waysider

Apparently, WhiteDove, you either don't accept or don't realize the we were being subjected to a form of mind control. No one, that I'm aware of, sat in that room with wet pants or trembled in fear. It was a sense of utter futility, not fear that swept over that room. After we had worked so hard, for so long, we were confronted point blank with this scenario. Then, only hours later, we were sent on another roller coaster. Disappointment and hopelessness were the high cards in that hand, not fear. So, you can smugly rehearse in your mind what you would do if a mugger suddenly appeared and stuck a gun in your face. Yeah, first you punch him in the gut, then you give him an upper cut, then you grab the gun and watch him run from you like a scared rabbit. Uh huh, sounds real good until it actually happens to you in a moment's notice. That's when you stammer and stumble over your carefully rehearsed lines and can't remember if you are supposed to exit stage left or stage right. Believe me, there was nothing humorous about suddenly being told that everything you had worked so hard for was about to be taken away in a moment's time. Rent the house next door? Why on earth would someone who had traveled 1,000 or 2,000 miles to be a part of it ever want to do that?

Ummm, actually it is. Does the word credibility ring a bell?

Who was it that told the story here about WOW assignment being decided by throwing darts at the dart board?

She has a bakery business in , I think, Atlanta. If you do a search here you can find her email address if you are inclined to look her up.

Hey there, Doc Listen, don't take this personal, but that scenario was played out thousands and thousands of times in TWI. Branch leaders, area leaders, etc. were under the gun from higher ups to get the sales figures up graduate more people from PLAF(The Wonder Class). Something similar was done to me. The girl neglected to tell me she was actually engaged to the class instructor. Nice people, huh?

It's no myth, my friend. The incidents I referred to happened in Fellow Laborers, not The Corps. I witnessed them. At least three of them were in houses I lived in. In fact, I was threatened myself, once as an individual and once as part of a group. Here's the group incident I have cited here before. There were about 49 or 50 other people in the room when this happened. One of them is a regular poster here. We normally only got 5 hours sleep in FLO.(If we were lucky.) One night we were rousted out of bed at about 3am and told we had 20 minutes to drive from our apartment complex, where we all lived commune style, to limb hq, which was 30 minutes away. It was physically impossible to get there on time.. We all got there late and sat silently in the BRC, with no lights on, waiting for what seemed like forever for the limb leader to appear. He proceeded to tell us we had all failed our test because we were late. He said that we, as a group, were a total disgrace to God and it was all our fault that Word Over The World was doomed to failure because we were dragging down Int. HQ by performing so poorly in the birthplace of the ministry. I don't think anyone had any idea what in the world he could have possibly been referring to. There were no questions or discussions allowed. We were told that, as of that moment, the program was defunct. We were told to go back to our "houses", go back to bed and when the sun came up, we were to pack and get out. We all had "9-5" secular job commitments, too. The next morning we all met for one last 5am fellowship. We were told at that time that we had been given a second chance but we would have to follow subsequent orders to a tee without comment or question. Not long ago, on one of the threads here on GSC, I discovered that virtually the same thing was done to The Corps at about the same time. The whole thing was planned and staged to look like it was the result of some "heavy revelation". What a crock of theatrical dung the whole thing was. I don't really care if you think that's a myth or not but like I said, there were 50 other people in the room. edited: This was in in mid 1970's. I thought I would add that tidbit for naysayers who insist that TWI life was all puppy dogs and rainbows in the good old "daze".

Horror stories, fooledagainII. (Lots and lots of them) Imagine being wakened from a dead sleep, at 3am, in the middle of nowhere, with no car or money, and told you had 24 hours to haul your sorry foot across the state line, 150 miles away, if you had any hope of surviving the consequences of leaving the "hedge of protection" that was only available to those in the "one true household". Did it happen? You bet. Re: "backbiting" Yeah, what they were really talking about was that you better not ask any questions or talk about what they did if you didn't want a similar fate.

Absolutely!!

Here's some other stuff that has crossed my mind. When he was expounding In CF&S about how it was a "spiritual event" and all the other mumbo-jumbo he spouted, I think he was really priming his future victims. When he subsequently told young women it would heal them, it made perfect sense in light of his CF&S line of reason. Here they are, being told it will heal them and they have already accepted it to be a "spiritual event". Carry that just one step farther and you can understand why a "spiritual event" with the self implied Man Of God for The World would take on a whole new meaning. It's not merely sex with some old horny geezer, it's a 'spiritual connection" to God via the man who knows God like no one has known him for thousands of years. Whether it was intentional or subconscious, I think the guy operated in an incremental fashion. Step by step, he drew people closer and closer to the snare until it was too late. Then he pounced. He was one sick puppy.

I left in about 1990 and never heard a thing about it until I came here. I wasn't corps though so maybe that factors into it.

In other words, the SOB was pretty much clueless in regard to finding an appropriate answer in the Bible, the very book he supposedly had an inside track on, an understanding that was supposedly unequaled in the world. The teaching on this one single, simple yet immeasurably important subject, was all over the map, so to speak. If it was OK for some to not observe celibacy, did that nullify the supposed "spiritual nature" of the act that VPW claimed was "always" a spiritual event? Which times were spiritual and which were not if that was the case? And I remember, also, VeePee stated, in CF&S, that it was impossible for a person to experience the true spiritual nature of orgasm without intercourse. If two unmarried people "consummated" their relationship, should they therefore consider themselves "married" in God's eyes? Were they now somehow committed to each other by some "spiritual" bond? If they were, what was the expectation of honoring that bond? Well, I guess if one considers these questions from a strictly secular, societal standpoint, the answers aren't so difficult to find. But we were supposed to be living in a special, spiritually aware society that had some sort of esoteric standard to maintain. And what if one were to break that bond?(as two single people simply going their own ways) What would be the consequence if any? Yeah, this stuff seams pretty silly in retrospect but it had a major impact on how people conducted themselves back then. In Fellow Laborers, it could mean the difference between getting tossed out in the middle of the night (if caught) or being allowed to stay. That's a pretty serious consequence to ponder.

Hi, aball001 I got a set of those tapes as well, although I am a sighted person. It seems I love to read but my eyes tire rather quickly. I listened to them while I was driving and whatnot. If I recall correctly, they were vocalized by Alexander Scourbie. Somewhere in my basement, they are packed in a box. They are on rather worn cassette tapes. I'm sure by now they must be available on CD or on-line. Do you still have yours? Coincidentally, I am originally from NE Ohio as well.

Amen to that.I know quite a few who fit that description.

Hmmmm That's a good question Actually, we didn't call it FLO back then. That acronym sort of evolved here on GSC. I think it might have been WG who first abbreviated it. We did, though, used to jokingly refer to ourselves as Fellow Slaverers.

Excellent, dooj.!!!

Fellow Laborers of Ohio

I've decided to wear my advancing age as a badge of accomplishments (of sorts).Maybe it's different for women, I don't know.I'll say this, though, I saw Emmilou Harris on the tube the other day. She doesn't seem to try to hide it at all. She still knocks me out.But what do I know.

I definitely get your point, JT. That's how it was in FLO (1975-1977). People were tossed out in the middle of the night. The next day it was as if they had never been there. No explanation. No discussion allowed. Just keep your head down and keep moving forward. (Then make a "junk run" to The Wayside Truck Stop before lights out to try to talk about it in private and try to make some sense of it all.)

I don't believe The Bard spoke via Theopneustos. In fact, I've never met anyone who did, though I suppose there must be someone, somewhere who does. Still, people manage to have lengthy, informative and sometimes quite lively discussions of Hamlet and the various meanings of its intricacies. The same potential exists here for discussions relating to Biblical/Spiritual doctrines. Bring it to the table and serve it in a pleasing manner. Proper etiquette dictates a cordial reception and sampling of each course before pronouncing a personal judgment on the meal.

OK, so we've established there is, indeed, a Vierville, France. What's the point?

I believe you have addressed a key element of the TWI doctrinal dichotomy, WordWolf. In CF&S, VP was teaching about how intercourse is "always a spiritual event" and how consumation is what really defines a marriage in God's eyes. Yet, at the very same time, he was indulging in cavalier, casual sex behind closed doors and out of view. By his own definition, he was a polygamist, at the very least. Now, maybe this abstinence centered philosophy is good advise for youngsters who are not yet sexually active but to try to retrofit it to apply to adults seems a bit ludicrous. Perhaps even damaging. And there is the credibility problem as well. If he was this multifaceted in his observance of this particular point, what about other so called "spiritual matters"? Did he really SIT for hours on end, study the Word incessantly for days at a time? The list is endless, but, for now, I thought I would try to limit it to this one particular item and see how it affected other people's lives.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers.

Why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the 'possum it could be done.

Credibility