waysider

Mike said: I think you're leaving out a few things. At that time in the early 70's Dr was very open about not being original in his writing, and he was even quoted in Elena's book as having said so. We've seen that written quote posted here on this thread as well as a similar one in the posted transcript of the 1965 tape (later) titled "Light Began to Dawn." I myself heard him disclaim originality several times back then. He did claim, and in rather clear terms, that his guidance from God was mostly in what to accept and what to reject from his teachers. He did not hide his teachers' work from us at all, like your "secret compartment" paragraph might to some uninformed readers seem to be alluding to. I will add here that THE ORDER in which he gave us these materials was also guided by God. He put it together in a certain order that was best for us. ********************************************** I hope you're joking if you consider that "hard evidence".

Such as?

Advise from a man who had no clue, whatsoever, how to honor his own marriage vows. His marriage would be the absolute last prototype I would ever try to use as a pattern for my own.

Just my opinion I think if he really wanted to address the issue, he would have come here and done so long ago.

Nice catch, Twinky.

Why do birds suddenly appear--------------------------?

Unless they are renting on a month-to-month basis and paying in advance, they have a financial obligation, otherwise known as a "debt". ( IIRC, Lincoln Park is in New Jersey)

Here is another program with similar goals. http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/visio...recycling.shtml

The Bomber Midnight Man

Which childhood dream have you accomplished/done? I made it to adulthood.

I'm still trying to figure out why anyone needed a colon cleanse when flax seeds were in everything we ate.

OSAGE ORANGE aka: Horse apples or Monkey Balls Keep a few of these under your pillow and cousin Agnes is sure to seek companionship elsewhere.

I think The Way should be considered at least partly responsible for some of the decisions we made, such as the decision to go WOW or Corps etc. They did, after all, provide the information that helped people, in part, to make those decisions. That information was not always forthcoming with the real facts, deceptive, in other words. For example, I went into Fellow Laborers because the program was promoted as a way to study The Book of Acts, in depth, for two years, and then return to our home areas as more capable leaders. It never happened. The academic aspect of Fellow Laborers was abysmal. That has always been one of my biggest disappointments with the program. Yes, it was my decision to go into the program but I based that decision on flawed information they provided.

It might be the first time you've heard of it but it's not the only time it happened. (With similar outcomes, I might add.)

Had a St. Peter's Cream Stout the other day. (On the house/ way outside my budget these days) Very smooth and a pleasure to drink A tad bit on the bitter side but I actually prefer my stout to be that way. When I hit the Lotto---------

Twinky I understand where you're coming from. The original question, however, was in reference to the program, itself. "how successful was the WOW program after all is said and done?" Like you, I'm sure there are probably many people who had positive individual experiences. I certainly didn't mean to sound like I was negating that.

ROA "72 was used for Public Ex.'s. We weren't supposed to be enjoying it. We were supposed to be speaking in tongues and "believing" for the suckers guests to sign "the green card" after the film was over, while refreshments were being served.

Bud Morgan made Rock Of Ages, '72. Don't know if he made another one.

As if it wasn't bad enough that a bunch of Christian "missionaries" were boinkin' each other, it was sometimes used as a deal closer to get people to sign "the green card". Using sexual favors as an enticement to garner compensation, I think that might constitute prostitution.

A terrorist abducted a bus filled with accordion players. He threatened to release one an hour unless his demands were met.

Tilting at windmills This idiomatic phrase originated in the novel Don Quixote, and is often used today in reference to persistent engagement in a futile activity. At one point in the novel, Don Quixote fights windmills that he imagines to be giants. Quixote sees the windmill blades as the giant's arms, for instance. Here is the relevant portion of the novel: Just then they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills that rise from that plain. And no sooner did Don Quixote see them that he said to his squire, "Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished. Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them. With their spoils we shall begin to be rich for this is a righteous war and the removal of so foul a brood from off the face of the earth is a service God will bless." "What giants?" asked Sancho Panza. "Those you see over there," replied his master, "with their long arms. Some of them have arms well nigh two leagues in length." "Take care, sir," cried Sancho. "Those over there are not giants but windmills. Those things that seem to be their arms are sails which, when they are whirled around by the wind, turn the millstone." source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilting_at_windmills

I have been reading some articles about Stockholm Syndrome. Here is one of them. Perhaps there is some insight here regarding why no one needed to hold a gun to our heads and why it is so difficult for some people to allow themselves to admit they've been duped. The following are excerpts from a somewhat lengthy but very enlightening article. ******************************************************************************** ***** On August 23rd, 1973 two machine-gun carrying criminals entered a bank in Stockholm, Sweden. Blasting their guns, one prison escapee named Jan-Erik Olsson announced to the terrified bank employees “The party has just begun!” The two bank robbers held four hostages, three women and one man, for the next 131 hours. The hostages were strapped with dynamite and held in a bank vault until finally rescued on August 28th. After their rescue, the hostages exhibited a shocking attitude considering they were threatened, abused, and feared for their lives for over five days. In their media interviews, it was clear that they supported their captors and actually feared law enforcement personnel who came to their rescue. The hostages had begun to feel the captors were actually protecting them from the police. One woman later became engaged to one of the criminals and another developed a legal defense fund to aid in their criminal defense fees. Clearly, the hostages had “bonded” emotionally with their captors. While the psychological condition in hostage situations became known as “Stockholm Syndrome” due to the publicity, the emotional “bonding” with captors was a familiar story in psychology. It had been recognized many years before and was found in studies of other hostage, prisoner, or abusive situations such as: * Abused Children * Battered/Abused Women * Prisoners of War * Cult Members * Incest Victims * Criminal Hostage Situations * Concentration Camp Prisoners * Controlling/Intimidating Relationships ******************************************************************************** Cognitive Dissonance Leon Festinger first coined the term “Cognitive Dissonance”. He had observed a cult (1956) in which members gave up their homes, incomes, and jobs to work for the cult. This cult believed in messages from outer space that predicted the day the world would end by a flood. As cult members and firm believers, they believed they would be saved by flying saucers at the appointed time. As they gathered and waited to be taken by flying saucers at the specified time, the end-of-the-world came and went. No flood and no flying saucer! Rather than believing they were foolish after all that personal and emotional investment — they decided their beliefs had actually saved the world from the flood and they became firmer in their beliefs after the failure of the prophecy. The moral: the more you invest (income, job, home, time, effort, etc.) the stronger your need to justify your position. If we invest $5.00 in a raffle ticket, we justify losing with “I’ll get them next time”. If you invest everything you have, it requires an almost unreasoning belief and unusual attitude to support and justify that investment. Source: http://counsellingresource.com/quizzes/stockholm/ ********************************** Food for thought

If I Had A Hi Fi

Looking at it as a business venture, the WOW program was a wholesale failure While it's true that many WOW's experienced great personal growth and may have put many people through 'the class", the program, as a whole, failed to achieve it's main objective, which was to bring people into the fold where they would commit to financially supporting the organization on a long term basis. (ABS and endless classes) The class was like a carrot on a stick, like the CD clubs that offer you 10 CDs for a penny each to get you to commit to a lengthy and costly membership.. That's why the cost of it was all over the charts, $45 this time, $85 the next time, $65, $200, back to $100, etc. Sure, there was profit in the class itself, but it was short term profit. Wierwille was looking at the big picture, a cadre of followers who would continue to give and give and give some more. PFAL was the vehicle to facilitate that. WOW's were the sales force. It wasn't the WOW's themselves who failed, it was the program. Many people took the class and then disappeared. It must have frustrated upper management greatly. The means longer justified the ends. To those of you who gave of yourselves on the "WOW Field", I salute you. You should be proud of the effort and dedication you invested in a cause you held dear.

Aretha Franklin