socks

If you say "God bless you!" 50 times a day but then feel weird saying it when someone sneezes, you might be in a cult.

Outdoor bathing, in and on your premises was common at that time. Nothing in the record indicates Bathsheba did anything out of the ordinary. David's armies were out battling, he was hanging around at home, being "king". David should have been popped for his transgression by Law - Lev. 20:10 and Deut. 22:22. The penalty for adultery was rather stringent, although probably not applied at all times. That's why when Nathan confronts him and David repents Nathan tells him he won't die, ie, be forced to pay the penalty. Which says something about David because for all he knew the next step could have very well been to accept that penalty at that hand of Nathan. But by that time he'd been living in guilt for a long time. David had gone through months of guilt and condemnation over what he'd done. Figure when this whole thing set up he was hanging around at home diddling around when his armies (and Uriah) were out doing battle. David was a warrior king and had made his reputation on the fact that he led his armies and had killed his "10's of 1,000's". David had no problem killing people in fact he seems to have been pretty good at it. At this point he's off the field and staying home. When Nathan tells him the story about the guy and his sheep, you can see how out of balance and self-righteous David had gotten. The penalty for stealing another guy's animals was restitution, but David puffs up and declares "Kill the guy" in addition to that. No doubt he embraced the chance to declare how bad someone else was and make them an example, given that he was living with his own condemnation and hiding it. David as recorded was certainly a man of unique ability and one who did great things. But he was also a man who managed to pi$$ away his life at that point. What he did with Uriah and Bathsheba is indicative of where he was at.

Those minkees be smilin'! Now we're having fun!

Greetings, seekers of Amazement! :)--> It's good to sea everyone!

splaaaaash!

Yeah, the devil's like B.O. Everybody gets some stink here and there, one time or another. Why some people will wear year old underwear though and try to convince me they smell like a rose, I don't know. But I agree - having been at half-stank myself more than once I know you have to give the credit where it's due. I just steer clear of people now who try to convince me smelly stains are really back "in" this year.

Thank you! A la, I remit you in to the hand of the Great Monkey! You have seen them!!! Tom, you're a posting animal! You guys that are up in the multiple 1,000's are way outta my league. I need to beef up my numbers. Although I've been thinking of changing my login and going back down to 0, like Raf(ael) did. ASM's seem to be everywhere. I saw a gang o' them running through the sprinklers in a nearby park today. It's been so hot! They were doing a slip and slide!

Wow, I'm at over a 1000 posts. When did that happen? Holy grail! Batman!!!

Tom, I have been sidetracked by a visit to Le Dentiste. Actually my teeth are fine, I just dig it when the dental assistant drops the chair back and she smiles and says "So, have you been brushing like you're supposed to?" as she snaps on those little green gloves. It's worth every penny. A little drill work. Excavation. I think they found some Essene scrolls in the tooth. There were a lot of "ooohs" and "aaaahs". I have extremely long roots according to the xrays. They use widescreen pan-x film I think. A la, are you looking for them? That may be the problem. Don't look for the monkeys. See the monkeys.

What's 'good authority' Eagle?

After watching the Way dot org site's videos from the SNS, I'd suggest that if there isn't, they start. It'll make it sound a lot better.

:D--> Tom! Oaks! OLM'S everywhere! An important piece of the puzzle is here! The flood in Noah's time...it WAS saline water, SALT WATER! LCM was close, but off by the slightest bit and therein lies the counterfeit! So close and yet denying the truth! It was this salt water flood of dethawed aminiotic fluids that caused the incredible growth of AMAZING SEA MONKEYS!!! throughout the earth!!! It had to have been so intense it washed them off of Mars, drenched the earth with them and spread them throughout the planet! It's the only explanation! And it makes sense!!! too!

Whoa! Thanks for asking....I'm here, sorta. I was driving down to the desert, got off at Bakersfield for a little chow and visited the Buck Owens Museum. Don't EVER get off I-95 in Bakersfield, and don't EVER go to the Buck Owens Museum if you do. They had...I can't even go into it. But I don't think "Fried Sushi" qualifies as food, except in Bakersfield. I ended up at a restaurant called "Hot and Brown and Ready!" and got - Super-fried Hush Puppies, Fried Bread Sticks, Fresh Fried Catfish Nuggets and a Fried Coke, with a side of Fried Cole Slaw and some extra Fried Oil Drippings Sauce, Biggie Size. Everything in Bakersrfield is fried. Steak, veggies, fish, fruit. The coffee, I swear this is true, the coffee was perc'ing in a deep frier. Whew. As I got back on the freeway, feeling kinda seasick, I looked up at the sky and pondered Bramble's now departed ASM's and the possibility that they may be swimming happily even now!!! I feel better. A little Kaopectate and I'll be 100 per cent! Thanks for thinking of me. I'll be back.... :)-->

Hope, WHOA! Isn't Olan Mills offering that as a background choice now for portraits? ANOTHer idea stolen from the Way. DAMM THAT DARK MONKEY!

Me too! Just visitied, nobody home. Hit the recent history thing, saw who'd been in. Nice set up! Easy to use. Sweet.

I'm always a day late and a dollar short, Grizzy! If I'd waited to go in, I could have been a king?????? Figures, my luck. :(--> Craig definitely knew how to build a better machine alright. Kings! I guess that was the problem with the gays in the Way. No queens! Kings only here!!! Although wasn't it taught that the whole deal with the kings in the O.T. was that God never wanted Kings to rule over His people, but that's what they wanted so He tried to make it work? Second will of God stuff. Second best, "good" but not the best? Wasn't that the teaching? How'd he reconcile that? Old Wineskin!! (slap my butt and call me Judy!) Now I get it!

All this talk about comics - anybody seen "Unbreakable"? Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Killah flick if you like the whole comic book genre thingie. Zap comics! Furry Freak Brothers! johniam, good stuff! I liked those too. Wonder Woman. Now there was a comic. Men in those tight outfits....dunno. But Wonder Woman. No problem there. ;)--> Can't help but wonder now, the whole greasespot thingie. It's funny. How do you become a greasespot by midnight now? Go online, register, login.

DC, that's the one. I remember the little "stamp" of something or other. Thanks!

Zix, you're heading my way. Radar, not to worry. I started reading comic books in about 1955 or so, before I could read, in fact a lot of my early reading skills came from reading Disney and Walter Lanz comics. :P--> (I think there were a nickle, went to a dime, then 12 cents and on up from there). Then I went to Dell comics and the Superman series, etc. etc. The Marvel comics came a bit later, and filled the gap between Dell's Batman and Green Lantern comics (which were a little more complex) and Spiderman, Hulk, etc. By the time I was about 12 I was out of the comic books although I sure wish my old boxes of originals was still around!

Uncle Hairy, you've shaken loose a mem cell there - the first time I saw the reference to "greasespot by midnight!" I had a quick blip of a comic book, like Spiderman or the Hulk, something, can't place it. Funny though!!

So that's your doggie, Linda! Cute is right. She looks like a tail wagger alright. No idea what Sudo's talking about. She's got "let's play" written all over that little face!

It's not hard to understand why any teachings from the bible/so-called advocating free s-x and open adultery wouldn't be publically taught at a Sunday Night Service or put in an Easter Way Magazine. Look at the Way dot com site. Everything's happy and perfect in WayLand according to it. I do know of a few instances where people taught or spoke about this stuff in what they considered "closed corporation" sharings on the field, with their little enclaves of inner circle leaders. Basically they were trying to look like they knew something better, higher, more spiritual and way cooler than anyone else. They did it to advance their own interests. There's more confrontations that went on with people like that than have ever been talked about here, and not just dealing with this topic. I can think of a couple fist fights. People were terminated from their assignments, kicked out of the corps or sent packing over things like this. In fact, most of the turmoil I was ever involved with or aware of around problems in the Way Corps would make this site look like a playground. That's why for me there's a huge dichotomy between the secretive actions of some of the Way's people and this acceptanc of what they were doing amongst themselves. Bottom line that I've come to on it looking back - if it blew up, went public, caused a stir, etc. that was one of the biggest things that made it a problem. If you could do these things and handle it, keep it secret, and no one got "hurt" (gag) then it was fine. It was the ability to keep it quiet that made it alright in other words. No harm, no foul. Plus if you knew the right people and they liked you, you might get a break. That seems to be the pattern. But it can't be a surprise why this kind of behavior, teaching, discussion, suggestions, was reserved for situations that were conducive to manipulation. Of course it wasn't taught in open meetings except by people that were more than just dishonest but were stupid and arrogant enough to think they could get away with it on their say-so.

Flag raising, Summer School, perfect! :D-->

All praise to the ASM's! :)--> Slippery's a good word Griz. I was thinking about this since I posted, trying to get back in to the head I was in then, my attitudes, what I really thought about stuff. Things like "there's no condemnation", "we're not under the law", not being legalistic or religious. (which of course we were, just in ways we accepted). In the interest of not going to that extreme I think we tended to round the edges off of the other. To find a "balance" and not go off the deep end in either direction. But looking back, I think overall the Way Ministry did, just in it's own defined ways. I always hated someone slapping me on the back and saying "come on, have a beer, loosen up man!" like I needed to loosen up and needed someone to tell me that. But then if I wanted to drink when I did, I could easily talk myself in to allowing it. I could be so fetishy about certain little tiny things that didn't matter to a hill or beans, but then blow off something very important and not even see it till later. If I can collect my thoughts, I've been thinking of starting a thread to get feedback on how others view the topic of "sin" in relation to the Way's teaching of all sin being sin, with no variance in God's eyes between "big" or "little" and only a difference in the "consequences". I have a feeling that there was the slightest of tendencies to belittle sinful actions as something we've been forgiven for and now that our ticket's punched we're going to heaven, all hell can't stop us and so what's a little sin? Confess it to God and move on. Does that lead to less awareness and self-examination, heart felt understanding of the moral and ethical difference and consequences of our actions? Responsibility, accountability? If we're cleaving to that which is good, there should be an effect when we choose wrong, however we're brought to that point-a point at which we're aware of our own failure and we face God and fellow man with both sorrow and the desire to make it right and pursue our better nature. Yes, with renewed strength and conviction, the kind that comes from real learning. The O.T. - "for our learning" we were taught. If so, we can learn that for different transgressions there were different compensations expected. Lying one, murder another. The compensation is to make restitution, both to man and God. With Christ's sacrifice we can see the ultimate consequence of sin and it's restitution in an action that perfectly provided for it, not death and then dead, but death and resurrection. God's ultimate solution - a full rendering for the sin and the result - new life as He would give it. I'm of the mind now that how we view the unfolding of our own lives in relation to that sin is one of the ways that we truly know our salvation, as less an answer to a problem and more of an obligation to be now fulfilled. Christ died FOR us, a debt paid, but now a debt of a differend kind - how to be redeemed in life. Actually the Way's Teaching requires the same response from me to the seemingly "smallest" of wrongdoing as to the largest - if they're really all the same to God, that is they're ALL "bad". Nothing can be whitewashed to be of lesser consquence in that view, nothing allowed. Yet, it seemed to move in a different direction, I think. Maybe for some. Sorta. Well, sorry to sort of side-track this train.

Any idea who that was in Joyful Noise that said that, Grizzy? -editing to add - What people did in private, I don't know. (of course). But as to the group I was in, which had single and married members, I can't think of anyone married or single who was having sexual relations with anyone like that that I knew of. That doesn't mean no one did, or that two people, consenting adults, can't decide to do what they want. Exceptions? Maybe, dunno. I think I hoped everyone to do their best with what we believed the Word said at that time and leave the rest to personal decision and not try to be getting in to everyone's business. At the time we, like most of the Way, bristled at being "religious" or legalistic and always trying to lay down the law about every little thing. If someone had done something they felt bad about or that was a mistake, that would have been an individual situation. As far as a standard though, the bible's pretty clear on this stuff. If someone wants to find wiggle room, they'll find it. But as far as the "get your needs met" stuff under some exceptional circumstance, I can't say for sure whether that was ever said or not.