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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.

Were you intending to push emotional buttons with that accusation, or was it just incidental?

Why is it that when people want to exalt the image of Wierwille they so often default to Biblical parallels? He wasn't a Biblical figure, he was just some guy who ran a heavy handed religious cult from a tiny cornfield in rural Ohio.

"All the soap opera stuff and the sex scandals were totally irrelevant to God". Seriously???

Perhaps I'm being too nitpicky but I wanted to comment on "truth", plagiarism, and doctrine (i highlighted them in bold red in the above quote) Plagiarism: I think VP is way beyond any sort of "typical" plagiarist you might find in the world of published authors. I don't really see him as any sort of theologian or scholar with more or less the same intellectual skills as his supposed peers and merely stealing a few ideas here and there from others. Like he was some dedicated scientist working on the cure for cancer and was so close he just lacked one ingredient to make it all work – and lo and behold that scientist over there figured it out…oh and that one too…and that one…and that one… I suggest folks "upgrade" VP's status of plagiarist to grand impersonator…fraud extraordinaire. It's not like he demonstrated any proficiency of skills he "taught" in PFAL or alluded to in print. Those were merely scripts that any unschooled actor could follow. I will grant you this, his performance was certainly Oscar quality – but I don't think that can be attributed to some method acting skill but rather that he was so swallowed up in his own lies that he lived and moved and had his being inside a delusion. If you've ever followed live presentations of his "doctrine" you may recall his ego-centric reasoning for making a particular point in a passage of scripture. At Advanced Class 78 and 79 and in teachings to in-residence way corps VP one of his most used techniques for adding weight to the point he was making was to suggest God revealed it to him or God was reigning him in so he wouldn't say too much. You hardly ever hear him driving a point home by utilizing one of those "keys on how the Bible interprets itself". For example, "Father showed me the heart of this…" or "Father says shut up Wierwille." And maybe it was at PFAL 77 (it's been so long I can't remember the setting) he talked about how when God wanted him to focus on a word in scripture "the Father would make that word appear real big like it was one inch high." I don't know if he had his prosthetic eye put in yet – but if so – maybe it was actually bionic and the zoom feature was acting up. All kidding aside – my point is these incidents give you a glimpse behind the theologian-scholar-man-of-god façade that VP had erected – with the help of devoted fans of course. Truth: There have been discussions that basically asked did you throw the baby out with the bathwater; which I think is a legitimate concern of not wanting to toss out something valuable along with the waste. In a similar vein, you'll find some posters who don't think plagiarism is that big a deal with perhaps the fuzzy reasoning that truth is truth no matter the source. In a generic sense I guess I don't have a problem with that. Such as used in a criminal investigation – "your co-worker told us the truth – that you both conspired to steal the petty cash while assembling the office furniture near the paymaster's office." But in a philosophical sense, perhaps truth is the aim of a belief system. I'm not sure – just throwing that out there. As a Christian I believe the Bible is true. I believe the Bible is true because I believe in God – and not the other way around. The fact that I am still a Christian after leaving TWI makes me wonder sometimes – is that the nature of faith, being raised in a Christian home, stubbornness, or afraid to think outside the box – I really don't know. I say that not as a means to soft sell my ideas but in an effort to be intellectually honest - expressing the limitations of being human. Perhaps there are some "TWI-baptized" Christians reading this post - who wonder if a genuine faith is possible based on PFAL and other Way material class in which VP "demonstrated" that "The Word" fit together with a mathematical exactness and scientific precision. In that case, I suggest a self-diagnostic might be in order. I could be wrong but I tend to believe that if something is genuine it will withstand any acid test. And I don't mean testing the Bible or TWI doctrine for truth as in a philosophical sense as if you are endeavoring to validate the precepts therein. I said self-diagnostic. It's about developing intellectual standards in order to be as accurate and honest as possible during your process of analysis. I think that should be a lifelong ever-fine-tuning habit in anything worth doing. Critical thinking involves YOU taking an active role in the reasoning process; that is the exact opposite of the mentally stifling "priori" in PFAL and other way material – there you are encouraged to absorb information – and NOT analyze it! In the Blue Book, VP Tells Me So…oops I mean The Bible Tells Me So, chapter 3 Are You Limiting God?, on page 23, VP states "We have been so schooled to revere the knowledge that comes to us through our five senses that we fail to recognize the knowledge that comes from the higher realm, the spiritual, where the Word of God, and not reason, has first place. Both realms or worlds are here: the natural world is factual; the spiritual world is true." According to VP's premise you can just throw your brain overboard. You are then invited to come aboard the SSN TWI-Light - a "spiritually-deep" submersible vessel with the promise of fun and adventure like in the Yellow Submarine. However, do keep in mind the actual journey will be more like a lowly crew member in The Hunt for Red October; you will have to place complete trust in the captain – for only the captain knows the real plan and will keep you posted as to where you are in the vast ocean of doubt and uncertainty and what the conditions are topside…. by the way, if you happen to steal a peek through the periscope and see the SS Grease Spot – give us one ping and one ping only if you want to abandon ship – there's plenty of folks here at Grease Spot who can throw you a life preserver..... ..... In order to navigate in the real world you must be willing and courageous to remove the nonsensical GPS provided by TWI – which by the way is the TWI mindset – it's the flux capacitor that makes TWI doctrine plausible. Some people mix metaphors – I usually do that through movie references /> . As I was in the slowly-drifting-away-from-TWI phase of my journey – I committed one of my first acts of intellectual defiance. I purchased several commentaries at 50 cents each at an estate sale down the block. Nothing remarkable to report about the content – except that it gave me a glimpse of alternate viewpoints – with substantial arguments and legitimate references by genuine scholars. One of them was Word Studies: Galatians in the Greek New Testament by Kenneth Wuest. It was just one short simple comment he made in passing that inspired me to re-examine my own knowledge of the Bible. He speculated what a doctrine-shattering experience Paul may have had after his conversion on the road to Damascus. Similarly in the months following my continuous drifting – I could describe the experience by adapting Paul's in a screenplay for two bizarre alternate TWI-Light episodes. In one version, I am the one who knocks VP off his high horse – a position that he assumed and I reinforced by holding him and his teachings in such high regard. In the other version, I am experiencing the TWI-doctrine-shattering effect of exposing the intellectual dishonesty of VP. Even with just the fledgling skills of a newcomer to critical thinking – I was able to see the stark reality of the nonsensical underpinnings of TWI-doctrine….Anyway, if you buy the DVD T-Bone's Diversion on the Road to TWI-Light, you can view both versions in bonus features. Warning this DVD is rated X – since I am an Ex-follower of TWI. Doctrine: In seeking the "truth" in a doctrine or teaching perhaps restating the question is in order. A good starting point might be to ask if a particular doctrine or teaching stays true to the textual evidence and natural sense of the passage. Contrary to popular belief in some circles doctrine is not God-breathed. It is man-made and is a theologian's attempt to organize relevant scripture on a given subject. The Bible reads like a collection of very long running narratives rather than a textbook on theology; and taking into account the variety of authors, their writing styles and vocabulary, the biblical languages, idioms, cultures, etc. - the process of codifying seemingly related ideas may prove to be a daunting task. I found the short and easy read of Alister McGrath's Understanding Doctrine helpful to putting doctrine in perspective: https://www.amazon.c...anding+doctrine Is formulating a doctrine even necessary? As a Christian I would say yes – and I also believe each Christian should take a more active role in developing their faith. A related topic is systematic theology. Systematic theology – a collection of biblical data arranged in an orderly, rational, and coherent manner to present the doctrines of the Christian faith. Systematic theologies are man-made too – and I enjoy reading the ones that I believe try to stay true to the textual evidence and natural sense of the scriptures. One of the most interesting discussions you will find on Grease Spot is over the lack of logic and coherency in the theology of TWI. Perhaps even more mission critical to one's journey through life is looking at the practical impact of TWI's doctrine. That is a real acid test – where the rubber meets the road – where TWI-doctrine comes in contact with reality. Flashing back to the time of my "protracted exit" again: I was in an office supply store copying some interesting pages out of a book I got from the library - Kingdom of the Cults. By the way – I am the area coordinator, on my practicum year corps assignment. In the store walks one of the WOWs sent to my town. Nervously I'm trying to hide the cover of the book I am copying – even though I had already announced to "my people" I was stepping down from my position and intend to re-examine all things yada, yada, yada. I did not want to alarm him by the latest resources I was checking out. Although I will mention with me being upfront about the doubts I had seemed to encourage honesty in others…Anyway the WOW told me he had just quit his job because he "could not think The Word there." Reflecting on that time I really don't see that as a failure on the WOW's part. It's a failure of TWI doctrine – referring back to that acid test thing – it's the practical consequence of a belief system that does not work in the real world! One of the claims on the back of the PFAL sign up card was disciplines the mind by believing. All the drills, activities, exercises, regimens, positive affirmations, believing images of victory, yada, yada, yada does nothing to prepare one for work in the real world! Another promise of TWI-doctrine is that it increases prosperity. Yeah – I sold an electric guitar, circular saw and cabinet clamps to have some money so I could hitch to and from the Rock of Ages…yeah increases prosperity my foot (well ….sometimes I did have to walk if a ride wasn't "available"). Develops more harmony in the home? Want to talk about the prevalence of divorces, families splitting up and maybe you want to throw in disassociating with anyone who doesn't think "The Word comes first." It seems ridiculous to advertise that your "product" will enable you to achieve all these great things – when the experience of your customers proves otherwise. It might make more sense to join a monastery, take vows of poverty…celibacy or whatever monk candidates do to enroll – at least you're more likely to receive recognition by outsiders for the sacrifices you've made.

John was not referring to enlarged egos when he said "your kind of people". He was referring to his refusal to tarnish the image of VPW and our drawing attention to things that have been hidden from many past and present TWI members. It seems to ire him to see people refusing to exalt VPW and his "teachings". This has clearly been John's modus operandi at GSC for the past decade and a half that he has been posting here. It appears to be impossible for him to consider that he, too, was scammed, just like the rest of us. You're free to correct me if i'm wrong about that, John. (We pause now for the ensuing straw man argument and meta discussion that John typically uses to drive the discussion off course.) edit; bad grammar, double negative.

The awkward fallout of LCM left all of his material discredited and blacklisted. No one ever said his name, and his R&E book was only quoted IF THERE WAS NO OTHER SOURCE AVAILABLE. Even then, he doesn't get attribution, just the book title. There was an appendix on his (? his name was on it, but who knows) work on Angels, but not sure if that is still passed out with the class. Hence the reaction to diversify every STS and class, each now taught with a different teacher each time. Every segment of every class and STS someone new. Much easier to reshoot a segment than the whole class should someone go rogue. It also means you can no longer trust one person and their study. It must all be checked and rechecked and scrubbed. That meant going backwards to that which has been already been proven. Collaterals. I know I'm not alone here.

"It's Christ in Shoe!"

That was precisely what happened for me! I was so desperate (M&A'd by TWI) that I wanted to write a huge long grovelly letter of apology in hopes of being readmitted. I couldn't remember their zip code. Googled TWI and GSC popped up as the first item. The name sounded intriguingly familiar... the reading was horrifying but had a ring of truth... the rest is history. That long grovelly letter never got written. Thank God for Pawtucket and for GSC and all who run the cafe now.