Kevlar2000

Oooooh Dottie, you have my attention!

The difference between then and now is, you recognize it as "mental bondage." You are free to take out those thoughts, put them on the table, examine them and decide for yourself what is worthy of salvage and what should go down the garbage disposal. You are free not to have to instantly decide if you agree with something or not. You can take your time with your thoughts, because they are now your thoughts, not somebody elses jammed down your throat. You are free to say "No." "No" is a complete sentence. You are free to say, "I think I might like to go to church today," without getting the Genuinely Spritually Suspicious All-Seeing Eye from the "spiritual superiors." Or not. You are free to go jam at a bluegrass festival of your choosing without clearing it with a household coordinator who has all the spiritual love, ability and acumen of Sasquatch. The only thing you have to string is your instrument. (Stringing chairs? I wonder what they sound like when you play them.) You're free to love God and love others without having to see if they have been placed on a Mark and Avoid list. You are free from having to do anything the Way International tried to force you to do. Yep, you're free. Go play outside.

Excie, you should have told that rotten kid you wanted to use him as a stencil while painting the wall.

Just as long as they don't touch Ura.... I can't do it, I just can't. That's too awful a joke, even for me. -------------------------------------------- Just a thought about Mrs. Wierwille's status: The Way International was never her ministry. It was never her organization. She was never the head of it, she didn't call the shots, she didn't have control of the way things were done. She didn't even "marry into" the ministry. She was dragged along for the ride, whether or not she wanted to go. Any perquisites or responsibilities she had were at the whim of Dr. ControlFreakmaster. Yeah she could have tried to break up his party, but then she would have been out on her @ $ $ with 3-5 kids in tow. Where would she have gone? To a local Way Home, which would have been told she was "tripped out", "not in fellowship" and even possibly "possessed with 5-star diamon" by the major leadership trying to cover Victor's (and possibly their) butt? I'm sure she knew all about living dirt poor from being hooked up with "the Doctor" in his early parsonage years. I think she looked at her options, and chose the lesser of many (wierw)evils.

Instead of a 3 X 5, most people who know me would rather use a 2 X 4.

"Pruning the vineyard." Is that the same as "keeping the household clean"? It makes me wonder - If LCM had not been forced to resign his position, how long would it have taken before "the ministry" tried something like this. LCM certainly had the inclination for it: (From the July 1994 letter to the Way Corps)"Some of us do walk by the spirit of God, and if you give us time we will smoke your sorry asses out and bring degradation to your lives so that you can't hurt anybody in The Way Ministry again. You should be thankful your'e not in the Old Testament times, because there are some of us who would gladly execute you. I (LCM) would rejoice at the privilege, as angry as I am spirtually about this right now." (Emphasis mine) I feel for every one of you who suffered under this lunatic. I can only echo the sentiments of others who say Thank God for the Allens, who really got the ball rolling for this guy's ouster.

"Is that a gas-powered rifle?"

Rascal, are you and yours all right? Sending good thoughts and prayers your way.

Belle - --------------------- I suppose we should add "transgender" to the list (not sure if this is the same as "transsexual" - the online dictionary gives essentially the same definition, but there may be subtle differences).

He said, "What a treasure - let's bury it!" :)

Exactly, Mark. It's like an Old Country Buffet for great whites. And on tonight's menu..... Chinese.

Sounds like Pat has a "genuine spiritual suspicion" about what weather we're going to have this year. Knowing there are people who hang on every word this nitwit says, I don't feel so bad about my involvement in the Way.

Or at least be careful of who might be looking up your kilt. Me too, Radar. I might even get sloppy for the 'good old days' in TWI. But only if it's Patron. :)

QT, I just checked the website temperature of one of the Television Hill TV stations, and they're saying it's 106 degrees, heat index. I can't remember the last time I felt like I was actually baking in a pizzeria oven, but that's what it felt like when I was out earlier this afternoon. And I'm in one of the areas that have water restrictions, too. Double Whammy.

Belle, I don't know that the Way International, as a corporate body, will ever retract or apologize for things done in the past. It would not be wise legally. To admit they ever "officially" endorsed these kinds of behavior might make them liable to any number of civil (if not criminal) lawsuits. It would not fit with their dogma- the whole "forgetting the past" thing. That obviously includes their past - look how many times Wierwille and Martindale are mentioned on their very own website. And, if you are "more than conquerors," you don't need to apologize to those to whom the good seed of the Word (their version of it, anyway) has fallen on stony ground. All of us ex-way are just bitter and hard-harded - not meek to receive doctrine, reproof or correction. They also like to practice a sort of "selective" amnesia. "We never said you had to sell your house - you just won't be able to participate 'fully' in our classes if you have any debt." Of course, the unspoken truth is, if you can't participate 'fully', you're not really a member of the "Household", and are not really to be trusted. (That crap still staggers me - the whole 'no-debt' foolishness.) Unless the cash flow becomes so meager that they're forced to either lighten up on their disciples or become even more restrictive and draconian, or unless the IRS takes away their tax-exemption, why would they feel the need to change?

Do you think Craig was trying to tell us something? (ooooh, naughty, naughty Kevlar!) Seriously, what irritates me more than their lack of fashion sense was they were vacationing on the Way followers' dime. People were "abundantly sharing" their car payments and food money for the month, forgoing home ownership, and could only dream about places like this. And would then reprove themselves for being "off the Word" and "thinking evil." Irritates? More like, infuriates.

Actually, that picture tends to make willie retreat, if you know what I mean. Yeeeeesh!

ROTFLMAOPIMP! That ranks right up there with someone leaning their head out of a clothing store dressing room and shouting, "Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!"

You know why you're required to wear that pin, don't you? Because otherwise, no one would believe that's how old you are. :) Happiest of birthdays, act2!

Bon Ami cleanser, maybe? It's worth a try.

A la, what was their b*lls**t reason for not letting you listen to music (I'm assuming they meant secular music)? And why was this such a big infraction that you needed "talking to"? I swear, every time I read crap like this, I thank God I never went into the Corps!

I don't know about unwritten, but Mr. Wierwille certainly left no doubt in my mind how he felt about Billy Graham and Billy Bright in that SNS tape, "The Way of Life and Death". I believe I am accurately quoting him when he said, "To hell with them! That's exactly what I think!"

I'm surprised no one in "power" suggested giving depressants to children with 'inconvenient' needs. They could have even marketed their own brand, maybe along the order of, say, "Doulos Downers."

Belle, I'm happy for your growth, for how far you've come in these last 2 years. Having left in 1987, before the entire Way structure was systemically poisoned by overreaching control and mistrustfulness of the individuals who actually made up the "ministry", I have read the posts of you and others who have had your trust and dignity abused with horror and sadness. Yes, I know (now) there was lots of abusive things going on even back in "the day", but it seems like it became the way of life after LCM came out of his "fog funk". What the "leadership" demanded of you was never within their right to do so. Maybe someday, they'll figure that out. "When WHAT flies out of my butt?" Perhaps one positive thing you might take away from your Way experience is, How sweet freedom is. And how you must guard it every day.

Perhaps it's time for someone to have a "red-balloon" revelation, declare the Corps program to be an old fores.., uh, I mean old wineskin, and dismantle the program. Even in their "rosiest" daydreams, the Corps program has to be considered a failure. The vast majority of people who've gone through that program are not only not in "leadership" positions in the Way, but no longer even associate with that organization. There could even be a bright side to this: They would no longer have to pretend they're training leaders to go forth spreading their message. They could consolidate their efforts into focusing on their primary mission. Whatever that might be.