Rocky

I'm wondering if *Mistletoe Mike doesn't simply have ADHD. Of course, we ALL are easily susceptible to distraction anymore these days because of the internet. (I'm thinking Bolshevik may agree). But I digress. I saw an image/meme with this Octavia Butler quote from her book, Parable of the Talents and immediately thought of the silliness of people not being able to go farther than they are taught. I realized there are so many reasons GSC needed to see/hear/read it. The sentiment is apropos for TWI and other cult survivors, is it not? (I ask rhetorically) *Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. I've been scratching my head about Mistletoe Mike for some time. Yesterday, it occurred to me his relationship with GSC is, indeed, that he represents a parasite. I don't mean to infer or insinuate he is less than human. Just that his relationship to the website seems clearly to be parasitic in nature. First used in English in 1539, the word parasite comes from the Medieval French parasite, from the Latin parasitus, the latinisation of the Greek παράσιτος (parasitos), "one who eats at the table of another"[5] and that from παρά (para), "beside, by"[6] + σῖτος (sitos), "wheat", hence "food".[7] The related term parasitism appears in English from 1611.

Great principle? Is the expression somewhere in the bible? Nevertheless, radical change can be hard for cultures to accept. Incremental changes, much easier.

So is Clarissa.

I finally caught up to you... of course, I expect you're sound asleep by now.

For more than $30... and as high as $300.

Hmmm... sounds like the premise of a time travel novel. Happy New Year Twinky!

Btw, Rose McGowan, in 2018 wrote and published her memoir Brave. From the back cover of Brave, she says, "Brave is the story of how I fought my way out of these cults [COG and Hollywood] and reclaimed my life. I want to help you do the same. And in 2022, Daniella Mestyanek Young (COG survivor) published her memoir, UnCULTured. Janja Lalich, Ph.D. a professor (I think Charlene knows Dr Lalich) and coauthor of Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships said, "...Daniella educates us not only about cults but also about the similarities of coercive control in some of our most respected social institutions."

Please write that book. In YOUR voice, from your perspective, incorporating your experience in gardening and other aspects of your life. I'm confident you could put your experience in Christian service since exiting TWI in that kind of frame. I have no doubt that piece of artistic expression WILL wonderfully reach and impact many lives. I'd also bet God can and will open the doors for you to make it a reality. Doing so can be the best mark your life overall will leave on society as a whole, other than how you actually reach individual people and touch them with God's love.

All worthy of your time and energy. Thank you for doing so.

Bravo! Back at you, Skyrider!

In other threads on this forum, I've commented/posted how I believe TWI and the Children of God cult had numerous parallels. The differences as fundamentalist Christian cults between the two organizations are essentially a matter of degrees. 1) As illusory as Wierwille's Th.D. (or Ph.D.) was or wasn't, he had more education than David Berg (founder of COG); 2) the degree of debauchery and self-justifying rationalization in the practices and teachings of the two were parallel but different in how divergent from acceptable societal norms each practiced; 3) Wierwille apparently craved a higher degree of societal acceptance. Nevertheless, both organizations were largely engrossed in fleshly desires of the founders. Berg's sexual deviance was clearly more audacious AND garnered him and his cult more immediate notoriety. But BOTH were sexual deviants. Both used scripture to rationalize their interpretation of the bible to justify the practices used to satisfy their appetites. Because the basis of each was religion with religious freedom being so fundamental to Western norms, journalistic reporting has had limited impact on the practices of each. Btw, these are not the only two such fundamentalist cults in operation, then or now. We also know legal system challenges to TWI practices (likely) suppressed some of the TWI sexual abuse. Nevertheless, I am skeptical cult control practices have been effectively eliminated. For both TWI and COG, the key factor in raising societal awareness has (IMO) exclusively been the telling of personal and intimate stories of survivors. For TWI, we are aware of using cyberspace to tell some of those stories. One of our own, Bolshevik, has adequately pointed out some of the unintended consequences of (Trancenet/Trancechat, I include those because they preceded Waydale), Waydale, and Greasespot Café. I acknowledge the "wild west" nature of cyberspace. In addition, certain journalistic and/or memoir accounts of people in TWI have, thankfully, raised awareness. Notably, Karl Kahler's The Cult That Snapped; Undertow by Charlene Edge; and Losing the Way by Kristen Skedgell. (Btw, does any reader have access to a copy of Kristen's book?) Have any of you thought, even in passing, that you might write a memoir of your time in TWI?

Unless you defy the limitations. In which case you CAN go beyond what you're taught. In particular, if you DO READ/STUDY beyond the bible (and/or the PFLAP collaterals). History is filled to overflowing with accounts of humans refusing to be limited by false boundaries imposed by others. Cases in point: Star Trek as a model for exploration. Half a century ago, the Apollo space program. In 2022, the Artemis space program. New models/methods for vaccination development. Per Albert Einstein, imagination is more important than intelligence. A recent book by Jane McGonnigle, Imaginable, demonstrates the point. As does David Eagleman's Runaway Species: How Creativity Remakes the World.

Three rhetorical questions. I apologize for not being clear on it previously.

A very important anthology which hopefully will grow as time goes by.

Sometimes you just have to let go and leave it to the reader to recognize the absurdity of Mike's blathering over the course of two decades. Do you trust readers? Or will readers understand better if you add your insight... which has not changed much (or maybe anything) Mike has claimed in the course of those decades? I'm not saying I believe what you post is wrong in any way. However, does or has any of what you've posted/commented made any lasting impact on the history or what Mike says?

You don't have to respond to him or take his bait. I hope you can focus on telling your story.

My review and the story tell us something about ourselves (some of us here on GSC, that is). Including Mike. (I'm not soliciting a conversation, especially with Mike. However, if he reads this, maybe he'll reflect on it. I wrote this review of The Book of Longings: I didn't realize until I was in an unhappy marriage that one of my deepest longings was to be heard. To be a voice. I started writing shortly thereafter. It has been more than 25 years since. But I digress. ANA mattered. She lived an internally rich, variegated life. She was the wife of Jesus. She was (IS) a voice. Sue Monk Kidd wrote a masterpiece. I hope you enjoy The Book of Longings as much as I did. Perhaps the passage that struck me most was this: "Years ago, after that day I came to your house, I wrote down your story on papyrus. I wrote about your ferocious spirit, how you stood in the street and cried out what happened to you and were silenced for it. I think every pain in this world wants to be witnessed, Tabitha. That's why you shouted about your rape on the street and it's why I wrote it down." She stared at me unblinking, then pulled me to her and clung there.

Here's another one (kind of) about Jesus... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52698452-the-book-of-longings I read this in 2020. Goodreads describes it: Grounded in meticulous historical research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus’s life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring account of one woman’s bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place, and culture devised to silence her. Raised in a wealthy family in Sepphoris with ties to the ruler of Galilee, Ana is rebellious and ambitious, a relentless seeker with a brilliant, curious mind and a daring spirit. She yearns for a pursuit worthy of her life, but finds no outlet for her considerable talents. Defying the expectations placed on women, she engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes secret narratives about neglected and silenced women. When she meets the eighteen-year-old Jesus, each is drawn to and enriched by the other’s spiritual and philosophical ideas. He becomes a floodgate for her intellect, but also the awakener of her heart. Their marriage unfolds with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, James and Simon, and their mother, Mary. Here, Ana’s pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to the Roman occupation of Israel, partially led by her charismatic adopted brother, Judas. She is sustained by her indomitable aunt Yaltha, who is searching for her long-lost daughter, as well as by other women, including her friend Tabitha, who is sold into slavery after she was raped, and Phasaelis, the shrewd wife of Herod Antipas. Ana’s impetuous streak occasionally invites danger. When one such foray forces her to flee Nazareth for her safety shortly before Jesus’s public ministry begins, she makes her way with Yaltha to Alexandria, where she eventually finds refuge and purpose in unexpected surroundings.

How does it make sense to try to have a conversational style on a thread? (Rhetorical question, I'm not interested in answers to that question) OTOH, Telling a story in comments on a thread DOES make sense. People are ALL about stories. They are fundamental to human communication and learning. Trying to have a conversation with Mike is beyond meaningless. It's a waste of time. Tell stories. Don't go back and forth in meaningless chatter with Mike. Please.

Isn't it delicious for Mike to so "honestly" tell us who he is, yet so much flies over his head and he doesn't have even the most minute clue?

https://ses.edu/logical-fallacies-101-appeal-to-authority-ad-verecundiam/

Not addressed to anyone in particular. THE salient point is I believe those bickering with Mike (there are several) are those as a group who indirectly hold GSC hostage. I believe allowing him a sense of (even if only an illusion in his mind) of victory is the ONLY thing that could succeed in putting a stop to his senseless decades long rant.

Doing so likely would be much more effective. In words Mike no doubt heard in Vic's voice countless times 40+ years ago: a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. If posters were to allow him to claim victory, whether any reader were to be convinced by him or not, wouldn't that completely mitigate his motivation for posting here?

Doesn't matter if you're right or if you're wrong. If you're correct, however, wouldn't it be cause for you owing the owner of the website much more than a one-time $50 donation... to cover the cost of the traffic?