Raf

And I reject your conclusion right back. Um, yes it is. Sorry to hear that. I honestly would not lose a friend over his opinion of VPW. I would lose a friend who continually insisted that I was ignorant, or lacking in relevant information, who nonetheless declined to provide the information he believes would lead me to the same conclusion. Don't patronize us. I'm standing up to it right now, from you. You mean, how many of us told our former branch leader to his face that he was full of it and that we were going to follow God and not men, not even TWI? How many of us looked "our" new branch leader in the eye and told him that TWI was abandoning the very principles on which it claimed to be founded? You know, coming on a message board and saying "I like VPW" isn't exactly my idea of courage. Big WHOOP. Mike, I appreciate your blunt honesty, but your comment above... well, it doesn't apply to me, so I'll shut up. But if you want a nickel's worth of free advice, it was a cheap shot. Sometimes, sometimes, the stream is taking you in the right direction. So listen, what you need to keep in mind is: what is your goal, and how are you going to get there? If that means going against the stream, then go. If it means going with the stream, then go. But if going against the stream means agreeing with you, then I'm dropping my oars in the water right now. Those are the issues that most clearly demonstrate the flawed character of VPW. Like I said in the other thread, if you dismiss those issues in order to evaluate the doctrine, then I'm totally with you. But if you're going to dismiss those issues in order to continue exalting VPW as some uniquely qualified man of God, then I'm not with you. And it's obvious that you're doing the latter. BRING IT ON!!!! [This message was edited by Rafael 1969 on December 27, 2002 at 8:42.]

Is anyone else having a serious case of deja vu? I mean, we've been here before. I am just SURE of it: someone came along and posted Wierwille's last teaching, citing the Living Victoriously comment where Wierwille says "if I knew this was the last time blah blah blah." I am as concerned with Wierwille's last teaching as I am with Oswald Chambers', CS Lewis', etc. In other words, not at all. It's the content of the message that counts, not the gravity placed on it by the messenger. Wierwille's last teaching has some kind of profound importance? Oh, for heaven's sake. Hope you had a good night's sleep, Mike. P.S. "The Joy of Service" was also a chapter in the book "Our Times," edited by Chris Geer and published in 1990.

Wordwolf: Actually, Gandalf explains it to Frodo in the extended version of Fellowship of the Ring, at the Mines of Moria. If you have not seen the extended version, old friend, get thee to a Blockbuster NOW.

The key to any good psych test is in its participants not knowing what the test is about. Since I know what it's about, my answers are tainted by that knowledge.

Zix, the TNG series finale only showed one possible future. The moment Picard came back and told everyone what he knew about the future, that future became only one possibility among many. In fact, we KNOW that future cannot come to pass because in it, Admiral Riker commanded the Enterprise-D, which was destroyed in Generations. I am SUCH a geek! So anyway, once Picard came back and started blabbing about the future, he polluted the timeline, so the future of the characters was no longer "set," so to speak. I know, I know, "this is no time to argue about time. We don't have the time."

Is this some kind of psychological test? If (as I suspect) it is, then Buck's answer is hilarious.

How about a movie called, Star Trek: Enough Already The alpha quadrant is threatened by a seemingly indestructible and undefeatable threat. The Enterprise-E, the only ship in the quadrant, is sent to deal with the threat by talking to it for two hours. The threat, sensing danger, immediately destroys the Enterprise-E, killing everything on board except Data's head, which drifts uncontrollably toward the nearest star. Just when it seems all hope is lost and Data's head is going to melt - it does. Starfleet, which observes the calamity using one of its ubiquitous cameras, sends 371 other ships to deal with the threat. Unfortunately, the 371 ships won't be ready until Tuesday. Faced with all but certain destruction, Starfleet surrenders, and the undefeatable threat destroys Starfleet, along with the final remnants of ILM studios on earth, ensuring that the 745th Star Wars movie will not be made. The movie ends with a close up of the undefeatable threat. A single gold band. One ring to rule them all.

Good LUCK! HAHAHAHAHAHA LUCK LUCK LUCK!!!! Wooohooooo! Good LUCK! May God sustain you through the good times and the bad, and may you always have the courage and the wisdom to recall the love that brought you to this day.

Have a happy birthday Mark. The Living Epistles Society

I thought for sure this time... but no... it....just....won't...die... The Living Epistles Society

Garth, where was your believing? How could you believe for all of us to miss your birthday? Do you know why we all missed it? It was the FEAR in the heart and life of Garth P. I'm so ashamed of you. Get thee behind me. No, wait, that sounds sick. Happy birthday. The Living Epistles Society

I got "Pennants and Pinstripes" for my birthday. LET'S GO YANKEES!!!!! Thanks again everyone! The Living Epistles Society

Thanks everyone. We can always count on Kit to remember a birthday! Word Wolf, you da man! Sudo, that is just so sickenly cute, I need an insulin shot. Who was that, the Latina Olsen twins? Sheesh. I appreciate the warm wishes. Raf The Living Epistles Society

ArroooooooooooooooooooO!!!!! Must be a full moon. Or WordWolf's birthday (7/23). The Living Epistles Society [This message was edited by Rafael 1969 on July 23, 2002 at 9:51.]

Geek, I work Saturdays, but if you can be persuaded to do this on a Sunday, I'll be more than happy to be there. Otherwise I insist on joining you for dinner Saturday night. Rafael The Living Epistles Society

Happy to come out of retirement for this list! My personal un-favorites... Mr. Smith: an orangutan drinks a special formula and develops a really high IQ, including the ability to talk, play chess, and work for the government. I think he's still at the SEC. V: A great miniseries was actually a pilot for a television series that was just too expensive to produce. So they decided to film a sequel-miniseries to wrap up all the loose ends. With all the loose ends wrapped up, NBC decided NOW was a good time to authorize a series, with half the actors, half the budget, half the scenes recycled and none of the suspense that made the original so much fun. Condo: A white family is dismayed that they bought an expensive condo right next door to a Puerto Rican family. Misfits of Science: a bunch of teens with unscientific abilities, including the ability to read that dialogue with a straight face. Galactica 1980: Turns out getting there was ALL the fun. You know a show is doomed when it's named after the present year. I mean, if the show lasted until 1981, would they have had to rename it? The New Odd Couple: Actually, the Old Odd Couple's scripts, read by new black actors. Emeril: The pain! The pain! Make it go away!!! Teletubbies: Please! Bring back Emeril!!! Second Chance: This was really bad. Matthew Perry starred as the teenage version of a 40-something-year-old man who dies and comes back to the past to set himself on the right path. The Tortelli's: Frasier may be the most intelligent series spinoff ever. The Tortelli's, spun-off from the same series (Cheers) may have been the worst. Top of the Heap: Another really bad one. This was a spin-off of Married with Children (!) and starred Matt Le Blanc. For those keeping track, we have THREE "Friends" stars covered (Courtney Cox was in Misfits of Science). Ah, that was fun. Okay, back to retirement. The Living Epistles Society

Steve, My plagiarism was a little too obscure. I was parodying a line from Superman II, when General Zod first sees the Fortress of Solitude near the end of the movie. The Living Epistles Society

Scruffy. A sentimental replica of a thread long since vanished. No style at all. The Living Epistles Society