WordWolf

Good points. vpw was unable to teach us about a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus. Why? Here's a few reasons. 1) vpw didn't view relationships or people like we do- he viewed them as resources. So, actual relationships with caring- as opposed to business relationships - were beyond him. 2) vpw largely faked his way through the ministry. He learned the proper gestures and mannerisms, how to bow his head in prayer and so on. he learned to deliver speeches in a convincing manner. He learned how to cut corners by taking the work of others and presenting it as his own, either in written form or as a preacher, preaching someone else's work as his own. He picked the soft options in school and skipped church history and languages (that's why his grasp of Bible languages was so weak.) So, he learned to parrot back the works of others. The deeper matters- unless he had someone to directly quote- were not things he could speak on, so he avoided them. 3) vpw didn't want us to have a relationship with Jesus. vpw wanted us to have a business relationship with him and twi, where he sells the things of God, the prayers, the classes, etc, and everyone else pays tuition, tithes, etc. Not convinced? Ok, answer this: how many denominations or church groups out there teach to consistently give MORE than the tithe? vpw taught it and gave it a name- "abundant sharing." Followup question: how many denominations or church groups out there teach that you can separate what money you need to live on right now, and should give all of the rest to the church? vpw taught that, and gave it a name- "plurality giving." For that matter, he made the tithe a mandatory 10% and a necessity, where the Bible says we are NOT supposed to give "of necessity"- which means, once again, vpw taught the opposite of the Bible on a subject.

II Peter 1:19,20,21 (KJV) 19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. =========================================== How many decades ago were we discussing how vpw's explanation of these verses were completely wrong? vpw said that 1:20 was warning us not to "privately interpret" the verses of the Bible- while doing exactly that with that verse. These verses explain the ORIGIN of Scripture. It's a more sure word of prophecy that wasn't of someone's "letting-loose" (to use a familiar phrase), nor by the will of man long ago, but rather the result of holy men of God who spoke as directed by The Holy Ghost. This "one's own letting-loose" thing meaning how to avoid approaching the Bible, that was an elementary mistake that, as often happened, was the result of elevating the wording of the 1611 King James Version over the texts from which it came. Often, vpw came out with a lengthy explanation with rambling analogies, all stemming from the exact phrasing in the King James Version. However, when one goes back to the texts- Stephens, Nestle, etc, one finds nothing of the kind. vpw got hung up on the exact phrasing of the King James Version as if it was AUTHORITATIVE in its exact phrasing, rather than a translation of texts more authoritative than itself. So, to avoid "one's own private interpretation" as referred to in I Peter 1:20, don't try to write something by your will and claim it's Scripture. (BTW, trying to write something by God's Will and claim it's Scripture is self-defeating, so don't try that, either.)

It IS "Pirates of the Caribbean - Curse of the Black Pearl." I thought that Elizabeth Swam pretending to be a Turner might be a giveaway, for me, the reference to "Bootstrap" Turner would have definitely done it.

"No! Not good! Stop! Not good! What are you doing? You’ve burnt all the food, the shade! The rum!" "Yes, the rum is gone!" "Why is the rum gone?!" "One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me, do you really think there is even the slightest chance that they won’t see it?" "But... why is the rum gone?"

Oh, and I'm busier than usual, partly because of the World Cup, so please cut me a little slack on updates.

No, this movie was a commercial success and is recognizable. I totally would have gotten it from the last quote, and I'm not a fan of the movie.

We know which ex-poster it was. He vented all of that years ago, apparently. It's such a non-issue now it's incredible. In other news, Allan, there's no room for politics on the GSC, and little tolerance for anti-vax, for that matter. I'm sure the staff can explain again when they check in.

While I encourage people continuing to learn throughout their lives, and studying informally while they live, it's not the same as getting a degree. You've looked up some science, but you're neither a degreed scientist nor in their weight class. I still remember your passing explanation of something that included an error so big that even Schoolhouse Rock didn't make it. But, if you have to tell yourself you really DO have all the science mastered, then never mind, go right ahead.

I'm with you so far. You're probably trying too hard. Just sit down and relax, have an apple or something, THEN try to solve it.

"Put it away, son. It's not worth you getting beat again. " "You didn't beat me. You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd kill you. " "That's not much incentive for me to fight fair, then, is it?" "This dock is off-limits to civilians." "I'm terribly sorry, I didn't know. If I see one, I shall inform him immediately. Apparently there's some sort of high-toned and fancy to-do up at the fort, eh? How could it be that two upstanding gentlemen, such as yourselves, did not merit an invitation?" "Someone's got to make sure that this dock stays off-limits to civilians." "It's a fine goal, to be sure. But it seems to me... that a ship like that one, makes this one here seem a bit superfluous, really." "Oh, the Dauntless is the power in these waters, true enough. But there's no ship as can match the Interceptor for speed." "Elizabeth... Turner. I'm a maid in the Governor's household." "Miss Turner...?" "Bootstrap." "And how does a maid come to own a trinket such as that? Family heirloom, perhaps?" "I didn't steal it, if that's what you mean." "Very well, you hand it over and we'll put your town to our rudder and ne'er return."

Definitely not.

Hi, Roy. I honestly don't think anybody here hates you, and I honestly don't think anybody here hated you. Some of us do hope you'll speak to some professionals. They can help in ways that posts online can't help.

(I lost a post previously, so I didn't want to lose everything in one post again.) I think vpw DID have regrets, but they weren't the type of regrets a mature leader would have. He expressed regret about losing his eye- because it was a visible reminder of his failings. He said privately to lcm that what bothered him was that, in the OT, a priest with a blemish was no longer able to serve in the temple. Taken from his perspective, it was a rather visible reminder that his "believing" doctrine failed to heal him. He'd set forth that he was some great one, with "Super-Believing", so that twi'ers connected him with The Great Power of God. vpw had made a point of that, often. So, when he really needed it, it failed him because his doctrine was flawed. One doesn't alter reality simply through "believing." God Almighty alters reality when He wishes, and we pray and ASK for any alterations we want. But in vpw's system, vpw was supposed to be able to believe, and the healing would happen miraculously- like in his claim about instant healings off backs of trains. (If that had been real, this one would have been a cinch!) A lot of the Word-Faith preachers have problems with that- their system says they can "believe" and all kinds of healing will result. However, they die at young ages, and wear glasses, and have other visible signs of flawed health. If I could just concentrate and my body would conform to my mental picture, I would definitely be in excellent health, and I probably would look good enough to do movies, or at least TV. For that matter, I'd live a longer life with excellent health, and my nearest and dearest would do well similarly- hey, concentrate and the spouse's cold goes away? (Etc.) When it comes to his final hours, I think he really DID buy into the idea that he could concentrate and miraculously heal. I think he was searching his mind for what he was missing. Rather than accept his doctrine was flawed, he put the blame on himself and on others, as you said. With cgeer, he blamed everybody by name. In his last day, he tried to think of how he'd fallen short of being able to super-believe by displeasing God somehow. In between all the rapes, druggings, simony, plagiarism, and so on, he was unable to identify ANYTHING that would displease God. I think that's true, and in his mind, all of those were excusable and all right with God. After all, he thought ORGIES were OK with God, just not OK with people. So, I think his regret was that he had failed to Super-Believe, and that he said so. I think people mistook that for something a lot more profound. He "knew himself to be" Super-Believer, who alters reality at a thought. He failed at that and died. He wished he had believed stronger. I don't think he regretted living a less moral life because he didn't even recognize it on his DEATHBED.

"the sympathy card could be an old, attention loving creep's ploys for attention. I wasn't around then, but if passing of a patriarch is to be believed, then vic had been put out to pasture and outshined by Martindale...maybe vic was ready to let the responsibility go but not the spotlight...That would explain all the pity potty garbage that came out of him towards the end of his life. " I don't question that the pity-party was in effect- I'm confident it was. I might disagree about what affected what, however. vpw had to step down due to his body pretty much deteriorating. vpw had smoked and drank HEAVILY for decades, and the resulting cancer was killing him, starting with his eye and his liver, and was going to keep going after his entire body in a progressive wave of destruction. On top of that, he was getting old- and looked the worse for wear due to the heavy drinking and smoking. So, he had to have an eye removed and used a glass eye prosthetic. That bothered him on many levels, not the least of which was his vanity. His approaching mortality had to be a subject that came up, as well. vpw was never a mature man, nor a wise man. His reactions would not have demonstrated that, and that's no surprise. So, he handed over the reins to lcm because he had to. He'd previously puffed up lcm's ego, and had previously made twi a one-man show. Now, all of that was going to work against him. Now someone else was ALL the show. So, suddenly, vpw went from the central figure to someone on the outside who was easily shoved-aside and ignored. Those who knew him well knew how immature he was and often how difficult he was, and now they didn't HAVE to deal with him- so they didn't. The new big cheese was lcm, so everyone focused on him- and lcm didn't waste time making everything about him, either. If ANYTHING happened in twi that got some kind of notice, he HAD to be in the middle. High Country Caravan? He was on it. Tom Burke did a satirical album? lcm made an intro. Bands showed up onstage? lcm, despite neither singing nor playing an instrument, often ended up on the stage by the end, in time for the applause. AOS was only the cherry on the sundae. Yes, vpw wanted attention. Yes, he went overseas so cgeer could pretend he was important and kowtow to him. vpw ranted to him at length about a lot of nonsense, and predicted all sorts of things about twi that completely failed to come to pass.

When I first heard it was a few years ago. One poster said they were friends with someone who had lived on-grounds at the time and was one of the last few people to see vpw alive. That person told about how vpw was stressing himself in his final hours, trying to figure that one out. If I was depicting a fraud Christian leader who was at Death's Door (whether myself or someone else), I'd expect the person to approach death with a lot more peace in themself, and prayers for those outliving them. "My conscience is bothering me" for someone who normally went around sinning is an odd choice. "My conscience is clear and I'm ready to face my God now or next in my perception" is what I'd expect to see. It's also how Pope John Paul II seemed to face death. From eyewitness accounts, it looked like he was praying for the Catholics as a whole right when he died. (My interpretation of the description; your mileage may vary.) Perhaps, from the perspective of a more innocent person, vpw's comments may sound a lot more innocent. Later comments certainly did- blaming everyone around him for "helping kill" him with insufficient believing, "he died of a broken heart", bs like that. He certainly fed a line of bull cookies like that to geer- who wrote it down and confronted the bot not long after vpw died. But, at the same time, it's also possible to see the other comments as coming from someone who had numbed his own conscience, who only suspect he'd made some kind of mistake and displeased God because he wasn't getting miraculous healing, not because he knew what behavior would displease God and avoided all of it as best he knew how.

The quote were: one of Raj's clues on his scavenger hunt, Amy prepping for her wedding and worried about her mother ruining it, Sheldon and Leonard, Sheldon photo-shopping people into the wedding photos for his and Amy's wedding, Stuart and Denise closing the Comic Center of Pasadena early because it might be the apocalypse, Howard thinking about his limits of what he can teach his son and Raj catching how short his list was, Bernadette and Howard, with Bernadette determined to get her new baby out the scheduled day no matter what, Amy and Penny during Amy and Sheldon's secret contest on who should be their Maid of Honor and Best Man, (more recognizable) Raj and his dad, with Dad complaining Raj is neither married nor living within his own salary, Howard and Bernadette when Howard was amazed over the developing baby that Bernadette was already tired of, Sheldon kicked a rock in anger over Bert getting an award and Sheldon injuring both feet on the rock, the US Army rep cancelling their contract with the US Army for the new tech development. As a show that lasted more than 10 seasons and had at least 1 spinoff, that really limited the possible number of correct answers. The spinoff, of course, is "Young Sheldon."

That's it. Mrs Wolf got it from "leave no stone unturned" - a clue in Raj's scavenger hunt.

I think you've the right of it. He wasn't sorry of the sins he'd committed- he'd convinced themselves they weren't sins or they didn't count. What he regretted was he lacked his storied "super-believer" ability to instantly heal up when he believed. He bought into his own press and thought he could do it.

In fairness, I probably quoted Crowley and named LaVey by accident. (It's not like I normally go around reading their stuff.) It's interesting (to me, if no one else), that modern paganism uses the modified "An it hurt no one, do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law, " which adds the "don't hurt anyone" clause. So, college students experimenting with it for the first time know that you should start by knowing not to hurt people. It should be more than self-evident to anyone who's got at least a casual relationship with the Bible, as well. Yet, some self-proclaimed "experts" in the Bible, self-proclaimed "Teachers" sometimes not only are fine hurting people as a matter of course, but later can't remember ever doing anything wrong. That's something that I still marvel over- vpw, on his deathbed, supposedly wracked his memory, looking for some incident or action whereby he displeased God Almighty. He was unable to find one- despite the molestations, druggings, rapes, plagiarism, simony, gluttony.....

"She keeps Moët et Chandon in her pretty cabinet."

This well-known show lasted more than 10 seasons and had at least 1 spin-off.

I'm sure OldSkool already knows this, but in case any of you want a reminder.... The occult stuff of vpw began pretty early in pfal (and TWLiL). vpw invented those 2 rich businessmen, and their claim to success was that they locked themselves away each day, sat in silence, and THOUGHT about prosperity, and it happened. There were never names nor specifics because these men were made up to "support" vpw's claims. Quotes to the Bible were light, because forcing a connection was tenuous at best, and there was no real connection between the verses and vpw's claims. Then there was the "traveling salesman" who vpw "counseled" because the man was dwelling on a possible crash while driving. Again, vpw invented him to support his "believing in reverse" thing. Finally, there was the woman who murdered her son. She dwelt on her fears, and those fears jumped up and killed her son. vpw didn't counsel her to stop before it was too late- because she was imaginary and she was there to reinforce how fear can hurt and kill by making things happen. Satanist Anton LaVey would have agreed with vpw about thinking to change things. He said that magic was meant to make reality conform to will. That sounds like it's right out of pfal (except for the word "magic.")

"Wait, so you're just gonna take all the work we've done for the last year and toss us aside?" "That one I can tell you. Yes." "Well, this is all very upsetting." "I'm sorry to hear that. As you know, the primary focus of the United States military is people's feelings." "Wait, if that's sarcasm, please save it for our enemies!"

"There's a baby in there!" Oh, yeah-THAT'S where I put it." "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow..." "What happened?" "I tried to let go of anger, and threw a rock into my foot." "Then, he got more angry and kicked the rock with his other foot." "What?! And what happened to you?!" "Oh, I laughed so hard, I burst a blood vessel in my nose! It's fine!"

Is it "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"?