Twinky

Think right from the beginning when I was being nagged to take PFAL, I asked about this "donation" and said, a donation is a free-will, voluntary, payment. If I don't "donate" can I still take this class? Of course the answer was no. So I said, it's not a donation at all, then; it's a charge, a fee. No, it's a donation. I only took the class to shut up those pushing me. And then I felt tricked into something. And then I tricked myself into continuing for ... years. "Donation" is now one of those words that causes me to look very narrow-eyed and carefully at what is actually going on. And at what is to become of my "donation." I have to say, I haven't come across it in the Christian context.

Clearly gold medallists in the foot-in-mouth competition. :eusa_clap:

That was "tantamount" not "paramount," Steve.

Wouldn't they have to get married at the annual mass wedding-fest? Oh, just remembered. There aren't enough in rez Corps to make a mass of anything.

Trick of the Adversary, doncha know. Those in the secular business realm ... simply do not love you like the leaders in TWI do. (Thank God.)

"Teaching" and "ministry" in context of TWI spin-offs is a real contradiction in terms. Fits like a hand in a boxing glove .... when doing the laundry. Jesus taught by example - was right there with people, showing how life was to be lived. With all its joys and hardships. Peter taught by example - was right there with people, showing how life was to be lived. When he fell short, there was a public confrontation and Peter changed his ways. Only later did the early apostles separate themselves. And then, their mantle passed, to Philip, to Paul, to others. Paul taught by example - was right there with people, showing how life was to be lived. Supported himself but made collections to give away to help those in need. No record he hoarded any money from his work, or from collections. Timothy taught by example - was right there with people, showing how life was to be lived. Paul was there, and wrote to him, showing how the example was to be set. Teaching ministries... ...Mother Teresa? David Wilkerson? Nicky Cruz? ...Ordinary people in your community?

Only if you have blinkers on and your deaf aid turned off. We in the UK build a more caring society. Caring doesn't mean socialist, it means caring. Not greedy. Not sold out to materialism and "Can't pay? Tough, no care for you!" Keep your opinions to yourself, DailyBlot...err, Jot. But this isn't the politics forum. Just watched the closing celebrations. Lotsa Brit talent and eccentricity on display. Good fun. Well done to all the Brit athletes, who did really well comparitively - third after two very much more populous nations. Well done to all the athletes, whether or not they won anything. They gave their best, they ran their races [or whatever] well. Tremendous to watch. All of them.

The article excerpted states the convention was 4 and 5 June 1955. Not in February 1956, as in TWI: LIL.

My FB account...is hardly ever visited. I use it mostly for looking for people who I used to know, to see what they're up to. And where they are now, so that I can avoid them, if ex-Wayfers. I prefer friends in the flesh not in the ether.

Been pondering this a while. And the question is: HOW WILL YOU RECOGNIZE A FALSE PROPHET? A FALSE APOSTLE? Yes, I know that scripture says that if what the prophet prophesies doesn't come to pass, you shall not be afraid of that prophet: And yet, some prophecies were were never fulfilled in the lifetime of that generation...though they were, perhaps, centuries later. There were false prophets from the beginning (obviously; Deuteronomy is an early book); and there are warnings throughout the whole Bible. Look at 2 Cor 11 and 12, for example: Is it whether they ask for money? Financial support? Contributions to their mission in (name a country/city)? Yet many genuine workers for God are supported by churches and congregations, couldn't survive otherwise. Also, it's not that they're 100% accurate... (are they Trinitarians? Non-Trinitarians? I've heard both types speak wonderful words concerning God - and not so wonderful words, from both types. In light of how many televangelists, cranks and snake oil salesmen proclaim they have the word of God - how does one know? Some sound good, Biblical. We were all fooled once - otherwise we'd not have fallen into the false ministry that is TWI. So having been fooled once, how do we know we aren't being fooled again when we go to church, tune into the God channel, whatever. How do you know that you know that you know?

Folks, Shiftthis has been a member here since May 2008 - but he has been a part of TWI for many decades. He's made only 131 posts (as at today) so maybe he doesn't come here often, even as a lurker. He hangs out with innies, with splinter groups... nuff said. Remember how long it took you, once you made the decision to leave, to start to clear your brain of the treacle coursing through its folds. And once you found this place, maybe you were so revolted by what you read that you couldn't believe it either. Be patient with Shiftthis. Eventually he might "get there." Or "get it." Or something. His critical thinking skills are shot to pieces; might not have been brilliant to start with. There's no instant fix for Waybrain. Hey, got an idea. (calls to off-stage) Paw, how about charging for GSC 101 - Power for Abundant Listening? Followed by an Intermediate class in Empathy & Compassion?

It would have been really helpful if part of in rez training had included talks from Jewish leaders - instead of re-runs of PFAL and other classes, and plodding through Light Through an Eastern Window (KC Pillai). A real Jewish understanding could have brought a lot of new perspectives to Christianity. (Oh, dang, there I go again, confusing TWI with a Christian organization.) Luther tried to convert Jews near him to his brand of Christianity. When they wouldn't listen, he turned viciously against them. Sounds familiar?

My thoughts exactly.

Soooo ... has anyone actually looked at their website, or article(s) about kindness? (And don't be unkind, folks. Set an example.)

Doncha like the conclusion "freely show his kindness"? :unsure:

So very right, Excie. Well... not new unless you're in TWI.

My oh my. Don't know why I did this, but I looked at TWI's website just a few moments ago. And on the front page is a little heading (which someone is smart enough to hyperlink) announcing "What's new" and underneath, a big banner announcing "God's Kindness to Others." This is apparently a series of short articles about ... well, God's Kindness. Link to their website (Click at your own peril) A skim of the articles shows lots of Bible verses with descriptive words beneath, usual TWI style. No particular examples of what "kindness" might look or sound or feel like. Leader article concludes as follows: This sounds like such a wonderful thing to be doing. Except that having been on the receiving end of so much "kindness" from TWI, I'd rather be anywhere else ... like being in one of many of the churches in this city, which do know what kindness really is.On the plus side, this Kindness section of their website does look quite well done. Beautifully whitewashed, you might say.

What an awesome character Dr Lee is! A lot of drive to overcome a lot of obstacles. I was appalled at this: Dirty "Whites" water was good enough for these second-rate non-white Americans, when it wasn't good enough for "Whites." Good on Dr Lee for pushing through that junk and showing not only was he the equal of, but in this respect better than, the local White population. Somebody please reassure me that that junk no longer applies.

What's a "brawn bar"? Sounds horrible. I loved those yogurts. Delicious. Most of my in rez twig didn;t. So I acquired theirs. Yum. But then, they got my PBJs. Yeuk.

From the Silly Question > Food at Emporia thread: Too funny!

I watched the opening ceremony last night. Fantastic! A history, a celebration, funny bits, all sorts. Loved the cauldron - never seen anything like that. I've always loved watching the athletes - absolute dedication to what they want to achieve. Not distracted for a second. No woolly thinking. I always wonder how dedicated Christians are to the race set before them. How many would strive even to get to the qualifying heats? Or into the stadium? Much less strive for gold. Or are too many Christians distracted by the world around them? Anyway, enough over-spiritualising. Well done to ALL the athletes for getting to the Olympics. Even to those who are there in a token capacity, with practically no expectation of getting a medal. They did well to get there and they still represent their countries with boldness. :eusa_clap: .. (edited so that the "Olympic rings" are in the right position)

I think a significant problem now (at least for me) is that having listened to a false prophet and his trained false prophets for too long, I'm not entirely sure when I might be listening to a real prophet. One with a genuine, energized ministry. I tend to run whatever that person says through too many layers of filters. Come to that, I have difficulty discerning a real apostle, evangelist, or teacher (real pastors I know about) (and they usually aren't church leadership) without a lot of personal contact.

Naw, OS. That's where the bodies are buried! :B)

What would Linder do with the bloody gun, anyway? TWI is abusive but not so far as I'm aware has it actually got round to actually murdering its members. Yet. Caused people to kill themselves, yes, but killed them actually, no. If Paul had launched himself at LCM, maybe Linder would have shot at him to defend LCM, d'ya think? But Paul was in control of himself and found other actually more devastating ways to attack LCM and TWI. Linder and that gun...so many stories...wonder if it was loaded? If he knew how to use it? Just another way to intimidate and threaten. What a splendid example of Christian love and kindness. What a scenario. Paul gets as red in the face as LCM during a Sunday sermon. Linder thinks Paul is threatening LCM. Linder shoots Paul and kills him. Then, he has to shoot and kill F3rne so that she can't expose this as well. Then, everyone present has to secretly dig a hole in the Way Woods to bury them. Or would they weight the bodies and drop them in the pond? And also they have to clean up the location where this took place. Mmmmm - can't see any of the trustees or their spouses wanting to do that much work, really. And then, Paul's secret letter exposing all the information comes to light when he fails to check in with his lawyer, friends, whoever.

Kit, I’d agree that causing division is not a godly thing. However, I also think that honesty is a Godly thing and we were fed such a line about how marvelous Luther was, how bold, how willing to take a stand… Nobody talked about this side of Luther’s teachings. The Catholic church at Luther’s time was very corrupt. There are many records of this, and I don’t want to address those. That’s what Luther attempted, with his “95 Theses.” The Catholic church today still has its problems (notably abuse of young children) – again, many records, and widely documented nowadays, not so a few decades ago - there is a current thread (Sandusky) on which you have posted. Notwithstanding some very bad apples (abusive priests), I’d agree with you that the Catholic church today is out there helping the less fortunate with schools, orphanages, etc. I can't comment further, Catholics in England do their best to keep separate and not integrate with Protestants. But this thread isn’t about the Catholic church. It’s about a man, Luther, revered by VPW, and whose ideas were incorporated into our “Christian” education within the Way. And I think Luther’s hard, uncompromising, bigoted viewpoint was transmitted to us, not only concerning Jews, but also regarding anyone who wasn’t a Way “believer.”