Twinky

Why would anyone want to mask the flavour? The flavour and tastiness are some of the reasons that people make their own bread!

I agree with Mike on this one. And that's what I did. I had all the collaterals, but only read one of them just before the Advanced Class exam. In fact, I think that's the only time I read that book, whichever it was. There's a lot of info "out there" to suggest that it takes three weeks to build a new habit, and another three months to really consolidate it.

Splendid, T-Bone. Lost inside a Bible group! Makes me think of the "blessings and cursings" - specifically the curses, from Mt Ebal. Deut 27:17:

I make a whole wheat, sometimes a seedy, loaf sometimes. My basic recipe calls for 1 or 2 cups white and 3 or 2 cups wholemeal/whole wheat (4 cups altogether) but I usually make mine 1 white and 3 wholemeal/whole wheat/other. Full "brown" flour makes a rather denser loaf, a bit smaller. Experiment till you find a texture that you like.

The latest "must have" kitchen accessory. Have you got one? Do you like it? Do you use it often? What for? What has it replaced in your kitchen (how did you cook items before?) How easy is it to look after - does it need a lot of detailed cleaning? Thinking of getting one, but not sure it'll do me much good. I don't have room for a lot of kitchen gadgets. I believe an air fryer can be used to cook small portions of food and is more cost-effective than heating a whole oven for a small thing (not that I do that anyway, I cook a small item in some different way). Any opinions from air-fryer users would be welcome.

Or maybe God "gave" you that twisted ankle, so that one of these amazingly spiritual coordinators could demonstrate their amazing ability to minister the "gift of healing." /sarc/

And of course, VPW "led" us all to the new birth by teaching us "the word" and then how to SIT. So VPW has done very many "works" and perhaps that makes him greater than Jesus many times over. (Barf.) Those commentaries quoted by T-Bone above are helpful to flesh out the thinking behind what was surely something that VPW appropriated without giving any sufficient background. Perhaps he pinched bits from Bullinger too. Here, in How to Enjoy the Bible, Bullinger suggests that we are absent from the Lord - not that the Lord is absent from us. A very different kettle of fish.

Thanks, T-Bone. Your long post above is very helpful.

Yeah, I was taught it was the "new birth" as well, which wasn't available before Jesus died, so of course he couldn't help (?) anyone there. I don't know what this means, but I'm not willing to accept the say-so of a corrupt "teacher" who didn't understand basic principles of Christianity. Is "the new birth" a "work" anyway? I'd be satisfied if I could consistently do a fraction of the "works" that Jesus did. Happy to aim bigger once I achieve consistency.

Another thing that strikes me is this: Jphn 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. [13] And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Okay, Jesus has gone to the Father (= absent) but we can do greater works than him? Greater works than Jesus? That makes us greater than Jesus, perhaps? Ach, so: the Word of God is the will of God, because then - we are all Gods and greater than Jesus, who is merely a human being. And an absentee human being, at that. Shove over, Jesus. It's us who should be seated at the right hand of the Father. NOT!!!!

Okay, I'm late to the party on this. One thing that strikes me is that the gospels were almost forbidden territory. Almost everything we were taught came from the epistles - Acts, and the Pauline epistles in particular. So that actually did make Christ "absent" in our lives, to some extent. Do you remember VW talking in PFAL about having all those books about the Bible, but never actually reading it? It seems to me that we had all these books, letters, articles, Waymag pages, etc, and the epistles to an extent, about the earthly life of Jesus, but we never actually read the very books, the gospels, where that life story was written.

Likewise. My life had been dedicated to TWI. M&A was terrible. At one point I was near suicidal - what stopped me was that I thought I was so incompetent (an idea instilled by TWI) that I thought I'd only succeed in injuring myself, making myself tetraplegic or something, and that then I'd never be able to do anything about ending it all. Happily, God led me to a great church that had patience with my weirdness. And now, life is soooo good. Ransmed, healed, restored, forgiven - who like me his praise should sing? Enjoy this lovely hymn, with great views over countryside in the north of England with its lush green fields and heather moors.

Rocky, was just going to say the same thing. It's hard for those of us who were young adults to cope with the aftermath of being in TWI, particularly if they've been in residence. It's especially hard for anyone raised from a young age, or born into, TWI, whether or not they've been in rez. And it must be especially, especially, hard for anyone raised in the M'dale household, where it was permanent and involuntary in-rez. (It was hard enough for those in the Wierwille household.) It's good that you can still talk to your mom, though they may be strained conversations at times. (She gets her own share of beating here.) Are you welcome on grounds in Ohio, or do you not want to visit there ever again? I'm truly sorry that you have this family rupture to deal with along with all the other Wayfer problems, but you're wise to keep out of your dad's orbit. You know the adage: "The truth will set you free." There is much truth here and it's to be hoped that these truths will unbind your heart, soul and mind, and set you free from the constraints put upon you. Much peace to you.

WW, I think he said this "spirit of leviathan" was connected with drinking. Leviathan was a sea monster of some sort, it's assumed. A huge sea snake, or a crocodile. We don't know. Speaking of snakes, PFAL or was it AC raises the question of "spirit of python" - said to be "always biting, biting." It bit its victims and injected poison and killed them. In fact, pythons, though they bite, are non-venomous and are constrictors. They're ambush predators, hiding, camouflaging themselves, and lying in wait for a suitable victim. Then they strike, instantly coiling themselves tightly round their victims, very effectively restricting their breathing and quickly suffocating them. Or causing a heart attack due to the constriction of the chest. Then it swallows the dead victim whole. It's generally undamaged, just dead. Hah! Got it! TWI itself was a python. It camouflaged itself as a Christian organisation and lay in wait for suitable victims (ideally, those with money). Got its fangs into its victims and then rapidly coiled around the victim, stifling ability to breathe, think, and stopping our hearts of compassion from beating. We looked undamaged, no broken bones - just broken minds and dead hearts. Broken finances, too. No wonder some of us felt like the walking dead, at times. Spirit of python, indeed!

I know nothing about this, but I do recall LCM ranting on about the EU (Economic Union, formerly the EEC - European Economic Community) and how bad it was for different countries to join together in a "union." For a start, it's none of his doggone business. For another, isn't the US just that - a union of lots of different States, some very much larger than some EU countries, so as to make one "union" to pursue joint goals? The fact is, none of us stands alone. We aren't "independent" or anyone - we're all "interdependent" and we need to remember that, and treat other people and other nations accordingly.

For anyone who might be interested in returning to the original subject of this thread: (It's from the Offshoots subforum: Craig has his own splinter group).

Oops

That was him. He was a nice man. TWI never took any responsibility. They just vilified him (though not as nastily as usual) for being weak. Other men (much older Corpsmen, therefore more browbeaten anyway) have declined into depression and inability to do anything. Dare not, probably. Those men are also victims, just as much as their abused wives.

Yep, spiritual partners. They prayed for in rez WC, and their in rez partners prayed for them. They sent in sponsorship; the WC rez sent letters sharing what had been taught. That was the idea, anyway. I don't know if they were considered spiritual partners if they just mutually prayed, and sent letters to each other. Maybe that wasn't "spiritual" enough if they didn't sent do$h as well. Though outside TWI, it would be considered that the praying was the more important "spiritual" part.

No idea where or when this started, but it used to confuse the heck out of me, and if I were in a room when a clergy member entered (even if it was just a quick check for something unrelated to why I was in the room), I'd stand up, all right, but to get up and get out of the vicinity real quick. A man I knew who became ordained became a real egotist after - would growl at the people who'd known, loved and supported him for years "Stand up!" when he entered a room after ordination. It stopped being a delight that this man had been so honored, and became an embarrassment. To me, at least. I now have a number of clergy friends ordained into recognized, legitimate, ministries. I think they'd be quite concerned for my mental health if I started jumping up whenever they entered a room. (Or maybe concerned for my physical needs - perhaps I wanted to use a toilet or something? )

This actually is only half of the problem. The other half is that feelings of inferiority were instilled in non-Corps folk, who were taught to look up to Corps as founts of all "spiritual" knowledge and understanding. And that probably started right from the first PFAL class anyone took. "Save your questions till the last session, and then ask." By which time, you'd been browbeaten over many sessions by so many "helpers" to think that some other person had all the answers.

So, how are "spiritual goals" different from any other kind of goals? Kid: "I want to be an astronaut/doctor/teacher/racing car driver/great sportsman when I grow up." Parents: "To achieve that, you'll need to develop skills in..., practice ..., study these subjects, learn to do these things, etc " Kid: "I want to be a church minister when I grow up." Parents: "To achieve that, you'll need to develop skills in..., practice ..., study these subjects, learn to do these things, etc " If you have other goals, like deepening your understanding of who God is, what God does, how prayer works (or doesn't), such cannot be quantified or evaluated in the same way. We can all read Bibles, memorise Bible verses, etc. How much reading and repetition of verses can be evaluated. But the results of one's study to understand and apply in daily practice should be evident in a richer life that demonstrates more of the qualities that God demands of believers: justice, kindness, gentleness, compassion, empathy, generosity, etc. ("Oh yes, I'm 20% more kind than I was this time last year." "80% of my prayers were answered this year." NOT!)

Interesting, isn't it, that the "ministry" roundly condemns those who walk away, who "don't stand" with TWI. Such people are roundly vilified, slandered, mocked. Jesus laid out the living word for many, many, people. Some chose to follow him and cling to his teachings. Some hung around for a while and then fell away. How much condemnation is heaped on them? How did Jesus vilify them and slander their names? I missed that bit in my Bible. And Paul (revered by TWI). How many walked away from him? Quite a few, who are actually mentioned. But how many are vilified? Only those who have actively walked away and are working against him. Those individuals, or some of them, are named. But not most. So, "ministry is the word" (cough) - learn from those examples. Maybe TWI have stopped that behaviour. Maybe it's just gone even more private. But of a certainty, they haven't apologised to those they've slandered, either individually or as a group (by, eg, apologising on public sites like this and the various Facebook groups).

If "the prevailing word" is "the word" as taught by TWI, it's very good it's not "all over the world." If “We are moving the Word Over the World” means pushing their agenda more and more (which it does), they need to examine why numbers have dwindled so very badly. It's, what, 80-ish years since this scam got started. Think how far the real Word got in 80 years. Communities of really strong, outstanding, believers all over the Mediterranean area - communities genuinely ready to die for their beliefs - a "school of the prophets" opened up, and many signs, miracles, wonders carried out in the Lord's name. That was in face of significant and deadly opposition from both religious and secular authorities, far worse than many believers face today. In the wise words of an ancient prophet, Gamaliel: "If their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail. 39But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38-39). Here's a link to the whole chapter: Acts 5 BSB (biblehub.com). It's worth having another look, and comparing it to what you saw in TWI.

Neither I nor my siblings had any "race consciousness." It wasn't an issue, because our community was all white. It just was. Back in those days. My brother moved to South Africa. The "blacks" working in the factory where he was a skilled fitter and turner were horrified that he should clear up his swarf and waste. They faced losing their jobs if a white man had to clear up. My bro also refused to employ a "maid" to clean his apartment. He was used to cleaning up his flat. But that "just wasn't done." Eventually, he employed a maid (she didn't do anything worthwhile.) He hated the patronising aspect of it. I moved to another area and met a black guy. Just friends, walking home together after night classes to improve our lot in life. Was invited to a party. When I entered the room, all eyes turned to look at me. Not hostile, just - curious. Then, they all carried on dancing or whatever they were doing. I was the only white person there. Abject lesson to me. How hard it must be for a non-white to engage in "white" communities. I was 18 years old and have never forgotten that odd feeling, half a century on. Even so, it's easy to get caught up in cultural bias. I don't want to live in a world where people are more valued for the colour of their skin than for the quality of their lives. I will like, or dislike, people according to who they are, not according to their skin, eye, or hair colour, or their ethnic background.