waysider

catcar9 The Way was a cult. It was not a religion in the same sense as Catholicism or Methodist or Lutheran, etc. Many, but not all of us, lived a lifestyle that was dictated to us. The people doing the "dictating" did not always have our best interests at heart. If you are a Methodist or a Catholic or some other religion, you go to church, you possibly participate in church activities, you have a set of doctrines that you try to pattern your life after. But, for the most part, you have freedom to live your life as you choose, within reason. In a cult, it does not work that way. The leaders tell you how to talk, how to smile, how to dress, what jobs you can and can't accept. They told people when they could get pregnant and when they could not, or worse, when they should terminate their pregnancies because they would detract from the amount of commitment they could devote to the group. You can only marry within the group. For that matter, you can only date people in the group. Some of the programs required a full accounting of every minute of the individuals day(in writing.) You were not permitted to question leadership or discuss concerns with other members. You weren't supposed to even privately think about discrepancies you saw because that could lead to your personal downfall in a manner similar to the downfall of Eve as she considered what the serpent said. Bear in mind that I'm actually minimizing some of these things. That is why this is not about something you expect to see in all religions. When I left, I did not feel like I had left God but I felt like I had disappointed Him by leaving what I thought was the one true household. My problem was never with God, per se, it was with an organization that functioned as a cult. I believe it is the idea of associating with an organization that repulses many people, not the idea of having a relationship with God or Jesus Christ. Many people here will tell you they now feel a freedom to know God that they were never able to while their thinking was prescribed by the cult. In a nutshell, the scripted lifestyle we were required to live probably had a much larger impact than any one particular doctrine.

All men are liars----and that's the truth.

Thanks, PB, MO, and Outfield. Faith and prayer can have amazing results.

Thanks, Hammie I think that's what I'm looking for.

coolchef and cman Thank you for your responses. I'm not really looking for anything too esoteric or spiritually deep here. I'm just asking for people to post positive results they had from operating the law of believing. And, if possible, give details of how they did so. No proof is required or expected. This is just a sharing of personal anecdotes.

None Of Us Are Free

I don't know anything about that condition but I still remember how to pray. (And you can't stop me!) :)

You don't have to apologize for being serious when a serious subject is being discussed. IMO

HaHaHa Prove it!!!

The world sure would be a quiet place if we needed proof of everything we mentioned in the course of conversation. Uhmmm. I can't prove that statement is true. "You'll just have to take my word on it."-------VPW(CF&S)

In response to a statement on another thread, I would like to initiate a discussion of positive personal anecdotes utilizing the "law of believing" for beneficial purposes. In other words, "This (particular positive thing) happened to me as a result of my using the law of believing." If possible, positive examples only.

Hi, Mike Nice to see you again. Perhaps you were out of the room at the time, but a while back I started a thread(Not a forum, granted, but at least a thread.) which invited people to share real examples of how they had used the law of believing to exact tangible results in their lives and show the connection. Given how important we were led to believe this law was, you would think there would be a string of posts as long as the Great Wall Of China. The thread, however, died a quick death. I'll have to see if I can find it and bring it back. I think the very nature of the subject invites positive response. Maybe I'm wrong. At any rate, if, indeed, this "law" is real, there should be no shortage of positive posts appearing.

For what it's worth, happyheart, I don't think your post was off topic at all. It describes a perfect example of the subject at hand. IMO

My departure was somewhat like drifting out to sea. I drifted away slowly because of personal and family obligations. One thing that has always intrigued me is that, despite my drifting out to sea, there was never any sort of search party launched. All those years of being told I was "the best" and listening to how much they "just loved me" and when I left it was as if no one noticed I was gone. I did hang with another believer(for a while) who had left. But, when he started a new fellowship and I told him I was not interested, he disappeared too. I don't hold it against him. He was/is a really great guy. I saw him not too long ago and he seemed to be in denial about what happened. (but not in a pushy, defensive kind of way.) I did not push the issue because I will always consider him a friend no matter what he decides to do. Kinda like a brother who lives in a distant city if that makes any sense.

Don't buy any green bananas! (Unless you're gonna give 'em to me) ----------------Mitch Kashmar

Hi there, happyheart All you have to do is type in the box under the shouts and then click on the word "shout" that is directly to the right of the box. There's a "smilies" option to the left. If you want to edit a "shout", click on the "ShoutOut" in the upper left and it will put the shouts into a page form where you will find an edit option.

Well, whatever it is, I'm glad things are coming back together for Dooj. Question: Can your identity be stolen if you have yet to find yourself?

Hi, Marianne I am especially fond of that particular line.

Welcome to my world.

Hi, cattcar9 Welcome to GSC. I have bolded my responses to set them apart from your words. Much of what happened to us is not the result of what we believed about various Biblical doctrines such as"the Trinity" or "how many were crucified with Christ?" or "what happened in the Garden of Eden?"?" No, much of what affected us is a result of a particular lifestyle that permeated our thinking. Restrictions on independent thought played a large role in our outcomes. This is why it is so difficult to try to explain to an "outsider"(no disrespect intended) how our involement impacted our lives and thinking.

It's a "wild card"! Grab if you want to.

1,2,3 Red Light------1910 Fruitgum Co.

Well, since the idea is to post one that is instantly recognizable, I'm going to accept my defeat and pass the baton to whoever wants it. Now I need to go shopping at youtube so I can post the answer. BTW--- I Hate this song. I just thought it was easy.

Borscht= Red Beet Soup(sorta) You can't grow up in Cleveland and avoid Borscht. (Or at least not "way back when".) It's right up there with pierogies, kielbasa and kieshka.

That's how I remember it also. As a twig leader, I filled out a form with each twig member's name and ABS. I think it was blue. Don't remember. If they paid by check, it was enclosed. If they paid by cash, I had to get a money order for the total. This had to come out of my pocket, NOT the ABS. Horn of plenty monies also had to have a money order, if I remember correctly. It was then mailed to New Knockwurst. I paid the postage.(Could NOT come out of ABS.) The exception to this would be if we had a twig leader's meeting for the branch. In that circumstance, we turned our paperwork over to the branch secretary rather than mailing it and it was all sent to HQ en masse thus saving postage. That was in the early to mid '70s. We helped each other out quite a bit with clothes and food, etc. This all came from individuals and twigs, NOT from HQ. Even this was discouraged(but not forbidden) as time went on. We were told we were hurting the recipients by removing the burden of believing from them. Coffee, cups, sugar, etc. was donated by individuals or twigs. It was NOT to come out of branch "love offerings". In other words: What went up, never came back down.