waysider

Is "getting mad" an inappropriate response to adversity? Along with that, is "getting mad" synonymous with "assigning blame"? Maybe getting mad is a healthy response in some situations, while assigning blame is something to be avoided unless the situation requires it.. I'm just rambling here.

I wish I had some answers to those questions. But, then, who doesn't?

I probably need to qualify my take on randomness. If I know, for example, a particular work procedure is dangerous but, stubbornly proceed with it anyway, any negative consequences may or may not be entirely attributed to randomness. If, on the other hand, I follow all the correct procedures and an accident still occurs because a series of negative factors coincided in an unprecedented fashion, this would be random. In the first scenario, I must take responsibility for my own choices. The second scenario falls into the "stuff happens" category. Why should I logically blame God for either of these? I've seen too many amazing things in my life to doubt that God exists. Even the sheer magnitude of nature's wonders and the complexity of the life processes regarding humans and animals leaves me awestruck at times. The devil, on the other hand, I believe is a symbolic, but much needed, representation of mankind's struggle against adversity, not an actual spiritual entity. And, this is why I think that if one can get past the confining concept of innerrancy, whole new dimensions of understanding can be opened. My own introduction to The Way was a random event. At some point, though, my own decisions, though based on misinformation and deception (date and switch) led me deeper into my involvement with the organization. If I'm angry at anyone, it is probably myself, not God, for allowing myself to be duped.

Everything that happened in The Way either: 1. Happened because of your believing. 2. Happened because you were out of fellowship and thus couldn't receive revelation. (outside of hedge of protection) 3. Happened for a reason (Nothing ever happens randomly.) 4. Was predestined to happen before the world began. I no longer subscribe to any of those reasons. So, no, I don't get mad at God, because, as the saying goes, Sometimes Stuff Just Happens.

You're a kind soul, Highway..... I mean that in the nicest way.

This thought just hit me. After I graduated from FellowLaborers, my services were no longer required in my hometown.....But they sent W.O.W.'s there instead of sending me back!!

"....they just moved in there and executed the dictates of the denomination without really caring about the local communities." ========================================================================================================================== Yes, that pretty much describes the Word Over The World Ambassadors program.

Yeah. And that's what Richard Dahmer did, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlagYOq8eIs

Creme tangerine and Montélimar A ginger sling with a pineapple heart

Living The Word's Way. The Word's Way That's Volume #3 of Studies in Abundant Living for anyone that's interested. It's the one that has the chapters on "4 crucified" and "the cry of triumph", two pieces of so-called "research" that have proven to be "erroneous, wrongly divided and inaccurate" (as they might say in Way circles.) So, this, then, is what they plan to use as a basis for dwelling together in unity? ....The wise man built his house upon the rock.

"dwelling together".....sounds like a commune....will there be familia and fig pep?

Yes

"He has nothing that appeals to new people, only to ex-wafers nostalgic for the good ol' days." ===================================================================================================== .....and, because there never really were any "good ol' days", only the perception of "good ol'days", that leaves him with.....nothing.

Wierwille may have been a shrewd con-man, but he didn't always make the best long term business decisions. I think his emphasis shifted from making a quick profit on the classes to building a cadre of followers who would routinely ABS. To some degree, it worked. However, it was another TWI example of killing the goose that laid the golden egg. Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you, I was directly affected by all this. I was already involved in what we refer to as "leadership" responsibilities and running classes when I left my hometown to go into the FellowLaborer program. The concept, as it was presented to me, by Earl Burton, was to study the book of Acts for 2 years (Which we never did.) and then return to our hometowns as better equipped leaders. All that changed somehow during my time in FellowLaborers and, by the time I graduated, I was "no longer needed in my hometown". So, there I was, a graduate of a program that was supposed to prepare me for a responsibility that was now "no longer needed". Kinda like going through an apprenticeship to become a buggy-whip maker, only to discover the automobile has been invented. The only options, if I wanted to remain active in the so-called household, were to take a field assignment in a town other than my own or join the Corps. The latter was never an option I entertained. But, as you have stated, these changes took place in an incremental fashion. In my case, it evolved over a two year period. Looking back, I think it might have happened, quietly, sometime between the rinsing of the Mung Beans and the soaking of the wheat berries.

Caveat I don't think it's necessarily "wrong" but, it may not be "prudent" in some instances. Remember, some of these individuals are people we thought we could trust with our lives and they threw us under the bus. Would they, could they do it again? Who knows?

Couldn't they just believe for them? Oops! I forgot. Well, that's what J.L. gets for denouncing the law of believing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX5Sce7uawk&feature=related

Yes, as Broken Arrow stated, that is a very common practice in rural Ohio. Some of these roads with family names go clear back in time to when there was nothing else on the road except the family's farmland. But, as the roads became dedicated, they retained the same names.

Just an opinion: I think people who are able to survive long enough with these kinds of secrets eventually erect a sort of psychological sarcophagus where this information is sealed deep inside a virtually impenetrable "vault". ====================================== The Room © 1972 Reap the harvest once again. Pile your treasures high. Lock them in a barren room That reaches toward the sky. Lock them in where they'll be safe From avaricious hands. Taking care to hide the key In distant foreign lands. Journey there in secrecy Let no one see the chart. Keep it in that dismal tomb You boldly call your heart. In the tomb the chart is safe To while away the day. Danger there does not exist For none can pass that way. When you return some harvest time To add more to the store, Cries shall fill your empty room Cries.... and nothing more.

Paranoia strikes deep Into your life it will creep Starts when you're always afraid Step out of line, "the man" comes and takes you away