Rocky

Since that's not about VB, perhaps a new thread would be appropriate.

Yep. Pretty much. The letters mostly lack coherence, mostly were rambling bulls*it. Mostly, if not exclusively "poor me" for the failures of the WC.

There are 30 letters posted in that archive on google docs. One has to be a translator of sorts to understand them. I suspect that you, T-Bone, will be able to do a fabulous job ferreting out the ironic "truths" in them. I'm trying to sort them in chronological order (not sure those posted are the only ones he wrote to the WC). Here's a gem from the December 2, 1977 letter that holds glaring irony. Wierwille wrote, "A comment on scripture is one thing, but inserting that comment in the body of the scripture text as scripture is Biblical immorality and forgery. This has happened not infrequently regarding one God and other fields in the Word." Isn't that just a rewrite of his definition of the expression "literal translation according to usage?" When HE did it, it was justified, because as he got us to believe, if HE said it, it was as if God had said it. But when someone else said it (outside of TWI, or anyone on his research team who determined Wierwille's pronouncements were wrong) it was forgery. Anyone have any examples handy to help lurking innies grasp the significance of Wierwille's deception?

Well, sounds like it was a good conversation. Did he give any indication that he knows anything about Greasespot Cafe?

PREACH it, brother! Great post. Thanks.

And amazingly, it NOW finally dawns on Barnard's wife that perhaps she ought to divorce him... ... speaking of suspicious timing.

Key word: almost.

I'd love to be able to listen in on that conversation.

I agree completely. Btw, New York Magazine has this write up now.

The other day I watched a movie on hulu that goes a long way in showing LGBTQ people as genuine people. It won the Palm d'Or at Cannes a couple of years ago, it was that well done. The English title is Blue is the Warmest Color. It took me several years after TWI before I began to realize gays were genuine people with legitimate humanity and human qualities.

Me too. :)

Guess who's back from Brazil...

That's tremendous. Thanks. For years I dreamed of going to law school... got as far as registering for the LSAT in 2013/2014 with a view to starting in fall 2014. Then I realized I don't need the stress of paying for student loans in my sixties. Perhaps that title was given to you BECAUSE of your legal background. Glad you had the integrity to give it to them straight. :)

Kudos to you, Twinky, for having the gumption to take that stand. What was the paper about? Love to you for dealing with family on Monday.

Not necessarily a bad thing.

How does that preclude malignant narcissism? In a subculture (cult) where he was highly revered (worshiped), would it not be natural for someone to introduce the idea without him explicitly asking for it? That auditorium was named before he died, right? Didn't he feign modesty over it? I don't buy any suggestion that he wasn't fully on board with all the adulation.

but I thought the bible said there's no new thing under the sun?

Hmmmm.... in other words, the word of Wierwille is the will of Wierwille/god?

You're not going to be able to do anything that will open Rosie's eyes. It would take a significant emotional event (significant to her) for her to change any aspect of her values. It's outside of your control. History -- the record of thousands of people in situations similar to yours -- indicates that they will tell others that you're possessed. You can't stop that. It is something you will eventually have to accept and/or let go of.

Not speaking for Karl, but being familiar with Karl's decades long career as a journalist, he didn't write anything to hurt anyone. Journalists write to tell the truth. Journalists, and I have a little bit of experience with this (though not nearly as much as Karl), write because they can't NOT write to tell the story of the truth. The characters in the story are characters in a story. They are not targets. The target is the ears and eyes and understanding of the readers. Take care of your relationship with your wife. From what you've shared, she's apparently not as convinced as you are. Changing hearts and minds in a situation like you're in is not easy and takes time, patience and love.

Obviously, that 's a cult indoctrination tactic. You were wise to be bothered by that song. On guy says, oh, it's about obeying God. But really, that's still outside of what being saved by Grace would actually mean. In practice, it is clearly intended to subliminalize the suggestion to obey "leadership." Screw that.

Does the question assume that all situations involve gravity equivalent to Earth? How does variations in gravity (a variable factor) influence answers to the question? This also goes back to God BEING and able to DO much greater than we can even conceptualize. Which, to me, makes the question about God making a rock that he couldn't lift, absurd on its face.

Lot's of good insight for you, BlueCord, in the comments before mine. One of the most important things that will help you keep from getting sucked back in eventually will be to establish a support network of friends not connected to TWI. That's one of the benefits of connecting with a church near your home. It may be difficult to find one with which you feel comfortable with all of its teachings. That's less important (whether they agree doctrinally with what you learned in TWI) than making solid social contacts. Of course, churches aren't the only places to establish a good, supportive social network. Congratulations on recognizing the organizational problems and being willing to act on your concerns.

I recently saw on Facebook where a Frank Ab****i told his friends he had earned a PhD and one part his dissertation (I think that's what it was) was writing a new expanded translation of Eph. 3:20. Hopefully, he doesn't have a copyright on it, but even if he does, I claim Fair Use. "Now to God, Who is able and ready to perform on behalf of His people, Exceeding far more abundantly than we can think, or conceptualize, in the spiritual realm, in the cosmos,and in the earthly places. All this strength is utilized in accordance with the power of God who worketh in us." What intrigues me about this new translation is the idea that God is ready and able to perform exceeding far more abundantly than we can conceptualize. Well, perhaps the Apostle Paul also realized that God actually also IS far more than we can conceptualize. Not only could s/he DO more, but BE more than we can conceptualize. Which to me lends credibility to several of the comments on this thread, including those by Raf and Steve Lortz... and T-Bone. Because how the hell could we be so narcissistic and arrogant to think we could even come close to ascertaining what God might think about the question posed by Oakspear? And I sure as... the fact that we live on Earth... do not believe that God is limited to what a bunch of computer illiterate sheepherders wrote down two millennia ago or more.

Okay... Allan wants a political forum. He should have one. Of his own making. Not here.