waysider

Ah, the Mike wars...good times, good times...hahahahahahaha!

Not only have we changed in those 11 years, the internet, in general, has changed. Social media has changed. On-line behaviors have changed. And, best of all, TWI has changed. It's shriveled up and become an insignificant player in the greater scheme of religion, due, in part, to people who have had the audacity to tell "the other side of the story".

Just in case anyone was sleeping when the news broke, VPW did not have a real doctorate, though he had no problem with letting people think he did.. HERE

I took it in 1973. I doubt it was any more "spiritual" than the 1993 version.

One did not share any of this because, somewhere deep inside, you knew people would think you were bonkers for believing it.

The "release groups" have nothing to do with releasing [what you are really thinking]. They are designed to reinforce and regurgitate the day's teachings. No questioning. Usually, a corps person is in charge and monitors the group. Peer pressure and intimidation are used as an effective hammer to silence any dissent. For those who never had the privilege (cough) of attending an Advanced Class, these release groups were small, assigned twigs that we were required to attend and participate in every afternoon. The above description is right on point. They were designed in such a way as to keep the individual from thinking critically about the material being covered and the overall experience. They were monitored closely. P.S. Don't get me started on the "initiation into the inner sanctum".

The Advanced Class was a massive disappointment. I came away in a severe state of depression, disappointed and concerned that I seemed to be the only one who didn't "get" it. Even worse, I was starting to wonder why so much of it seemed like nonsense.

Oh my! now THIS is just awkward!

The molestation is a big deal, no question. A far bigger issue, though, is how a concerted effort was carried out for 10 years to sweep it under the rug. Even the state police were involved. The TV series is a high revenue producing franchise. In addition, the Duggars represent a fundamentalist organization (Family Research Council) that preaches the values of honesty, purity and chastity. Not only is a loss of revenue at stake, hypocrisy looms ominously over their heads. Now, it seems that the police report has been uncharacteristically destroyed. Fortunately for us, nothing ever really disappears from the internet. HERE is the police report, all 33 pages of it. edit: I chose this particular source because it ironically represents a part of our society (LGBT) that Family Research Center rails against.

What if we just say that what they did was vile? I think we can all agree on that.

HERE HERE HERE HERE Lots of sub-links to follow in the above if so desired.

The show began in September, 2005, as "14 Children and Pregnant Again!". It has since gone through an evolution that included name changes. In 2006, Oprah Winfrey planned to feature them on her show. During the week she and her staff spent interviewing and taping them, the situation came to light. She immediately contacted a child abuse hotline who in turn contacted Arkansas state authorities. She then canceled production and the show never aired. Law enforcement agencies became involved with the situation almost immediately. That was 2006. It's now 2015. During the years between, there have been about 230 episodes/specials aired under various titles. We are just now finding out about the situation. The essence of the controversy is much larger than the molestation, itself. It's about sweeping things under the rug and hiding them for the sake of continuing the show while millions and millions of dollars continued to change hands. It's about promoting themselves as examples of purity while simultaneously practicing deliberate deception. It smacks of The Way's "lockbox" policy and keeping silent "lest the ministry be blamed".

That's what I meant when I referred to their cognitive dissonance. edit: I didn't state that clearly. I meant that not as a condemnation of homosexuality but as a condemnation of their reasoning process.

There are several aspects to this that could be looked at individually or collectively. The first aspect, of course, is his personal history of molestation. Is there a parallel to the lifestyle they lived and the way we lived in The Way? I can't really say. "Reality" TV is notorious for being anything but real, so we can't really know how they lived. That makes comparison of the two lifestyles difficult, if not impossible. I do know there was child molestation in The Way. Some even resulted in documented convictions and prison time for the perpetrators. I fear too much went unreported, though. Wierwille, himself, stood before groups of Way Corps students (documented on GSC by people who were present) and recounted personal incidents that amount to sexual abuse of one of his own children. Did he molest this individual? The person involved says he didn't. Regardless, he stood before vulnerable students and openly made the claim, whether it was true or not. I think (only my personal opinion) that he made this claim as part of an on-going grooming of potential victims. Collectively speaking, we can't ignore that the family made a concerted effort to sweep this under the carpet, both when it happened and as it has been recently revisited. This sounds frighteningly similar to The Way's "lockbox" policy and their insistence on keeping indiscretion hidden, "lest the ministry be blamed". The denial and cognitive dissonance of parties involved is another aspect that is all too familiar to past members of The Way. edit: Maybe this will evolve to a point of belonging in About The Way.

When I first became involved in the early 1970's, everything was freewheeling. We had spontaneous fellowships, picnics, potlucks, bar hopping recruitment events, and so on. We had fun. The commitment aspect ramped-up slowly. As time went on, the expectation of commitment became such that you were seen as dead weight if you weren't interested in taking on more responsibility. Training program recruitment became more and more prevalent. I opted for a program that was touted as a way to gain 2 years of in-depth, in-residence leadership training and then return home more qualified as a leader. Maybe that's what B.G. Leonard had in mind. I never took his class (the forerunner of what would become VPW's PFAL) so I don't really know. What I really got was a chance to see what life is like in a religious commune. There was very little formal training of any sort..... leadership, scriptural or otherwise. Every waking moment was controlled, when you awoke, when you slept, what and when you ate, even if and when you were permitted to have intimate time with your spouse. It was not at all like what I had signed on for nor did it resemble my earlier experiences. Quite frankly, it was a bait and switch to recruit drones for "the ministry". You couldn't question it, you couldn't voice disagreement. You had to keep you mouth shut and do what you were told, lest you be accused of being weak or devil possessed. For people who only experienced the first part of my description or who experienced an augmented version of the training programs, I can see why they might be at a loss to understand why one can't just walk away and forget it all. It's ingrained in the psyche, like layers of an onion. Peel away one layer and another appears to take its place. I don't think you can really understand the concept unless you've experienced it. I give those people the benefit of a doubt and hope they'll be kind enough to do the same for me.

"If you hear him howlin' 'round your kitchen door, better not let him in." Yep, sounds like it's on topic to me.

Right on he money, even down to the part about her critics bashing her.

We could go 'round and 'round forever and never really know. The only one who could have answered that is not longer able to respond. However, we know from various writings that he had almost given up on ministry work until he was inspired by the power and control such a career choice could offer. We also know that "Uncle" Harry claimed that VP would supposedly sneak away from his chores, as a boy, to practice preaching, delivering sermons to the trees in the woods. I can't tell you if he ever did this or not but I can tell you that a very similar story appears in the writings of Rev. Billy Graham of how he did this, as a ministerial student, to overcome his shyness. And then there's the account VP gave of healing a man in India, in the 1950's, that sounds suspiciously like the record of such an incident in Mark chapter 3. To me, at least, it seems he chose a crooked path from the very beginning of the journey.

Well, he did heal that guy in India from the back of a train, even though the guy said he didn't believe in Jesus. ;)

You...you mean the snow on the gas pumps story wasn't real???? Well, shut the front door. Next thing you'll be saying is that his doctorate was phony. Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a DISGRACE to have been in this fellowship this evening!! :lol:

Get off my lawn!! Nah. Nobody's gonna throw you out. :lol:

Farewell to a gentle giant.

Now if 6 turned out to be 9, I don't mind, I don't mind. .....Jimi Hendrix

Sometimes, it's your only chance at having an intelligent conversation.