JustThinking

Mr. H, I have. In and out of TWI.

Onion quote: There is a huge difference between rent-to-own and a mortgage. Any bank or lawyer will tell you so. Look at who owns the deed and that's all you need to know. Rent-to-own is simply a rental agreement that applies some or all of your rent payments IF you decide to later buy it. A mortgage is what you get IF you decide to buy it. Agree with it or not but I thought TWI's policy was clear when I was in. Got mortgage? NO ACS or AC. Rent to own is not a mortgage or long-term commitment. JT

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Zombies, huh? Christians should be Pallbearers The New Decomposing Church Power for Animated Living Reviving the Holy Stiffs Today Ok, this is creeping me out now...

Wow, almost all of the votes are for "After." Interesting. Not what I expected.

If we can bring back people then I nominate Brad Th**pe. He was always kind to me, loved his family and was just a great guy. He had too many Loy traits at times but I think he's honest. Hope I wasn't wrong about him. He's one of the few Way Irrational leaders I really respected.

Eagle, That sounds very fair. Can we bring back Dave L**z? I always loved his voice! Oh, wait, then we'd have to be nice to those who left or were booted.

... or a Stephen King book :D-->

Oldies: Are you saying they've changed their policy or that you would just get a nice answer on the phone? If you did call, I doubt you would get an answer because the first thing they would do is ask for your name. When they saw you weren't "standing with them" they would start the runaround process. You would never get anything that wasn't politically correct on the phone but you wouldnt' get an answer either. Post-Martindale policy (my observation, not something in writing, of course) was to stop being DIRECTLY confrontational in public and give non-answers instead. Be vague. One can't be sued for spoken, non-specific policies. To my knowledge, the ACS still requires a policy of non-debt. Serious question, OM, would you try it. It would be interesting to see their response. JT

Belle, Just when you start to think you had it the worst... And just when you think they couldn't get any weirder... JT

Belle, I asked for a lot of clarifications early on with the debt policy and received from HQ that credit cards, "rent-to-own" leases and child support were NOT considered debt. I also never heard it said on the field that they were. I've been out for two years though so it may be different now. Not your local corpse couldn't have exercised their Romans 13 option to just make something up for your spiritual benefit. ;)--> JT

I already had one foot out the door when I found Paw's place and Raf's fine coffee. When did you and how much did it influence your decision to leave? (If you're not an innie) If it played a part in you going, what area was the clincher, if there was just one?

I can actually still hear these answers in my head! And almost every one came up during my time in The Way Irrational.

Q. Why have so many people left The Way? A. People have freewill choice to stay as long as they want. We're thankful for the time they're here.

Eagle, Could we let people play music that someone actually likes? Or how about music that teens would buy? Oenophile, It would be a bit ironic. I think it actually will happen. They can say the reign of Craig was "held in abeyance" while he "restored himself in the Word."

JM, I got out two years ago. At that time, ANY debt of any kind prevented you from going. Credit card debt which was going to be paid off at the end of the month was ok. That's about it.

Uh oh! I don't think ANYONE would want ME running TWI! :D-->

I want to put the flag up in the morning. (After having burned the tape of "Beautiful Ohio" the night before)

JM, It is good that you're asking these questions. Have you asked the same questions of leaders at the Way? Just curious. When I began to question them, their answers amounted to "everyone is against us because we stand for God." Which is, of course, a non-answer. It doesn't say that the issues were true or not true, just changes the subject. Watch out for tricks like that and others in ANY suspicious group. I am not sure how old you are but if you came to the Way because of dating you may be a young person. If so, you may want to consider bringing a second person with you who has more life experience for a second opinion. One sure sign of a cult is pressure to isolate you and control what you see and hear. Turning on the light only scares the cockroaches. If you bring a parent, older brother/sister, etc. you are more likely to get an unbiased opinion. They won't have the emotional attachment of a girl to potentially affect them. One last point. Do NOT expect anything other than a wonderful experience at first. It is their hallmark. You will be treated very well and given lots of attention. It isn't usually until after the first class that the demands start to come. Please do not rely on what you see today to decide. Ask about future commitments. Just ask a lot of questions. Any group should feel comfortable discussing them if they have nothing to hide. JT

Mr H, :D--> "No, YOU are mark and avoid!" "Out foul spirit!" Hahahahaha Oh, wait! I have an idea. Fox could take Mr. H's plan and make it a reality show! Some potential names: Deceiver Island Foul Factor Survivor: New Knoxville Amazingly Racy (Amazing Race) Growing Up Okie (A la Growing Up Gotti) Extreme Makeup (Seen Donna's pic on GS lately?!) The Apprentice (Corps) The Next BigForeHead (Next Billionaire) Sadly, "The Big Loser" is already taken. ;)-->

Nyuck, nyuck. Wise guys! :D-->

He does have kind of a serious look to him. Not a lot of smiling go on there. JT

Maybe a name change would help them? Think they could hide their past? Probably not with Paw around.

Plan B: Terry Bradshaw seemed to make a good pitchman for them. Can you imagine him in tights doing AOS and teaching PFAL? The original class just had some animated hick so... uh oh... hmm... I hope the BOD Squad isn't reading this. ;)-->

Thanks Oldies.