Leaderboard

Damn. The Stanford Prison Experiment movie was on cable tv again today......."The Stanford prison experiment (SPE) was an attempt to investigate the psychological effects of perceived power, focusing on the struggle between prisoners and Prison officers. It was conducted at Stanford University between August 14–20, 1971, by a research group led by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo using college students." I know this topic has been discussed here at GSC before......but in watching it (again), it seemed so eerily familiar to corps training. The psychology of authority........twig leader, branch leader, area leader, corps coordinator, corps director and "man of god" wierwille Stripping of individual identity......everyone is under group authority; no musical instruments for 3 months; $20 /month spending; stay on campus grounds Mandatory scheduling........class attendance; work detail; cafeteria too (whether you ate or not); uniformity across the board / no exceptions Rigid Conformity to "lights out" at night and morning "roll call"........with thrown in 3am fire alarm drills to measure response and obedience Every day was "spontaneous obedience"......each day it seemed like THEY made an example of someone who broke the rules The threat of being singled out was REAL.......mocked in front of the whole group, confrontations, cite retemories, verbal abuse Elder corps were told to oversee the younger corps and, in essence, whistleblow on them if need be..... The psychology of authority was everywhere on campus........peer pressure to "stay in your lane" and obey When wierwille came on emporia campus.....he said NONE of us knew how to work [demeaning of self-worth] Indoctrination into the cult.......spiritual protocol, mannerisms, dress code, clichés, nametags to engender authority figures Idolatry and adulation of wierwille.......the man whom God waited for since the Apostle Paul to teach us "the word"..... (/s) Watching this movie was startling.......the gripping power of authority that was inescapable 24/7. The Emporia Campus was "the four walls" and the younger corps submitted to authoritative figures in dorm rooms, classes, meal time, running on the track to get aerobic points, wherever. We were given monthly household responsibilities that extended beyond our daily work assignments.....ie another authority figure over us. We were assigned bless patrol shifts in the middle of the night and/or mandated prayer vigils for an hour in the prayer room. So, for example if our twig was assigned at 4am to pray....someone might come looking for you at 4:02am if you didn't show up. This psychology of authority was OVER US........24/7. The only two options were 1) obedience/conformity or 2) leave/split/get thrown out. More later...........

T-Bone.......or flip it around the other way; namely, smug "street-smart" folk entered the corps program as opportunists and frauds. Remember all the crazy street/park/apartment witnessing we did thru the years. Knocking doors and pounding the pavement to get someone....anyone to take the class? How many of them (us) were still in our youth? still searching for identity? in the drug culture? high school or college drop-outs? wanting to ditch your past abuse or divorce? no career goals in sight? So......along comes this "opportunity to climb a spiritual ladder and really 'make' something of yourself?" Who here at GSC hasn't heard about ....... rosalie f. shumate. She didn't go WOW or ever serve as a twig coordinator on the field.....nope. Straight from being a divorced teacher to family corps! Bamm......now she had spiritual cred, because she kept her butt in a seat at the Indiana campus. Whoop-dee-doo. Straight-up opportunist and fraud, to boot. And then, there's that old pesky 80-20 rule,....ie pareto principle where 80% of the bullying, intimidation and manipulation comes from 20% of the guards (corps leaders). Even in that Stanford prison experiment.....things escalated rapidly on the second day when that ONE GUARD took every situation to another level of intimidation and humiliation of the prisoners. That one guy set the stage for other guards to follow.....and the bullying exponentially multiplied.

It was sold as "who didn't want to be the spiritual elite?"

We were allotted $20 per month for expenditures....... Some corps had sponsors who sent them gift boxes with toothpaste, deodorant, floss, cookies or whatever. But still......$20 didn't go very far when you slapped quarters into washers/dryers every week, vending machines for a snack, and a couple donuts or beer on Saturday. They said this would teach us to be financially responsible with money......but really, this was just ANOTHER way to control us.

Thanks Rocky.......for the youtube video. The Stanford Prison Experiment......"The researchers held an orientation session for guards the day before the experiment, during which guards were instructed not to physically harm the prisoners or withhold food or drink. In the footage of the study, Zimbardo can be seen talking to the guards: "You can create in the prisoners feelings of boredom, a sense of fear to some degree, you can create a notion of arbitrariness that their life is totally controlled by us, by the system, you, me, and they'll have no privacy ... We're going to take away their individuality in various ways. In general what all this leads to is a sense of powerlessness. That is, in this situation we'll have all the power and they'll have none." The in-residence corps program was a culture of authority and dominance. Under the guise of "spiritual oversight," the branch/area/corps coordinators were supported by the elder corps to keep the younger corps in a state of submission. An "attitude of gratitude" [submitting to the guardians of the spiritual secrets] was expected to be your best state of mind. Not grumbling, no whining, no dissenting, no outbursts of frustration.......just keep your trap shut and "listen, remember, and obey." In 1978, my first year in-rez......along with side classes each day [study principles, dale carnegie sales techniques, jet-style packing, memory pegs, etc.] we were delving into the book of Romans on corps nights, Thessalonians taught by corps coordinator, Galatians tapes from wierwille, and Leadership Principles of Jesus Christ during study hall. Each corps was required to know the 25 corps retemories, the 25 advanced class retemories, the 25 defeating the adversary retemories......and you might be called on to stand up and recite one of them. Or, called on to stand, speak in tongues & interpret at the 5:30am morning teaching. They pulled the strings.......and held the power to control each day's outcome. My first block, I was assigned to Harry Hall dorm and had 3 other roommates. After Christmas break, we all changed dorm rooms......and I was in Owens Hall with 17 men. Some set their alarm clocks at 4:15am, or 4:30am, or 4:45am, or 5:00am, or 5:10am......when we had a scheduled be-in-your-seat at 5:20am morning teaching. Open showers, cold showers, men shaving, men flossing teeth.......hurry, hurry, get to class. The corps coordinators and assistants played tag-team over us. We had to be at every meal, every class, every work assignment, every branch meeting/assignment..... whereas they, the powers-that-be, floated in and out of the green room, and skipped breakfast often. Why not? They had access to food service delivered to their apartment, refrigerator, shelves stocked with food and snacks, etc. Two different worlds. How often did they leave campus and shop? How often did they go to a local coffee shop or restaurant.....while we were in class? This was not a 12-week boot camp.........this was 2 years of intense, in-residence indoctrination. The psychology of authority was like a dark cloud over the emporia campus.

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The Way College of Biblical Research, Emporia Kansas..............was NOT a college; it was a cult compound and indoctrination program. Yeah, I signed on the line to go way corps and learn at this "college"........but I clearly was not expecting group cloning and the stripping of my individual identity. Each day was packed with pushing the limits psychologically, emotionally and socially. For me......it was frustrating as hell to be in their little guilt box, but I determined to persevere thru this "boot camp" because I'd never quit anything in my life. Surely, this is just to "test" my endurance levels.....wasn't it? Having been to a real college.....I was expecting a moderation of corps training and college life. You know,.......some fun, homework, free time, deep pursuit of challenging questions, beer and girls. ..............I was NOT expecting rigid conformity and authoritarian rule from the moment I got up until lights out at night. Yeah, that's probably a bit of an exaggeration, but mentally........it often felt like that. And, the work detail..............really? I was so thankful that I wasn't put on weed detail. I think that pulling weeds 4 hours a day would have been too much for me. Having grown up on a wheat farm, I was driving a tractor at age 10.......and when martindale talked about mowing grass and his dad made him clean the lawn mower before putting it away, I snickered. Mowing grass to learn detail? spiritual truths? Oh my. But yeah.......it was challenging to keep my emotions and thoughts in check. I hated the confinement......mentally and emotionally. The psychology of authority bearing over my shoulder day after day was grueling and frustrating......and that was one of the biggest challenges for me of the corps "training." Gawd......someone in authority giving us a 20-minute lecture on why the toilet paper should dispense over the roll and not under it.

Wanted to say thanks to all that kept this site going, I know it helped myself and others to heal from all the insanity twi brought to our lives. I have had to figure out why I got involved in twi in the first place and why I stayed for so long, even when the abuse became increasingly sadistic. Why I joined: 1) I always wanted to be a good Christian. 2) I wanted to understand the bible. (I had tried several times to read the bible from Genesis to Revelation, but would never get to far) 3) I wanted friends who were good people, who didn't take drugs or drink too much. 4) I was lonely and traumatized by events in my family and the demise of my parents. 5) People in twi were really nice to me and cared about me. 6) I started to understand the bible better. 7) WOW seemed like an amazing adventure. Why I stayed: 1) Loyalty-I'm pathalogically loyal. 2) I believe in forgiveness. 3) I did believe the doom and gloom Craig and others predicted for anyone who left. 4) Fearful of being kicked out-so I wouldn't receive previous referred to gloom and doom. 5) Didn't want to lose relationships with people I loved, didn't like the thought of them writing me off if I were to leave. 6) It was like putting quarters into a slot machine, or paying for insurance policies. Would it all pay off and make sense once I finally walked away and it was too late to go back? Would I miss the promised land after all of that time working for it? 7) Where would I go and what would I do? No longer the youngster I was when this all started. But when I was finally brave enough to venture out and think for myself, my life became really good. Not perfect (I was way behind financially for a person my age) but more fun and peaceful than it had been in all my years with twi. I made interesting friends, got a good job, bought a house (YES A MORTGAGE) took vacations that didn't involve meetings where I sat in a hotel conference room being yelled at by a twi prima dona, or sitting in a corn field being yelled at by a twi diva, donated and gave to charities who actually help people, volunteered, went to events I THOUGHT were fun, went shopping without turning in an itinerary to a leader who had nothing better to do, stopped thinking other Christians had it all wrong, and most of all RECEIVED SO MANY BLESSING FROM GOD. Too many to name, but you get my point, I wasn't a grease spot by midnight. So, do you have something to share about why you got in, why you stayed and was it better once you moved on from twi?

I found this article in the link below, well presented and compelling with much background information and good arguments from the author regarding the September 23rd planetary alignments. I strongly encourage you to read the whole article on this webpage and not just the excerpts I print here. Bear in mind this article is an interpretation from a viewpoint, take it for what it is. I don't agree with everything written but feel overall there's some great end times information. This individual has done so much more research and had much more time than I in the subject matter and in my opinion, has put together a well written dialogue. http://www.heavenlysign2017.com/supporting-data.html Let us not forget that two of the greatest days in all Christendom have occurred on Jewish feast days-the day of Christ's sacrifice for us- The Passover, and the day of Pentecost. I believe Jewish holy days are still of some significance to God and relevant as we, the Church of the One Body, are the wild olive tree being grafted into Israel's own olive tree, as Israel is once again in the future, grafted back in to the tree we share together. Romans 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Romans 11:24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree? The author states, "These very seasons, namely the last days, were not only foreknown but they were planned. The appointed time which is taking place in September 2017 is the Feast of Trumpets." "The Feast of Trumpets is one of only 3 Jewish Feasts that has yet to be fulfilled. Jesus was crucified on Passover, buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, resurrected on First Fruits, and The Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost. The three feasts left to be fulfilled are the Feast of Trumpets, the Feast of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. We know that the Feast of Atonement is the day of judgment and the Feast of Tabernacles is when Jesus takes His throne in the Millennial Kingdom. This leaves the Feast of Trumpets, the appointed time yet to be fulfilled, the feast shrouded in mystery." Again, I highly suggest you read the whole article but here are excerpts below to hopefully "wet your appetite" to read it: "The information I’ve been covering may be exhausting but it is by no means exhaustive. My hope is to wet your appetite and encourage you to begin study in prophecy and pay attention to the signs in the heavens. Anytime I tell a believer about the Virgo 2017 sign one of two responses follow. Either “no man knows the day or the hour” or “I don’t believe in astrology”. To the first I say “could we know the week?” and to the second I say “I don’t either but I believe in a God that made the heavens for signs and seasons”. The church tends to get caught in two extremes, date setting without looking at God’s calendar or turning a blind eye to God’s magnificence on display in the heavens. By taking the time to look at biblical prophecy through a Jewish lens, God’s calendar and the signs in the heavens you cannot help but worship the Creator not bound by time,The Alpha and Omega, The beginning and the end, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Taking the meaning of each star and planet covered above through all cultures for : Regulus, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Sun, Spica, Jupiter, and the moon the message is clear. When we put it together we have this: The King, The Lion of Judah, The Morningstar of Love, The Coming War, The Written Word, The One Who Breathed Life Into Being and Light Into Darkness, Is Gathering the Wheat, The King Is Arriving As Lightning With Grace For His Virgin." " "The heavens during Jesus' first coming : What takes place in the heavens is directly linked to God’s plan of redemption. Each star has a meaning in the fulfillment of His divine order. It is helpful to understand that Jupiter is known as the “King Planet”, Regulus is the “King Star”, Leo represents the Lion of Judah and Virgo is the Virgin or Mary. Remember, the heavens declare the glory of God and these representations in the heavens are not far fetched applications nor are they limited to a Christian perspective. On September 11, 3 B.C. there is a unique collaboration of events in the heavens. Jupiter (King Planet) encircles Regulus (King Star) three times all while in the constellation Leo (Lion of Judah). Jupiter passes Regulus every 10-20 years but the rare quality of this event is that on this occasion it encircles it not once but three times on the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, The Feast of Trumpets. On June 17th, 2 B.C. exactly 40 weeks (the typical human gestation period) Jupiter is positioned directly over Jerusalem in the heart of Leo (The Lion of Judah). On December 25th, 2 B.C after moving 15 months without stop Jupiter enters retrograde motion directly above Bethlehem. If you take this all into account we have Jesus being conceived September 11, 3 B.C. (Feast of Trumpets), 9 months later He is born with the King Planet directly above Jerusalem while in the heart of Leo (Lion of Judah). Six months later we have the star of Bethlehem or King Planet directly above the town of Bethlehem. If you are honest with yourself you cannot conclude these are coincidences. If you believe this to be far fetched I implore you to download www.stellarium.org and check for yourself. You don’t have to work for NASA, even an elementary familiarity of astronomy can reveal a remarkable glimpse into His sovereign order. The humanists are using technology in an attempt to become God. We should employ the same technology to reveal the One True God who knows the end from the beginning. More information can be found at www.bethlehemstar.net as well." "Genesis 6:3: And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. This could represent 120 jubilee years. In Leviticus 25 a jubilee year occurs every 50 years; 120X50 = 6,000 years." "According to www.torahcalendar.com (they've calculated the lunar cycles (God's true calendar) for the last 6,000 years using advanced technology)) the year 6,000 began October 5th 2014 and ends on 15th September 2015." "The Great Sign in Heaven of Revelation 12 a great sign appeared in heaven a woman clothed with the Sun and the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars and she was with child and she cried out being inlabor and in pain to give birth. Jesus called such events fearful sights and great signs from heaven. The great sign from heaven will be the largest sign that has ever heralded a prophetic event. We are on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It is three in the morning on September 23rd 2017. The first constellation and the great sign is rising above the horizon. This is Leo, the constellation of the Royal lion. When the dawn breaks, we will see that leo is worn as a crown of royalty by the Virgin princess. The lion forms the appropriate crown for her because she is of the house of David. The Lion of the tribe of Judah. Significantly, this is the highest well-managed of all the nations. This means the Virgin is also born of the lineage of the high scepter of the seat of Adam and her belly is the second Adam the savior of the world on this fateful day. The Virgin is clothed in the sun and the moon is at her feet. Sunlight floods the sky. The prophecy clearly states that the great sign is to appear in the heaven. High Noon approaches ,then on this special day the Sun turns as black assackcloth and the stars quickly fill the sky. Just like on the day of the crucifixion it will remain dark for an incredible three hours. We stop the motion, zoom in, we fill the screen with our two constellations to better see how the constellations are formed. We generate blue lines between their stars, then we turn off the constellation artwork leaving us with the lines of each constellation. We first turn our attention to the constellation of Leo and Leo the alpha or brightest star is Regulus. The regal kingstar. Eight additional bright stars are used to form the constellation, but this leaves us three stars short of the 12 stars prophesied to crown the Virgin on this special day. 3 wandering stars are in rare formation within the boundaries of Leo. They are Venus Mars and Mercury. This gives us the prophesied 12 stars to form the crown. Now we move to virgo. Her left hip is formed of the alpha star named spica which means the seed. Her right hip is formed by the Zeta star, which name means the branch. On this day the Virgin is to give birth to the king planet between these two stars. Jupiter the King planet images the rescuing power of our Messiah. Because of this planet's gravitational strength it takes countless hits or impacts for us from many of the dangerous objects that cross into the inner solar system. Also, the King planet has just spent nine months in the belly of the Virgin reinforcing the prophetic imagery of the scripture. To illustrate this wonder we will now run the clock backward for a year. Notice that the King planet stops and turns around twice in retrograde motion while in the belly of the Virgin. In turn the moon flies by along the ecliptic every month. This action by the moon will give us a means to mark the passing of the months. We stop our backward motion. We now change into forward motion. We pause the motion as Jupiter enters the belly of the Virgin. Now count the times that the moon flies by as Jupiter is in the Virgin's belly. Are you ready? 123456789, and in just under 10 months we arrive back at our faithful september 23rd 2017. Now we will recap the prophetic imagery in the great sign. First we have Virgo the virgin princess imaging the Virgin Mary. Second the Virgin is clothed in the Sun imaging the life-giving spirit of God. Third the crescent moon is at her feet heralding this day as the Jewish feast of trumpets. Fourth on this day the Virgin also has a special crown of twelve stars representing the lineage of the high throne of the nation of Israel. Fifth the virgin gives birth to the Crown Prince the Messiah. Sixth the crown prince has just spent a long nine months in her womb, the time of human gestation. Seven so we can see this wonder, a special heavenly event causes the sky to fall dart for three hours in the middle of the day the combination of all seven of these independent actions into a great sign brings to life the exact imagery of the prophecy. However if this sign were to occur repeatedly in the course of the travels of the planets then how could we interpret it as a significant event? How often does this configuration occur in the heavens? The answer. It occurs only this one time. At no other time is the Virgin clothed in the Sun with the moon at her feet while she is wearing a crown of twelve stars at the same time she gives birth. We have found no astronomy program that shows this configuration occurring at any other time throughout history from the days of Adam, 6,000 years in the past, until the end of the millennial reign 1,000 years into our future. Yet this wonder was described in detail in Revelation chapter 12 nearly 2,000 years ago. The astounding fulfillment of this great prophecy is like a clarion blast of God's trumpet broadcasting to all that the sign is a magnificent herald of end times events. Furthermore, its appearance is to occur on the exact day the Lord indicating a plan he laid out before he created the heavens....It is also the 70 year anniversary of the UN resolution allowing for Israel to be recognized as a state. It is 70 years from 1947 to the rebirth of Israel." Luke 21:25 There will be signs in the sun moon and stars... Jesus said this. Then is it OK to look for them? The answer is Yes!