JavaJane

I agree, Nick... I was fortunate enough to have a best friend from childhood who I got involved with twi - and who got out the same time I did. Praise God for small miracles! We are still very close. And yes, being a teen in twi was not an easy thing to do - and from what I saw, for the most part, it led to a few different paths... 1. Child is afraid to do anything outside of the prescribed routine of twi and becomes a Way-bot adult because all ability to think on their own was completely squelched when they were small. 2. Child becomes completely rebellious once they have any freedom at all - gets involved with drugs, alcohol, and sex (think of all those kids at ROA...) 3. Child becomes depressed because of the inability to live at the standard set for them - and has no where to turn for help because they are obviously sinning if they have an emotional problem 4. Child ends up with a combination of all or some of the above. All in all, it is a sad situation - their parents think they are doing the right thing... but the end results are not so good. I know more children of reverends in twi that used drugs on a regular basis and slept around with the other teens in their area than I care to think about. Then again, maybe they were really following their parents' lead in some cases.

LOL!!! And what a reality show that would be!! Sort of a cross between "The Mole," "Flavor of Love", and "Big Brother." And you were right about the dichotomy between real life and Way life... so confusing for everyone involved... Maybe it should be Un-Reality TV.

I'm wondering if this is the same guys I think this is... anyone know what region he coordinated/coordinates? If this is the guy I am thinking about he gives me the heeby jeebies.

While sheltering our children from bad influences can be a good thing, I have seen cases where this was taken to an extreme in religious families, especially in twi. I have a young friend who was raised in twi and is still in. She was never allowed to have any friends outside of twi, never allowed to date (because there were no boys her age who were in twi in the area she grew up in), never allowed to listen to secular music, and never allowed to watch a movie that was rated anything harsher than G. She is a very sweet girl, but she has no clue about life. While she was sheltered from the "evil" that flourishes around her, she also was never exposed to anything harmful where she could actually see what was happening around her... It reminds me of the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty where it is fortold that when the princess turns 16 years old she will prick her finger on a spindle and die... Her parents, in an effort to protect the princess, destroy or hide all of the spindles in the entire kingdom, thereby making it impossible for the princess to prick her finger, right? WRONG. They miss one, and because Sleeping Beauty doesn't know what a spindle is, when she finds the spindle she immediately touches it, pricking her finger and fulfilling the prophecy. Wouldn't it be better for them to show her the spindle and explain the truth of the situation? Sleeping Beauty would have then been aware of the evil and the danger, and therefore coule have protected herself. Now this friend of mine is in her twenties and finally out on her own (kind of)... She is still controlled by her parents because she has no life experience and they are afraid she will make stupid decisions without their oversight. They still control who she dates, what job she has, and who she hangs out with. Hopefully she never comes across the spindle. I don't know what would happen to her then.

A recent thread made me think about all of us who were "raised in the Word" or who got involved in twi from childhood... My family got involved when I was young and as a consequence, most of my life has revolved around twi in some way or another. It's kinda scary to think that the majority of my life was spent involved in something so destructive... all the friends I lost because of my "stand on the Word..." all the experiences I missed out on because of bogus committments or just plain controlling leadership. I really feel for those kids who are still in, or who are just getting out. Their lives will not be easy, because when you are raised to think in the illogic of twi, you think you have everything under control, that if you just BELIEVE - everything will be fine. You blindly trust anyone in twi as if they can do no wrong... it's hard to think for yourself, because you never have had to do it before... and what's worse, you think that you are a very independent thinker... These kids are raised to think that anyone outside of twi is some sort of animal - "empties walking by" comes to mind... Empathy is hard for them. Dealing with emotions is harder, because you are taught not to have them - to just CONTROL YOUR THINKING.... Just wondering if anyone else out there has anything to share on the topic.

In a way, (or because of The Way) she is a victim, too... She just probably didn't see it at the time, and maybe she never will. I was "raised in the Word," and had a pretty fracked up view of reality. I really thought at some level that I was doing the will of God, that I was saving people from the darkness... that somehow I was "special" and better than most people... Why? Because this was the reality I was fed from a child. For those of us who grew up thinking this way - well, suffice it to say, we were victims... and not because we went to fellowship a few times and signed up for a class for whatever reason... No, for us it was how we grew up thinking because our parents taught us from birth. I always hated hearing that children who were "raised in the Word" had it easier than everyone else because we had so much less to overcome. Man, let me tell you that is the truth ONLY if you stayed in twi world for the rest of your life... Once you get in the real world, it just makes everything a hell of a lot more complicated... I really feel for all the kids who were raised in it and are still involved, or just starting to get out. They have no clue what life is like... But then again, once they wake up, things get better. Don't blame her too much, Doc. She was more decieved than you were - you got out.

That about sums it up for me, too, HighWay. There are so many things I saw and did where I never stood up to anyone because of exactly this reason. We made ourselves rely on these people - we based our entire lives on life with the Household... worked with or for people in the twig, our entire social network was based on the twig... many of us (including myself) had cut off relationships with family to be a "better believer.." all of this for people who we thought were good and kind, or as socks put it... "....One day - they're your friends, wound a little tight but they can be nice and sweet. Next day - they're meaner than a mad bee and acting like you're Evil incarnate. :blink: " Exactly. We were manipulated. Bottom line, we may have been led astray... maybe we should have been smarter, less willing to let people walk on us... But I think God is probably angry at the ones who hurt His children in His name and not at His children who are or were in need of healing. After all, Matthew 18:6 KJV But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

well, they would SAY it was devil spurt possession and they had to keep the household clean, but what they really meant was... Don't talk to them... you might hear the logic of what they are saying and decide to get out! They couldn't have that, could they? Plus, you would have to be possessed not to want to live in the most beautiful wonderful perfect place in the world (New Knoxville, Ohio) surrounded by all of the most perfect wonderful loving kind people... Where you got such satisfaction from doing meaningful work spreading the Word of God... I mean, who could WANT to leave a place where the WORD OF GOD DWELLS?? You would have to be possessed, right? [ Javajane walks aways with a dazed look on her face, humming the tune to "Beautiful Ohio."]

And the really sick part is that I thought... I WAS DOING THE WILL OF GOD. I have said it before and I will say it another 50000 times posting on greasespot... What was I thinking??

Hey, Doc... It was a pretty twi thing to do... I was told many times to not date outside of the "household" but to bring any men I met to fellowship and try to get them signed up for the class. Mainly I just used fellowship as a way to get rid of guys I didn't want to continue seeing. I think my logic at the time was that if they really "wanted the Word" they would stick around and might even become someone I would want to date at some point - you know, after they "renewed their minds" and all that. <_< I don't think I really ever realized how I was being used to get people involved. I used to be pretty uncomfortable trying to get these guys to fellowship when I didn't really want to date them at all... especially when the WC in the area had me almost stalking these guys once they signed up for the class.. God forbid they miss a session - or even worse, get through the class and then skip a branch meeting!! I have to say, in a lot of cases I was actually releived when the guy would finally tell me and twi to go to hell and leave him alone! I guess from twi's standpoint, they got some money for the class and then maybe some ABS and free labor from you...

Aren't there about 30 active WC now??

That Life Magazine article is still circulated by twi... at least last time I was there. Funny how I had never heard of the Time article... and the Cornfield Cult one sounds like fun! Anybody have a copy of that??

Now, I remember being told that it was ok as long as you WEREN'T with a believer (as long as it was "just getting your need met") because it could cause divisions in the household... My personal favorite, though, was when a friend of mine was having surgery and her boyfriend couldn't stay in the house with her to take care of her afterwards because it had "the appearance of evil"... Like they were going to be messing around after major surgery ! The new class they released a couple of years ago is completely puritanical when it comes to sex... going so far as to say that a man shouldn't touch a woman except in places where her soccer uniform (?) wouldn't cover. I think it was guidelines for teens, but the image is just so darn WEIRD. (edited because I hit post before I meant to.)

Maybe we should start calling it BMI instead of twi?

One of the problems with having had such a nice experience prior to the wake up call that is twi leadership is that reconciling the two experiences is so hard to do. I think this is why so many of us put up with things for so long... Hell, I had 15 years of nice times with nice people before things started really turning sour. By that point, I figured it must be my own fault... Why else would something that seemed so nice and had done such great things suddenly go sour? It couldn't possibly be that the ENTIRE ORGANIZATION was all fracked up, could it? Nah... It had to be that I was the one that was sinning. So, in a way, although it was good, and I saw God work, it made the illusion so much more real. It made it harder to realize that it was time to leave and get out... Looks like my experience was pretty similar to everyone elses...

Maybe the cash cow is starting to dry up - if you convince the folks at HQ they don't need to eat EVERY day, think of the amount of money you can save!! (wonder if Rosie is skipping any meals?)

In another recent thread there has been talk about how a "genuine" movement of God seemed to be happening on the local level in individual fellowships, but as soon as the WC were sent to the area the place fell apart. I myself have seen this happen over and over. Probably one of the reasons why I was so shocked when I found out just how far the corruption went - my little group (when left alone) functioned well - we loved each other, took care of each other, and basically kept our nose out of each other's business (for the most part) until the big shots showed up. Funny, they were sent there because "THE WORD WAS MOVING" and the twigs were multiplying... we needed HELP. But the help they gave decimated the area - and probably resulted in a lot less money for HQ (ironically.) Was this as common as I think it was? Could this be why there is any following at all now? When you are with a good group of people who care about each other and want to help each other is God at work - even when it is a cult?

WOW... Ham, reading through the thread and heading to the links... To think I used to be one of those sickly sweet arrogant little children . "I am so blessed to be raised in the word by Way Corps who don't let me ever think for myself or have any friends outside of my cult. I am so blessed to be kept in a little tiny cage where I cannot experience life. I love captivity. Please beat me again." It's almost sado-masochistic - but without all the fun toys. I think I may vomit.

Might be a little off topic... When I was a little kid (maybe 8 years old) I went through a phase where I would sing songs in a made up language (or that's what I thought it was, anyway.) This was years before my family had ever gotten involved with twi... I remember hearing my parents talking about it with some of their friends, who had asked them if they thought I was spreaking in tongues (not twi people - just a couple of old hippies like my folks)... After that my mom told me not to do it anymore because people would think I could speak in another language when I couldn't. When my family got involved in twi I always wondered if maybe that was speaking in tongues. On a completely different note - I read a book a long time ago about Behavioral Science perspectives on speaking in tongues. I think its title was Glossolalia. Written (I think) in the 70s. Great book, if you can find it... It mentioned twi and some kids who had been deprogrammed but still spoke in tongues. Their parents had them put in a mental institution. I hope they are ok now.

Been thinking about this as well... Our past, as much as we may want to forget it and deny it even effects us, is always a part of us. It's a part of our life experiences that make us what we are, for better or worse. I am a former cult member, and I will be affected by that experience for the rest of my life - heck, I was part of it for almost 20 years... the majority of my life. It has to have some effect, right? While the past may be unpleasant, it at least shows some roads I don't want to go down again... Will probably keep me from getting lost in the future by heading down similar paths. At least I am not ignorant anymore about these sorts of things, and it makes me a lot less judgemental of people (especially judgemental people.) Been reading the book - and it is great! Thanks to all!

Got my book today! Can't wait to crack the cover of The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse! Thanks for all the suggestions!

I think it was a theme for a year... And the one after that was Building Biblical Understanding II - The REVENGE!

How about this - being pulled off the street by a reputable modelling agency and offered a job and training as a model... FOR FREE... didn't take it because I thought it would interfere with my ministry responsibilities. Man, that was dumb...

Funny how that works, isn't it? Just re-write what you don't like and POOF! twi has done the same thing with the whole LCM affair... just never mention it, and it all goes away. (Not that I would compare Lonnie Frisbee and LCM in any way, shape, or form!!)

Funny, Geisha- My husband and I have been talking about this for quite some time... how we were promised "abundance" and told we needed to "ABUNDANTLY SHARE" in order to get the abundance... While we were driving cars that would break down at any time - and often did. And barely having enough to make it. BUT - don't go into debt for anything that could help you out of the situation you were in - no college education unless you could pay for it in cash. No buying a house that would save you a ton of money on rent each month - not unless you had the cash to do it!! But give less than they wanted OFF THE TOP, and you wouldn't prosper?? HECK, we were checking our couch cushions for change and digging furniture out of the dumpster because we couldn't afford to buy it ourselves! But we were so afraid not to give to twi because God would remove his blessing from our lives. Crap, if this was life WITH his blessing, then what would it be like without it? What were we thinking??