waysider

Well----- The (2) 3's would make it "completely established", dontcha know?

Just out of curiousity, has anyone in this discussion read Eyesopen's book? http://www.greasespotcafe.com/ipb/index.ph...c=16888&hl= (I have not read it, myself.)

Glass Onion

The "date/switch" game was not just some isolated thing that some WOW's stumbled on out of desperation to sell the class. It came all the way from HQ. Consider this. The class I took in 1972 was run by someone sent by HQ. He was not a local. The guy and gal, and all the other area believers, kept their relationship completely under wraps until I discovered it myself by accident after session 5 or 6. Then, I suddenly found myself being undershepharded by a person of my own gender. They convinced me that since I had already invested so much time and money in it, ($65 was a week's pay back then.) I should at least go ahead and finish it. It was too late to back out by then. I was hooked. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if something like that is going on with the situation being discussed. And you know what? It wouldn't even matter if there is sex going on or not, it's still a deceptive practice that's been ongoing for decades. So much for the innocence of "the good old days."

I can personally testify to the practice of "date and switch". That's what got me into "the class", though there was actually no sex involved. About midway through the class I found out she was engaged to the guy running the class. I suppose it just slipped her mind to mention it to me. <_<

Hallelujah

The Sun is up, the sky is blue---

No doubt about it. They definitely taught (publicly) that sex outside of marriage was taboo. (Refer to CF&S class if in doubt.) In fact, in Fellow Laborers, anyone who did have sex, and was found out, was thrown out in the middle of the night. See ya later, alligator. Have a nice life. Get outta Dodge before the Sun comes up. Celibacy was the behavior du jour back in the '70's. The WOW's were told, "Keep it in your pants." 'Course, we're talkin' 'bout your everyday peon, here. (Joe B. Leever) The ministry working class, if you will. Meanwhile, back at his majesty's royal rolling palace, a completely different scenario was being played out. "Sexual healing" for the "spiritually mature." Like the Land of Oz before the curtain was pulled back. Follow the yellow brick road. Follow it until TWI is a distant speck in the rear-view. And then keep going.

DWW We probably agree on the essence of more points than we disagree. Fer instance------ Like you, I believe a high percentage of what The Way tried to pass off as "Truth" was really a load of hog slop. One point we may disagree on, though, is that I don't think you need "the love of Jesus" to follow the golden rule. In fact, I don't even think you need to have any religious/spiritual beliefs at all to follow the Golden Rule. 'Cause if you can't love your neighbor as yourself and treat your fellow man with respect (homosexuals included), all the Bible talk in the world is nothing more than a clever Sunday School lesson. Many of the things The Way did in the name of God are so ludicrous, it sickens me. I, too, lost a good friend because of the toxins they promoted as truth. Some hot shot AC grad told him they thought he was born again of the wrong seed.------So he killed himself. Nice, huh? What they did to your friend is reprehensible. I'm grieved to hear it. Personally, I no longer believe "The Word" has to fit together with "math this" and "science that" or fit like "a foot in a sock" or any of that stuff. I also don't believe it's like some cryptic mystery we should pursue to the ends of the earth. The Bible is what it is. It's a compilation of writings of men. It's been mistranslated, misrepresented and misunderstood for hundreds of years. It's filled with errors that we most likely will never decipher. Still, that doesn't mean we can't make an effort to treat our fellow man the way we would like them to treat us.

DWx2 Were you ever involved in The Way? If so, did you take the Advanced Class? I only ask because your "word of wisdom" contradicts standard TWI doctrine. According to TWI doctrine, (not that I put much value on it anymore.) first you receive "word of knowledge" about something that's impossible to know by the five senses. Then you receive "word of wisdom", which is instruction regarding what to do with "word of Knowledge". Of course, both could be receive simultaneously. Also, according to TWI doctrine, word of knowledge and word of wisdom can not be at cross purposes with what has already been stated in God's word. In this case, the contradiction would be that God is asking for someone to be murdered, an obvious violation of the 10 commandments. In addition, it contradicts the stated nature of God. Scripturally speaking, God is light and love. There is no "darkness" in him. Murder is quite "dark" and unloving, wouldn't you agree? Even most non-Christian belief systems have doctrines that closely follow these precepts regarding the nature of a supreme being. All seem to have some version of the "Golden Rule" as well. It sounds more to me like your mind is struggling with some complicated unresolved issues. It really isn't the role of a forum such as this to counsel such matters. There are very few of us here who are professionally trained to deal with such things. I know I am definitely not.

Maybe the answers you're seeking are beyond the scope of an internet forum or scriptural analysis.

You got it! If I Fell-----------The Beatles (Here's a better sounding clip of it.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcailxABJRI

Pretty amazing, isn't it? They've gone from an organization that sent young people on volunteer missions to cities hundreds, even thousands of miles from their homes, trouncing door-to-door, inundating shopping malls, holding large, open sales recruitment meetings in public halls, hawking their wares to all who would listen-----to an organization that cloaks itself in apparent secrecy, and clandestine meetings, permitting entrance to only those they deem worthy.

Twi is a language that is widely spoken in parts of Africa, especially Ghana. I used to work with people from Ghana and Niger who spoke this language, as well as French and English, quite fluently.

No guesses?? Should I post the answer?

Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. Well, maybe someday I'll be "spiritually mature" enough to grasp the true meaning. Maybe I'm just not speaking in tongues enough.

Cool Beans!!

If she's not willing to meet you half way by attending your church, what would be the point? She has already shown you how deeply indoctrinated she is. If she is not willing to consider other viewpoints, how will she ever change? The Way is a multi-level-marketing organization. Participants move up through the ranks by meeting quotas. They are famous for "love bombing" potential leads, and, yes, have even been known to use sexual favors to entice prospects. You can find plenty of testimony to that here on GSC. They will rationalize illicit sex by saying we live in an age of grace and that "it's o.k. if you are spiritually mature enough to handle it." They will also rationalize deceptive recruitment techniques by saying "the end justifies the means". Be very, very careful and don't ever let them make you feel guilty or that you owe them (or God) anything. They are skilled at playing the guilt card. edited: If you want to see an example of their stubbornness, ask about the Trinity or abortion. But, be advised they have fielded those questions before and may insist you give your opinion first.

Probably ticked him off royally that they were studying a subject about which he, himself, knew little and had very few answers.

Many corporations in "the real world" have long since realized they can outsource most of those things a a fraction of the usual in-house cost. Oops! I forgot. The don't have many in-house costs.

I'd start with a summary of his credentials. (I'm a big fan of short stories.)

"The severity of symptoms seems to vary by intensity of involvement, its duration, and whatever personal vulnerabilities a person had before entering TM."-----JK Maybe this is off-topic. I don't know. You decide. I think one big factor that sometimes gets overlooked or, at the least, obscured, is that often times people came into TWI, as they do in any cult, with pre-existing problems. Then, because of the doctrines and dogmas that typify cult thinking, not only were the problems left untreated, they often times were buried deep in the layers of the person's individual "onion". So then, upon exiting the group, the person must not only deal with the problems caused directly by the group, but, also with the problems that pre-existed. Sometimes ironically, hope of conquering these problems may have been what initially attracted the participant in the first place. Some people brought lots of problems with them while others brought relatively few or none. Someone who came into TWI with lots of unresolved problems may need individual help in dealing with those problems in addition to the universal sorts of problems we all face. That's why some benefit most from a forum such as GSC while others benefit most from one on one counseling. Others find they need a customized blend of both. But, as always, that's only my opinion.

A Chet Atkins story (Can't vouch for it's authenticity) ---------------------------------------------------- Chet was in the studio warming up to record and the engineer was listening to him play in the control room. After a few minutes the engineer hit the talk-back button and said to Chet..."man does that guitar ever sound good." Chet stopped playing immediately, stood up and set the guitar in the chair where he had been seated and said to the engineer "how does it sound now?" Food for thought...

Sounds so much like TWI it's creepy. Never knew anyone who suffered from tremors but the rest of the stuff is text book.