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1 hour ago, Bolshevik said:

China tears up your passport.

The state uses social media to influence behavior.

They also have these YouTube videos of people praising China and mocking very specific individuals in The West.  It's hilarious watching how scripted the emotions are.  They basically show up at your door one day with a camera and some threats and say "read this".  

That's maybe 1.4 billion people, but it's now understood China has even been making those numbers up.  It's probably overestimated by over 100 million people.  Still bigger than all cults combined.

China or North Korea?

North Korea is the most isolated nation state on the planet. China may be "cultish," but North Korea is a cult. The ruling family, the Kims, are treated like gods. Literally, they are viewed as divine, by free will force. 

 

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6 minutes ago, Nathan_Jr said:

. . . The stupidity of belief does not a cult make; it's that the cult can convince people these beliefs are sound - through isolation and control.

 

I don't think TWI ever convinced anyone the beliefs are sound.  It was a battle of wills.

The stick that stands up is pounded down.

If they hit you with a stick, they didn't stop until you hit them back.

 

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1 minute ago, Nathan_Jr said:

China or North Korea?

North Korea is the most isolated nation state on the planet. China may be "cultish," but North Korea is a cult. The ruling family, the Kims, are treated like gods. Literally, they are viewed as divine, by free will force. 

 

China.  I believe "cult of personality" is a common phrase in reference Xi Jinping at this time.  

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11 minutes ago, Nathan_Jr said:

Ask Mike, or my fellowship leader, I'm sure they would disagree. 

I agree they would . . . think of something.  

I personally have asked for decades what belief even is.  Is it trust?  Is it a decision?  What are we even talking about? . . . The word has little meaning sometimes.  

People identify with Victor Paul Wierwille.  He is part of who they are.  An attack on him or his "work" is an attack on them.

 

Just for fun:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping's_cult_of_personality

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1 hour ago, Bolshevik said:

I personally have asked for decades what belief even is.  Is it trust?  Is it a decision?  What are we even talking about? . . . The word has little meaning sometimes.  

Victor would say: Believing is what you do, faith is what you have. Mmmmm..meh... kinda... but this is too facile. His pithy maxims are part of the sleight of hand.

A simple dictionary definition: belief is an acceptance that something is real or true.

Most languages only have one word for belief/faith. Greek has only one, pistis. English has two.

I like the distinction that belief is a clinging to, a clutching, but faith is a letting go, a surrender. (I may have heard that from Alan Watts.) For me, it's an informative and helpful distinction. Something to contemplate.

In order to be hurt by a lie, one must first BELIEVE that lie to be true. A lie REQUIRES belief to survive. Something else to contemplate.

The North Koreans and Chinese BELIEVE their leaders are gods.

All conditioning is belief. Not all belief is problematic, obviously. Most is innocuous, but for me it's important to be aware of what and why I believe anything. To simply pay attention. But a mind must be free in order to pay attention, to see clearly.

1 hour ago, Bolshevik said:

People identify with Victor Paul Wierwille.  He is part of who they are.  An attack on him or his "work" is an attack on them.

These people are not free. My heart breaks for them and the those caught in their orbit.

Edited by Nathan_Jr
Where'd I put those gloves....
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40 minutes ago, Nathan_Jr said:

Victor would say: Believing is what you do, faith is what you have. Mmmmm..meh... kinda... but this is too facile. His pithy maxims are part of the sleight of hand.

A simple dictionary definition: belief is an acceptance that something is real or true.

Most languages only have one word for belief/faith. Greek has only one, pistis. English has two.

I like the distinction that belief is a clinging to, a clutching, but faith is a letting go, a surrender. (I may have heard that from Alan Watts.) For me, it's an informative and helpful distinction. Something to contemplate.

In order to be hurt by a lie, one must first BELIEVE that lie to be true. A lie REQUIRES belief to survive. Something else to contemplate.

The North Koreans and Chinese BELIEVE their leaders are gods.

All conditioning is belief. Not all belief is problematic, obviously. Most is innocuous, but for me it's important to be aware of what and why I believe anything. To simply pay attention. But a mind must be free in order to pay attention, to see clearly.

These people are not free. My heart breaks for them and the those caught in their orbit.

Forgive me as I am trying to track.  Belief seems non-specific.  Is it a thing? A number of related things? A thing that is a thing sometimes but not others?  As real and true are two different things.

And now faith is word spelled differently than belief.  That's why we crossed it out and wrote believing.

God is a word as well that means different things at different times.  

Now a cult generally requires a person, which is real, to lead.  Some more people to follow, and these folks are also decided to be real.  The leading and the following . . . are they together with or distinctly independent of . . .mutually exclusive of the thing they are doing?  Or are these words misleading in the first place? 

The cult person leading of course has a personality.  A personality has a definition . . . which is a description to describe its meaning.  The followers take on that personality together with, and yet not so much distinctly independent of, each other.  In all this is THE thing.

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27 minutes ago, Bolshevik said:

Forgive me as I am trying to track.  Belief seems non-specific.  Is it a thing? A number of related things? A thing that is a thing sometimes but not others?  As real and true are two different things.

And now faith is word spelled differently than belief.  That's why we crossed it out and wrote believing.

God is a word as well that means different things at different times.  

Now a cult generally requires a person, which is real, to lead.  Some more people to follow, and these folks are also decided to be real.  The leading and the following . . . are they together with or distinctly independent of . . .mutually exclusive of the thing they are doing?  Or are these words misleading in the first place? 

The cult person leading of course has a personality.  A personality has a definition . . . which is a description to describe its meaning.  The followers take on that personality together with, and yet not so much distinctly independent of, each other.  In all this is THE thing.

Well, exactly, lest it all fall to pieces.

Let me quote VPW. This should clear up the confusion:

"Now Satan could have kids by the barrel-full because all he had to do is possess them. But God can't have any children until they what? Believe. Like today, God can't have a child until somebody believes. Wait until we get into the discerning of spirit field then all this stuff will take on a ten million times bigger color."

Isn't that just a tremendous record!

 

if Victor had been given an enema, he could have been buried in a match box.

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5 hours ago, Nathan_Jr said:

Right. The defining characteristics have little to do with dogmatic beliefs. In just the last few years, them have been some excellent threads here diving deep into cult structure and behavior. And though a search of Scientology will yield results, I'm not sure enough has been said about how VPW even plagiarized L. Ron Hubbard's tactics. 

They were contemporaries. LRH had his Sea Org, VPW had his Corps. LRH was a brutal master of m&a. The classes and levels and always something new to purchase - required and mandated, but through cheerful free will choice. The lock box... on and on.

All cults operate the same. Dogmatic beliefs, whether spaceships or devil seed, are merely incidental  The stupidity of belief does not a cult make; it's that the cult can convince people these beliefs are sound - through isolation and control.

 

I think you are correct in saying “The defining characteristics have little to do with dogmatic beliefs”. People can make a cult out of anything. If there’s a charismatic leader with evil intent at the center of it all - that’s when it becomes a harmful and controlling cult. Now we’re getting into psychological stuff. “Criminal psychology, also referred to as criminological psychology, is the study of the views, thoughts, intentions, actions and reactions of criminals and suspects. It is a subfield of criminology and applied psychology.” From:  Wiki - Criminal Psychology


I tend to think all “great” cult leaders think alike. :evilshades:   (* check out an interesting article on cult leaders below). So, we’ll probably find common traits among them. Ideologies could be worlds apart. But in my opinion pseudo-Christian cults are ahead of the con game because a lot more folks are familiar with some of the big ideas of the Bible. Plus, if they’re young and naïve they probably won’t catch all the Scripture twisting and logical fallacies. And I know from 12 years in TWI it wasn’t unusual to hear about parents of TWI-followers – even if the parents were not involved in TWI themselves – they thought it was a good thing that their kids were getting into something as innoxious as The Bible. They suspected nothing.

I do think Scientology might be a lot harder to sell. I’ve read a few books about their beliefs, control tactics and former members. In my opinion they have some whacked out beliefs that are a lot tougher to sell than innocent looking PFAL :rolleyes: . But to be fair, you hear some pretty whacked out beliefs and conspiracy theories by the time you’ve had the Advanced Class…so six devil spirits, half a dozen suppressives…whatever…I heard even Tom Crui$e kinda tripped out for a little bit when he got to “Operating Thetan III” also called “The Wall of Fire” that deals with Xenu, the evil galactic overlord, and the H bombs on Hawaii 76 million years ago. from:  Top 8 Levels of Scientology 

…Another thing I’ve gathered from a book by one former Scientologist was that you can retain your existing beliefs – and kinda meld them with Scientology – not sure what that meant – maybe reinterpret your existing beliefs through the Scientology lens. In that regard it seems like an easier assimilation  :spy:- whereas in The Way International you are encouraged...and later on bullied into thinking ideas that are different than PFAL are incompatible...so just renew your mind. :evilshades:
 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

*Article on cult leaders by Joe Navarro in Psychology Today; Navarro is a former FBI Counterintelligence Agent and is the author of   What Every Body is Saying   and that’s a fascinating book too:

Psychology Today: Clues to what makes for a pathological cult leader

 

 

Edited by T-Bone
I think my editor is a suppressive :)
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This one is more than just bull$hit, it's a sinister lie designed to manipulate and steal. It's how he "rightly divides" Acts 4:33-35

(Did TWI ever help anyone start a business?)

"And that is the early church and that is a fantastic truth. This is the will of the Lord and this is how the early church was to operate, when we get back to this principle God will bless the church; If we don't get back you can't expect God's blessings. Where is it in the Word of God that I as a believer have to go to a secular bank to borrow money to open a thing that I want to do? The Christian Church was designed that there was money in the coffer just in case John wants to start in business. The church starts him in business. Now when John makes money then naturally what does he do? He brings the minimum of his tithe. That is the first thing. He never touches his tithe. Let's say he makes a half million, he dumps most of it right back into the church. That is how the early church was built."
-AC 1971

People, I'm just quoting what the man said. Either he's telling the truth or..... ummm...

....well, if it won't fit, ya just MAKE it fit, like OJ's bloody glove.

Edited by Nathan_Jr
Colostomy bags
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8 hours ago, Nathan_Jr said:

In case (genitive) that doesn't just ring your bell, try making room in your colostomy bag for this direct quote:

"Nobody dies until they quit believing. And everybody quits believing, 'cause ya get tired of the fight."

 

Raf: "Nobody dies when they quit believing, they die when they quit BREATHING."

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7 hours ago, Nathan_Jr said:

This one is more than just bull$hit, it's a sinister lie designed to manipulate and steal. It's how he "rightly divides" Acts 4:33-35

(Did TWI ever help anyone start a business?)

"And that is the early church and that is a fantastic truth. This is the will of the Lord and this is how the early church was to operate, when we get back to this principle God will bless the church; If we don't get back you can't expect God's blessings. Where is it in the Word of God that I as a believer have to go to a secular bank to borrow money to open a thing that I want to do? The Christian Church was designed that there was money in the coffer just in case John wants to start in business. The church starts him in business. Now when John makes money then naturally what does he do? He brings the minimum of his tithe. That is the first thing. He never touches his tithe. Let's say he makes a half million, he dumps most of it right back into the church. That is how the early church was built."
-AC 1971

People, I'm just quoting what the man said. Either he's telling the truth or..... ummm...

....well, if it won't fit, ya just MAKE it fit, like OJ's bloody glove.

Acts 4: 33-35, KJV

[/u]33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

It has nothing to do with what he said.  It's even clearer with the preceding verses.

 

29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

 

Once again, he tortured Scripture and claimed it had to do with something it had nothing to do with.

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18 hours ago, Nathan_Jr said:

Well, exactly, lest it all fall to pieces.

Let me quote VPW. This should clear up the confusion:

"Now Satan could have kids by the barrel-full because all he had to do is possess them. But God can't have any children until they what? Believe. Like today, God can't have a child until somebody believes. Wait until we get into the discerning of spirit field then all this stuff will take on a ten million times bigger color."

Isn't that just a tremendous record!

 

if Victor had been given an enema, he could have been buried in a match box.

 

Well we've gone into being dead.  You are born when you start believing?  This glove is missing a finger.  The other has a few extra.  They know that they know that they don't know what the other is doing.

Pretty sure none of use believed a thing to get here.  Don't even have to know what believing in all its vaguery means.  Don't have to know that you know that you don't know.  You just are. 

But now that you are, now what? 

 

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Apparently you can teach ducks to like humans by showing them pictures of other ducks playing with humans.

Ducks can imprint on creatures that are not their mother.

Ducks should know they are being played.  

Believing is ego inflation.  But we don't use "I'm going to ego inflate until I get what I want now".  We use softer language to hide it.

Belief is a similar nonsense word we all use.  

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9 hours ago, WordWolf said:

Raf: "Nobody dies when they quit believing, they die when they quit BREATHING."

Again, I must ask Mike: who, Who, WHO (see? most skip right over that 'who') is manufacturing these wicked errors? Raf or victor?

Class, these are rhetorical questions. The word rhetorical comes from rhe and torical. The torical is a type of rhe and it just fits, once you put it all together, it just fits in a place I can't remember, but I know I heard about it somewhere. See, it's like that Jew bastard Jesus, you don't need to love him or what he did or even pay attention to his teachings, no, no, no, you just believe all that. How can you program your minds beyond what you've been taught.

 

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1 hour ago, Bolshevik said:

 

Well we've gone into being dead.  You are born when you start believing?  This glove is missing a finger.  The other has a few extra.  They know that they know that they don't know what the other is doing.

Pretty sure none of use believed a thing to get here.  Don't even have to know what believing in all its vaguery means.  Don't have to know that you know that you don't know.  You just are. 

But now that you are, now what? 

 

The word "are" is the vocative case of the word "cat." See how they have the "a" in common? That's how you know. Whenever I see a cat, well, I don't see it too well, you know, because of the wedge. That's right!

People, class, you've just got to put down this idea that you can have freedom of mind and just start believing. Believing is like filling your mind with the contents of this colostomy bag. That's the H-O-W. How can you program your mind if it's free?Well you just can't.

I could ask you how will you throw the dog out of the house while wearing cat skin gloves? See? Isn't that tremendous!

if it's not true, just make it up. It's systematic religious theology! It must be made up by definition. Now, "definition" is from the ancient Nordic languages... you just can't learn this stuff from an honest teacher, but I'll teach you. If you can't do it the right way, try it my way. That's riiight!

Edited by Nathan_Jr
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21 hours ago, Nathan_Jr said:

. . .

In order to be hurt by a lie, one must first BELIEVE that lie to be true. A lie REQUIRES belief to survive. Something else to contemplate.

The North Koreans and Chinese BELIEVE their leaders are gods.

. . .

Belief is meaningless.  Right?  I mean if nobody knows than any lie goes.

Gods vary . . .

above . . . China and Korea and VPW . . . they operated from the top down.  Here . . . worship this . . . do as your told.  Isn't that ducky?

Another means is more bottom up . . . everyone independently happens to be doing similar things and it just sort of merges together as they all interact.

 

 

Edited by Bolshevik
I don't know and neither do you
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3 minutes ago, waysider said:

You die because you stop believing?

I'm pretty sure when an M777 howitzer comes to tell you a bedtime story, the lights are gonna go out whether you believe it or not.

You're "pretty" sure? That's five senses realm. Get you self a silver bracelet engraved with "man of god," then you'll know that you know. Anyway, I'm pretty sure  the word "pretty" doesn't appear anywhere in my Bible. You can't make this stuff up, kids. It's like a red chicken on a tin roof with five cats. 

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25 minutes ago, Nathan_Jr said:

I'm pretty sure  the word "pretty" doesn't appear anywhere in my Bible.

FUN FACT

"Nowhere in the Bible will you ever find mention of someone named Skippy."

 

Source: Some comedian I can't remember.

 

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47 minutes ago, Bolshevik said:

Stopping believing assumes one started believing.  That's how the Emperor dressed.

'Ol vic, bless his little carnal heart, said you can't go beyond what you believe. Like you can't go beyond what you've been taught. Now, both of these pithy maxims are logically false. Intellectually false and spiritually false. The maxims are counterfeit. Spoken by a counterfeit.

But let's give the charlatan's logic a fair shake. If you know that you know that you know, you've already gone beyond believing. So you are knowing instead of believing. Well, you're already dead. Doesn't matter if those gloves are fire engine red, when you're dead, you're just not alive anymore. 

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3 minutes ago, Nathan_Jr said:

'Ol vic, bless his little carnal heart, said you can't go beyond what you believe. Like you can't go beyond what you've been taught. Now, both of these pithy maxims are logically false. Intellectually false and spiritually false. The maxims are counterfeit. Spoken by a counterfeit.

But let's give the charlatan's logic a fair shake. If you know that you know that you know, you've already gone beyond believing. So you are knowing instead of believing. Well, you're already dead. Doesn't matter if those gloves are fire engine red, when you're dead, you're just not alive anymore. 

ah, but the dead know not any-thing, or 2.  It's the cycle of logic.  We could Work the Word, we would if we could.  Or believe and deceive, that we might thieve with a sieve.  There are no holes in these bowls, of mercy.  So wing this thing like gloves on a duck and save them from the muck and the mire before they expire.  

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