waysider

No, I don't think you are wrong. Like Popeye said, "I yam what I yam."

Page 5 "By the end of Acts, the First Century Church had spread throughout a vast area reaching into most of the then known , civilized world. By this time, the revelation of Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians had been given. Operating within a set-up of Root, Trunks, Limbs, Branches and Twigs, the early church flourished." This is, at best, a "weak analogy".

Page 4 is titled Structure Of The Early Church Like a tree-divided up geographically-logical, convenient. Cutting to the chase....it then proceeds to try to prove that a defined hierarchy of limbs, branches, twigs, etc. existed in the early church. Careful reading of the ensuing examples demonstrates that these pockets were, more or less, autonomous but intertwined, with some being much more active than others. It hardly proves that anything resembling The Way Tree was in operation.

The Way Tree.....page 1. 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. If you consider what this is saying, it may occur to you that this actually says the opposite of what many of us thought it said. This is saying that autonomy does NOT exist at the Twig level or any of the other defined levels. Rather, it sets in place a defined hierarchy of power and authority. I don't believe that sort of hierarchy is Biblical in origin. If it is, I'd like to see some scriptural examples. It reminds me of those voting issues you encounter on election day where voting "yes" really means "no".

"I sometimes go over videos of VPW just for the silliness." I dunno. When I watch that stuff, I feel a little embarrassed, to be honest. Imagine watching a video that shows you losing your wallet to a pick-pocket. That kind of feeling. "Sometimes I may put something down that others may or may not know. Am I the only one?" I'm not sure what you mean by this. When you say "put something down", do you mean denigrate it or do you mean list it? Not that it matters either way to me, I just wanted to understand more fully what you are saying.

Nah. I heard that one on The Writer's Almanac (public radio) the other day and thought it was too good to keep to myself.

Delusion numero uno: Thinking that we knew that we knew that we knew.

Where's that administrations stuff when you really need it?

Recipe for a Salad by Sydney Smith To make this condiment, your poet begs The pounded yellow of two hard-boiled eggs; Two boiled potatoes, passed through kitchen-sieve, Smoothness and softness to the salad give; Let onion atoms lurk within the bowl, And, half-suspected, animate the whole. Of mordant mustard add a single spoon, Distrust the condiment that bites so soon; But deem it not, thou man of herbs, a fault, To add a double quantity of salt. And, lastly, o'er the flavored compound toss A magic soup-spoon of anchovy sauce. Oh, green and glorious! Oh, herbaceous treat! 'T would tempt the dying anchorite to eat; Back to the world he'd turn his fleeting soul, And plunge his fingers in the salad bowl! Serenely full, the epicure would say, Fate can not harm me, I have dined to-day! "Recipe for a Salad" by Sydney Smith. Public domain SOURCE

And, this stuff came from a guy who (documented in The Way: Living in Love) was known to hide in the woods so he could shirk his childhood chores.

1. It wasn't research. 2. He wasn't a Dr. 3. He had no principles.

Kinda makes me wonder how anybody ever "just decided" to stick their tongue on a flag pole. "Hey, guys, let's stick our tongues on the flagpole and see what happens!"

I have no doubt that Wierwille may have inadvertently "discovered" (stumble onto) the hook shot. Hell, 11 year old boys inadvertently "discover" masturbation. If you practice hoops enough, you're bound to stumble on some version of the hook shot, all by yourself. When I was a kid, I got an acoustic guitar for Christmas or a birthday or something. One day, I found myself strumming chords with my thumb instead of the pick. Hallelujah! I invented the "thumb strum". I was the first!.

:P

Re: The Hook Shot By 1942, DePaul University freshman George Mikan had already mastered the ability to execute a hook shot...... with either hand! SOURCE I suspect the hook shot existed long before Wierwille learned to dribble.

I'm not sure if this is relevant but, I'm posting a link to an old article that clearly demonstrates Wierwille was, indeed, cognizant of his deception. HERE edit: The man wasn't satisfied to merely plagiarize their scholastic endeavors, he even repeated their personal experiences, as if they were his own.

Maybe, WW, but, we really only have, as far as I know, one person's assertions that he (genuinely) lamented his fallibility. And, these supposedly genuine lamentations are showcased in a document (P.O.P.) that is filled with inconsistencies and fantasy. edit: The "fantasy" element is initially introduced when Wierwille is referred to as a "patriarch".

This was posted on the FB page for "a certain radio show". I thought it was just too darn good to not share. HERE

VP was The Big Kahuna when it came to delusions of grandeur. He invented the hook shot, developed the original business model for McDonald's, knew how to set snow on fire, understood more about the holy spirit field than anyone alive, possessed special knowledge from God that no one had seen in 2,000 years and could command God to make it snow.... just for him. No wonder we became delusional. Look at the role model we patterned our lives after. edit After thinking about this, it occurred to me that he probably didn't really believe these claims himself. He was a con-man. We were the ones who were delusional regarding these matters.

"I gave my eye for Da Werd, keeds, what have you given?"......VPW hahahahahahahahahah!

"Any two believers can make a marriage work." (Maybe not what you were looking for.)

The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (A fine way to while away your holiday....Happy New Year!) Part #1 Part #2 Part #3 Part #4 Part #5 Part #6 Part #7 Part #8