Eagle

I am trying to find the source of an article by VPW entitled "No Automatic Immunization" where he discusses Christians being possessed. Was it a Way Magazine or Sunday Night tape? Was it a special article? Someone that knows let me know. Thanks! Eagle

No, I don't mind. It was the local CFF. I have to make a distinction with the HQ CFF as I don't think they inspire people to do that, but there are still people out there that act like they are still in TWI without being in it and believe they are doing the right thing cutting off fellowship to Christians that do not agree with them. I don't believe in much of what VPW taught at all these days, with the exception of a few things, but I did not want to lose my old friends from the Way. Since coming out and telling people what I believed, we were not marked and avoided per se, just never again invited to social functions like Christmas parties (Ho-Ho, whatever), and never invited to local functions in my city. We were just ignored. There was one that kept inviting me to his fellowship and kept emailing me, but that was the exception. I'd email back. I know John Shroyer personally and I doubt he advocates Christians splitting from other Christians socially or otherwise based on differences. He most likely would say go to separate churches or fellowships and hang out afterward. No one is going to agree perfectly with the Word of God. Hoep this helps. CFF is okay. But a lot of off-shoots still have people with TWI hangovers. I doubt the off-shoots like that very much. Eagle

As far as the Fall of Mankind goes, we have too many men obsessed with sex interpreting this...thus the reason for bizarre and weird conclusions. I doubt the Fall had anything to do with sex but something else far more reaching in consequences. It was not lesbianism or homosexuality not married sex or self-gratification. LCM and others took Greek and selected the usage they wanted to fit their desire on what they wanted it to be. IMHO Eagle

After all this time, I cannot believe that there are still some out there hanging on to VPW's idea of scripture or the abundant life. Oh well...believe it or not, people have cut my wife and I off from being friends, and I am talking off-shoots here. Eagle

MadeItThrough: You are ever so right about that stupid phrase: "I have no friends when it comes to the Word". That just made the Word sound as if it was elitist, separatist, combative, and that your friends don't matter if they did not believe, so just give up on them, and say, heck, let 'em die and rot in hell if they don't believe. We should be witnessing in one way or another, either through life example or a word every now and then to your friends. A true believer is a true friend, and will not give up on their friends. Great insight, MIT. Eagle

Belle: I'll pray for Mr. Right to come across your path and marry you. And I'll pray that you CAN have the children you want. While I'm at it I'll pray he's excited about God, extremely attracted to you, good-looking, great personality, and RICH! Eagle

Belle and O.M. I share the same situation. I have adult step children but none of my own. My wife and I tried but when we went to the fertility clinic, I thought it might be my wife because she was in her forties. Turns out she was okay...I was not. I was pretty much sterile in what they described. The little "guys" I did have (not many) didn't move. They are supposed to swim. I had couch potato sperm, I think. Kind of describes it. Instead of them going to the egg, my guys just sat there doing nothing...probably wanting the egg to come to them. Probably all sitting there with a remote control trying to move the egg. Heck, the description was not good. Even if the egg did come down to them, they couldn't penetrate it. They would just flop over and maybe lay on top of it or something. They suggested I had been like this since birth and inquired if my mother had a difficult pregnancy. She did, I was a premie. They suspected she was given a medicine called DES or something, causing birth defects. I suppose one of them was sterility. That answers a lot of questions on why none of my old girlfriends got pregnant, even whey they tried to trick me into it. I was glad about it then, but not now. My wife is okay with it because she had two children already from a previous marriage. But it really depressed me when I found that out. Our solution is adoption. We are doing a search and we want a little girl between three to six years old. It is a tough search but we are on it now. Belle, if you still want children, though maybe not your own, then maybe you might think about that. Or maybe see if you still can, with some modern science, still have kids... God Bless the both of you...Belle and O.M. Eagle

Belle, It is a story such as yours that makes me grieve the most about people in TWI, putting "God" inbetween people and separating them instead of putting them together as a family unit. I am so sorry that happened to you. The Church was meant to marry people, not recommend divorces. You may be okay now and I am glad of that, but you sure were victimized more than most I know. God Bless You and I hope you found someone else to really enjoy God with. Whatever the rest of your story, your's drives the point home the hardest. Eagle

Anyone know where Fred and Carol Barney could be and how I could get in touch with them? They last lived to my knowledge in Hilliard, Ohio. The phone numbers and email have all changed. My wife and I were looking to connect with them again. Eagle

I should have included "All of the Above".

There are many reasons one left TWI? Why did you leave? If you have left?

:lol: I think I'd like to show up for a GS weenie roast with my wife and talk old times and see old friends. When will the next one be and what do we do to get to it and how much does it cost? Do we have to tithe to Greasespot Cafe in order to be allowed in? Eagle and Mrs. Eagle

I do remember once during a ROA when it was pouring rain during a teaching and the tents were filled with people trying to stay out of the rain. I briefly took shelter under a doorway of one of the buildings (the door was closed and most likely locked but I was shielded from rain). One of the security people just turned and stared at me as if I was doing something awful...staring at me...as if...how dare I get out of the rain and next to a building. Strange encounter. He made me feel as if I should step back out into the rain. Then, after almost doing that, I decided to lean against the building and stare right back at him. There was a staring contest for about ten seconds before I decided to take my hands from my pocket and motion for him to turn around, giving him the most hostile look I could summon. I made a move in his direction to go and just ask what his problem was and what was his justification for staring at me. He finally turned away and didn't look back. This was happening just at the time I was deciding to leave TWI anyway. This was another reason in a number of reasons to revolt in those days.

The classes should have been free and the syllabus paid out of donations to TWI from the rest of us. The books should have been voluntary sales. The poor had a hard time learning the Bible in TWI. Freely ye received, freely ye give...

Wow... Lots of history on Wierwille Road and New Knoxville... Heavy...

Dotsie it is. Thanks. This weekend the Memorial gets corrected. God Bless.

Then there is still the cemetary issue.

Good Points there Wordwolf.

ToadFriend: You may be right about "Dotsie". I heard "Dottie". I do have a problem in my right ear hearing which is about a half to three quarters of my left ear. I barely passed a hearing test in the Army after coming back from Vietnam. Seemed normal to me. But there are those that say I miss things people say. Don't know. I heard "Dottie" all these years. I apologize for any error I have. Anybody else confirm "Dotsie" over "Dottie"? I need to know to correct the Memorial at the website.

And now, we want to choose a new president for TWI and it must be a greasespotter, just like the president of the United States must be a natural born U.S. citizen. But you don't have to be over 35. Okay, if you pick yourself, I want campaign promises as to what you guys would do. The list could also include Greasespotters who have not visited for a while. Exie can still be TWI president. There is Raf and year 2027 as two more possibilities. And you guys get to name more possibilities and why. It will be like Fantasy Island. Tatoo will be out there saying, Da Ambassador One! Da Ambassadoe One! Boss! Da Ambassador One!

I got the notice she passed away only hours after her death and prior to GS having it on the site. I think JP emailed Doug McMullan and Jan Parker (McMullan) forwarded the emails out right then. I received one of them. You raise excellent points about the health insurance issue first being discussed here at GS. But I don't know that TWI does all that much by reaction to this site, though it might. But I guess most are right...people are still followed on Wierwille Road by security. They have to watch their boundaries, though. Wierwille Road I do believe is a public road just named after the Wierwilles.

Not sure if staffers at TWI pay for their insurance. But it is a start, I guess. I remember in the last days of LCM that many women were not allowed to get pregnant. Now, I assume, they are. There is insurance. They have done some improvements. Gotta give them at least this. That security thing bothers me a lot though. Anybody send threatening letters or phone calls to TWI? I got into a near fight with one Corps guy after I left but that was off grounds a long way from TWI. Just ended up an argument and no blows exchanged. But that was all I did. Couldn't handle the harassment anymore. Were others angry enough like that in the LCM years? I don't know anyone but it makes me wonder. The current BOD may still be putting up with a lot of s**t from LCM's reign, trying somehow to manage it all.

Since Rosie and the current BOD took over I haven't had too much to report. Often now, when talking about TWI I have to mention the distinction between Wierwille, Martindale, and the current TWI BOD. All lawsuits against the Way by former members were directed at Martindale's behavior. Here are the TWI lawyers and the current TWI BOD trying to manage the damage of a released clergyman and former president. The staff working there are now taken care of a lot better since Martindale left. I've spoken to two of them who showed me health insurance cards. Apparently, they have insured their full time staff members. They did in fact, put a memorial to Mrs. Wierwille on their site and now have opened hours of visitation at the Fountain of Living Waters. There is more to investigate here because they still have very tight security for some reason and I want to know why.

TWI under the new leadership, well, somewhat new, has begun a few reforms and I am happy to hear they are letting anyone pay their respects. I'm not sure about the arrangements made behind the scenes with the Wierwille family but this is a lot better than the previous administration. Regardless of how people feel about the Way International, this is a lot better than previous years.

ChattyKathy and Ted: I suppose you are right. This funeral had to stand for grace. It was the one thing that was missing ever since VPW passed and perhaps sometime prior to that. But Dorothea never, and I mean never...sank to the levels of the legalism inherent in the organization during LCM's term of office. Perhaps, if LCM did indeed show up, Mrs. Wierwille would have wanted it this way. Me, had I done the things he had done, I still would have made the family a little more comfortable by not showing. I know he is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. But I don't know what to say about the man who put himself in the position. However, on Mrs. Wierwille's day, I have to respect the idea that all differences are put aside and we are brothers and sisters in Christ for that occasion. I just wish we could make it more permanant and a good healing by forgiving everyone including LCM.