waysider

So, in other words, this is all simply your own personal interpretation/opinion. Can you elaborate as to why you think this interpretation is superior to others?

Mike, Can you walk me through how you used the PFAL "steps for rightly dividing the Word" on this one?

Maybe it's because I'm getting old and forgetful, or, perhaps I didn't pay close enough attention the first time around, but wasn't there a collateral titled Are You Limiting God? If only I could remember the main point it tried to make.

The Ballad of God-Makers BY G. K. CHESTERTON A bird flew out at the break of day From the nest where it had curled, And ere the eve the bird had set Fear on the kings of the world. The first tree it lit upon Was green with leaves unshed; The second tree it lit upon Was red with apples red; The third tree it lit upon Was barren and was brown, Save for a dead man nailed thereon On a hill above a town. That night the kings of the earth were gay And filled the cup and can; Last night the kings of the earth were chill For dread of a naked man. ‘If he speak two more words,’ they said, ‘The slave is more than the free; If he speak three more words,’ they said, ‘The stars are under the sea.’ Said the King of the East to the King of the West, I wot his frown was set, ‘Lo, let us slay him and make him as dung, It is well that the world forget.’ Said the King of the West to the King of the East, I wot his smile was dread, ‘Nay, let us slay him and make him a god, It is well that our god be dead.’ They set the young man on a hill, They nailed him to a rod; And there in darkness and in blood They made themselves a god. And the mightiest word was left unsaid, And the world had never a mark, And the strongest man of the sons of men Went dumb into the dark. Then hymns and harps of praise they brought, Incense and gold and myrrh, And they thronged above the seraphim, The poor dead carpenter. ‘Thou art the prince of all,’ they sang, ‘Ocean and earth and air.’ Then the bird flew on to the cruel cross, And hid in the dead man’s hair. ‘Thou art the son of the world.’ they cried, ` ‘Speak if our prayers be heard.’ And the brown bird stirred in the dead man’s hair And it seemed that the dead man stirred. Then a shriek went up like the world’s last cry From all nations under heaven, And a master fell before a slave And begged to be forgiven. They cowered, for dread in his wakened eyes The ancient wrath to see; And a bird flew out of the dead Christ’s hair, And lit on a lemon tree.

........or, maybe they had exceeded their quarterly spending allowance.

He wasn't my uncle. (For the record, dontcha know.)

In opposition to E.S. Jones' "When in Rome...." type approach. The Christ of the Indian Road-E.S. Jones/1925

Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them Volleyed and thundered; Stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of hell Rode the six nine hundred.

This sort of thing is what happened to me. One day, in FellowLaborers, I found myself all alone in the house for some reason. I happened to look in a full length mirror and, just like that, like a bolt of lightning, a feeling of self-awareness came over me as I found myself asking, "How the hell did I get here?". Now, I don't mean I couldn't remember arriving or the trip there. I mean I suddenly wondered how my life could have evolved so drastically without me noticing. I realized I wasn't the same person I had been before I got involved with The Way. Not just a little different, but like a completely different person. My bridges to return were gone, vanished. It's not a good feeling. I started to silently question everything that was happening. If only I had paid closer attention to what was unfolding, life might have been very different. Would it have been better? Would it have been worse? Who's to say. But, for sure, it would have been much different.

"If you leave now, the adversary will have free reign to harm your family." (or so we are told, as Advanced Class grads.)

And who can forget that old collateral we all loved so dearly, Escape From Your Prisons: A Lesson in Irony.

I would say that in my case, at least, this would most closely describe my involvement. There were no legal complications for me, though I can certainly recognize this wasn't the case for everyone, especially for people who had child custody issues to be resolved. edit: Escape can be a rather broad term. For me, it was not a case of being physically restrained.

Questions like: What does it look like when someone rejects the opportunity to escape?

You know what else is a fact? In 2008, a hurricane hit Cincinnati. Would you be inclined to believe that without a citation?

This is not a citation.

Other flimsy data includes the words from VPW while he was driving Elena Whiteside around the county (WLIL) , and another while he was teaching a Sunday service (Light Began to Dawn). Hardly what I would call a time when he was concentrating carefully on gatting dates and places in his distant past 100% accurate. I know I can't get my past real accurate without graph paper, a pencil, a good eraser, and a few weeks to pinpoint things. Then there is the issue of rogue snow storms that last a few minutes and only cover a football field at most, and we have had first-hand solid data reported here about this. I laugh at the flimsy efforts here to undo the earth shaking God did with PFAL starting in 1942. Credible agencies have compiled detailed, documented information to help us better understand previous meteorological events and anticipate how the present conditions might affect future climatological patterns. Is this what you mean by flimsy? "Add to it rural Ohio where you can see the weather coming 100 miles away." I have lived and worked in rural Ohio and NO, you can't "see weather coming" 100 miles away. I, myself, have been caught in no less than 2 horrific weather events that no one saw coming. "Then there is the issue of rogue snow storms that last a few minutes and only cover a football field at most, and we have had first-hand solid data reported here about this." citation needed "You missed my reference to 1942." You only referenced 1942 when you misquoted me. Please don't misquote me in an effort to diminish what I said. "I laugh at the flimsy efforts here to undo the earth shaking God did with PFAL starting in 1942." Earth shaking, you say? Yeah I get a chuckle out of that myself. (Obviously not for the same reason as you.)

You misquoted me.

In making this statement, you're affirming you believe his take on Adam and Eve to be accurate and that having VPW state as much was God's way of fixing a "broken" church. The so-called flimsy weather report research you refer to came from official government weather reporting resources. You need look no further than this very website to find references. (Not that you ever would, but you could.)

It reminds me of an old comic in Mad Magazine. The spy is wearing a disguise that consists of a black eyeglass rim with a fake nose and mustache attached. He removes the disguise and looks just like he did with the disguise.

Man, if that ain't a classic, what is? lol

You know what else he said in this "class"? He said intercourse is a spiritual event. WHAT??

But, you did hear him say it. Is this correct?

I took an early version of the CF&S class. In that session he said that the original sin was mutual masturbation and that the eating of the tree was....Uhhm...maybe it's best you fill in the blanks. Anyhow, the real point here is, as Nathan_Jr stated, that he said his feelings trumped the evidence.

I witnessed this with my own eyes and ears. And, though I don't recall him specifically saying it was about Eve being a lesbian, the salient point is that he DID say ,"I don't have any scriptural evidence. Father showed it to me. You'll just have to trust me on this one." My wording may not be 100% verbatim. I'm recalling this from over 50 years ago.

Plenty of stuff never made it into the official record. Did people always question the originating source? Did you base this on information in the written materials or was this just your personal feeling on the matter?