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Thanks for making that so clear.

Hey, ya know, 50 of us came together in one place, each believing we would receive specialized Bible/ministerial training. (Specifically, it was supposed to focus on Acts.) But, it never happened. No wonder we got our butts chewed so much. Even with 50 of us believing, we were too weak to bring it to pass.

Did you know that VP's primary goal with the Corps was to have a work crew? If you can stomach reading the Passing of the Patriarch, you'll see Ge*r reference VP's comments about that. The manual labor aspect was supposed to be patterned after something called The School of the Prophets, which VPW thought he was re-instituting with the Way Corps. We did more manual labor than Bible study in the Corps. I think most of us here understand that any Bible study in TWI was really only VP's interpretation, some of which was plagiarized. TWI's basis for "study" starts with the assumption that the Bible is inerrant. That claim was made up by men (long before Wierwille or Bullinger) who, in my opinion, used it to dominate people, not instruct them honestly about what the Bible actually is--an anthology of different writings over centuries by men from different cultures and languages. Ah but I digress. I'll stop now ... Hey, I get that. Letting the general public know what was really going on in research was NOT going to happen. It would sabotage the money coming in, the adoration of VPW and the acceptance of his authority!

I didn't have any inside track as to what was going on at the corporate level, especially about anything that ventured into the realm of academia. As I've noted before, one of my biggest disappointments with the FellowLaborer program was the virtual nonexistence of anything resembling scholastic study. I think people out on the field were under the impression we were privy to all sorts of proprietary information. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We lived in a commune, worked a small garden plot, hashed, rehashed and re-rehashed collaterals and SNS teachings, and had endless, mind numbing organizational meetings, butt chewings and more believer's meetings than any one person should ever be subjected to in a lifetime. But, did we do any in-depth study of "The Word" or gain special insight on nuances of the Bible? Nope. Never happened. Oh, I can tell you how to sprout your own Mung Beans, make mayonnaise from scratch or throw together enough familia to feed 50 people for a month, sure. Greek words and Biblical intricacies? Nah, not so much...OK, not at all.

See my post above re: pistis.

What interests me is how people can or cannot change, how willing people are (or not) to adapt to a changing situation. Nothing is permanent. Everything changes. This is a fact of life known since the beginning of time. So, I'm asking Johniam, so what if DWBH wrote in a way that praised VPW in that book, The Living Word Speaks? (I have a copy). That was then. This is now. Over time he changed his views. He woke up. Like many of us here. So what that I wrote a Way magazine article long ago that encouraged people to study PFAL as if it contained THE WORD OF GOD . That was then. Over time I changed my mind after I gained new information. I woke up. Life is a journey. Some people change when they learn new information, new facts, have experiences that show them the error of their ways or that something better for them awaits. I suspect that it is hard for others not to change when new facts and understanding comes to them is because there is some kind of payoff for holding onto the old view. Or they fear what will happen if they change. i.e. they might look bad in other people's eyes. Let's celebrate the fact we can change, learn, grow and not be ashamed of the process. Someone recently tried to intimidate me about my upcoming book, saying it seemed I was proud that it took me 17 years to realize I was in the wrong place (TWI) for me. Proud? That seemed odd to me. It's simply a fact of my life that I was in TWI for 17 years. I often state that fact because for outsiders, it indicates I was not a casual believer and may offer some genuine insight on the subject. So, using an example (citing what DWBH wrote long ago) of what someone said or wrote long ago as a way to discredit what they say today disallows the reality that people can evolve and change. Thank goodness we can. Just sayin'.

If I could put these two sentences in a flashing neon sign, I would. Speaking from experience, this lies at the heart of fanaticism.

Yes, the Greek word "pistis" as VPW taught it presented problems, although I don't have the details of why or how at my fingertips. I do remember this issue coming up while I was on the research team 84-86 at HQ. I suggested that perhaps someone in the graduating corps might do a research paper on "pistis" (a paper like that was required to graduate), but I was told no, no, no, that topic is a problem, i.e. certain team members knew "we" could not substantiate what VPW taught about it. Maybe VP "borrowed" his teachings about faith/believing from some other man's book/teachings. He was known for doing that.

No need to apologize. Perception is intrinsically tied into magical thinking. Frankly, I think you make an excellent point about believing equals perceiving. :) I've thought (many times) back to when I first sat through the advanced class on PFLAP. Trying my darnedest to figure out if I was receiving revelation, I perceived that I was doing so when now I believe differently -- that I was learning how to intuitively add 2 + 2 and come up with a reasonable answer without necessarily having to think it through. That skill has served me well even though I no longer believe it to be revelation from God.

Hahahahaha!! Ego Inflation

Well, OK, here's the first part: "Perhaps the mere indication (from what I had posted previously) that I might not have been as "clueless as the rest of [some of you] back then" is part of the reason (having pondered it from very early on) I have a bit different take and understand of what believing/faith is, biblically speaking." So, maybe you could elaborate on that?

"But then again, perhaps there are other, more significant reasons for it." It might help us to understand if you would elaborate on those "more significant reasons".