Bolshevik

It is it for ratings? Spicing up his time in office? Just cause he can?

I wasn't intending on being facetious or riding anyone's wagon. You're argument didn't make sense to me, and raised some questions. Probably another thread for another time.

If you could translate that information into dollars they might start remembering better.

Yeah. And who gives a crap about context? not you, no sir. :) religion comes from people garth. First they murder. Then they come up with the excuse. Yes?

maybe this what the waygb does at night. only they peruse the forums. I know I'd be barking at squirrels at some point . . .

all of the killings hinge on the last one you mentioned, adam and eve's sin. all killing by god after that is a big fat "so what?". not killing people would be delaying the inevitable. "grace and mercy" is allowing anyone to exist for more than a second.

and they have already rejected the info on this website. twi is like a drug. It just feels good.

*ploop* this one's a floata. . .

most of the WayGB is in their 50s or 60s? no? So they they should start dropping dead in 10-20 years? How long do wayfers live . . . an apprentice . . . an apprentice must be found . . . and fed a constant diet of bologna . . . oh, linder, your cameras suck

don't worry rascal, the weather is warming and the wayfers will be coming around soon. I'll be asking them again why they have no idea what they are doing and yet keep doing it. Then I'll through them a biscuit. :)

Then there's probably thousands or millions of others like him. Even better at the game he played. Maybe they're politicians or business folks who don't even use religion. It is not a stretch of the imagination to think we are now pawns in a bigger plan than the one vpw cooked up. That thousands still, now after decades, cling to vpw, some in twi, some in other places, says that there is nothing special about being human. They are easily herded and trained like many animals. Perhaps vpw realized he was a pawn himself and decided to take what he could.

what you're saying is that a half-wit like vpw was able to manipulate thousands to do his half-baked plan. Thousands left with the rest to fend for themselves.

yeah I don't buy it. vpw was the best at the game they all play.

there's still the problem of so many just ready to accept whatever explanation the higher-ups throw at them. even if they've never met the leadership. the followers of twi and vpw were made for each other. this is probably a new topic. does explaining joseph smith explain the history of the mormons?

I'm more convinced he was crazy and self-deluded. As he interacted with different "spiritual" people his vision of grandeur increased, like you see so often with the followers of twi, many years after he died. He couldn't have done it alone. He had help. His stories may have changed with time like any fish story. Wouldn't the tales get taller as the following increased? The pressure of leadership may have accelerated his self-delusions? Is there reason not to believe that he was just as convinced of the stories as his followers? Was his head in touch with reality enough to fully realize what he had gotten into? They make statues of him. He's not here to coordinate this. Take a cow. Make it a god. Then blame the cow?

The deceptions come before or after he has a following?

what about the followers? Many believe they've been miraculously healed and experienced the great power of believing. In any fellowship the love of vpw is evident. whether it's love for him or an idea in their head he embodies, i don't know. They get a "twinkle" in their eye when they speak of him. There's that weird sometimes hippie-like, sometimes very heavy, feeling in the atmosphere, shared by everyone. I get the feeling guys like vpw and lcm are only unique because of the position they held within the cult. twi is not simply explained by vpw, but by something the followers bring to it too.

"God Bless you, The Way International, this is __________. Can I help you?" Try to interrupt them. It's a spiritual duty to finish their line.

Anyone who was part of twi was a deceiver. "I can speak an unknown language!" "I've seen the power of God in action in my life!" "I know "the Word" works!" Can we prove his deceptions were so "deliberate" and not some quirk of human behavior?

Do we know that vpw was not also following hype and false promises? He met with numbers of different "spiritual" people. He got much of his ideas from them. He carried a number of concepts in his mind from the word-faith movement, prosperity gospel, liberty lobby, etc. Perhaps his own behaviors and attitudes were genuine mimics of other men, much like way corps and non-way corps mimicked those they admired?

vic coulda pointed at any ole joe, and thousands would have followed to this day.

I thought it was about control mechanisms. Oh well, I'll butt out.

too bad we can't bottle it all up and shoot it into the sun

what's A&S? death comes regardless, bramble.

Thousands of people fell for the paranoia of being constantly chased by devil spirits and thousands in and out of twi still cling to those ideas. vpw gave them a "special" view of the world. Geer and others were just like lcm, no? How many people would have been similar to him had they been thrust into his position? How many people are there who would have made the same decisions he did versus how many who wouldn't have?