DogLover

Rum Runner ... very powerful video clips. I must confess, that in my 23.5 years spent in TWI, I believe the diatribes about "the Myth of the Six Million." Since my exit in January 1996, I have come to know better. I wish every one of the kids of the Way (and young adults) could see these video clips ... it would build a compassion and understanding AND AWARENESS they, like I, was sorely lacking of this dark, dark period in history.

I've seen the syllabus for that crazy class, though I left before I took it myself, excathedra. LCM propounds that the serpent changed himself/itself into a beautiful woman, and that is how the serpent tempted Eve. Weird stuff. Just for the record, I don't think he was a homosexual either ... just a very twisted, egocentric heterosexual with manic-depressive tendencies.

Great poem, ILB ... the calm will come once the waters you have stirred up by leaving TWI have had a chance to settle ... just remember, you made the RIGHT choice to leave. It takes a while for all of us to have that "peaceable fruit of righteousness." Thankfulness is a great key. Thanks for posting ... we've missed you! DL

I have all the records mentioned above, but I have NO idea how to convert them to CDs ... any suggestions?

QUOTE: Now, unless I understood the tape wrong, Naomi was "moneyhands" granddaughter No, Naomi was Art Poling's daughter ... no relation to Bob or Dottie "Moneyhands."

Dan McConaughey is the person you remember that was the Aramaic scholar that attended the University of Chicago.

I guess I always figured knowing the names and kinds of them had to do with attacking the devil at his secrecy...but in looking back at the numerous (nearly 100) pages of notes I took at the Advanced Class Special on Discerning of Spirits (1992/I didn't leave until early 1996) ... I realize that LCM took LOTS of liberties with naming spirits and telling who had what ... I think it was in the category of having "itching ears" for him. I admit I also had "itching ears" to want to hear it at the time. Checked my old (1973) Advanced Class syllabus and my notes written beside the spirit of error, and it says there that it is a deceiving spirit that makes people accident prone. It is also supposed to be the spirit at work in "high religious echelons" (some quartered in rural Ohio :-) that makes people "think they are right when they are dead wrong."

Bagpipes Lover, You can always call me ... you know the number. And lots of folks here, too ... we have been there ... and yes, it DOES lessen and get not so overwhelming ... think of it as mourning a death ... you really do go through those stages ... first, you are totally overwhelmed with the passing of the "person" and likely very angry ... don't let anyone tell you how long that time "should be" ... each person is different. God will show you by His spirit in you when/if you are getting bitter ... but you will be rather surprised at how long that period of time can take. After 28 years, you are not going to just "get over it" and move on. You may want to think of it as losing weight ... a person who wants to lose a lot of weight wants to do it "right now" and be thin tomorrow ... but what they forget is that it took them many years to get that way ... so with The Way. Just because a person leaves The Way does not mean that The Way "leaves" them ... all those thought patterns, built so diligently in all your years in TWI, will take dismantling one at a time. Some can be talked out ... many just need to be rebuilt with the TRUE accuracy of God's Word ... not in any particular group, but by you yourself with your eyes in the Book ... and it may help to have a different (or at least additional) version of the Bible to read ... if you are like me, I had many, many years of TWI teachings lodged in my head (and written in the margins of) my Bible ... a nice, clean, fresh, unmarked Bible is often a blessing for folks ... also other versions such as The Amplified Bible, Wuest's translation, or for an enjoyable paraphrase, The Message. One thing (and there are others, of course) that we did learn accurately in the Way is that reading the Bible for enjoyment is good for us. Doesn't have to be for research or deep, heavy spiritual things, especially not when you are in "recovery mode." Read for the simple joy of knowing that God loves you and He is behind you all the way. Pray. Speak in tongues. HAVE FUN without guilt. Spend time with those that bless you ... family, friends, and perhaps new friends that you make in exploring a hobby you have perhaps long wanted to, but didn't have the time. Do little things (if you want to) just because you can: give to a "second rate" cause ... just because you can. Get a serious pet ... or a non-serious, joke-cracking hamster... just because you can. Most of all, take care of YOU ... who to fellowship with, what to do, etc. will follow along in time. Meanwhile, just REJOICE that's it's your decision ... think of yourself as that little kid who has just learned to walk ... how he/she loves to explore ... when the toddler falls down, he just gets back up and keeps exploring. Does this help? Hope so.

No, I'm not familiar with the area ... I just met Randy's brother, Greg and his wife, Andy when we visited their home for a witnessing weekend and then later for a Lightbearers stint in 1985 ... they are great and loving people. I understand from The Weather Channel that a new all-time low temperature was set in Denver today ... thirteen degrees BELOW zero.

Free from Cults, You wrote of Bob Moneyhands: I bet I can come behind him and say "BOOOHH! I am a former Way believer and a cop-out" and he'll be running for the nearest exit. My thoughts on that: not unless you, too, tick off Rosalie and she ships YOU across the Atlantic to coordinate a work that doesn't exist .... No, you will just have to enjoy being around your family and working a REAL job and having self-respect and leave the running to the nearest exit to BM in his nightmares ... It is a shame he does not garner HIS self-respect, ask GOD first and then other folks for forgiveness, and move on to a REAL life.

Very enlightening post ... DogLover

I downloaded and saved it, but I don't see how to view specific things ... DL

The "Snacks" part really made me chuckle ... it's much cheaper to take your OWN Hershey bars (or other chocolate, for you chocolate lovers like me out there) ... but it is just incredible to me that they would tell an ADULT to do those things .. could it be that the only Advanced Class candidates they plan on having there are children that were raised in TWI? Probably not ... but even teenagers have enough sense to plan ahead to have snack money ... Lover of Dogs AND chocolate (but do not give your dog chocolate ... even if he/she has saved money for snacks, the chocolate has some ingredient that is toxic to dogs -- if one feels the need for legalism, let it stop with this "commandment" that you not allow your dog to spend his snack money on chocolate bars...but then again, if you were in TWI, would you be able to have a "serious pet" like a dog? Or would you be confined to having a non-serious, fun-loving hamster?)

Randy's brother, Greg Feese, lives in Denver, CO ... go to yahoo.com and do a People Search for him and you will find an address and phone number for Greg ... he will know where his brother is ....

I would say the sale of Emporia and later Rome City were a direct result of those things ... there were fewer members to fill these facilities and the upkeep had long been done for free by Way Corps volunteers for the most part, so they became an expensive liability. They weren't needed and weren't bringing in any money because most of TWI had left.

Didn't they have they WOW2 program from 1981-82 in Knoxville, TN during the World's Fair there? I am not sure they called it that, but I remember a guy from my WOW family (who had trouble getting and keeping a job during our WOW year and even lost his first check after many weeks on his way home from work) going there and having in his family a girl from my home area that had trouble managing the issues of everyday life just like he did...because of those two, I did not really get the impression it was the "spiritually elite" everyone said it was ....

Gotta "report back" ...AAARGHHHHH! WOW burgers, though ...WOOF!

As a young minister, I was asked by a funeral director to hold a graveside service for a derelict man who had died while traveling through the area with no family or friends. The funeral was held way back in the country. This man would be the first to be laid to rest at this cemetery As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost. Being the typical man, I didn't stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the crew and backhoe, but the hearse was nowhere in sight. The workmen were eating lunch. I apologized to the workers (who looked puzzled) for my tardiness. I stepped to the side of the open grave to find the vault lid already in place. I assured the workers I would not hold them long, but this was the proper thing to do. As the workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. I poured out my heart and soul. As I preached, the workers began to say "Amen," "Praise the Lord," and "Glory!". I preached and I preached, like I'd never preached before. I began from Genesis all the way to Revelation. I preached for two hours and 45 minutes. It was a very lengthy service. I closed in prayer and it was finished. As I was walking to my car, I felt that I had done my duty and could leave with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication, in spite of my tardiness. As I was opening the car door and taking off my coat. I overheard one of the workers saying to another, "I've been putting in septic tanks for 20 years, and I ain't never seen anything like this before."

johniam ... I agree. I still often get prayers answered ... something that never happened before I learned what I learned about the Bible, God, etc. in TWI. That doesn't negate the AWFUL things that happened to people in TWI ... but yeah, I think one of the saddest things I see/read is when people can no longer go to God with humility, love, trust, and thankfulness for what He did for them because of the hurt they experienced in TWI. Then they don't get their prayers answered ... sometimes don't even bother to pray any more because the hurt is so deep. God was God before TWI and He is still God now....and not the legalistic, spit in your face if you don't tithe God that was sometimes preached to us. Makes me think of Cliff Adelman's song: "Open your heart and just give Christ a try, he's in love with you, he arose to set you on high..." Not just a salvation song by any means. I'm NOT trying to say people who have been hurt should just "get over it." I AM saying that God is so much bigger than any hurt that man/woman/organization (no matter how corrupt) can do unto you that it is worth another try (at praying to God) for the many that have been hurt by TWI.

When I was out WOW in Chicago in 1980-81, our WOW family was three single guys and two single women and the 10-year-old boy one of the single women had had out of wedlock (before she involved with TWI). Late in the year, another single guy was added to us because we had room for him and all the rest of his WOW family had left ... I don't remember his name, though, because he was only with us for about six weeks or so.

Actually, putting meat out to defrost for hours is not supposed to be very healthy, according to folks in the know about things like that ... more bacteria can grow ... they actually SUGGEST defrosting it in the microwave ... but anal-retentive, religious legalists probably don't care about that ...

Yes, I too have had dreams of returning to a Rock of Ages ... but I must admit, as I grew older, I liked tent camping less and preferred an RV or better yet, a motel! It's hard to think of Rock of Ages WITHOUT thinking of rain and mud ... DogLover

I love dogs ... but don't have one ... although if I had a good place for one, I would be sure to have a couple ... I have a good friend who has a black Lab/Chesapeake mix ... I get to see him fairly often, so I guess he is my favorite dog du jour. BTW, one BIG difference between TWI II and the home-based church I now attend is this: when one of the members' dogs was sick, we prayed for him to get better. Try THAT in TWI. They hardly let you pray for the regular people in TWI 2.

TWI HQ sent a loser of a Branch coordinator to our area to replace the loving one they had thrown out. This one was so anal and obnoxious he even micromanaged his kids with a schedule on the fridge of what they could eat for snack in AM and PM (and what time those snacks were), and how they could not come to fellowship unless "invited." I remembered being over there for a fellowship starting at 7:30 and the kids, who were in elementary school, had been confined to their bedrooms since 7 p.m. That jerk managed to take a thriving branch and run off about 75 percent of us ... but it is just as well. The other 25% of us formed our own fellowship/church and are doing quite wonderfully ... with NO schedules attached to the fridge and actually do Children's Church for the little ones. Amazing how legalistic and micromanaging those people became .... and how quickly.

Loved it, excathedra ... and how true! Lover of Dogs AND nice drapes