waysider

Sorry, I just got this image in my mind here of a cop pulling over one of these "older" citizens. "Why, no, Officer, that wasn't a doobie you saw me toking, that was my inhaler."

VP was a shrewd businessman. He identified a need and embellished its importance. (It happens all the time in the world of advertising.) Example:" What?, you're still driving that car you bought 10 years ago? Never mind that it runs perfectly, you really MUST move on to something bigger and better!!" That need that he saw, of course, was peoples' desire to have a greater understanding of God's Word as well as a greater understanding of how to make some sense of life's mysteries. He took that desire and molded it into a tangible product that he could sell. Hence, the books, the tapes, the classes, the merchandise, etc. Unwittingly, we became his sale force. I can't imagine a legitimate sales force anywhere working for the meager compensation package we willingly accepted. No commission, no salary, no health plan----You get the picture, I'm sure. I like to refer to the product he developed as "Knowledge Obsession". It started out as a *desire to know* on our parts and he took that desire and transformed it into an obsession. We even played a part in the R&D process by not allowing ourselves to even CONSIDER that the product might be flawed. Whether we were practicing idolatry or not is probably a matter subject to personal opinion but I am quite certain we bought that product known as "Knowledge Obsession" hook, line and sinker. As products go, it was vastly overpriced.

I hate when that happens! :wacko:

Cowgirl I will try to answer your question with a serious reply. It sounds, from your question, like you have not experienced pot usage. It is my opinion that they(alcohol and pot) are not synonymous. When you have had too much to drink, your vision, spacial perception, sense of balance, etc. is compromised. But, to a large extent, your sense of reality(whatever that means) is still intact. Pot on, the other hand, distorts one's sense of what is real and what is relevant as well. It may suddenly become fascinatingly important to focus your attention on the texture of your car's upholstery or marvel at how your dashboard lights have an incredibly warm sort of glow to them that you had never noticed before. That's not exactly a good thing at 65 mph!---- or if you happen to be discussing your erratic driving with a member of the local law enforcement agency. Hope that didn't sound too much like a lecture from Grandpaw!

Well, ya know---- It's been 30 years since I've seen Watered Garden (or her other half) and close to 35 since I've seen Linda Z. And, ChattyKathy purposely blinded me with the glare from her red cowboy boots so I would have no idea what she looks like. It's kinda scary, really, to think we may have all been in the same line at Burger Biggie today ordering our Biggie Burgers and not even recognized each other. Holy catzenjammers! It just dawned on me that maybe that's why they gave us all those nametags! Yeah, Yeah! Now I get it. Someone at the upper level at HQ had heavy revvy this day would come and that's the reason for the nametags. Wow!-----(not that WOW) They sure must have been spirt-ually connected!

I would liken The Way to the Fu!!er Brush man------The time has come and gone. Hey!! That's it! They could appoint the Fu!!er Brush man. At least they would have an advantage in the door-to-door campaign.

What sorts of legal hoops would they need to jump through in regard to their tax status?

Jesus Wept.

When I was involved in the presentation of this class, (mid 70s), it did break down, at various points, into discussion groups. The discussion was focused on the material that had just been covered. It was a bit like Listening With A Porpoise but allowed for genuine conversation. Thank goodness it never broke down into "excellor sessions"!!

Where to start? I'm not big on fast food but today I was short on time and funds so I zipped over to The Golden Arches Of Ronald. They currently have an advertising campaign that involves showing pictures of customers on their carry-out bags. I was taken back at seeing my picture on the bag ( I mean, that's just weird.) Of course, it wasn't really me, just someone who bore a striking resemblance. I showed it to my co-workers and they were amazed.(and amused) "Are you going to show it to you wife?", they asked me. "Take a hike !!", I told them( nudge nudge, wink wink) " Do you really think I want her to see me posing with some other woman?" Anyway, about a year ago, I had the pleasure of spending a day with ChattyKathy and her hubby. Unfortunately, I was so fixated on her red cowboy boots throughout the day, I really have no recollection of what she looked like. Mmmm! I wonder if she still remembers the pink TUTU I was wearing that day.???

I hear ya, Rick, on that numbness thing. I just get numbness without the pain. But, it's in my right hand, not my left.( bad news for a walking style bass player) After about 5 minutes, I could use my right hand to hammer 16 penny spikes and not feel a thing. I had it diagnosed and they said it was carpel T. They wanted to cut me but I balked, not because I fear being cut( been there, done that), but because I disagree with their conclusion. I had some serious trauma to that shoulder about 10 years ago and I really think this is where the problem originates. I do have pain in that shoulder that radiates through my bicep and then dissipates into a numbness as it reaches my hand. The Docs scoffed at my assessment but, hey, it's my body and that's what it tells me. Well, I find the longer I refrain from playing bass, the better it gets. (The short scale Epiphone has helped also.) I also find if I use a really long strap and hold the bass low that it helps. Neither of those are options I particularly like but it makes me glad that I honk away on the harp, also. At least I have that as an outlet. BTW---Hubert Sumlin is headlining "Hot Licks Blues Festival" in Granville this year.(September 15th) Details at columbusblues.com---(events page)

johniam Please pay attention to the context. Rascal was discussing a book she read and drawing a parallel. That's what this thread is about, books we have read or want to read. It's not about refuting the reality of isolationism. There is a * start new topic* button if anyone desires to do that. It's simply not true that TWI encouraged us to read any materials that they did not first approve or recommend. Yes, John, they did encourage reading non-TWI authored books. ( Non-TWI books that they preselected). Even in the PFAL class, VPW challenged us to *put away all secular materials*. Do you not remember that?

Pray for what you need. Let God decide how He wants to respond.

"Thou shalt kindle thy wood with wisdom and patient forbearance lest an impetuous spirit vex thee" Thus it is written in: The Book Of Matches( literally translated:The Book of Enlightenment) Chapter 1 Verse 10

Geeze! That old Beach Boys song just flashed through my head. You know---- "Wooden it be nice if we were married----------"

Break out the Dom Perignon if a "mucky muck" shows up and says something like: I'm sorry!!! Almost forgot---- Any era TWI will suffice.

Just for fun

Man, this is way off topic,but what the heck, the original premise seems to have vanished down the "terlet" anyhow. I thought about bringing up the CF&S thread and putting it there but though it might lose some sense of continuity. So here goes: Does anyone remember how, in CF&S, Wierwille recounted how a "beautiful" (his word) young woman came to him in a state of distress and revealed to him that the source of her distress was the fact that one of her breasts had not developed at the same rate as the other? He proceeded to describe how he then "counseled" her on the importance of inner beauty and assured her that her breasts were perfect because God had made them. Maybe I'm seeing something that isn't there but it seems kinda creepy to me that he would share details of what I'm sure must have been brought to him in confidence. The ministry was still fairly small at that time and there was a strong likelihood someone hearing this recounting may have know the party he described. (Assuming she really existed.) Like I said, it might have no meaning at all but it always seemed rather odd to me.

Johniam Do you honestly not see something amiss in the scenario you described involving the man who placed a young lady's hand on his genitals and proclaimed his sexual arousal? That's not "healing" John, that's sexual imposition. If you watch the news at all, it should come as no surprise to you that his age is a moot point. As far as comparing CF&S to what goes on in a college classroom or on campus, I just don't see the relevance of drawing a comparison. We are not discussing what goes on at colleges, we are discussing what took place in a TWI sanctioned class. You said all VP wanted to do was address sexual issues -------etc. What exactly were these "sexual issues" he addressed and what was their relevance to "Biblical research"? Just asking.

I stayed in not knowing he was anything OTHER than the things you listed!

Well, one thing I am pretty sure of is that Oldies and Johniam were never in Fellowlaborers. Rascal's description is MUCH closer to the reality that existed there.(Mid 1970s, BTW) There was no time to sit and read books. There was scarcely even time to read the Bible! There was no time for scholastic study of The Word. There was no time to take in a movie unless it was part of the program. When Rocky was released we HAD to go into town on a Saturday night( which should have been considered a rare treat) and watch it so we could pick out "spiritual" principles at work. Yeah, like that made it enjoyable. Sure, Oldies, I know we could have "walked away" any time we wanted to.(even though we were in the middle of Podunk, USA) Maybe we could have hung signs around our necks that said"copped out loser" and gone back to our home towns to announce our unfitness for service to God's people while we were at it, huh? It's obvious to me when someone says "you had the freedom to do this or that" that they could not have been in the same program I was in. They "owned" us 24/7. You didn't go anywhere, do anything, say anything, discuss anything or even consider anything unless they said so. Isolationism was a reality, not some *propaganda* that lives in someone's imagination. (And, that was in the so-called "good old days".) Sorry for the rant. I just get sick of people taking a legitimate topic and derailing it to serve their own agenda which may or may not have a blasted thing to do with the topic at hand. NOW!! Can we get back to discussing "other" Christian books?

I have no idea what the tune is but I wanted to jump in and say that I think Marvin and Tammy were perhaps the best matched duo to ever step before a microphone. Their history together was short but oh, what an impact they made!

by Gary Allen ( I think I might still have a copy) He also wrote " None Dare Call It Treason". BTW I predict that when winter arrives, it will be drastically colder( at least where I live) than it was this summer. Hope that comes to pass-------I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm a false prophet or something.

Well, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that maybe the LDO part of the poster's handle are just his initials and not a statement of rank. Just tryin' to give the benefit of a doubt here.