T-Bone

Speaking of wierwille’s schemes to invert Christianity – a big one that stands out to me is how he stood the simple idea of prayer on its ear… he changed everything about it as far as the uncomplicated version one finds presented throughout the Bible. wierwille introduced a new model for prayer. Remember in PFAL – I think it was even a listening with a purpose question in the class syllabus. to receive anything from God what must you know? wierwille listed 5 things. The first one was – you must know what’s available…I wonder where he got that idea. It wasn’t from the Bible. As a matter of fact, the Bible indicates that’s NOT a prerequisite: Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us Ephesians 3:20 KJV The Amplified version is even more emphatic about us NOT needing to know what’s available: Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, Ephesians 3:20 Amplified Another one on his list that I find repugnant is you have to have your needs and wants parallel. Who says?!?! It sounds like another salesman’s gimmick. What if I don’t need or want what wierwille says I need or want?

In 1555 Prince Humperdinck made a decree that only he could wear an extra-long scabbard belt.

Vizzini: Would it be too much for you guys to warn me about the horse$hit on the trail? Inigo: Well mister smarty-pants why do you think they call this a horse trail? Fezzik: Don’t use that knife at dinner after scraping your boot.

That’s a tremendous quote by Dacher – thanks for sharing, Rocky! It made me think of a couple of things. 1. The bigger they are the harder they fall…which is a familiar idiom which emphasizes that the more important or powerful a person is, the more difficult it is for them when they lose their power or importance From: Cambridge Dictionary org: bigger they are the harder they fall 2. the God Complex. A god complex is an unshakable belief characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility. A person with a god complex may refuse to admit the possibility of their error or failure, even in the face of irrefutable evidence, intractable problems or difficult or impossible tasks. The person is also highly dogmatic in their views, meaning the person speaks of their personal opinions as though they were unquestionably correct. Someone with a god complex may exhibit no regard for the conventions and demands of society and may request special consideration or privileges. God complex is not a clinical term nor diagnosable disorder and does not appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The recognized diagnostic name for the behaviors associated with a God complex is narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). A God complex may also be associated with mania or a superiority complex. From Wiki – God complex ~ ~ ~ ~ and from Mind Power Hub Do most narcissists have a god complex? You wouldn’t be far off if you thought god complexes sounded a lot like narcissism. They’re pretty close, but they’re not identical. “When people talk about a god complex, they’re usually talking about someone who has a narcissistic personality disorder,” Blaylock-Johnson adds. They may, however, be without a formal diagnosis. A god complex isn’t a diagnosable disorder (not classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5). Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is still a thing. A god complex is virtually always present in people with NPD, although a god complex isn’t always present in those who don’t have NPD. However, there is a lot of overlap, especially with grandiose narcissism. It is a kind of narcissism, according to psychologist Perpetua Neo, DClinPsy, in which “someone’s narcissistic qualities—entitlement, braggadocio, and self-obsession—are publicly shown, frequently at the cost of others.” It’s equivalent to having a god complex. From: Mind Power Hub: 11 tips to spot someone with a God complex I left TWI back in ’86 - amidst the vying for power by top leadership and the general air of malaise that seemed to have touched everyone after wierwille had passed away... I still remember a crystal-clear moment of serious doubt starting to form while I was at my last Rock – how could all this happen if we had more of the “rightly-divided Word” than any other group? It wasn’t just that question – it was like a cluster bomb of questions and doubts that exploded in my head! And some of those questions and doubts would start a chain reaction…spreading more bad feelings…bringing up old red flags I had dismissed. My pop-psychology viewpoint is that the way to escape the rabbit hole depends on how far you went down the hole...you've got to retrace your steps...what sold you on this or that? for some it can be a long and arduous task...for those born into TWI - I don't know what to tell you - that's a different animal. Your parents dragged you down the rabbit hole. The rabbit hole is the only thing you know...sorry don't mean to stray way off topic - but those born into a cult will probably have a compound problem of analyzing the Achilles heel of their parents AND the cult-leader. Initially there was a very strong sense of disappointment from realizing Craig was not wierwille…and then more depressing thoughts coming after that – what about my corps training? It was chock-full of PFAL – the very essence of wierwille. I remember some of my corps brothers saying when they get to their corps assignments, they would run PFAL classes like crazy…and there was a sentiment that would solve everything. But there was no denying this feeling of frustration. I couldn’t shake it off…it would take a couple of years after I left to sort things out – and realize my disillusionment was from wierwille, Craig, TWI…the way corps program…and of course PFAL failing to fulfill any of the declared goals. And the more I would reflect on my 12 years of involvement the more I recognized the inconsistencies between the actions of wierwille and Craig and the ideals they supposedly represent. what a surprise of weaknesses in supposedly strong…powerful…charismatic cult-leaders - – through a series of events you unexpectedly discover they are phonies…when you take off the PFAL-blinders you see the cult-leaders for what they are – hot air balloons of god complex inflated to the max. The downfall…their undoing is their loss of power to manipulate me…their loss of super-apostle stature to impress me…It’s like the story of the Wizard of Oz. The Great Oz’s cover was blown when little Toto pulled back the curtain…Toto is to the Great Wizard of Oz what Grease Spot Café is to wierwille, Craig, TWI and offshoots.

Continuing with a discussion of why I think the Trinity is an asset – let’s look into how John describes some very vivid images he saw in Revelation 5:6: Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Revelation 5:6 NIV This passage suggests the marks of Jesus’ wounds are still visible – perhaps like when Thomas was invited to look at Jesus’ hands and touch the scar in his side John 20:27 …Jesus was slain and yet he appeared triumphant in his resurrected body to Thomas and the other disciples and over 500 brothers and sisters and to Paul I Corinthians 15: 1-11 ~ ~ ~ ~ On a sidenote about the resurrection I just finished reading a book that folks who are following this thread might enjoy reading The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus Kindle Edition by Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona from Amazon’s webpage here’s comments by two notable authors: This compelling book is the most comprehensive defense of Jesus' resurrection anywhere. If you're interested in knowing the evidence for the resurrection and sharing it with others, then you must read this book!” —Lee Strobel, Author of The Case for Christ "It may be the most thorough defense of the historicity of the resurrection." —J.P. Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology. ~ ~ ~ ~ The authors use logic, historical proximity and decisions based on levels of probability used in courts of law and investigations. If you’re a Christian and read this book – there’s a good chance it will only bolster your confidence in the historical authenticity of the Scriptures and Jesus Christ’s resurrection! ~ ~ ~ ~ Okay – back on track... …notice there’s a threefold use of the number seven in Revelation 5:6 emphasizes completeness and perfection with respect to Jesus Christ – “The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God…” According to the American publication, the Orthodox Study Bible, 777 represents the threefold perfection of the Trinity. The number 777, as triple 7, can be contrasted against triple 6, for the Number of the Beast as 666… In the book of Revelations, in the Holy Bible, the numbers "777" is used to mark the people in which God chooses as his own. Satan is portrayed as attempting to counterfeit this number which is referred to as "666". See Wiki - 777 and Wiki - 666 . Breaking down the triple sevens is as follows: Seven horns: In ancient Hebrew culture the horn symbolized the power, authority or resources wielded by a mighty individual (see Revelation 17:12 and Deuteronomy 33:17 ) and with seven horns that makes Jesus Christ the King of Kings – possessing complete authority to rule over all Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” Matthew 28:18 and in John 17:2 Jesus prayed to the Father For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Seven eyes: With a commanding view from perfect eyesight – Jesus Christ is able to observe everything going on! Nothing escapes his notice. Visual acuity brings him perfect knowledge. The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. Proverbs 15:3 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes. Jeremiah 16:17 Seven spirits: Noted in a couple of commentaries was the expression seven spirits refers to the fullness of the Holy Spirit - in Revelation 1:4 , Revelation 3:1 , Revelation 4:5 One of the many things I find so riveting about Rev. 5:6 is that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit seem to be inexplicably interwoven in their effectiveness…something my feeble mind is unable to explain – as evidenced in my previous posts regarding the Trinity - here - here and here . We find in Scripture that the Father and the Son commission the Spirit to go forth into the world: see John 14:26 , John 15:26 , John 16:7 , Acts 1:8 and Galatians 4:6 . Circling back to the first part of Rev. 5:6 - Jesus Christ with his perfect skill sets of command, oversight, knowledge, wisdom, and experiences is best qualified to be the perfect administrator of the whole shooting match. - Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders …Lenski observes in his commentary “in the midst” (KJV) or “at the center” and “encircled” (NIV) is not so much a spatial reference – though it could mean that too – but even more so as a correlation. In other words, because of his position at the center of everything the Lamb is literally and figuratively at the center – he is the power center – the director of power – in English we often use the phrase power center to refer to a locus of power, especially of political power or authority; a powerful person or institution. When someone speaks of the seat of government, they usual mean the location that is the center of authority to govern - usually the capital city of an area. The Amplified Bible puts it altogether: And there between the throne (with the four living creatures) and among the elders I saw a Lamb (Christ) standing, [bearing scars and wounds] as though it had been slain, with seven horns (complete power) and with seven eyes (complete knowledge), which are the seven Spirits of God who have been sent [on duty] into all the earth. Revelation 5:6 Amplified ~ ~ ~ ~ Sources: Crosswalk: why is the number 7 so important in the Bible? New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Book of Revelation by Simon J. Kistemaker The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Book of Revelation by Robert H. Mounce NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible, editors D.A. Carson and T. Desmond Alexander NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, editors Craig S. Keener and John H. Walton R.C.H. Lenski's Commentary on the New Testament: The Interpretation of St. John's Revelation

Awfuldontics is a recent branch off of orthodontics – with a desire to give patients what they want awfuldontists have separated from mainstream dentistry specialties of treating teeth and jaw irregularities – and have moved in a different direction. Their latest project is an asymmetrical sub-dental percolator – the Awful-Fang-Brew. The Awful-Fang-Brew is a state-of-the-art-itty-bitty percolator that consists of a tiny ground beans chamber threaded into a boiling “bolt” - and it's all hidden under a tooth facsimile. The unit is powered by a discreetly mounted solar panel on the back of your head. You don’t need a cup holder – and no more spilled coffee cups. Now, the word for fresh coffee is right on the tip of your tongue.

To avoid the risk of electrocution during live performances, always make sure your instrument is properly grounded

WordWolf, thanks for pulling those quotes together. I remember when the Current Psychological Hoax Sunday Night Teaching Tape came out. The anxious concern in our Twig was palpable – all of us bought into wierwille’s line of bull$hit on what he said really happened in Jonestown. Like a magician using sleight-of-hand to perform tricks – wierwille used a red herring to unscrupulously influence what we thought of the Jonestown massacre. red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question. It may be either a logical fallacy or a literary device that leads readers or audiences toward a false conclusion. A red herring may be used intentionally, as in mystery fiction or as part of rhetorical strategies (e.g., in politics), or may be used in argumentation inadvertently. The term was popularized in 1807 by English polemicist William Cobbett, who told a story of having used a strong-smelling smoked fish to divert and distract hounds from chasing a rabbit. From Wikipedia – red herring ~ ~ ~ ~ Sunday, I had listened to a teaching by David Jeremiah. One of the illustrations he used was about a lighthouse being built in the wrong location – and all the problems that caused…While I was reading this thread what came to mind was the lighthouse but as an example of how wierwille mislead us. Some details of the mislocated lighthouse are as follows: Controversy arose right from the early stages of construction–reports suggested that the angle of the light and the actual building site were not in accordance with the plans. But despite everything, the lighthouse was erected and finalized on October 1, 1860. When the light was installed it became apparent that the ships approaching Jervis Bay from the north side, where there are a number of offshore reefs, could not see the light beacon, and those from the southern approach had a limited view of the light. The Pilots Board eventually made an investigation and what they found was shocking: the map that was used to select the site had been drawn incorrectly. It was even suspected that the lighthouse was deliberately constructed closer to the quarry than it should have been. This may have made life easier for the contractors but it was an error that cost lives. “…the original map and marking of the proposed lighthouse location were so inaccurate that later there were doubts as to whether the light had been erected on the selected site,” writes Lighthouses of Australia Inc. Upon inspection, it was discovered that Cape St. George lighthouse was built 2.5 miles north of where the it was supposed to have been. The New South Wales Government was notified and a committee was chosen to look deeper into this matter. The committee found that the location was chosen without inspecting the site and solely relying on maps of dubious character. But nonetheless the lighthouse remained and as a direct result, from 1864 to 1893, twenty-three ships were wrecked on the coast near Jervis Bay. The lighthouse was finally replaced in 1899 by Point Perpendicular Light, which was erected on the southern tip of the Beecroft Peninsula headland. This location proved to be perfect and the new lighthouse was used for years. The light from the Cape St. George lighthouse was removed and installed in Crookhaven Heads Light, a lighthouse that was erected in 1904 north of the town of Culburra; the Crookhaven Heads Light today stands abandoned and is a favorite target for vandals. Once the new Point Perpendicular Light was put to use, it became clear that having two lighthouses standing in the same vicinity is confusing, especially during daylight. Having no real use for the Cape St George Lighthouse, it was handed over to the Royal Australian Navy. They decided to use this decommissioned lighthouse as a target during military drills. From: Abandoned Spaces com: Built in the wrong place, this Australian lighthouse caused several shipwrecks End of excerpts Thanks for taking the time to read the lighthouse excerpts. I thought it could also be a vivid illustration of dangerous cult-leaders like Jim Jones and victor paul wierwille – who gave misdirection from their skewed vantage point – which led to a lot of lives being wrecked.

If you’re ever caught in a situation without ppe - a word to the wise – improvise!

On days that I get really worked up about the covid – I take extra security measures

Speaking of shopping - on Valentine’s Day I usually like to wear something red when I go to the store.

I’m a smart shopper. I like to read the ingredients label on everything I buy. Most folks don’t do that – guess that’s why I get a lot of stares from people whenever I go shopping.

At the beginning of this thread someone said “The trinity is the welcoming committee and the public relations machine for the antichrist. The trinity is a perpetual reminder that..."Haleluia, the antichrist is coming". …. I disagreed – that seemed to be somewhat of a false attribution fallacy ...so I counterargued in my post > here - to point out Satan / antichrist somehow imitating the resurrection of Christ and along with lying signs and wonders were actually imitating the various roles of the Holy Trinity... …and furthermore I tend to think that Satan will try to appeal to our desire for transcendence - of rising above this physical level to a superior state – and that ties into Biblical eschatology with the expectation of Christ’s godlike role on Earth - Christ coming back as lord of lords and king of kings…even just shortly after his resurrection the disciples asked Christ “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:6 It seems to me, even from way back then up to now, many are already primed to expect some superhuman to come on the scene as a geopolitical savior – so it’s not that farfetched that people will fall for the deceptions of the Satanic trinity. And there’s something else in the book of Revelation that gets me wondering about how dire the human condition is. In my opinion Revelation 20 is like opening up a can of worms. You’d think locking up Satan for a thousand years would solve the problem or prove something during the millennial kingdom of Christ’s rule on Earth. But read on – and note that shortly after his release, Satan goes at it again to deceive the nations…now mind you – Christ has been ruling as king of kings for a thousand years…what?!?! How could things go south so quickly…read the whole passage below and then I’ll offer something after that: And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. 4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. 7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Revelation 20: 1-10 NIV ~ ~ ~ ~ On page 1222 of The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, Volume 2: New Testament the author observes that this section of Revelation 20 shows something of the deep, complex nature of evil – and that the underlying source of rebellion against God does not lie with the devil but springs up from deep within a person’s own heart.

Thanks, Rocky! Don’t know about being divinely inspired…but I will say this – it’s either a blessing or a curse the way this silly stuff just pops into my head…and I mean it’s lightning fast! I can look at a picture or movie scene – like the film Fight Club – I used in the starter post…immediately off the wall stuff comes to mind – like what if going into the way corps was a weird Twilight Zone-esque coming of age story – a person’s transition from being young and naïve to being an adult and going into a cult’s leadership training program. It's not that I think my stuff is awfully funny – I just have to make fun of something so awful…maybe like gallows humor…I strive to be sarcastically on point. no brag – just fact – I have always had a very active imagination…you shove something in front of my eyeballs and it’s like giving a little kid a bunch of crayons and saying you can go ahead and draw all over that wall…and when it’s something supposedly “sacrosanct” about TWI – that’s like giving the kid a bunch of crayons and yet forbidding him to draw on the walls…that’s the flash of rebellious inspiration I get hit with…but then it takes me a long time to refine that for my target – which in this case is about The Way. Oh, and I don’t mean to bogart this thread - all Grease Spotters are welcome to participate – that would be even more fun…Bolshevik discovered my nasty habit on another thread - Being on-call and other misadventures - and he asked about the rules, boundaries and what not. And I told him “Rules…schmules…there ain’t no rules here…just don’t get political or QAnon-esque. My formula is I look for unusual pictures then I try to come up with the story behind the picture…Feel free to do what you want…I just start these things to amuse myself and I get tickled when someone else participates”. I say again – calling all Grease Spotters – get your crayons out – this wall is for you!

Even as a young lad Victor was always working on formulas. However, it wasn’t until years later that the greatest cargoes of life came in over quiet seas. As a matter of fact, it was so quiet that Victor could hear the lead engineer on the ship Heed Loch yelling at another ship mechanic “keep it simple, stupid”. Victor then realized he had stumbled across the greatest formula for success. He hauled off all the complicated formulas to the local dumpster - which sat conveniently in the alley next to the cardboard box he called his lab. By running a few simple ideas from E.W. Kenyon and Napoleon Hill through his own hand-built Plagiarizer-3000, he proudly announced to an unsuspecting fan club “believing equals receiving”.

I was thinking one way “present truth” could always be applicable would be if you had a time machine. Thus, there’s only two small hurdles to get over: 1. Build an operable time machine 2. Find a portable truth that easily fits inside the time-traveler-containment-throne, leaving enough room for the moment-to-moment-voyager to comfortably breeze through any day or time or hour.

I think the lockbox thing that wierwille promoted was a bad idea…it was like putting yourself in solitary confinement for a crime you did not commit.

To make going door to door witnessing more exciting I would imagine myself as Jason Bourne jumping from one house to another. That went along with something I remember wierwille said: we are Bourne again to serve.

In TWI-culture, you should always follow the rules to avoid consequences. A worst-case scenario might be you get possessed and levitate or something. Hopefully your Twig coordinator is good at talking you down.

I remember the time Craig berated one of my corps sisters over her new hairdo. What immediately came to mind was something wierwille use to say: when you point a finger at someone else there are three fingers pointing back at you.

There was an uneasy silence over some of the things wierwille said and did while I was in the way corps…it was like the elephant in the classroom…no one mentioned or wanted to discuss the inappropriateness or depravity of it I guess because it made some of us feel uncomfortable and would show us at odds with the acceptable way corps culture.

You shouldn’t believe everything you hear…unless you heard it in the Advanced Class…then it’s true.

The first rule of way corps training is: you do not talk about way corps training The second rule of way corps training is: you better remember the first rule

Homer: I think checkers is a stupid boring game! Marge: Homer, this is chess. Homer: Doh !!!!

It is interesting how what’s acceptable as targets for comedy changes – and of course that depends on the ambience of the various social groups – comedy writers must know their target audience. Comedy - like beauty - is in the mind of the beholder…take for instance South Park. The artwork is always disturbing to me – oversimplified ... edgy – like a half-a$$ed attempt to draw a cartoon in your friend’s textbook during class …so it’s disturbing but funny. I like that in comedy. My favorite character is Cartman – probably because he reminds me of some of the best a$$holes I’ve ever met - which oddly enough was during my way corps training…now there’s a name for my pain – Cartman!