Undertow - Escaping from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International
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penworks,
in About The Way
By
penworks,
in About The Way
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penworks
Some of you know that in 1987, I escaped the fundamentalism and cult control of The Way International when I drove away from TWI headquarters in New Knoxville, Ohio, and never went back. I don't
penworks
Thank you, chockfull. It's a very humbling experience. Whenever anyone trusts you, you feel honored, right? Today, I'm looking through old files and just found this little piece I wrote in 2008.
waysider
This sort of thing is what happened to me. One day, in FellowLaborers, I found myself all alone in the house for some reason. I happened to look in a full length mirror and, just like that, like a bol
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penworks
When folks read the subtitle of Undertow, I sometimes get asked what I mean by Fundamentalism. They think only of the cult aspects of TWI, not the foundation it was built on, which was VPW's use of a fundamentalist view of Scripture. Much of it he plagiarized from work of other fundamentalists.
Here's one of many blogs I've written about this:
https://charleneedge.com/whats-on-the-menu-fundamentalism-basics/
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penworks
Today's blog post:
Echo in New Knoxville, Ohio: Minister Reads "Undertow" | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com)
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Nathan_Jr
I remember this blog post. Funny to see the comment from Robert. Is this postcard a new one? Different from the hilarious "Time to come home?" Has anyone else received a postcard recently?
Robert Lunsford
Last week, I received a post card from The Way, suggesting I investigate “the new Way” ministry. Given I hadn’t heard from them in thirty years, and was blackballed after refusing to submit, branded a heretic, mark and avoid, etc, I found it curious they would reach out with a snail mail. My first thought, they must be hurting for cash. Since Wierwille taught our first thoughts are revelation, I must be right!
I drove by New Knoxville last week on my annual Ohio trip to Put In Bay, and wondered how they still support the place. Worse, how people still buy into their shtick. Given their post card to me, apparently not many are.
Congrats on the anniversary of your book, it’s been so meaningful to many. All the best!
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penworks
Here's a Wayback moment.
While writing Undertow, I found the attached TIME article from 1971.
Time mag_1971_TWI_VPW.pdf
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chockfull
Great blog it was an enjoyable read along with the comments.
My observation regarding the new “post card ministry” that the Way has going on. The Jehovahs Witness Governing Body has mostly turned that high control cult into a publishing organization and a construction organization.
Everyone on planet Earth has probably seen at least one copy of the “Awake” magazine published by the JW GB. “Witnessing” as an activity among the Jehovahs Witness “Publishers” (their name for witnessing group) really only involves handing out those magazines and recording who took them. This is done door to door and by putting pull carts full of literature at common public events in the community.
Sending post cards via mail is their way of “low risk witnessing”. Like the JW there is no intelligence necessary, there is no necessity for understanding their doctrine completely to witness and there is no negative rejection to face. Post card mailing lists can be handed to Way Ambassadors for follow up.
I don’t mean to sidetrack the main thread point but I definitely see patterns where TWI employs similar tactics to the larger and older established cults.
It is all about avoiding any friction for the leaders and dispersing 100 percent of the work to underlings.
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penworks
In case you missed it, here's today's post on my blog - a 2-for-1 book review:
Reviews: 'Undertow' and 'The Cult That Snapped' | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com)
Cheers to Karl Kahler, my fellow writer on things pertaining to The Way! He rocks!
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chockfull
This thread is on the book Undertow it is not on the book Homo Deus
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chockfull
I enjoyed reading the reviews on Undertow. And the interaction with Karl.
Thanks.
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Rocky
Oh, okay.
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penworks
A little Undertow history:
Did you guys know I've been writing blog posts on my website since 2015? That activity connected me to readers who were anticipating the publication of Undertow in November 2016.
Here's a link to the posts in the Cults category: Cults Archives | Page 11 of 11 | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com)
And the link to the Fundamentalist category: Fundamentalism Archives | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com)
Enjoy!
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Ham
Undertow.. escaping.. somehow I think that the Cult escaped me..
just too much. Me that is.
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penworks
For those interested, here's a FREE copy of Undertow's first chapter.
Feel free to share it with interested folks.
Charlene
Hiding-in-Plain-Sight.pdf
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penworks
Today I'm ticked off over the book ban situation going on in this country. Are you? I feel as if I'm back in a cult, and you know which one! If it weren't for libraries, Undertow would most probably not exist.
My post today:
Don't Fear the Library | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com)
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Stayed Too Long
A large number are God related books. Some people hate the freedom of religion clause in the first amendment.
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/more-than-350-books-banned-in-florida-schools-since-last-july-16817328
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Rocky
I
Public libraries!
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Nathan_Jr
Reading assessments have been on the decline in the U.S. since 2020. As much as I despise censorship and book banning, unintentional positive results may come of it.
I sought out and read many banned books as a kid in middle school and high school.
Few things motivate the youth quite like prohibition.
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penworks
Agree!
Now, for the story about why/how I wrote the Undertow story, which I imagine may be prohibited reading for some Way kids.
Making Waves with "Undertow" - Why I Wrote the Book | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com)
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penworks
From today's blog at https://charleneedge.com
Happy almost-7th birthday to Undertow in November. In this post, I’m pleased again to honor the very first former devotees of The Way International who read drafts of my memoir, Undertow, offered valuable feedback, AND THEN stuck their necks out to publicly endorse the book. If you know anything about The Way, their speaking out is HUGE.
FREE copies of Undertow
On Nov. 1st, I’ll send you the scoop about getting a free copy of Undertow. I have only seven (7) to give away. So, stay tuned.
A few words about Undertow
If you’re not acquainted with my story, here’s a section from the Preface of my book:
In its heyday in the 1980s, The Way International was one of the largest fundamentalist cults in America, with about forty thousand followers worldwide.1 Founded in 1942 by a self-proclaimed prophet, Victor Paul Wierwille (1916–1985), who marketed the group as a biblical research, teaching, and fellowship ministry, The Way still operates in the shadow of its dark history. I knew Wierwille personally. As one of his biblical research assistants and ministry leaders, I am a witness to his charisma, as well as his abuse of power and manipulation of Scriptures to serve his own agenda. I discovered his sexual abuse of women and chronic plagiarism. Today, those underbelly facts are hidden, denied, or otherwise squelched. The years of Wierwille’s authoritarian reign and the chaos after his death provide the context of my story.
Former Way devotees endorse Undertow
“Undertow could be called ‘The Great Mystery of The Way Revealed: How the Research Department Really Worked.’ Every sentence rings true. In telling her story in Undertow, Charlene has also told mine. Holding degrees from the University of Toronto, having studied Hebrew, Aramaic, and Syriac, I taught and conducted biblical research for The Way International, albeit in a minor role, from 1976 to 1978. With remarkable clarity, Charlene tells her journey of recruitment, service, eventual disenchantment, and escape, which mirrors much of my own. I heartily recommend and endorse this well-written, captivating, engagingly told tale.” —Marty McRae, former Eighth Way Corps member and former faculty member, The Way College of Emporia
“A tenderly written, intensely personal narrative about being swallowed alive by a cult. Charlene Edge’s encounters with the abusive Victor Paul Wierwille and her firsthand observation of how The Way’s Research Department twisted the Scriptures are enlightening and chilling.” —Karl Kahler, author of The Cult That Snapped: A Journey Into The Way International
“In Undertow, Charlene Edge manages to bring to life the inexorable, age-old struggle of light triumphing over darkness, of the search for truth in the misty range of a ‘false prophet’s’ deception which she encountered firsthand as a research assistant in The Way International. While she was promised liberty, she found herself a ‘servant of corruption’ (2 Peter 2:19). Ms. Edge’s heartfelt and earnest journey will leave you in awe of what the human spirit can conquer when it launches out in the search for truth. Well-written, compelling, and inspiring.” —Kristen Skedgell, author of Losing the Way
“Undertow is a gift to young people and their families who want to understand the inner workings of fundamentalist cults. Charlene Edge’s experience parallels much of my own twelve years as a follower of Victor Paul Wierwille’s ministry. Undertow sheds light on the decisions, questions, and longings that she encountered, and ultimately worked her way through. In the words of Canadian author Matshona Dhliwayo, ‘Books are kinder teachers than experience.’ May Undertow be a kinder teacher to you than Charlene’s seventeen years in The Way International were to her.” —Steve Muratore, publisher of award-winning political blog the Arizona Eagletarian
—END—
Public Service Announcement
International Cult Awareness Day
November 18th is set aside to honor victims of dangerous cults and help others avoid the lure of harmful groups.
For more information on this topic of public concern and interest around the world, visit here.
Next post: November 1 – How to get a FREE copy of Undertow
Thanks for reading!
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
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penworks
If anyone wants a FREE copy of Undertow, here's the link to today's post with details, plus links to book reviews, my YouTube talk, photos of presentations, etc. You can subscribe to my blog posts on any page of the website.
Cheers!
Happy Birthday, Undertow! FREE Copies, Event Photos, Reviews & More | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com)
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penworks
Update: There are only 4 FREE copies left. Get yours today. Details in the blog.
Happy Birthday, Undertow! FREE Copies, Event Photos, Reviews & More | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com)
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oldiesman
Thank you
Thank you Charlene for your kind offer.
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penworks
Last update:
Greetings, readers. You may know this month is Undertow's 7th birthday. On Nov. 1st, I began giving away seven (7) FREE copies. UPDATE: As of this morning, Nov. 4th, there are only two (2) FREE copies left. Keep reading for details. But first, what's a memoir?
A memoir is a true slice-of-life story
Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International is a memoir, a true story of my years spent in a Bible cult. One thing I like about memoir is that it usually (not always) focuses on one major event in your life. It's not your whole life story (that's autobiography). In memoir, you include only parts of your experience that relate to the overall theme or lesson you learned during that time in your life. And then, one way or another, you let the reader know how you feel about that now as you look back on it.
In Undertow, I stated its theme in the first chapter: "In the beginning, I only wanted to know, love, and serve God and understand the Bible. What harm could that possibly bring?" Right away you know what the book is about. You know what's motivating me. Will I get what I wanted? How did that quest turn out? Did I change in some way by the end of the book?
Writing a memoir
Writing this memoir taught me many things: perseverance, for one, courage, for another. There were times I thought I might not finish it, much less publish it. It's hard to know when a story is "finished" and scary to make yourself vulnerable by telling a very personal story.
How about you? If you're thinking of writing a memoir, I say try it. No one but you can write something about your life like you can.
Maybe this will inspire you—my favorite quote about memoir. It's found in Patricia Hampl's book, I Could Tell You Stories:
"If we refuse to do the work of creating this personal version of the past, someone else will do it for us. That is the scary political fact. 'The struggle of man against power,' Milan Kundera's hero in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting says, 'is the struggle of memory against forgetting.' He refers to willful political forgetting, the habit of nations and those in power (Question Authority!) to deny the truth of memory in order to disarm moral and ethical power. It is an efficient way of controlling masses of people."
Get your FREE copy of Undertow
Offer is good until November 30, 2023. Limit one per request.
Undertow is sold at major booksellers. List price: paperback ($24.95), eBook ($9.99). Also order it at Indie bookstores and public libraries.
Next blog post: Nov. 11 - When is International Cult Awareness Day?
Thanks for reading!
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
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Twinky
Much as I'd like to read Undertow, it's only available in the UK with extortionate postage costs, presumably from USA. I don't know how much those claimed costs relate to actual postage costs.
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penworks
Twinky, can you order the ebook version from somewhere like Amazon, etc.?
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