waysider

And yet another of those statements that sounds really noble but has no basis in scripture or reality.

Remember in session 12 when Dr. W. talked about a guy who had a tongue that was merely grunts and groans and guttural sounds? He used this to persuade us that it did not matter what your tongue sounded like because it came from God. This was intended(imo) to relax class members who were self conscious of their "tongue" and encourage them to "manifest" no matter what it sounded like. So here's my question: If it didn't matter that this guy's "tongue" sounded wacky, how come we had to have practice sessions to make ours sound eloquent? <_< I'm just sayin'---------- " ---tongue words have vowels, consonants, and syllables."------johniam ( Not necessarily true according to VPW in session 12.)

" Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health." Would you agree, that is a statement of " availability"? Would you agree that it is not only available but high on God's priority list? I really don't think you can use the "it wasn't available" ticket to get out of jail on this one. People endured financial hardships and physical suffering(some even died) because their "believing" was supposed to be the magic bullet that delivered what The Word clearly states is "available". "Nope, not God's fault, you just weren't 'believing'." ERGO------"It's your own fault."

Mike, I have seen this exact same method used to teach theatrical students how to be fluent in improvisation. They "invent" a language and then do a variety of exercises that includes the ones you described. Dr. W. said that SIT could not be faked and yet there is evidence that he, as well as many others, did exactly that. Any other former thespians here ever do this exercise? When I inquired about what I had seen in the theatre, I was told that what I saw was a counterfeit propounded by devil spirits because there was no "interpretation" given and it did not follow the prescibed format for a " believer's meeting". Seems like that is the same thing done in an "Excellor Session". Did "Excellor Sessions" follow the rules set forth in the TIP class?(Intermediate) or were they exempt?

I might have been born yesterday but I stayed up all last night studying.

Is it ok to wear that for a "poker run"?

Aw, now, WG Quit holdin' back and say what's really on your heart. Everything will seem much better in the morning when we "run with the cows". Oh, cr@p!---I forgot to soak the oak grotes and wheat berries! Gotta go. Goodnight Ma, Goodnight Pa, Goodnight Short Stuff, Goodnight John Boy. Lights Out!!

Ya 'spose that has anything to do with the old catch phrase"Sock it to me, baby!"?

Hey, now! I wasn't about to shave my legs and wear a skirt for anybody!(Not even Jesus)

Thought I still had a "green card" but alas what I found is a green hand-out about the same dimensions. It is quite verbose and I don't have a scanner. It's called, The Way Presents The Biblical Research Class "Power For Abundant Living". It says that on the front and also quotes John 14:6 and John 10:10.( and has the logo in the middle of the page.) Page 2 is titled "What It Is". It describes the 16mm film, 12 sessions at 3 hrs. each, (film for 20 to 40 students/ tape for 8 to 12 students) No mention of classes containing 13-19 students. "The material presented covers all of the basic keys contained in the Word of God that will enable the students to manifest a life which is more than abundant. The teaching from God's Word answers such questions as:" It goes on to list 19(yes,19!) questions that will be answered. ---"and many other questions basic to life and the Christian walk." Page 3 has headings titled, "Who It Is For", Where It Started", "Who Is The Teacher" and "What It Has Accomplished". This section is where it lists the various benefits such as, "People with serious drug problems have been delivered from them."( No mention of Drambuie. It may not have been recognized as a drug yet at that time.) Page 4 lists "Requirements For Admission". Among them are such things as " The cost of the class is $65.00.", "Questions and answer period conducted during final session", "no discussion period until final session"," take-home assignments" and "Students are requested not to take notes during the class." Next is "How To Apply" and "Conclusion". "If you are interested in tapping into the resources for a more abundant life, then the 'Power For Abundant Living' class is for you."

Anybody ever do "shill" witnessing? Here's how it worked: Herman and Sherman go to the mall to witness. They spot someone who looks like a good prospect.( We'll call him Joe M.T.) They split up and Herman goes over and sits down next to Joe M.T. but does not strike up a conversation. Sherman comes over and strikes up a conversation with Herman (which is staged for the benefit of Joe M.T.) The conversation is staged in such a way as to invite Joe M.T. to participate. If Joe M.T. chooses to join in, Herman leaves as Sherman and Joe M.T. have a discourse about The Word and, hopefully, PFAL. Geeze, Louise! We weren't just pathetic hucksters, we were outright con artists!

I'm not sure that I personally would say they killed my desire to speak the Gospel because I continued to share The Word(as I knew it at the time) even after I left the organization. They surely killed my desire to ever be part of anything organized again.

All I know is, when you participate in 4 or 5 believer's meetings a day for 2 straight years, it definitely loses its mystique rather quickly. You know, if God really did try to talk to us individually by revelation, he probably had a tough time trying to get a word in edgewise.

For what it's worth. I personally know someone who completely faked SIT/TIP for about two years using pre-memorized phrases. ( And they were much more interesting than "Lo Shanta-----------")

Ya know I'm kinda glad there was no internet back in the day. I mean, with all the abbreviations out there like LOL and LMAO and OMG,we might have had someone try to get a "believer's meeting" together by saying something like," Hey, Keeds!! let's all join hands and have ourselves a BM!!"

Hmmmm! Perhaps an "excellor" session is in order.

Yes, Mike, I admit I quoted you out of context. Somehow, though, I just felt like the rest of it got in the way of those two gems.

Man, I can just see it now. God is looking down one day thinking," Aha!, this guy is at his first 'believer's meeting'. I sure hope he is impressed with how fluent and diverse the message sounds because he is one of the foreordained ones.Oh, NO! that's just a bunch of those "beep, beep, beep, boop, boop, boopers! RATS!" If God wanted you to be impressed, beep, boop, or rama lama ding dong would do quite nicely, thank you very much.

I think I've only ever heard of one "broom factory" in my life and that one is in Wooster. Same one?/Long story. BTW--- the new avatar is "otta site".

Hmmm. Let's see. In order to not confuse and influence the general populace who has never heard of this stuff before, we'll put a bunch of confusing and influential books on sale in the bookstore. Yep. That makes sense. <_<

Actually, yes. Same cr@ppy mush and familia we had EVERY morning in FLO!

Tsk,Tsk, Mstar1 It was only for those present at the time. Geeze! Don't youze guyz remember nuttin'?

I was in TWI for longer than I should probably admit, but I never even heard of this Lindsay guy until some time after I departed.Seems like there was an inordinate amount of effort put into refuting teachings that were not even well known to the general populace of believers. I definitely do not recall the focal point of these teachings being the significance of the 2nd coming. I'm not saying I don't recall the "2nd coming" being part of them, just that I do not recall that being the focal point or premise, if you will, that these teachings were built upon. What I do recall is that VPW used this stuff to hammer home the point that it was his learned opinion that God had forsaken the Jews of the Bible(Yes, I know they were not called Jews yet at that point in time.) and appointed "us", instead, to be His "chosen people". Sounds more to me like VP was trying to build an attitude of ethnocentricity in his listeners.