Tzaia

Ignore the 80's hair, Sudo.

Pretty faces, nice bods.

George

You can't be fat and live on the premises, can you?

I showed the clip to my husband who immediately asked WHEN this was done. When I said last year, that's when he just shook his head in disbelief. It's as if TWI is frozen in time.

A look at the definitions of sociopath and of narcissitic disorder may help shed some light.

Sociopaths aren't called that anymore. Antisocial is the preferred term.

Hmm, so the Soup video has made it onto the Cafe's front page. Funny! :)

Not so sure I like the comments that are accumulating on the blog at the bottom of the video. It's one thing to work out issues at the Cafe, but quite another to wrangle in public on the blog. Enough there already to raise questions in the minds of any searchers after truth.

Twinky, this is an open forum. You don't have to be a member to read - just to post.

I'm going to take a stab at this from some of my observations.

Waybrain is defined by reflexive thoughts and responses to situations based on certain dogmas taught in TWI. What defines them as Waybrain are the catch phrases unique to TWI that are immediately recognized within associates or former associates of TWI as common usage among the associates.

There are many common methods of mind control and signs of group-think that are present among any organization. Usually you see signs when certain phrases are used.

It's on the Wayfer site HERE Tzaia- couple minutes in.

Keep in mind their reference to "shredding" was tongue in cheek, although the solo itself is decent enough, and ends with a series of hammer-ons on open string. The end starts to get a head of steam going but of course they have to ham it up. None of this really sounds that good, so don't blame me if your hubbie isn't "blessed". :blink:

He's a student of Tom Hess. That stuff on the way site is weak, weak, weak.

The video was on YouTube but apparently was removed due to copyright violation.

(I removed the video... not sure if it is allowed to be linked on here.)

With this video called "The Renewed Mind is the Key" gaining popularity all over the internet, I have to ask, what exactly is the "renewed mind"?

It's what you do to line up your thinking with TWI doctrine.

In the Biblical sense it's changing how you think and what you think about to better line up with the teachings within scripture, which is a noble and good thing.

Romans 12:2 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Now when some of us actually tried to do this and found that what we saw as God's will differed from what TWI envisioned as God's will, then that verse was altered to limit renewal to aligning thinking with TWI interests.

I read a few blogs, tongue in cheek references to the one "rock" tune and the "shredding" in it, and I felt a twinge of pain for that guitarist as he may have had a pretty good solo cooked up but there was someone there editing him to tone it down, as it sounds like half a solo.

Where can that blog referring to the shredding be found? Hubby's taking a shredding course and it may give him hope.

This is what happens when a group becomes so insulated from the body. No one stops them and says that this looks and sounds ridiculous. Now they are subject to ridicule, but even that will be rationalized away to the end that they will become more marginalized than they already were.

Music in TWI and most of the splinters is more of an afterthought due to a lack of understanding of music's place in worship and the fact that TWI doesn't actually worship anything but the doctrine it teaches.

I'm going to go get my needs lined up with my wants, or is it my wants lined up with my needs? - I forget.

A sense of moral superiority for using raw sugar in coffee with non-dairy creamer.

She'll be wearing curlers and pink pajamas when she comes.. (eeeewww..)

She'll be wearing curlers and pink pajamas when she comes... (eeeewww..)

TMI, Ham. TMI

Chas, where is Brian Bliss, Ted Ferrell, Dean Ellenwood, Paul Vergilio? They used to write half way decent lyrics. Maybe they could use John Tesh for help. Or are you just kidding, pulling the wool over our eyes? Maybe Hillsongs could help. .

yeah right.

I will agree that Good Seed did some good stuff, and I used to go and listen to them at the Patio here in Indy. I put one of the albums that was produced by TWI on once and I thought it was not all that good. There was only one song that came out of TWI that I thought was pretty decent - Star of the Show.

Think New Harmony, Indiana.

I would agree, with the addition of one or two words. I believe it would be arrogant for any person or group to claim they have "all" the truth, or that they are the "only ones" with the truth. But I don't think it's impossible to have a good handle on the truth, as Jesus proclaimed it.

"the truth" seems to imply only and all. I have not been involved in one religious organization, who wasn't pretty sure they had all and they were the only. Mainstream religious dominations have agreed to agree on a few basics, but even each denomination thinks its version is the truth.

You are aware that Jesus didn't write down one word of what he said, and every last thing written in the NT was by someone who was writing on the basis of someone else's recollection, with the exception of Paul who did not ever have a personal relationship with Jesus, nor did he necessarily hang with anyone who did. All of his interaction was through visions.

I agree this is the case with many, perhaps even most, of the TWI offshoots. But It's been my experience that it is not true of ALL of them.

Which ones?

The more important question is not "who is teaching the truth?" but "what IS the truth?"

I believe this is the crux of the matter - certain group's certainty of what IS the truth. For me, that sends up huge red flags, and should have nearly 30 years ago. Back then I believed it was possible to extract the truth from the Bible. Now I don't. Not only that, I think the point is missed when one spends too much time trying to do that.

Once I stepped back from the premise (and that's all it is) that the Bible is a "God breathed" collection of works that is infallible and inerrant, I quit searching for "the truth" in it.

There is a preponderance of wisdom contained within the pages, but 3 things stick out:

1. We see through a dark glass <== We don't get it.
   
2. We are to love one another <== Full time job.
   
3. We are to love our enemies <== Superhuman full time job.
   

These 3 things are enough to keep us all plenty busy and out of trouble.

The reality is that none of us has "the truth." We are all too caught up in our own biases and our own thinking to ever get "the truth." Furthermore, anyone or any group who professes to be in possession of "the truth" is arrogant and deceptive to his/her/itself and to anyone he/she/it tries to convince. I believe the best we can do with what we have been given is to continue studying, keep an open mind, and live #2 and #3. NONE of the splinters live up to any of those notions, and furthermore, none of them try. Each of them brings disunity and disharmony to the body. They're heartburn. They're cancer. They're dis-ease. I'm not saying that denominations are necessarily better in this matter, they simply aren't as likely to provoke disharmony and disunity in the body as a whole.

And oh BTW, excellent non-denominational religious education is available at accredited universities, such as Harvard, Yale, University of Chicago, and Vanderbilt. Princeton, while being technically under the wing of the Presbyterian church, also has an open style of theological education. Then again, I'm referring to education as opposed to indoctrination and training.

T, I just can not imagine Singing Ladies of The Way or the band doing that song, waving holy hands. Could be worse, they might have started imatating Hillsongs with Darlene Czesch(bouncing up and down like kakgarroos and wallabies). .

I'd almost be willing to go to a TWI function just to jump and wave. Now wouldn't that be a hoot!

I agree Twinky where I suppose we disagree is that I don't believe that I was ever taught not to think, or not to examine things and make adjustments where necessary. Undoubtedly mistakes were made along the way, I can afford them the same space to make mistakes as I have for myself.

Actually TWI was touted as an organization where you don't check your brain at the door, which was a big deal for me. That was rhetoric - nothing more. When I questioned the tithe on the basis of it not being mentioned in "our" administration, I was shut down. There was no room for discussion on that and many other issues, including the discussion about what was allowable behavior to "bring someone to the Word". When I point blank asked for a discussion on those issues I was told I was not "spiritual enough" to have those discussions as I had not been in the corp. So, when I asked for the chapter and verse that defended that thinking, I was reprimanded for being disrespectful.

The only "adjustments" that were acceptable were those that brought personal views in line with TWI views. If your thinking differed from that thinking, it was best if you kept that to yourself.

It's one thing to make mistakes. Mistakes are good for learning. That only happens when mistakes are acknowledged. We aren't seeing a wide-spread acknowledgment of mistakes except in the context of attempts to repackage the whole thing with fresh paper without the more obvious mistakes like abuse and adultery. The basic premise is alive and well - This is the greatest thing since the first century church" - the claim by TWI and every splinter.

You do seem to have a natural proclivity towards the mindset, so there might have never been the need to interfere much with your thinking.

On www.filecabi.net, there is a video titled "Worst Dancers Ever".

I watched the video, and noticed all kinds of familiar details.

At the end, it said "Copyright The Way International".

Take a look!

All of those cheesy videos are on TWI's website and someone has put them on YouTube and is really making fun of them.

It's sad that they are so stuck in some time warp when it comes to music. Now this local Bible college, a Pentecostal Oneness sect has really stepped outside their comfort zone in their music. Here's an example.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCDC3AFuNtU

Linda is one of my favorites - along with Annie Lennox.

This is one of my favorite Linda songs:

I wish I could find a performance track of that one.

My niece is in Houston and lives close to one of the downtowns. Her place was untouched. There are areas of Houston with power, but it is difficult to get around due to the fallen trees and such. There was no gas or bottled water prior to the storm with everyone filling up and stocking up, but she had been able to grab a shower on Sunday with power on temporarily, so I'm not as worried. Apparently there was a generator available, but they weren't as well stocked with gas as they needed to be.

You would think that everyone in that area would have a "72 hour" kit.

The housework/yardwork thing seems to be kind of universal. Beautiful lakeside home every convenience you could think of and us leafy little twiglets were expected to "bless" leadership by cleaning their home while they were gone. It was apparent that other than vacuuming and dusting the public areas ie. the guest bath and meeting areas, these people did next to nothing for themselves.

I did it once at the Limb of Indiana. When I got the distinct impression that it was perceived as an entitlement, and the method for achieving the standards was revealed, I never did it again, saying something along the lines that I had my own house to clean - my own yard to keep up - busy - 3 small kids - no time for this.

And further............"prophecies" were turning dark, and ugly, and vicious, and "nose spiders" were inhabiting the ranks..!!! And......STILL......no "light bulbs" went off in the CES upper ranks UNTIL THIS BECAME FULL-BLOWN ON GREASESPOT....OUT IN THE OPEN FOR ALL CES-FOLLOWERS TO SEE AND READ.

Just nothing new under the sun.

I came here in 2005 to tell what was going on at CES/STF. I considered myself that one voice of dissent who held an "outsider's" view of what they were doing and said THEN that they lacked the balance of opposing viewpoints that is necessary in any organization, particularly one that sprouts from an organization that was proven to use the techniques of control.

Anyone, ANYONE who spoke out was branded as possessed with "sorrow". If you look back, one of its faithful was quick to point out the nasty things that were said about me during personal prophecy, which I guess was used as a human resource tool.

I didn't care. They weren't ever the source of my strength or subsistence. These were not people I socialized with or invited to my home, or even really broke bread with.

Personal Prophecy? For me it was nothing more than a silly parlor game. It might as well have been Tarot cards, or visiting a medium. It's all under the same umbrella.

They had a wonderful guy there - Billy - who was so underutilized and he worked a job that he hated. It never occurred to them to give him something to do that he enjoyed. More sad than that - it never occurred to him to ask to do something different. As a "church" they could have been raising him up to be a youth minister, which was what he really liked to do, instead he was answering the phone and taking phone orders. That's the kind of stuff I pointed out, and that's what I was doing that made me "possessed".

Yep, that's how far "out there" I was in my thinking; according to their world.

I don't have a lot of knowledge about any of the other remnants. What I do now is simply stay away from them all. There isn't enough wheat in any of them to sift through the chaff to get to it.

I know exactly who Sir Anthony Buzzard is--and why he says he left Church of god. He was pretty close to Armstrong from what I can gather.

His fellowship is on several lists of breakaway offshoots from COG(Splinter groups). In fact, that link I provided has his fellowship listed.

Anthony Buzzard was also fairly closely associated with CES for a while when it was in its discovery season. CES sold his book. Then there was a falling out over something.

hi greasespotters!

my opinion?..........every single one of them!..........starting with geer's self-styled "putsch" in classsic nazi style, every one of the offshoots exist because, in the self-inflated opinion of their "leaders", they believe they've each got the "right way" of saving the "greatness of the word" vic revealed "as it hasn't been known since the first century" in all it's pureness!......and, in addition, without ever publicly admitting to their personal, tacit approval and acceptance of the fact that vic was a mean-spirited, sociopathic, incestuous, serial sexual predator and alcoholic, they now proclaim, that because of their own personal "integrity", and with the help of vic's god, they are now somehow able to continue "speaking the truth in love", without the interference of vic's well-known and documented personal psychopathologies and profoundly sick personal perversions!

DWBH - don't you agree with the idea that without healthy dissent that this was the only direction TWI could go?

My only experience outside TWI was with CES. Didn't CES start down the path of shutting down dissent relatively quickly? For me it was about the time it changed Dialog to Contender. I know for you it was earlier, but you had more insider info than I.