JavaJane

I am a recently converted Catholic. And I don't agree with every bit of doctrine. We use birth control and I support gay marriage. The past two or three masses have been pretty political because of pressure from the bishops on the local priests. I almost got up and walked out of the last one I attended.... But here is where it differs from twi - if I did get up and walk out, I could come back next week and no one would harass me, confront me, or shun me. While taking the adult Catholic classes, the question came up "would someone be refused communion if they were openly pro-choice?". The priest said he would not refuse communion because that person could have repented and there was no way the priest could know that for sure. In TWI they automatically assumed guilt and evil and even possession if they saw someone do something they didn't approve of. Not so much in my current church. Just take a look at the current controversy within the Catholic Church regarding the American nuns - the pope says they are radical feminists and need to change their ways. Have the nuns stopped? No. Just look up the nuns on the bus where a group of sisters travelled around the country talking about what Ryan's budget would do to the poor in this country. I'm sure the council of Bishops probably didn't approve of that. But the women religious of the Catholic Church are still respected. Can you imagine if a group of WC women did what the nuns did?

Everything I was going to type in this space is NSFW. It involved crude comments about sadistic old lady lesbian madams, their young(er) lovers and a dog video. And a literal stick that made someone unable to bend because of where their "father in the Word" put it back in the sixties. Close enough. I am a terrible person.

The possessed kind. ;)

Hey, Mom and Dad, Are you really sure this WOW thing is a good idea? I know you have been telling me that if I put God first then things will be perfect. You and my siblings are going into training to be ministers and I'm too old to go with you, but this WOW thing freaks me out. I don't want to lose you guys as a support system. And these people they teamed me up with are a little weird. I'm scared, but I guess I don't have much choice. Guess I'll see you next year for a while at the Rock unless one or all of us aren't kicked out for being homosexual fantasizers, or disobedient, or unproductive, or just because. I'm scared, but I'll do it. What could possibly happen?

Speaking from my experience, my reality (or perception thereof) was shattered by four major events in the space of two years. There were two things that I held to be "true": 1. The Way International represented God and His Word. 2. My parents' marriage would last forever and was a perfect example of what I should base my marriage on. The three realizations were: 1. TWI leadership was legalistic and controlling at the corps level. There was no spirit of God working there. TWI had become burning and lifeless. 2. The same thing was true at the fellowship level. 3. TWI/Weirwille/Rosalie were all liars. 4. My parents were getting divorced, had been separated for years and never told any of us kids. They had been keeping up a sham of a marriage for decades. I was pretty devasted. It felt like someone had died. Everything I had based my life on was a lie. It was horrible, and it took a long time to recover. I had to go through everything in my life, examine it, and determine if it was real or not. I feel like most of my life was an illusion, and it really angered me that I had been deceived since childhood. Everything I knew was based on a lie, and that was wrong.

Donna. As payment for services rendered.

Thanks for the hug, ex. My family is doing really well. Can't wait to see them this weekend.

I still have difficulty enjoying birthdays and holidays after being half raised in twi. I'm getting better at it since my husband's family is really into those days and tries to make them special. Twi had to hijack every holiday and twist it until it became about twi and nothing else. Happy Hearts Day, Happy Household Holiday, Bless and Treat... Hoho carols with all the words changed. Every holiday season full of general nastiness towards those who were celebrating. And I had five very sad Holidays with no family to spend them with since I was convinced I needed to mark and avoid them in order to serve God. Those were pretty bleak times. Like I said, I'm getting better, but Christmas time will always be hard on me. I get homesick just thinking about all the times I missed and all the damage done to my family. Some of that damage will probably never heal completely. But this week I am taking my daughter to a family reunion. and I am so happy to know that she will never experience anything like that. Praise God we got out.

Snakes in Suits also helped me a lot when I got out.

I remember being pretty let down that the proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ was that we had to do something that we were taught to do. Frankly, that didn't really seem like proof to me. I was expecting some sort of scientific evidence or maybe historical corroboration. Silly 16 year old me. And then I just told myself I was being too intellectual - the class was supposed to be taught so that anyone (implied: no matter how stupid) could understand. That's what my parents had told me at the beginning of the class, and if it was good enough for them...

Before I left they were searching out and filing suit for copyright infringement on anyone who vaguely used the words "the way" together. Probably to supplement the dwindling abs. :)

When I saw "The Way TV" when following that story last week I wondered how twi had missed them in their search of people to sue for using the name "The Way." Looks like someone dropped the ball at HQ.

Not sure what I was previously... I've never had a reading done. I do believe in past lives, but I don't think I was anyone important. There was one dream I had about being the daughter of a confectioner in Italy. And when I was in Mexico I felt more at home than I ever have in my own country. Mexican music also makes me feel really comfortable and at ease. And I don't speak the language (not much, anyways). Married into a Mexican-American family and I Am more comfortable with their culture than my own - maybe that's past life stuff. Might be what Jesus meant when he said "you must be born again."

Just to be clear, I never believed that SIT couldn't be counterfieted... The way TWI taught the formulaic approach to SIT was BS, and it was used as a way to brainwash us and keep us from thinking. One thing chock, me, and others on the thread who do SIT seem to have in common is that we all SIT the first time BEFORE we became part of TWI.

I could never figure out what VP meant by "tongues cannot be counterfeited"... I always thought that was a pile of poo. It led me to start reading about tongues outside of twi literature. I've read some of the research waysider references prior to leaving twi trying to find evidence of what VP stated about counterfeit SIT. Never found ANYTHING to back up his statement.

Yup. Now that I don't have to be just like everyone else, I'm taking advantage of it. I love the ritual and oldness of the Catholic Church (plus, they have Jesus and social justice, and acknowledge an ascended female); I love the thought processes and reincarnation aspects of Buddhism; and I am drawn to God represented with different aspects in nature which is pagan (and the whole God/Goddess thing - I believe God is both and neither.) And on top of that I SIT... and this is what I would have ended up a lot quicker if TWI hadn't taken my family in when I was 12. I was headed there already at that age. I SIT first around the age of 9 or 10. Didn't know what yo call it, but it started after having serious deep thoughts about God, Jesus, heaven and hell, and death. It was somehow connected to that in my head, and when I started doing it, I felt better and stopped worrying about what was going to happen to me when I died.

Heck, my husband thinks SIT is BS... it was for him. He is also agnostic since leaving twi. I (Catholic/Buddhist/Pagan) still love him. And we are OK with our different belief/non-belief systems. Mine is constantly evolving. Lying/self deception/just plain old confused/whatever. No skin off my back. I'll make sure to send a Hail Mary your way tonight, Raf. And throw in a couple seconds of glossolalia for waysider... maybe some pig latin for john, too. ;)

Honestly, I find this thread very interesting. I do SIT, and enjoy doing so in the same way I enjoy reciting the rosary or doing breath meditation. Whether or not what I am doing is a specific language or not does not really matter to me. Neither does other people's opinions or theories or experiences. Proof would be cool, but not necessary for me personally. I am very much enjoying the discourse on the thread. I am also OK with my SIT being glossolalia, or even done by pagans prior to Pentecost. But then again, I am not really one to think every thing in the book we call the Bible is 100% God-breathed and accurate anymore. I do believe that it is good for our learning and for moral guidance and that Jesus Christ existed, was the Son of God, was the embodiment of the godhead, and was a pretty awesome cool guy that I want to be like. That being said, whether or not RAF thinks I am lying about my experiences with SIT bothers me not a bit. There are a lot of people that I respect who think I am off my rocker with some of my beliefs, but that's OK. We don't all have to agree or have the same experiences to be good people. What I do enjoy much is this kind of discussion can take place at all on this forum.

Just a question... what if Chockfull's private prayer is for someone else? Would that edify the body?

Steve and Twinky - my experiences have been similar to yours. Thanks for the insight. And, Steve, I'd love to see that thesis sometime!

I spoke in tongues on my own before my family got in to twi. I didn't know what it was, but it felt good and I enjoyed it. I believe it was (as Waysidet has described it) glossolalia. I still do it now. I guess my answer is none of the above. I dont think I made up the interpretation of tongues, but maybe unconsciously I did. I didn't intentionally fake it.

That whole "positive believing" doctrine really screws with your sense of reality when practiced for a lifetime.

The real answer? They have become zombies.