free2love

It seems to me this is untrue. It seems to me that one is welcome here as long as they have negative, bitter, snide, demeaning things to say and as long as they say nothing regarding God or the Bible. I wish this weren't the case but this is what I see in the threads and in the "radio broadcasts". Perhaps some will recall the old story about the evil drunkard who brought bread to the starving woman and her son and told her, as she was giving thanks, "God didn't give you that bread, I did!", to which she replied: "The devil may have delivered it but God gave it to me!" God gave me many things by TWI and/but TWI also gave me a lot of junk. My relationship with God started before TWI and has continued since. TWI is/was not the be-all/end-all of my life. I feel that God led me in and that God also led me out. After twenty years (since I left) of bitterness, documented online in various forums ever since Trancenet, I'm tired of it. I know there is healing in venting and I don't want to just look the other way or ignore the pain that so many have gone through but there is also more to healing than venting. If anyone else is interested in discussing God’s calling and mercy and love in their life, I’d be blessed to hear from you.

I posted this in reply to someone's post on another thread... It seems appropriate to repeat it here... I hope it blesses you. "I think it depends on your thinking. I really believe that what you think about and harbor in your heart of hearts, dwell on non stop, eventually will pop out somewhere in your life. I really believe the carma thing is real but ONLY to a cerain point. The positive/negative energy that is with in you attracks energy of its own kind. When things like that happen to me - the personal stuff, sickness, injuries, etc. I ask myself what's going on upstairs in that big mushy brain of mine. Sometimes, it could be that life just happened but most of the time I know it has something to do with my emotions and there's something I need help getting over." Wow... I just read where you stated you were self-deprogramming on another thread... I don't want to sound mean but if you still buy this load of junk it's going to take a long, long time for you to venture out. Your post brings a very old song to mind: "You are living a reality I left years ago It quite nearly killed me In the long run, it will make you cry Make you crazy and old before your time" * from "You Dont Have To Cry" - CSNY "I think it depends on your thinking. I really believe that what you think about and harbor in your heart of hearts, dwell on non stop, eventually will pop out somewhere in your life." - OK, I can see some truth in the mentally dwelling-on and 'popping out' part but, in essence, what you are saying is that your mind alters things outside your body and that's just nonsense. I'm sure you don't believe in telepathy or telekinesis, right? Why would you believe that your positive/negative attitude/thoughts/feelings would/could affect events occuring outside of yourself? Stop and think about it for a minute... That's not sound thinking, is it? No it's not. "I really believe the carma thing is real..." - I have news for you. What goes around does not come around. If it did a lot of us would be dead. In fact, if you stop and think about it, any belief in the idea of karma totally flies in the face of God's forgiveness, doesn't it? ...And then, on the 'positive' side, where does karma fit into you receiving eternal life? No... Karma just won't fly at all. "The positive/negative energy that is within you attracks energy of its own kind." - Huh? Who told you that? That's about the biggest bunch of new-age, eastern mystic hooey I've ever heard. That doesn't even make sense. Does it? No, c'mon, really, think about it. Please. "When things like that happen to me - the personal stuff, sickness, injuries, etc. I ask myself what's going on upstairs in that big mushy brain of mine. ...most of the time I know it has something to do with my emotions and there's something I need help getting over" Who told you your brain is mushy? (I bet I can guess) The bible says you have the mind of Christ, doesn't it? ...And you cause sickness and injury? You must be pretty powerful. I thought Satan caused those things. You must have a huge guilt comlpex too ...but the bible says there is no condemnation. As a matter of fact it says in 1 John: "...Hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure (persuade) our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God." I can definitely empathize. I believed these things and taught them as well. None of the 'positive believing' thing is biblical or Christian in any way. If it's true that you want to leave, it's logical that you are trying to separate the baby from the bathwater and obvious that you think this 'Law of Believing' is part of the baby. Well, it's not and unless and until you see that you are going to be stuck. God Bless You

Blessed art thou, Bliss: for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but our Father which is in heaven! I swear I am sitting here with goosebumps after reading your post. That be some ACCurate Word handling, more so than I've seen in a long time! Thanks.

Thanks D, I am honored. I had forgotten they were called the "overview tapes"... Twenty years on is a long time. As I understated in my post, I really do think I'm blessed. As I have been faithful to continue to search out the scripture, which I did ten times more enthusiastically when faced with all those lies, God has been even more faithful to teach me and work through me. You say the tapes finally unlocked the door for you... That would be different from myself as I was pretty much clueless right up until the moment I described. When I first joined up in '79 it seemed that everything was synchronized. I was in 'international outreach' and there were a lot of really loving people there and it seemed like every waymag article and Sunday tape that came out our way came just at the right time and it was that way with the teachings from our local leaders. As the years went by though the 'hot' Sunday tapes became rarer as the duds increased and then they decided to make I.O. part of the corps training so we got these... well, I could go on... but even with all this I never thought anything was wrong other than me. Now I see that it was a big part of their success... since you believing equaled your receiving, the fault was always automatically yours and never theirs. .. and I was clueless. I am so grateful to God for His never-ending love and for all my brothers and sisters. God Bless You... You really are the best!

:blink: Wow... I just read where you stated you were self-deprogramming on another thread... I don't want to sound mean but if you still buy this load of junk it's going to take a long, long time for you to venture out. Your post brings a very old song to mind: "You are living a reality I left years ago It quite nearly killed me In the long run, it will make you cry Make you crazy and old before your time" * from "You Dont Have To Cry" - CSNY "I think it depends on your thinking. I really believe that what you think about and harbor in your heart of hearts, dwell on non stop, eventually will pop out somewhere in your life." - OK, I can see some truth in the mentally dwelling-on and 'popping out' part but, in essence, what you are saying is that your mind alters things outside your body and that's just nonsense. I'm sure you don't believe in telepathy or telekinesis, right? Why would you believe that your positive/negative attitude/thoughts/feelings would/could affect events occuring outside of yourself? Stop and think about it for a minute... That's not sound thinking, is it? No it's not. "I really believe the carma thing is real..." - I have news for you. What goes around does not come around. If it did a lot of us would be dead. In fact, if you stop and think about it, any belief in the idea of karma totally flies in the face of God's forgiveness, doesn't it? ...And then, on the 'positive' side, where does karma fit into you receiving eternal life? No... Karma just won't fly at all. "The positive/negative energy that is within you attracks energy of its own kind." - Huh? Who told you that? That's about the biggest bunch of new-age, eastern mystic hooey I've ever heard. That doesn't even make sense. Does it? No, c'mon, really, think about it. Please. "When things like that happen to me - the personal stuff, sickness, injuries, etc. I ask myself what's going on upstairs in that big mushy brain of mine. ...most of the time I know it has something to do with my emotions and there's something I need help getting over" Who told you your brain is mushy? (I bet I can guess) The bible says you have the mind of Christ, doesn't it? ...And you cause sickness and injury? You must be pretty powerful. I thought Satan caused those things. You must have a huge guilt comlpex too ...but the bible says there is no condemnation. As a matter of fact it says in 1 John: "...Hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure (persuade) our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God." I can definitely empathize. I believed these things and taught them as well. None of the 'positive believing' thing is biblical or Christian in any way. If it's true that you want to leave, it's logical that you are trying to separate the baby from the bathwater and obvious that you think this 'Law of Believing' is part of the baby. Well, it's not and unless and until you see that you are going to be stuck. God Bless You Sis

Guess I was blessed in this regard. It was that ROA where they read the 'passing' paper in '86(?). My best friend who I'd already been doing 'outside' research for a couple of years already but were both still gung-ho twiggies up until then. (One of the things we eked out in the HS area was that interpretation of tongues is, in truth, a prayer and not a message to the believers)... Anyway, he came back with John Lynn's tapes, the adultery paper and the news that everything had fallen apart. Well, when he initially told me about it I just went into total defense mode and I got angry and almost to the point of punching out my best friend for the things he was saying but then he got me to 'just listen' to the Lynn tape... and I did... and I got about half way through the first one and suddenly that whole TWI house of cards came tumbling down and I saw that it was all true and God gave me a vision... my mind immediately pictured the proverbial floor falling out from under my feet and just then when I thought I was going to fall, I found myself standing straight and steady in the palm of God's hand... ...and I left, taking half the branch with me... and never looked back. I understand what you mean about leaving the good friends. I think that is really the main reason people have such a problem leaving... and then there were people like me who were so screwed up before I ran into TWI it was such a huge step up in my life by comparison... well, let's just say it's a good thing God gave me that vision.

It was 1985 and I was in the Philippines to take the Advanced Class. I remember most clearly coming back into the Manila airport for departure and there were gathered all along the road people who were deformed, amputated, gaunt from hunger, women with babies in their arms with all of these conditions, all with their hands out, begging for anything anyone could give. Here I was, an Advanced Class Grad! (ta-da!) ...SO spiritually 'heavy', thinking and acting exactly as I had been trained... Smugly resisting the deeply buried urge to reach out and help those poor people with whatever I had. No time to give anyone fishing lessons and certainly not inclined to give out any fish. Indeed... Where was the love? A few months later... Sunday morning fellowship up at the Branch house... afterward, everyone spread out with their coffee and conversations and I was standing in the dining area talking about something with the leader when a really nice Hawaiian lady named Julie came up to us looking for all the world just like a little girl who'd been searching for her lost doll and asked, eyes wide... "Where's the love???" Hit me like a ton of bibles. We never used the term "convicted" much in our area of twi or other areas I think but that question hit me square in the heart and I knew! We had all the research books, all the concordances and interlinear, all the tapes and films and magazines... we had knowledge, and if you shot that morning with a camcorder you could have sent the tape to HQ proudly as an example of a great fellowship meeting. O yeah, but underneath it all she was right to ask. We were just as hard hearted, maybe even more so, as any 'rank unbeliever' (remember that one?) off the street. She had to ask because there was none to be found! If you want the best yardstick for any group/fellowship/church, this is it: Where is the love? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" well, mine did... and did I learn how to research the bible under the teaching of twi? yup, I sure did. the problem was that I didn't use what I learned on them! I guess you could say that they taught it but then, by the methods so many of you have cited, they didn't really promote it... ya think?