "abundantly", which had its own minimum standard of 15%. But, Hey! Why stop at the minimum? Why not give 20, 30, 50%? Heck. If you don't absolutely need it, why keep anything? Yep. VPW even envisioned a day when people would amend their wills to make The Way International sole heir to their estates. (He made this statement in public, just in case anyone thinks I just make this stuff up.)

What would have happened? It would have broken wierwille's heart. No longer would he have been the focal point of everything.

How's about some pie ala mode on the house?

Yes

Hey, where did we go, days when the rains came?