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Where's the EXIT?


BlueCord
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This is slightly off-topic.

Regarding this re-search stuff, I was given a topic upon which to write my Corps paper, whatever they called it. My work on this was really enjoyable. I learned a huge amount. There was no TWI teaching that I knew of upon the wider subject, where my studies took me; I ended up rummaging all over the OT and NT and it is stuff that stays with me now. Powerful.

My first draft was sent back because there weren't enough references to collaterals and other TWI material (Bible verses, note, were well quoted and all refs given). I had to go through my paper and insert refs to TWI materials - and in some cases, tweak what I'd written so as to be able to make reference to some TWI book. It added nothing; it wasn't relevant.

It seems that several people read the paper (there was only ever one copy) and quite a number came back to me and said it was great stuff, they'd enjoyed reading it, it was new and interesting and should be widely shared. You suppose it was? Ha ha, think again. I never heard any aspect of it ever referred to again. 18months later I was rudely and publicly ejected from TWI.

But what I learned (what God showed me) stays with me; I apply it now; I try to live by it.

LCM gave me this topic, no doubt expecting something quite different from what he got; I suspect he wanted to pinch the work and use it to defend his own actions. Unfortunately, it showed him for the hypocrite, liar and adulterer that he was.

Monday is going to be a very tough day for me. But I will draw strength and wisdom from what I learned in researching that paper over 20 years ago.

Kudos to you, Twinky, for having the gumption to take that stand. What was the paper about? Love to you for dealing with family on Monday.

Edited by Rocky
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Rocky, the title was (given to me): "An Answer of Truth in the Face of Accusation" - basically intended I think as a word study of the word Apokrinomai and a study of the gospel of John, where this word mostly occurs, where it's usually translated: "he answered and said,,," and is frequently used where Jesus responds to the Pharisees and his other attackers. And I think LCM must have intended it as some sort of get out of jail free card - justification for his yelling or justification for his adultery or some such.

But I checked the word in Septuagint, compared with use in the OT, considered lots of words in the OT esp (I think) the word Shaphat, which was the Sept-equivalent word. Looked at all usages. It took me to God's desired care that we mortals should extend to our families and extended families, personal relationships, and right living. I roamed all over all the Bible except (perhaps) Revelation, picking up first one aspect then another. It took in graciousness and forgiveness.

Basically, I came to the conclusion that the "Answer of Truth in the Face of Accusation" is to be right-living, lining up one's behaviour with that desired by God, an honest-to-God lifestyle., So of course that's what I wrote. The Answer of Truth is the way we live. It's not just in the words we use (which very little of my thesis touched upon) to respond to people. When we live right, then we can speak right and answer our accusers. There is integrity behind our words when we do respond with words.

It was also written in a readable but scholarly fashion, not folksy anecdotes, but tightly and forensically, and using carefully chosen words. I was a lawyer in another life; sloppy wordsmithing can lead to clients' cases failing badly,

So you can see why my conclusions about the Answer went down like a lead balloon :confused:/>.

And perhaps why there wasn't much in the collaterals about this !!

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Rocky, the title was (given to me): "An Answer of Truth in the Face of Accusation" - basically intended I think as a word study of the word Apokrinomai and a study of the gospel of John, where this word mostly occurs, where it's usually translated: "he answered and said,,," and is frequently used where Jesus responds to the Pharisees and his other attackers. And I think LCM must have intended it as some sort of get out of jail free card - justification for his yelling or justification for his adultery or some such.

But I checked the word in Septuagint, compared with use in the OT, considered lots of words in the OT esp (I think) the word Shaphat, which was the Sept-equivalent word. Looked at all usages. It took me to God's desired care that we mortals should extend to our families and extended families, personal relationships, and right living. I roamed all over all the Bible except (perhaps) Revelation, picking up first one aspect then another. It took in graciousness and forgiveness.

Basically, I came to the conclusion that the "Answer of Truth in the Face of Accusation" is to be right-living, lining up one's behaviour with that desired by God, an honest-to-God lifestyle., So of course that's what I wrote. The Answer of Truth is the way we live. It's not just in the words we use (which very little of my thesis touched upon) to respond to people. When we live right, then we can speak right and answer our accusers. There is integrity behind our words when we do respond with words.

It was also written in a readable but scholarly fashion, not folksy anecdotes, but tightly and forensically, and using carefully chosen words. I was a lawyer in another life; sloppy wordsmithing can lead to clients' cases failing badly,

So you can see why my conclusions about the Answer went down like a lead balloon confused.gif/>.

And perhaps why there wasn't much in the collaterals about this !!

That's tremendous. Thanks. For years I dreamed of going to law school... got as far as registering for the LSAT in 2013/2014 with a view to starting in fall 2014. Then I realized I don't need the stress of paying for student loans in my sixties.

Perhaps that title was given to you BECAUSE of your legal background. Glad you had the integrity to give it to them straight. :)

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To everybody who has chimed in here, I certainly do appreciate it. I thought I would give you all a heads up about how my wife and I have planned to make our exit. After discussing things with my wife, we've decided to follow Tzaia's guidance and simply quit going. I don't expect there will be much effort on their part to contact us, but if they do it will likely be by phone. So, that's my grand exit. We're just going to drift away.

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Don't be surprised if they take it personal.

Rev. Thorney used to leave angry messages for me after I just stopped.

Be prepared to ignore, ignore, ignore.

Edited to add:

Leadership may also send more naive folks to your door, leaving gifts and loving words. Implying how they miss you and how you're hurting their tender, innocent little hearts.

All part of a ruse to tempt you to doubt your own decisions. You are, after all, a cruel person on the inside, why else would you leave?

Edited by Bolshevik
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Let us know how it goes, BlueCord.

Resist evil and it will flee from you. Resist TWI and eventually it will give up harassing you to your face. They'll just slander you both and M&A you. So you may lose the friends you think you have in TWI because if they contact you, they too will become possessed. Don't be surprised.

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Let us know how it goes, BlueCord.

Resist evil and it will flee from you. Resist TWI and eventually it will give up harassing you to your face. They'll just slander you both and M&A you. So you may lose the friends you think you have in TWI because if they contact you, they too will become possessed. Don't be surprised.

Then again,

they may regret losing contact with you if and when THEY leave.

So, you might leave the door open for them in case that happens.

Or not, depending. It's not your job, after all.

Just another decision to make.

And yes, twi will be juvenile, petty, loud, threatening,

passive-aggressive, and so on, once they know you're on the

way out. Either they want you back to exploit you some more,

or they want you beaten and broken as an example to the others

as to what happens to those who leave.

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  • 2 weeks later...

RFR has no loyalty to anyone but herself. She is as much of a megalomaniac as either predecessor. She rose to power in a Communist or Totalitarian approach of sending her enemies to Siberia. She seduced Donna and took the presidency then axed LCM

As she gets older and more senile she's going to get more unstable and volatile and any cross word could set her off.

The good news is that in the overall scheme of life on this planet she means nothing. Who cares if a witch howls if she has no authority over you.

Freedom in Christ is > the bondage of a cult with a wicked witch leader

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Welcome BlueCord, Thanks for reaching out to this community. Good things have already been said and some good advice given. I feel your pain. I was involved for a number of years took all the classes went WOW got to meet and talk to the late Mrs. Wierwille several times, once during an Advanced Class special she saw me and a friend walking somewhere and she stopped and asked if we needed a ride to where ever we were headed. My point is there are many good loving people who are in a bad situation in TWI even the late Mrs. W. The closest thing I can equate TWI to is The Matrix. What if I told you it's all an illusion everything they teach is designed to make you a power source for them. Do you get it Copper-top?

Back in 2006 I did the ultimate thing a one time Word Over the World Ambassador and Advanced class on Power For Abundant Living graduate could do. I became an atheist, best decision I've made in my adult life. Get familiar with the stages of grief, you'll be feeling that after you leave. There are any number of books I could recommend. I guess the first two would be "You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself" By David McRaney and "Emotional Vampires: Dealing with People Who Drain You Dry" by Albert Bernstein If you don't want to buy "You Are Not So Smart" David has a podcast on Sound Cloud where he covers Logical fallacies and self-delusion topics that are in his books.

Anyway I hope you keep us posted on your progress, and happy landing.

Seth

P.S. here's a picture of me with the late Mrs. W.

post-421-013884900 1467616448_thumb.jpg

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This is slightly off-topic.

Regarding this re-search stuff, I was given a topic upon which to write my Corps paper, whatever they called it. My work on this was really enjoyable. I learned a huge amount. There was no TWI teaching that I knew of upon the wider subject, where my studies took me; I ended up rummaging all over the OT and NT and it is stuff that stays with me now. Powerful.

My first draft was sent back because there weren't enough references to collaterals and other TWI material (Bible verses, note, were well quoted and all refs given). I had to go through my paper and insert refs to TWI materials - and in some cases, tweak what I'd written so as to be able to make reference to some TWI book. It added nothing; it wasn't relevant.

So much for "The Word The Word and Nothing but The Word" right Twinky?

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Hey folks! It's been a while since I've checked in, and I wanted to let y'all know how things are going. We haven't been to fellowship in quite a while, but we are still getting texts asking about whether we're going to show up to this event or that. I think that eventually I'm going to have to let them know that we just aren't coming around anymore, but for the moment I don't think I'll have to do that. And, now that we aren't "in" anymore life seems to be kind of the same. The only exception is that I'm not going to a house full of old folks and listening to the same old teachings. We are still searching for a church, so it's not like we have gained any extra time in our week, but it feels like we have. Anyways, things keep on moving along, and nobody has given us a hard time about anything. So far most of the people we have told about it have understood. Some friends are still in and others left before we did. All in all, not a whole lot has changed, and I'm sitting here wondering why I built it up to be such a big deal.

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Hey BlueCord! Thanks for the update.

Sounds like all is well. One idea I had regarding their mild attempt at "badgering by invitation"......so far, ignoring them with no answers has worked quite well. You owe them no explanation of anything. They'll get the hint one unanswered text or E-mail at a time. They are dense in the skull. Besides, it'll save you some time!........LOL.

It was built up in your mind since 2010 bro. It was done purposely. It's called intentionally programmed fear of abandonment. As I've said before, FEAR of Satan is at the center of the only motivational techniques they employ. Fear, is all they have because there is no love of Christ in them. He's just a password to get your prayers answered, and pass out the piñatas at their segregated, man-invented bema. Tell them to give my sweetest regards to the former lesbian lovers and leaders of TWIt, rosie and Lombardi. Tell them I've changed......BBWWAAAHAHAHA.

Edited by DontWorryBeHappy
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Hey BlueCord! Thanks for the update.

It was built up in your mind since 2010 bro. It was done purposely. It's called intentionally programmed fear of abandonment. As I've said before, FEAR of Satan is at the center of the only motivational techniques they employ. Fear, is all they have...

Indeed... fear is in the DNA of the subculture that VPW built. And fear is a powerful motivator.

But you've done some of the most important work already -- learning by experience that the expectations they gave you are simply unfounded.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So, my wife and I have been checking out churches since we don't go to fellowship any more. This past Sunday, we were discussing where to go. Would we check out one that's close by the house, or would we drive into town to see my family at their church? We were sitting on the couch, still in our pajamas, and I said to my wife "To be honest, I really don't wanna go at all today." She said she didn't really want to either. We stayed home, relaxed, and had a great time. And you know what? I didn't feel bad about it one bit.

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WOOHOO BlueCord!

Hope you love your "day of rest" at home with your wife in your PJs! It really is a much more relaxing and enjoyable "way" to enjoy that day of rest than 4 meetings every Sunday. You can think about God, pray, read your bible........or not. YOUR choice! Better than the Sunday morning fellowship, some TWIt pwesident holding court for an hour at lunch, Sunday Night Service, and then an after meeting somewhere until midnight, and in bed in time to run at 5:55 every morning. I'll take Sundays off, thank you very much.

Enjoy your continued journey into spiritual, intellectual, and social freedom! It only gets better, as will your entire life. You can explore and think guilt-free. Don't look back!..............peace.

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  • 1 month later...

BlueCord, I seldom post any more. Let me tell you a bit about myself. I took the PFAL foundational class in 1973, was a WOW in 1974-75 and went through a program in Ohio similar to the Way Corps after that. My husband and I left in 1996 for a variety of reasons. One reason was our rebellious child, and another was that two years earlier, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

I'm giving you this background for a reason:  I was devastated, convinced I would die because our branch coordinator had stated that at the moment someone turned their back on the "Household of Holiness" that instant the spirit within them would die, and shortly thereafter their physical body would die also, because it is impossible to exist outside the household of the way.

That was over 20 years ago, and we are happy and healthy. I'm still diabetic, but I handle it pretty well. My husband has a dream job. Our son has two sons of his own. There is a great life outside TWI than you ever imagined! Those people do NOT have a patent on holiness, not by a damn sight!

Our relationship with God is better than it's ever been. We attended several churches before finding one that's a perfect fit. The one we attend teaches the Bible without legalism or hypercalvinism. If you want to PM me I'll tell what brand.

God bless you great bunches as you and your family begin a journey to real freedom.

 

 

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Thanks, don't worry be happy, all is fabulous! I'm actually really retired and enjoying it. DogLover, that is what the branch coordinator said. I think by the mid-90's a lot of the creme de la creme were more interested in Word of LCM than Word of God anyway. I used to have nightmares about it all but now, in the words of that wise of philosopher, B. A. Barakas,

 

"Ah pity the fool!"

 

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On 6/19/2016 at 0:39 AM, Twinky said:

Rocky, the title was (given to me): "An Answer of Truth in the Face of Accusation" - basically intended I think as a word study of the word Apokrinomai and a study of the gospel of John, where this word mostly occurs, where it's usually translated: "he answered and said,,," and is frequently used where Jesus responds to the Pharisees and his other attackers. And I think LCM must have intended it as some sort of get out of jail free card - justification for his yelling or justification for his adultery or some such.

But I checked the word in Septuagint, compared with use in the OT, considered lots of words in the OT esp (I think) the word Shaphat, which was the Sept-equivalent word. Looked at all usages. It took me to God's desired care that we mortals should extend to our families and extended families, personal relationships, and right living. I roamed all over all the Bible except (perhaps) Revelation, picking up first one aspect then another. It took in graciousness and forgiveness.

Basically, I came to the conclusion that the "Answer of Truth in the Face of Accusation" is to be right-living, lining up one's behaviour with that desired by God, an honest-to-God lifestyle., So of course that's what I wrote. The Answer of Truth is the way we live. It's not just in the words we use (which very little of my thesis touched upon) to respond to people. When we live right, then we can speak right and answer our accusers. There is integrity behind our words when we do respond with words.

It was also written in a readable but scholarly fashion, not folksy anecdotes, but tightly and forensically, and using carefully chosen words. I was a lawyer in another life; sloppy wordsmithing can lead to clients' cases failing badly,

So you can see why my conclusions about the Answer went down like a lead balloon :confused:/>.

And perhaps why there wasn't much in the collaterals about this !!

Twinky,

That sounds like a seriously bad-@$$ piece of work in your research paper.  I for one would love to read it if you still have a copy of it around.  

chockfull

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  • 3 weeks later...

As everyone has said before,I will add this,The so called leadership covers up,acts like it never happens and plain tells you it is none of your beeswax.

As far as your friends if they are your friends they will be after if not make new ones..You are in charge of your life not them.Spiritually responsible is a li.

The freedom in Christ has been replaced with a gestapo mentality.You need them which is a lie.Leaving will be hard as you are making a new path outside the so called protection of the way.God Speed in your new direction

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey, BlueCord, I'm late to the party but wanted to chime in and say hello.  I hope you and your wife are continuing to enjoy your extra free time spending it how you choose and with the people that you choose.

With regards to the teachings - this thread on actual errors in PFAL may be of some use. And this one.  I will be forever grateful for the work that these people put into dissecting the class and teachings and helping untangle so much of it.

I also read a lot of Elaine Pagels, particularly "The Origin of Satan"  because we were taught to trace everything back to the original, right? ;-)

I'm very happy that you and your wife were able to leave together.  I spent five years trying to get my husband to see how bad it was but he insisted I was just being a contentious wife.  I left and he stayed in.  He even went back to work at the compound in New Knoxville and is still there for all I know. 

 

 

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Hello Belle!  Very long time since you've posted here.  I recall you especially - you offered such helpful advice when I first found the Cafe - wow, over ten years ago now.

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