waysider

BUMP

I'm so sorry, excie. No one should have had to endure one bit of that crap. On the other hand, I'm very grateful there is someone as courageous as you to set the record straight for those who still think it was some kind of Shangri-La or something.

Now more evidence of Wierwille's plagiarism has come to light. Wierwille in 1963 published a pamphlet called "How to Be a Christian." This was reprinted as part of the book The New Dynamic Church (NDC) in 1971, and may have been published in a similar form as "The Joy of His Fellowship" in The Way Magazine in 1957 and as a booklet in 1953. The same material was originally published by E.W. Kenyon as Chapter 20 of his book The Father and His Family (FHF). Again, Wierwille did not place the borrowed material in quotation marks, nor did he cite or suggest the existence of any source. Kenyon's book was published before his death in 1948, years before Wierwille's writings appeared. Compare these excerpts from the two works: Kenyon: I suppose I have lost faith in myself. You see I have wanted to be a Christian, I have wanted to have God's help in this fight of life. I have gone to the altar again and again, and received nothing. I've sought and cried after God so many times and failed. (FHF, pg. 229) Wierwille (The Searcher): I suppose ... I have lost faith in myself. You see, I really wanted to be a Christian, to have God's ... help in life ... I went to the altar again and again and yet I received nothing. I have sought and cried after God so much and so many times that I feel that I am a complete failure. (NDC, pg. 1) Kenyon: Did you ever realize that salvation is a gift, that it is not necessary that you go any place to get it? You can find it anywhere. Did you ever realize that it is not what you do, but what He did for you that counts? All there is to receiving Eternal Life, becoming a child of God is to receive something instead of giving something. You have tried to get it by earning it. (FHF, pg. 229) Wierwille: Did you ever stop to think that salvation is a gift, that it is unnecessary for you to go anywhere to get it? You can find God anywhere ... . Do you realize that to receive salvation is not dependent upon what you do but what He did for you? Do you realize that to be a child of God, to receive Eternal Life ... is to receive something instead of giving something? You have missed the joy of His fellowship because you have tried to earn or work for it. (NDC, pg. 1) SOURCE EDIT: If you're still in TWI and reading this, NOW should be your "when" moment.

Much of his positive confession/law of believing material came from Kenyon. He may have mentioned Kenyon in passing but, I've never seen a formal citation to that effect. The interesting thing about the bookstore is that they sold extraneous materials, from time to time, but we were always encouraged to give Way materials priority and precedence to their study and accuracy. At one time (I believe the early 1980's) we were encouraged to study nothing but "The Blue Book". You may recall that, in one session of PFAL, Bullinger's book was used to "prove" that Bullinger and Wierwille had independently come to the same conclusion regarding four having been crucified with Christ. (Which, by the way, has long since proven to be flawed research, anyhow.)

It's like .This is the song that doesn't end. Yes, it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, And they'll continue singing it forever just because . . . This is the song that doesn't end. Yes, it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, And they'll continue singing it forever just because . . . This is the song that doesn't end. Yes, it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, And they'll continue singing it forever just because . . ..................................................................................................

Breaking News There is no Plan B. Just keep the trains running on time and hope they don't jump the track.

I should have bolted when, in session #5, it was revealed to me that I had been duped into taking the class via "date and switch".

I did a Wiki search on Peter Pan and this is part of what I found. It details some of the character's personality traits.It's easy to draw some parallels. :P Personality Peter is mainly an exaggerated stereotype of a boastful and careless boy. He is quick to point out how great he is, even when such claims are questionable (such as when he congratulates himself for Wendy's successful re-attachment of his shadow). In the book and play, as well as both film adaptations, Peter either symbolises or personifies the selfishness of childhood, shown in Barrie's work through constant forgetfulness and self-centred behaviour. Peter has a nonchalant, devil-may-care attitude, and is fearlessly cocky when it comes to putting himself in danger. Barrie writes that when Peter thought he was going to die on Marooners' Rock, he felt scared, yet he felt only one shudder run through him when any other person would have felt scared up until death. With his blithe attitude towards death, he says, "To die will be an awfully big adventure". He repeats this line as an adult in the film Hook (1991), during the battle with Hook near the film's climax. He then inverts the phrase at the film's very end claiming, "To live will be an awfully big adventure". This line was actually taken from the end of the last scene in the play, when the unseen and unnamed narrator ponders what might have been if Peter had stayed with Wendy, so that his cry might have become, "To live would be an awfully big adventure!", "but he can never quite get the hang of it".[11] In some variations of the story and some spin-offs, Peter can also be quite selfish and arrogant. In the Disney adaptation (1953), Peter appears very judgemental and pompous (for instance, he calls the Lost Boys "blockheads", and when the Darling children say they should leave for home at once, he misunderstands their wish and angrily assumes they want to grow up). Nonetheless, he has a strong sense of justice and is always quick to assist those in danger. In the 2003 live-action film, Peter Pan is sensitive about the subject of "growing up". When confronted by Hook about Wendy's growing up, marrying, and eventually "shutting the window" on Peter, he becomes very depressed and finally gives up on Wendy. SOURCE

Now, honestly, who would ever want to leave a place like that?

"Will there ever be an end to this nonsense?" Probably not.

Zbrick I don't think you are grasping the significance of P.O.P. (Document appears HERE.) It was not written by a GSC subscriber, it was written by Chris G33r. He claimed this was a factually accurate accounting of his last days with Wierwille. He presented it as if it was some sort of modern day epistle to the church. He set himself in a lofty position, like an apostle to be followed. Simply stated, it was a power grab for control of The Way. I could go on and on but there are already threads that discuss the content of the document. You might want to read them. You could, alternatively, start your own thread and discuss it again if you so desire. Cutting to the chase.....The document, itself, is not what's being discussed here. What's being discussed is your misrepresenting a crucial aspect of its content. You said that Wierwille admitted his "indiscretions". That is not true. He did not come clean and apologize, not in P.O.P. nor anywhere else.

You stated in your blog post that Wierwille had admitted his "indiscretions". He never did any such thing. Are we back on topic now?

". The railroading sociopath was incapable of registering compassion, or empathy, or longsuffering, or patience, etc in the very real sense that scripture embodies 'fruits of the spirit'." He claimed that he spoke in tongues so much he could go for days on end without sleep because SIT was supposed to be a sort of perfect rest/substitute for sleep. He also claimed that speaking in tongues, and the manifestations in general, produced the fruit of the spirit described in Galatians, yet, he failed to display those qualities in his own life.. For a guy who was supposedly so concerned with mathematical accuracy, I think he failed (or ignored) to notice that something just wasn't "adding up".

Like clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of gifts never given Proverbs 25:14 New International Version (NIV)

"Is there a third option?" Yes.... He was flying by the seat of his pants. Looking at the definitions as they appear in the Advanced Class syllabus, it becomes apparent they did not originate with VPW. They use phrasing and terminology that does not reflect Wierwille's *voice*. I think he was like one of those guys who starts a small business in his garage , never dreaming it will grow into a large corporation but ready to roll with the punches as it does.

During PFAL, Wierwille goes into one of his homiletic rants and says, regarding Christ's return, "He's coming back as Lord God Almighty!" I think it's in session #5 but I'm not sure. That was in 1967. As class instructors in the 1970's, we were explicitly instructed to gloss over that section in the teaching and to assure the class (but only if asked) that Wierwille was NOT a trinitarian. I don't know if that helps answer the question.

Indeed. The twig was never intended to be autonomous. If you look closely at the semantics, you will see that it was structured to be a part of the hierarchy. Here is the definition of a twig, as seen in the Way Tree syllabus. I'm emphasizing the portions that invert what we thought it meant. "Each Twig is self supporting, self propagating and self governing IN COOPERATION WITH its respective Branch AS each Branch is TO its respective Limb, AS each Limb is TO its respective Trunk, AS each trunk is TO the Root of The Way"

The Trinity: That's a subject that is totally irrelevant to this thread. There have been many discussions of the subject over the years. Try using the search function. If you don't find what you are looking for, start a thread in the doctrinal forum. Toxic doctrine: Perhaps the most toxic of all is the so-called "law of believing". Again, it's not really relative in a direct sense to this particular thread. Indirectly, I suppose, one might squeeze it in as a factor of "life in neverland". Throw in some dispensationalism, guilt and absence of remorse and you've got enough toxic doctrine to kill a horse. Incidentally, you do know he wasn't really a "Dr.", don't you?

I've visited the FLO site and can tell you that is the case for that site. Unless, of course, you want to reminisce about singing Kumbaya around the fire circle or affirm how blessed you are to know how to make your own bean sprouts.

"But.....you sure as he!! won't find many who champion the corps indoctrination." There actually ARE graduates of FellowLaborers who champion the indoctrination of that particular program. They have their own (closed group) facebook page. As if we learned some profound life-lessons as we watched the mung bean sprouts take form on the commune windowsills, priceless wisdom being imparted at the Wednesday night azz munching sessions.. Sad...Really sad.

Stickin' my nose in here where it probably doesn't belong. But what the heck. First: Wierwille wasn't merely "engaging in a few 'moral improprieties'", he was drugging and raping (yes, I said raping.) young women over whom he had moral authority. Had he done these things today, in a society that is much more tuned in and technically savvy, he would probably have been caught, tried and convicted and gotten a life sentence.....these are not "moral improprieties" being discussed. Second: This is not a Christian site. There are many Christians here. There are many Non-Christians here, as well. We don't judge each other by virtue of how much time and energy is spent on personal interests and beliefs.. Third: We all heal at our own rates of speed. Some heal quickly and some never do. Our concern is to provide a place and resources that can aid in the healing process no matter how long it takes. Fourth: Nowhere did anyone say your choice of music is "Devil-Possessed". You like Takit. That's fine. We all have our personal tastes in music. It's a non-issue. Fifth: We're in complete agreement on the bumper stickers....tacky as hell.

I had some good times. I won't deny that. I also had some bad times---- lots and lots of them. The cost of those "good times" was much too high. Some even paid with their lives. When the smoke all cleared, I was faced with the reality that The Way was nothing but a cult, not even a special cult, just a piddly little Bible cult set in a cornfield, led by a scam artist who used the Bible to attach credibility to his twisted agenda..

Yes, by all accounts, The Way is what some might call a "closed corporation". You can't just buy things from their bookstore or attend a Sunday Service without some degree of vetting taking place. Wierwille was fond of saying, "You're always welcome at The Way"...Uh-huh... Try slipping into a Sunday Service sometime and see how "welcome" you are.

edit: Sorry. I didn't see that Twinky had beaten me to the punch. :)

And, if you should discover you need an item that's just a tad bit too high for your reach, "You just STAND on it, baby.".