waysider

There was no drama when I left. I got too busy with family and business to keep up my involvement. I simply drifted away like a ship in the harbor. What bothers me most is that, after all those years (18) of people saying, "We sure love you.", no one even bothered to call or stop by to see how I was doing. If that's "fellowship", I don't need it.

I think it was T.F.I.---Total Fitness Institute

Ah, come on , Ham They work The Word! Where ya been?

Do you walk to school or carry your lunch?

Maybe you should.

Ummmmm? Who is the current President of TWI?

My goodness! I've posted the entire song, except for one word.

I don't want to take this thread too far off topic so I'll just say that my eyes started opening when I stumbled into GSC. Now, I had seen tiny glimpses since my days in Fellow Laborers in the mid 1970's but wasn't sure what I had seen. It's sorta like a bunch of little creeks that suddenly come together at a confluence to form one big river. O.K.-----back to topic.

Slander is spoken-----libel is written.

Yeah but we were the BEST cult. Isn't that what VP always told us? "Gawd Bless, Yer the best!"

It's obvious to me that you have no desire for genuine discussion. I bid you farewell.

If you think these are just " made-up stories", you obviously haven't taken much time to give serious consideration to the many resources here that go beyond the forums. Do you even know about the lawsuit that ultimately led to the creation of this site? Do you suppose you would feel the same way if it had been your mother, sister, wife or daughter who was sexually abused by leadership? I'm just asking.

I didn't realize VPW and Martindale were hippies. Ya larn sumpthin' new every day.

I had to put a sweater on just to watch it! Just kiddin'. That is an excellent choice of music.

I'm quite sure he didn't mean troilism. You probably know, though, that troilism was considered in vogue by a certain faction of leaders at TWI HQ in times past.

soulsearcher In the Advanced Class, one of the series of Power For Abundant Living classes, there is an entire section devoted to various "devil spirits" that are supposedly responsible for all sorts of maladies and behaviors that don't fit the norm. Among them are such things as alcoholism, sexual predation, suicide, depression, cancer and, yes, homosexuality. So, based on the teachings of The Way, your friend probably subscribes to the idea that homosexuals are devil possessed. Allow me to take it a step further. In this same class, it is taught that there is a certain kind of devil spirit called a "familiar spirit". Supposedly, these spirits hang around, spying on "believers" and gathering any bits and pieces of information they can, such as your deceased great uncle's middle name and the time you flunked a geometry test but hid it from your parents. So, based on this kind of thinking, your friend probably avoids contact with gay people because doing so would be fraternizing with "the devil" and if there is a familiar spirit nearby, it could use the knowledge of that against her. To make this even more bizarre, you have to understand that Wierwille, himself, was a sexual predator who spent much of his waking hours in a state of inebriation and ultimately died of cancer. DEATH CERTIFICATE

New clue Won't you smile a while for me?

Gotta split. I've enjoyed the conversation.

A big part of DWA consisted of memorizing dozens of scriptures that dealt with (applied to) a multitude of life's difficulties. We used memory cards called "retemories". (not a real word) If you encountered any sort of "opportunity" (problem) in your life, you were expected to dispel it by simply recalling and focusing on the scripture that supposedly dealt with it. It's an insane method of dealing with problems. The prudent course of action is to carefully consider all aspects of the problem in an effort to arrive at a solution, not simply tossing a catch phrase out into the air.

Well, I don't think the original title implied that some sort of deal was being cut. It was used in the sense of taking care of a problem. For instance, you don't defeat a flat tire, you deal with the situation by changing the tire.

Actually, Heckler, TWI had an entire class devoted to this very concept at one time. It was called "Dealing With The Adversary". If I had a bit more time I would post a few things from that one that elaborate on that class. BTW-----The theme of DWA is "En Guard". (Always be ready to keep your mind from straying from the WAY prescribed version of God's Word.)

Exactly. So, by pausing to give considered thought to what is being said, you are "allowing the adversary to operate". Thus, in order to keep the adversary from getting a chance to operate, you must be diligent in your efforts to resist "consideration".

It's the "make it or break it" moment in PFAL. It's that moment when you have to decide whether you are going relinquish your critical thinking skills or not.

Nope

THE FALL Genesis 2:16, 17-----Genesis 3:1-6 1. Questions the integrity of The Word 2. Response-By considering 3. Omits a word 4. Adds a word 5. Changes a word GOD----ye shall surely die SATAN---ye shall not surely die And, of couse, in the context of the class, the lesson being taught was that you should never even "consider" that what VPW was teaching (What he claimed was The Word) might be wrong. If you do, it will be your downfall just like it was Eve's.