Rocky

1) Wierwille disposed of dissenters just as quickly and vehemently as Loy did. Loy, however, was more bombastic about it. 2) Are you suggesting that we should excuse twi's dark side because "everybody has one?"

Criticism can be healthy... if the foundation of that which one criticizes is legitimate to begin with. Regarding cults, the concept of criticism is anathema because exclusion of critical thinking is a critical success factor for cults from the start. If wierwille had not suppressed criticism, he wouldn't have been able to build the abusive subculture that was and is The Way International.

Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I recently read a book of short stories written by E. L. Doctorow. One of the stories is about a cult and cult leader. The story title is Walter John Harmon. It was published in the New Yorker magazine in May 2003. I'm confident former wayfers will find a few parallels between the story and their experience in twi.

From the article, it appears that the mayor couldn't pray his townsfolk into approving a tax hike to cover the cost of street maintenance. This tangent could get political, so let me disclaim from the start. I see it as a problem with the guy's understanding of his god. As I read it, the potholes presented the mayor with an obvious dilemma. He apparently decided to believe the Almighty Paving Crew and Street Fixers would take care of it. Might it have been more prudent for the mayor to ask God for wisdom and the ability to move the hearts (and/or minds) of his constituents instead (to brainstorm ideas on how to solve whatever underlying problem was occurring in the town government?

Stark.

And then there's the verses in II Corinthians about a cheerful giver. Hard to be cheerful when you understand the organization to be as your comment described. However, it IS available to be a cheerful giver when one has an abundance of money and is thoughtful (conscious) about finding places to give where you can feel confident that good works will be accomplished with what you donate. I really never saw that to be the case with twi. A full 40 years ago, while stationed overseas in the US military, I had actually started to save some money for when I finished my active duty. But, because a fool and his money were soon parted, twi had my savings before I became a civilian. It wasn't difficult to talk a 20-year old airman out of money on the basis of "it will help move the word over the world." A noble goal. But this (then) twenty-year old didn't have much understanding of the ways of the world and lecherous cult leaders in 1975.

Would love to see a balance sheet and cash flow statement. Oh, and an explanation of the $1,000.00 deduction.

Did your four-year old exercise power, or did God? I suspect that in most instances, we really don't think about that question. It's certainly not a phenomenon that's easy to figure out.

IIRC, they were referred to as "collaterals."

The point is that "revelation" was "given" to those higher up in the twi hierarchy that wasn't really revelation from God. That faux guidance was manipulative of the underlings and put those people in dangerous situations.

Blown away like so much chaff when the wheat gets threshed? Burned like Loy got when a couple of his victims decided they weren't going to take his abuse anymore?

Perhaps the most important key: put off all rational, logical thought.

LOVE the Forbes article. Thanks for sharing it. I don't know how mentally strong I was in 1986 when I left, but for the most part, I now emphatically embrace the listed points (and how they are explained in the article). Other resources along the same lines include books and TED talks by Brené Brown on Daring Greatly; and Gail Sheehy's memoir, Daring. I read Sheehy's book, Pathfinders back in the 1990s and found it tremendously helpful. Also back in the 1990s, I read several books by the late M. Scott Peck that assisted me in my transition from a mentally weak follower. It was during that time that my writing career (non-paid for the most part) began.

Logic? Surely you jest. Well, I'm confident I've had the Baader-Meihof thing, but what I was referring to was and is most likely intuition. Putting things together without consciously having thought about or analyzed them.

He was also a sociopath and a psychopath... and I think we all know he was quite the narcissist. I distinctly remember after taking the AC getting what I now understand to be intuition. That probably goes hand in hand with sunesis (not the greasespot member using that name).

Is indoctrination really that much different a concept than mind-control? Yeah, it is indoctrination. But after the indoctrination, weren't we so much more subject to compliance with the suggestions of Wierwille and his minions?

Or a space or two. ;) **** .... F U C K F-U-C-K F.U.C.K.

I doubt anyone will delete your post. To put WordWolf's insight a different way, the censorship of cuss words is automatic, not done manually by any person. There are other ways around it too. By the way, when you post a second comment, less than five minutes after you posted another comment on the same thread, the two will combine unless somebody else posts a comment in between.

Excellent perspective. A definite bull's eye!

Well... either that or they are people who just have a lot to say. Sometimes it makes sense, often it doesn't. :)

Two things: 1) if you hate the internet, why are you on it? 2) the medium is inherently limited. It doesn't facilitate discussion, partly because it doesn't permit anyone to read non-verbal communication of the other parties to what otherwise could be a productive discussion. It's not about people being fundamentally bad. It's the limitations of the medium for communication.

I continue to appreciate your insight on the inner workings of twi. As they say... spot on. In every instance.

Because there's so many intentionally misleading websites that claim to be satire. No other way to put any article in proper perspective and context.

I love your narrative. Indeed, so much more for me since leaving. In significant ways, for me, twi represented a period of stunted emotional, social and intellectual growth. I look back and think about the roads not taken. If I had the energy now that I had 40 years ago, I'd be in (or already through) law school and would be making even more positive impact on my community. Instead, I'm thankful for my journey and that I've made it this far. I love me life at this stage. But I certainly do not give twi credit for it, though the rocky road that was twi for me did, of course, provide experience upon which I've been able to develop at least a little bit of wisdom. And like skyrider, I'm thankful for how successful my children (daughter and stepson) are today... and neither have had to go through twi to get there. :) I consciously rejected a career path beyond one enlistment term in the Air Force because I couldn't see myself subservient to commanders for so long. When the light came on for me, in 1986, I knew I had had enough of twi and don't regret even one iota the decision to leave.

Fundamentalism S U C K S!