Nathan_Jr

OldSkool, your story resonates deeply with me. I was never corps, but I was married for eleven years to a vpw-loving narcissist whose flying monkeys were corps. I know about the constant walking on eggshells, the self-loathing, the self-medicating, the hellish world of confusion and suicidal despair for never being good enough. Spiritual abuse is real, Psychological abuse is real. Religious abuse is real. And it's deadly. Please know these fruits are not of God, Truth, Love. All are lies. ALL OF IT. There is no precious baby to be removed before throwing out the bath water. The baby is a rotten, diseased grown man yelling with a cardboard sign and selling pencils from a cup. He has contaminated the entire bath room. Only complete demolition will do. I can't say this enough: Thank God for Grease Spot Cafe.

Great point, WordWolf. I think if JWG would have lived long enough, he would have rejected the Trinity and that would have blessed him. At least, that's what my music coordinator said. And even though I don't know what that even means, I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

Indeed. And this: "Whatever it is you see is not what reality is - it's adaptive perception." A really fascinating interview with Donald Hoffman. After all the science and math, which is too advanced for me, they discuss God or spirituality. Maybe this needs its own thread. Enjoy it while you can.

Sterling silver bracelets engraved with credentials: "The Seventh TMOG" mmmmmph

Not even trying to make anyone laugh. I'm being dead serious. But if anything is funny, it's because it's true.

Well, it seems it's no different than it's ever been. How can one go beyond what one is taught? Right? This is taught behavior. It's even approved behavior as long as no one finds out and you BELEEEVE for it to manifest operationally. It all goes back to VPW. All of it. He's the original teacher, The Doctor, The Seventh TMOG. This is what he taught. How can his disciples go beyond what they were taught?

Yep. But if you want to be mathematically precise, it leads to sodomy. Forced, coerced sodomy.

No. But that's ok. Though I very much appreciate dark humor, dogmatism is too dark, even for me. I find it physically repulsive; it causes inflammation in my brain and my heart and makes me sick.

So tempting... I'd hate to further derail this thread....

Thanks, Mark. The separation between the Latin and Greek churches happened so long ago, it seems redundant or superfluous to even mention it. It's either the RCC or the Orthodox Church. I guess I was interested in the etymology of the term Catholic and when the Church self-identified that way.. I probably failed to articulate that, but I was able to scratch my itch for granularity here: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03449a.htm It's fascinating to me how diverse the Church has been since the very beginning. Everyone believes that they themselves are orthodox and everyone else is heterodox. Of course, this is just not possible, because everyone can't be right. So maybe everyone is wrong. I don't identify as Trinitarian or Unitarian, but I find the contemplation of both ideas to be intellectually stimulating and spiritually rewarding. I'm only dogmatic about not being dogmatic.

Right. It was all one Orthodox Church until the Great Schism of 1054. The split resulted in the RCC and the EOC. If memory serves.

Thanks, Twinky and Chockfull. "The current vice national coordinator...was expelled on sodomy grounds." I was exhorted to imitate VPW and stand on his shoulders, but this is just taking it too far! Even in Cameroon they go all the way in imitating the seventh TMOG! By his fruit he is known. Wow. Just wow. Not just Wayspeak, but even citing that flat-earther, too. Parrots. Robots. Hilarious... and depressing.

Hi Mark, Is the Greek Orthodox Church an offshoot of the RCC?? The Greek/Eastern Orthdox Church members I know would never identify their church as an offshoot, especially an offshoot of the Roman Catholic Church. I may be misremembering the European History classes of my youth, but I'm pretty sure Greek/Eastern Orthodox is not an offshoot, derivative, nor sect of the Roman Catholic Church. I mean we're talking ducks and diamonds here, but your sentence jumped out at me. Had to ask.

Dr. DiMattei is good. It's been a while since I've read any of this. Are you familiar with the Assyriologist, Dr. Joshua Bowen?

Yahweh was one of El's sons early in the pantheon, right? They became one and the same over time. Gods are always changing, evolving, it seems. And humans are developing their understanding over time. Monotheism is relatively late in Judaism - it developed over time, like the Christology of the early church.

This may be an extra polite concession. Should we characterize Bill Colby's or Harvey Weinstein's exploits as merely "having sex with"?

...wait...WHAT? ....hold the farm!.... your music coordinator said it? Well, shoot! Why didn't you just say so in the first place? NOBODY? Whew....Thank God! What kind of impact did he get from his people? Sorry for the awkward phrasing - your sentence. Victor had a way with with words, too. Don't forget, victor trained Loy up in HOW (H-O-W). Loy did what he was taught, because you can't go beyond what you were taught. And Victor ANOINTED Loy's head with oil. With OIL. Anointed. His head. I just don't know how else to say it. This is a good start, though not hard to do. Incorruptible seed is not a doctrine unique to victor. But getting born again of serpent seed - that might be unique. You're comparing victor to King David and making an assumption victor is after God's own heart? It requires a bluntness of spiritual perception to make this leap. This can happen to anyone whose spiritual perception has been dulled by repetitive rubbing. Not SOME of the things. MOST. Most of the things victor did displeased God. Unless, of course, you mean the god of this world, then, yeah, only some. His "ministry" changed many lives by misleading, by stealing, killing, and destroying. ENJOY!

But do you have a purpose for everything you listen to?

Thanks, Raf. For everything. it's not confusing at all. It's not three like the trinity, but four like the crucified. I get it. It fits. Like a hand in a glove.

Love Marcus Aurelius. Thanks for this. Role models are so important.

You recommend good books. This one has been added to my list.

Thank you for this, Rocky. This issue is seldom understood and often is frequently stigmatized. C-PTSD is very real. So much is still being learned about the insidious effects of sustained abuse and neglect. Narcissistic abuse can cause C-PTSD, not only in children, but in adults. The effects can manifest physically in the form of auto-immune disorders and brain damage, in addition to severe anxiety and depression. The destruction to the psyche, spirit and body is in incomprehensible to most.

Yes, indeed. We are on the same page. Teaching by LIVING righteousness and love and freedom. Yes, great point. Some people only behave well when people are watching. They want to project an image of righteousness. Image over substance. I was pointing to victor's response to Loy in the AC Q&A about behavior behind closed doors - behavior unseen by those one is trying to lead. Do the right thing, even when no one is watching. There's a more eloquent phrasing of this, but I can't remember the attribution.

Even if no one is watching.

Right. I did forget. I should have renewed my mind. At least two.... criminals....