Rocky

I never made it to Rome City. I appreciated the pics when I saw them last night.

Given the timing of the advent of the internet and trancechat/waydale, my guess would be at least 15 more years. But the f**ker's dead now, thankfully.

stream of consciousness

Hmmm... please expound on that thought.

Amen to that!

Btw, HBD Raf!

Have you ever considered writing a screenplay, or even the script for a stage production to illustrate what you have described above? I think it could be very compelling.

So don't quibble. But you know that words have meanings. Or at least I thought you did. I'll bypass some of the quibbling and simply ask what are you attempting to accomplish with the question(s) you posed to start the topic?

That's a philosophical question that isn't necessarily as cut and dried as you suggest.

I disagree. A change in VALUES and beliefs can be a "seismic" event. Changing a thought, not necessarily. At minimum, a change in values and beliefs would, imo, require changing more than a thought. Rather, changing how one interprets or gives meaning to a series of thoughts.

Why would that even be debatable? Anybody can change his/her mind about anything. The issue has been subjected to psychological examination and research. Why or how would a person NOT be allowed or authorized to change one's mind about anything?

Perhaps we could get Vince F to weigh in on this thread.

Well... I must parse that thought somewhat. Individual adults RARELY change their minds about the big questions (such as this). That's a simple (behavioral) scientific fact. Adult humans (for the most part, I will grant that there may be exceptions) only change their values and deep seated beliefs when confronted with significant emotional events. Of course, Paul's conversion in the Book of Acts would most certainly qualify as a significant emotional event. Wouldn't the real question on this subject be whether or not a believer who loses his/her faith lose what Romans 10:9-10 refers to as "being saved?"

And no COMPASSION for "his people." No empathy for ANY others. WordWolf said: I once walked some kids home in Summer, Once I got them to their block (a partially-protected block), I agreed they were safe enough to walk the last few steps by themselves (they were young teenagers walking less than a block.) I asked them to promise that- as soon as they got home- they would stop and pray for the coming rain to hold off until I got home. They agreed. I saw them off, and marched home with all reasonable speed, hoping to get home before the rain because I didn't pack an umbrella. As it turned out, they did exactly as requested, calling their family to the door so they could pray together immediately. Me, I prayed, marched, and just focused on making the best time. There was occasional thunder, and once a few drops began to fall, then stopped. I might say that the charged air even felt a bit frustrated- but that could easily be argued to be an active imagination. When I got home, I got as far as the elevator before the thunderstorm dropped, so I missed the sound of it starting. I did, however, get inside my building seconds before the storm hit. Naturally, one might consider this a fascinating coincidence, or think I'm exaggerating, or that I'm outright lying. (I insist I'm neither exaggerating nor lying.) Nobody made a big deal out of this at the time, but I respected those teens BEFORE this, and if anything, respected them more AFTER this. I view your story, WW, as neither exaggeration nor deception. It's clear to me that your story (and humans are ALL about stories) wasn't about you. It didn't revolve around you. I don't recall you EVER bragging about yourself. You shared a story to make a legitimate, valid point. And IMO, you communicated it very well. And back to Skyrider's point about veepee, the whiny narcissistic creep probably could have made a lot happen for the people who sojourned every August if he only had a heart.

project much?

Another way a similar phenomenon manifested itself was when JALvis came here or on FB and without much thought to the reality ended up talking down to 50+ year olds like we were still teens or twenty-somethings. I remember having to remind him of the fact that we were no longer young people. Of course I was in my early 30s when I departed the cult.

Perhaps you're right. I was never involved with the Martindale flavored classes.

The advanced class was all bulls*it... of course it's easier to see 40 some years later.

Clearly this was the case, IMO.

I never took the WAP class (even though as a child in upstate NY, of Italian descent, I was called a WAP numerous times)... But he didn't need to drive that concept home. It was ingrained in the DNA of the cult from before I joined up in 1974.

AKA, why is that bozo's first thought any better than MY first thought?

As in "fake it till you make it?" But did they ever make it?

Hulu in the US already aired the final episode.

Hallelujah, Praise God, Amen!