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I like to examine what I think, and ponder why I think it. I try to put Way doctrine out of my mind - after all, I had some Christian upbringing before I got involved with that - but TWI came along at a time when I was wanting to know more, a decade or so after having been bored silly in my teens with "church." I go to a little Bible study group and we are slowly working through the gospel of John. The study guidebook is by Tom Wright. It asks some pretty weird questions, and mostly we sort of ignore it. It does get us talking, however, with differing views of where we are and how we got there. Jim (in his 70s), a lovely man, "doesn't even know if he's a Christian any more." This is after years of "outreach" and he currently is very involved with many church activities and volunteers at the local homeless centre, run by a local Christian charity. His wife, Anne, (with an E) is currently a lay Reader, which is a sort of church official a little bit lower than an ordained minister - she's undergone a lot of study to achieve this status. So she takes Christianity very seriously and is into Christian meditation, stillness, and Benedictine study (whatever that might comprise). Derek, 70s, is a born-into-the-church Anglican Christian and profoundly Trinitarian. Alex, (30s?) is a Russian from an Orthodox background. Lorna (30s) had been raised as a Catholic. Emma, early 20s, is very quiet and looks a bit bewildered at times. Rebecca, 50s, a nurse, comes out with interesting ideas. Ann (no E), late 30s, is a lesbian (and, in our now-defunct Sunday evening service, occasionally put the prayers together and they were always awesome, tender, and thoughtful). I'm not really sure what the background is, of the 3 or 4 others in the group. And then there's me: profoundly non-Trinitarian. Ex-cultie. So you can see there's scope for a lot of new ideas. Every session, someone different leads, based on the Wright book, and researches the bits that appeal to them. But everyone else chips in with their ideas. I find it interesting that Jim (doesn't even know if he's a Christian any more) is himself of interest and why he thinks that is kindly explored; whereas when I disclosed I'm non-Trini, that provoked some more aggressive discussion. Or perhaps that's my hyper-sensitivity? No, the rest definitely think I'm strange. What does this add to this thread? I dunno. But I do enjoy the open discussion in this group, feel free to change or develop my views, and definitely don't feel I have to pander to any "party line." I simply don't care what they think of me. They have no power to condemn or guilt me into saying or doing anything.

! I've got my EYE on you!

Might I suggest that perhaps a more patriarchal view is worth deeper consideration? Rom.8 [15] For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 1Cor.8 [6] But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. Gal.4 [6] And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Eph.4 [6] One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Jas.1 [17] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

I still don't feel that I have a proper concept of Jesus. At least - of Jesus now. I don't doubt the physical Jesus of two millennia ago. It occurs to me that I don't have a big enough concept of "God," either. My view is far too parochial. God is the God of the universe, not of solely of Planet Earth, or even (merely) of our solar system. Who, then, or what, is God? An energy stream? Plasma? The bond that holds atoms and molecules together? And yet, some - entity - that possesses what we (in our minute and dust-like brains) might call thought processes - some discrete entity that occurs literally everywhere, always. Sometimes I read a Bible and substitute every reference to "God" with "Love." It makes for an interestingly different read.

I am refraining from from posting because I don't want to bury this poor bastard without a chance for him to respond. One of the most pathetic waybrained speeches I have ever suffered through! Maybe they refused to broadcast it, even to the Gay Family Ranch, because of all the people who wrote and performed those songs besides Uncle Tom Claudettee and Yard Dog Stanley, who were never contacted, asked for permission to use their material, or play their performances?? They never contacted me and I was in the original Joyful Noise and Way Prod cast. Ros-a-lie must be tired of lawsuits, eh? Nobody has any record of this bullshit memory lane trip outside of those who were there physically, and Rosie's vault of lies and secrets! That's the way she wants it. They are as empty as their minus-try. Pathetic waste of human cellular activity, air, and space. There is no comparison between the dead garbage they throw at people today, and what Joyful Noise and way Prod were in the 70s. Just as there is no comparison between death and life, light and darkness, love and hate.

For the above Bible study group, I use BibleHub to help me prepare. There are many different versions of the Bible that can be viewed, and many different commentaries. Some of the commentaries are helpful, others are clearly written by someone with an agenda, and others are so old and written in such a dense style that they are almost unreadable. But hey - there's freedom to look at these! Which, even if densely written in an old-fashioned style, are still more readable and sensible than the kiddie-style contradictory stuff in the collaterals.

OK, watched another episode last night. Saw so many parallels: L Ron Hubbard = VPW (both creepy old guys) David Miscavige (the successor) = LCM (the successor) Sea Org = Way Corps Clear the Planet = Word Over the World "We are Special, the only ones who can save the world." = "We alone know the true rightly divided word." Billion Year Contract = Way Corps unbreakable lifetime commitment (doulos/dog soldier) Declared / Disconnected = Mark and Avoid Being responsible for what happens to you = Believing equals receiving, Spiritual Responsibility for others, What you fear will happen Suppressive act = Being negative, not being likeminded, being out of fellowship, not "blessing" others Psychiatric help is forbidden = no need for psychiatric treatment since it's your fault for not renewing your mind