Oakspear

An apology might cause me to consider whether or not they've really changed as we hear from time to time. A repudiation might indicate to me that they can admit they were wrong about something.

I heard from anonymous source whose reliability I cannot verify that The Way no longer includes in their Way of Abundance and Power (WayAP) class the segement on the Devil & Eve having sex. Anyone hear anything about this? And if so, have they repudiated the teaching, or just removed it from the WayAP class? If true, and since my public objection to this teaching was one of the reasons that I was thrown out of TWI, do you think I'll be getting an apology and and invitation back anytime soon?

We had a similar situation in my area. The poor guy had been put on probation for something to do with debt & gambling, but when he came back 6 months later, every aspect of his life was examined, and one of them was his shoes. He was kind of "dorky", high water pants with the belt way above the waist, old fashioned shirts and wing-tipped shoes. He was picked on for using "thee" and "thou" in his prayers. He ended up getting the boot because he was pressured to buy new clothes. One of the women in the branch was assigned to go with him, to help him pick out something stylish. But he had no money, so he put it on his credit card. This was a no-no, since he was not supposed to take on any additional debt. So he was between a rock and a hard place. He bought the cothes, the woman ratted him out and he was m&a'd. He shops in my store and always makes a point of wishing me a happy birthday (his is the day before mine) every year.

why do you want it?

Must...resist...playing...mom...card...

Didn't mean that you put it crudely, but that it was put to you crudely. When did you live in Nebraska?

I think it's supposed to be a compliment, albeit crudely put Y'know, you don't hear too much about the 20-year old women calling us mature men "DILFs"...to them, we're just creepy old men...or invisible

So are you offended that he wants to do the horizontal mambo, or that he thinks you're old enough to be his mom?

Stupid sheep! D*mn them for being sheep! D*mn them to h*ll!!

Yeah and he could walk upright and had opposable thumbs too. btw, I think the figure of speech you were looking for a while back describing belittling rather than exaggerating is tapeinosis. Although what you described was not actually a figure of speech, they were literally belittling Brent Mydland (sp?) - the figure more properly would be where a millionaire might say "I have a few dollars in the bank".

As a no-longer-a-Christian, I find a certain liberation in not having to determine what the "will of the Lord" is in a given situation. Despite TWI's and other denominations' insistance that the bible is simple, there are so many ways to interpret the contents, that a one-size-fits-all "Will of God" is a pious myth. Or maybe a good scam <_< In that light, I find your initial post interesting, especially this quote: These days when making decision, I find that there is a multitude of sometimes competing priorites that must be considered: How will this decision affect my family? How will this decision affect my advancement or even continued employment? Is this decision legal? Will this decision get me beaten up? :lol: Is it something that I enjoy doing? What kind of example am I setting for my children or for my subordinates at work by making this decision? How will this decision affect my health? ad infinitum... The relative importance of these priorites may change according to the situation and the effect it has on myself and those that I care about. I have seen that those who are inflexibly locked into a religious system (this by no means includes all religious people) make decisions based on what they perceive their God's will is, often without regard to the affect or consequenses of the decision.

You can only miss someone who is really gone

:ph34r: Wow. It looks like he's really gone. :( Like my papa used to say: "Gee"

No problem, thanks for the apology. Many "newbies" are when they stumble across the non-Christian minority here. I'm basically an agnostic who participates in pagan/Wiccan/Shamanism ritual and studies their philosophy. Understood. ...and you'd make a great pagan

Not too bad here in Nebraska, but folks seem to forget what snow is like every year and have to re-learn how to drive. Good thing neither of us live up in Alaska, I hear they get more snow than Colorado and Nebraska put together.

D*mn, I should have bet money Like he ever did any farming himself

I won't bet money on it, but I thought that '78 was the first year back at New Knoxville.

And I challenge you to show me scriptures where clergy are ALLOWED to shave, wear eyeglasses, ride horses, get college degrees or play baseball. If there is no prohibition against something, wouldn't the assumption be that it is allowed?

There is a thread about what you liked the most about the ROA. Oh, and welcome to the cafe ...have a cup of coffee and a baked alaska on me. They make that dessert with just the right amount of oil here at GS.

Did I believe? Did I swallow PFAL hook, line and sinker? Not at first, but I was a young Christian looking for answers that I wasn't getting anywhere else. I wanted the bible to make sense, and TWI were the only ones that I had encountered up till that point that claimed it could make sense. I did not have the skills at that time to seriously investigate or really research myself, so I was stuck within TWI's box as far as "making it my own" went. There were things that I did not understand, but I bought the line about holding things in abeyance; I was convinced that Wierwille knew what he was talking about. The longer that I stayed in the more I had invested in it being right, the more I was willing to put up with in the cause of "doing the Word".

Thanks for keeping it civil No rule, bro' (or sis, whatever) - but periodically someone posts a "letter from John Lynn" or some "new, exciting" research from CES and then disappears. If you're gonna put stuff up on our board, stick around to discuss it. That's my opinion, not a rule. Well, he's not my Lord anyway. But seriously, what does Jesus have to do with whether someone should discuss what they put up on a discussion forum? Nope, doesn't bother me, but I do have an opinion about it. Done that, but thanks

Now I do believe that a guy has a certain right to privacy, and frankly, there's things about my personal life that I wouldn't want to discuss but I don't put myself out as any kind of expert on anything, nor do I give others advice that I can't live up to myself.

This is a logical fallacy. The identity or anonymity of the person has nothing to do with the validity of the message.

Taking responsibility for one's actions doesn't let those who have hurt you off the hook.

Maybe the "bs", as you put it in large font, comes out of the drive-by posting style of some of those affiliated with the group formerly known as CES. I've only cared enough to contact anyone in that organization personally less than a handful of times, and received a response each time, although not one that I thought made much sense; still, a response was given. But if an individual or a group doesn't want to engage in discussion on an open forum, don't publically post some monologue then refuse to discuss it publically.