waysider

Devil spirits!! Yeah, if only they'd had the greatest class the world has ever known since rocks were invented, they would have exercised the revelation manifestations and averted the whole scenario. "I cannot imagine that someone displaying this behavior around believers and true friends would have gone unconfronted. Not to mention being delivered as he sat in a teaching or sharing of God's Word by someone being energized by God's spirit." Hmmm.... I guess he's forgotten that 1,000's of piffle grads sat through the advanced class, listening to the ramblings of a man who, by his own definition, must have been RIDDLED with those pesky, little rascals. Do I really need to cite the advanced class silly-bus on this? (pages 20 & 21, if you're interested.) So, if this stuff is real, how come nobody got "revelation" about Wierdwilly? .............................................. I love this part, too: "He dropped out of medical school a month ago. Hello! These things telegraph that something very unusual and probably important, not to mention, devilish, is going on to anyone who cares about this man." Yep, any time someone drops out of medical school, it's an obvious sign something spiritual is going on..... Hello! Med school is a tough row to hoe...boogie man or no boogie man. ................................................ "I listen to Bill O'Riley on Fox regularly." Oh, OK, now I think I see the problem.

Might make nice accessories for a Halloween costume.

PFAL......... "Promotes harmony in the home" :o

Many people have a misconception of what constitutes harassment. It is NOT against the law to "harass" an employee, in the dictionary, semantic sense of the word. It can only be legally classified as harassment if it violates specific laws, like those that prohibit discrimination against a protected class or persons who expose unsafe and/or illegal activities. Compounding the issue, in all 50 of the United States, an employer can terminate you at any time, for any reason, so long as they don't overstep any legal restrictions (protected class, whistleblower, etc.). In fact, they really don't even need to have any reason at all. They could, theoretically, simply say, "I don't like you, you're fired" and there is nothing you can do about it, short of invoking some sort of pre-employment contract or something of that nature. That is why employers insist you sign an "at will" agreement before they will employ you. What does any of this have to do with the topic at hand? Well, we live in a culture where this sort of atmosphere has become the norm for many workplaces and organizations. People know that if they blow the whistle or simply speak up, retaliation is an almost certainty. The system discourages speaking out for what you know is right, especially if you are not 100% certain that your suspicions are accurate. The linked article details a study that showed it to be virtually useless to confront the bully, go to their superior, go to HR, etc. Businesses and organizations are simply not going to change because "it's the right thing to do". Until there are laws with some teeth in them, this attitude is going to fester in our culture and facilitate all sorts of heinous acts without recourse. We need to get to the very core of the issue and create an environment where people know they can do the right thing without being penalized. ............................................... From the article that started this thread: "The challenge of civilizations has been to set up institutional arrangements that take into account the human condition and channel it in ways that encourage the good and place a check on evil. What this means is that in our universities, in our churches, and in our political systems – in virtually every human institution – we need checks and balances."

"If you see someone bullied in your workplace, what do you do?" Unfortunately, in the U.S., there is not really much of anything you CAN do. Unlike the U.K.,it's perfectly legal here UNLESS you can prove that it's being driven by a bias against a protected class of worker or as retaliation against a whistleblower.. And, the burden of proof is on you, as the one being bullied. It's deeply entrenched in the American workplace, often encouraged by upper levels of management if it translates into (perceived) higher production levels or (perceived) profit increases. HERE is a link to a site that elaborates on the problem. This post may seem off topic but I really don't think it is. Fear of retaliation is often what drives people to turn a blind eye. Without laws to hold retaliation in check, this sort of thing will never stop. We saw what happened in TWI when there was no protocol in place to deal with such things.

I've mentioned this before but, when I first got in the word in, 1972, people weren't talking yet about getting heavenly rewards or crowns or bonus coupons or rebates or buy-one-get-one's or whatever else. Then, one day, in about 1974 or 1975, a group of corps stopped by the limb HQ as they were passing through the area. (I was in fellowlaborers at the time.) I happened to be on bucket duty, mopping down the BRC. One of them asked me if I was blessed to be mopping the floor. My response was that I didn't care for mopping but it felt good knowing it would make life more enjoyable for the other participants. He scoffed at that and said I really didn't understand how the process worked. Then, they started talking about some new revelations they'd just been exposed to regarding crowns and jewels, etc. Their conversation was very competitive in nature, each one trying to convince the other he had earned more rewards than the other...... The whole thing really creeped me out.

*Divine rewards for selling PLAF (The Wonder Class).* I'm not sure if I'm supposed to laugh at that or cuss.

I'm glad I didn't see it in the original.

What you and I do to promote God's Truth and Love is the only thing that will count for us at the Judgment Seat of Christ when Jesus asks each of us something like: "What did you do with what you knew?" ...................................................... Wow! I must have missed that scripture.

Warning!!! Do not click link unless you need a little musical (semi related) diversion!

Not much different than realizing most T.V. pitchmen sound the same. Now what would you give for it? BUT WAIT! There's more! (Operators are standing by.)

Why bother, O.S.? It's just a diversion to take the focus off of VPW's misbehavior. Besides, from what I remember being taught, back in my Bible study days, "people" can't get "people" born-again, anyhow. (That's supposed to be someone else's job.)

Is there some sort of magical number at which evil becomes relevant? I submit that even one victim should make it relevant.

non-sequitur

CORPS GRADUATION, 2012

The Hiding Place (study notes)

I've never had this happen to me. It made me think of THIS song, though.

The thing about undershepherding that escaped me for a long time is that it's designed to indoctrinate the the one doing the undershepherding every bit as much as it's designed to indoctrinate the recruit. Not only do you feel like you've become a vital part of the ministry effort, but, you find yourself exercising cognitive dissonance so that when the recruit raises a legitimate question, you've already rationalized and rehearsed the answer. edit ...spelling

People were expendable. That's why there was always such an inordinately aggresive drive to enlist new recruits. Classes like Witnessing and Undershepherding were designed to promote quantity, not quality. Page 2 Our goal in witnessing and undershepherding The basic reason we witness is to help people into the classes on Power For Abundant Living....

Heh! Reminds me of those three headed goats that just happen to be born in some remote Tibetan village. That stuff never seems to happen in Chicago or Hoboken or Detroit or some place where people actually have the resources to document them.

Undershepherding....designed with one goal in mind...to keep people (and yourself) in a hyped up state so the indoctrination process could become deeply rooted. Don't let them stray too far away from the herd. They'll start to consider things from a rational point of view and possibly move on with their life. Can't have that. Doesn't fare very well for the financial health of the organization.

I think they're missing a golden opportunity. They could be marketing bottles of "holy water" from the illustrious fountain of living waters.

No, I'm not saying that at all. In fact, there is no reference to God in my post. Animals kill. (bears, lions, tigers....) You don't need to factor God into the process to understand it.

I don't know if anyone really has a definitive answer to this. It would seem to me, though, that evolutionary processes would eventually weed out specimens with a genetically predisposed reluctance to kill.