shazdancer

That's one of the sad things about evil people. They don't listen to what you're saying because they care, but are merely gathering data that they can use to their own advantage. I was shocked when it happened to me, but I have come to pity the people who live like that, because they have no idea what it is to love. Regards.

Mike, I disagree. Even if given the "power" of the organization and its assets, payroll, etc., I like to think I would not abuse it. Heck, I've been in supervisory positions in business. I also work with children, very often without a witness in the room. I didn't take advantage of my employees, financially or otherwise. I worked as hard as they did, and they respected me for that. I looked after their needs. And if I begin to overstep my bounds in the instruction of children, no one needs to tell me to rethink. I do it myself. It's called a conscience. I think that "power corrupts" only those who are looking to take advantage, and hadn't yet had an opportunity. That would be Craig. He was convinced he was entitled. Shaz

Dear exy, It is a shock to see how evil that is, that someone would say and act like they loved another person in order to use that person, without caring how much it could hurt the other person. I was shocked when it happened to me. It still saddens me when I see it. Makes me think of the world as a sucky place. (((()))) Shaz

Dear 3Cents, I agree with you. The next step in recovery is to ask one's self, "What is it IN ME that made believing this attractive to me?" A tough question, but worth answering, if we're not going to get fooled-then-abused ever again. Regards, Shaz

Thanks herb! I've heard the one about guinea hens -- I wonder if it helps? And some of the towns around here are putting in the wood chip borders around their properties, both public and private. In my town, one in 3 families has had a family member infected. It is epidemic.

Mike, You said... Speak for yourself. If I had had that much power, I would have given that "power" back, because I never felt that leaders should lord it over the flock. The greatest leader is the greatest servant, and all that....Shaz

Yeah, OE, very sad. It is still controversial, but there is evidence that Lyme can be spread through pregnancy, breast feeding, and sex. Shaz

Dear Raf, You said And add to that list...love.We loved God, and wanted to demonstrate our love in our actions. We loved the man of God, as the one who brought us God's Word, and wanted to show him our appreciation and respect. We who are survivors of religious abuse loved the man of God in our families, our communities, and our Biblical research organization. This is why sexual abuse by clergymen carries as much trauma for the survivor of abuse as incest or spousal abuse do. Because the authority was surrendered to the perpetrator (if the abuse was not forced) out of love. We loved who the perpetrator portrayed himself to be. It was only when we realized that who the perpetrator REALLY was, that we took our authority back. Regards, Shaz

Hi everybody! The month of May is Lyme Awareness Month. Lyme disease is the most prevalent vector-borne illness in the United States. Your risk for Lyme disease is many times greater than your risk for West Nile, yet many states -- including mine, where Lyme was discovered -- spend more on West Nile. The Lyme bacterium can cause many different symptoms in the human body, including very dangerous ones, depending upon what strain it is, where the bug travels to in your body, and how your immune system reacts to it. There are also co-infections that you can get from the same tick bite, like bartonella, ehrlichiosis, and babesiosis. (Ticks are nasty things!) Early symptoms may include flu-like symptoms: headache, fever, and malaise. If you get a fever, and it isn't flu season, suspect Lyme. Less than one-half of all Lyme patients have gotten the tell-tale bull's eye rash. (I didn't.) If you get it, take a picture of it in outdoor lighting and get to a doctor who knows what to do, because the rash is definitive for Lyme. The Center for Disease Control says that a Lyme diagnosis is based on clinical symptoms, not purely on blood test results, which can be falsely negative. Later symptoms, which may show up quickly or may not appear for weeks, months, or years, include: joint inflammation, muscle pains, dizziness, Bell's Palsy (facial paralysis), brain fog, word retrieval and short-term memory problems, attention deficit, depression, heart palpitations, and worse. Lyme patients have been misdiagnosed with ALS, Parkinson's, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and schizophrenia. Lyme is a great imitator. The last disease called "the great imitator" was syphillis, also caused by a spirochete bacterium. The tick that carries Lyme is in its nymphal stage at this time of year. It may be light in color, about the size of the dot above this i, almost impossible to spot. Remember to use serious bug spray if you plan to be in the woods or fields, and check for ticks afterwards, especially behind the knees, and in the crotch, armpits, and hair. The most common carriers of ticks are not deer, but mice. Keep them away from your home and yard, by keeping wood piles and other tempting hideaways out of your backyard. Sweep leaves well into the woods, keep the grass cut short, and consider rimming your property with mulch, as the longer grass at the edge of woodlands is a prime habitat for ticks. Consider keeping your pets indoors, and off your bed. If you find a tick imbedded in your skin, get a tweezers and grip the bug as close to its head as you can, and pull straight out, gently but firmly. Do NOT put ointments or a match on the tick, hoping it will back out. A distressed tick might just spit its nasty stomach contents into you. Wash and treat the bite site with antibiotic ointment, and see a doctor for prophylactic antibiotics. There are doctors who are experts in treating this disease, and many who aren't. If you suspect Lyme, get someone who knows what they are doing. An early infection is usually easy to treat, but an inadequately-treated infection can cause a ton of problems later on. Feel free to email me if you ever need information on Lyme disease. Take it seriously, and take care. Regards, Shaz excellent site for Lyme info

Mike, "Gaslight" means to declare a person did or said something she didn't, or to deny you said/did something you did, in order to make the other person appear crazy. Especially effective when there's no witnesses to rebut the declaration. Shaz

Oldies, You said, "If Dr [sic] Wierwille really were a white supremecist [sic], he wouldn't have hung around anyone who was non-white." Sounds like you don't know much about white supremacists. I also think that Wierwille might have realized that he would have had less chance of getting away with his anti-black sentiments in the late 60's-80's than he would have had with his anti-Semitic beliefs. Remember in Elena Whiteside's book where Wierwille talks about how he wrestled with prejudice because a black man killed his brother Otto? Well, he may have wrestled, all right, and maybe he lost. Just my speculation, based on the fact that you don't subscribe to anti-black, anti-Jew groups unless you believe in their propaganda. Does anyone else remember the earliest version of CFS, where every time the black couple was on the screen, VP had to make a comment, like, "Look how bee-YOU-tee-ful that is?" Many of those comments were eventually edited out. It sure sounded like overkill to me. And a smokescreen. Sorry, Oldies, didn't see a whole lot of African-American faces on the BOT. Shaz

Whoa, Exy!!! That was way too funny, and all too true! Scarecrow -- Howard Tin Man -- Don Cowardly Lion -- VP Still laughing, Shaz

OM, you said... Studied? If you call plagiarizing studying. Okay, a cheap shot. It was clear that he'd read the Bible and thought about it. But he also read a lot of other authors and took their material, even when he didn't completely understand it. And some of his more original material make it clear that he didn't utilize the very "keys to research" that he taught in PFAL. Witnessed? To whom? He must've convinced some people to leave the organized church and follow him, and he witnessed to a few hippies in Haight-Ashbury. He probably opened his mouth every now and then, but beyond that, I just don't see it. Did he go Lightbearers? Did he go WOW? Yet he demanded that of Corps. Once the money started flowing, he got himself a motorcoach, then a plane, so he never had to run into "unbelievers" at all. Taught? One thing he did do! Stayed faithful to the Word? He DID????? ??? Ask his victims their opinion. I also don't recall VP on Bless Patrol or jogging at 5 a.m. He never hitched halfway across the country to go LEAD. He often ate different food at the head table than the Corps got, and had drinks with his meals. He also kind of broke the two-drink limit on a regular basis. The more I think about it, the more I find he asked the Corps to do a lot more than he expected of himself. He wanted the Corps to be ready to jump, and he wanted to be the one to tell them to do it. Shaz

Dear Chas and G2M, A modern English-speaking person, upon encountering a passage of Middle English text, would have a hard time pronouncing the words, let alone understanding what it says. And a paragraph of Old English would completely confound him. The same holds true of Classic Greek, Koin?reek, and Modern Greek, as you know. I would be curious as to which form is spoken in the church, and how the pronunciations are maintained -- oral tradition, or some other? I guess the point here is that the pronunciations of Biblical (Koin?Greek words have a scholarly tradition in the Western world, albeit from a Dutch scholar. Perhaps he is wrong to the modern Greek ear, or wrong to the ancient ear. But nonetheless, those pronunciations are the accepted ones. Wierwille didn't take the time to listen and get it right. His inattentiveness in this area, when he demanded attention to detail out of everyone else, makes his other claims suspect. 'Course, maybe he got his pronunciations directly from God, when he was receiving the rest of PFAL, eh, Mike? --> Now everyone practice: ex-heh-GECKO-my. Now I'd like to sell you some auto insurance... Regards, Shaz

1.) Where's the money? 2.) Why didn't you take care of Mrs. Wierwille like you'd promised?

HI Greek2Me, Dunno about the phrase "Greek to me." Probably just a reference to any language you don't know sounding like gobbledygook. Coulda said, "sounds like tongues to me," I guess. As to Greek pronunciations, I would go with Geek's explanations on page 1. He didn't learn them from TWI. Neither did I. In fact, I notice that some of his diphthong list comes straight from "New Testament Greek for Beginners" by J.G.Machen, who was a professor of the New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. I don't think that book was ever available in The Way Bookstore. At least, that's not where I bought it. Wierwille didn't pronounce correctly because he didn't pay attention to learning it. Or he had a speech/learning impediment. And if so, what were we doing listening to him on other matters? Regards, Shaz

Wierwille: "bask-uh-ball." For someone who played "a little professional baskuhball" and supposedly invented the hook shot, you would think he'd know how to pronounce it. But yeah, I think it was just "hillbilly." Hey Ohioans, do other people there talk like that? LOL, Tom, about VP touting his German heritage. At the time, I didn't know WHAT that was about! Now, I realize it is part of the narcissism. It's also kinda Nazi...! Regards, Shaz

Older Leader Grads. the people Mike has targeted for his message of PFAL = God's Word.

You can try the memorabilia, but the hottest things were definitely the books and collaterals by VPW. You know, so all the OLG's can get new copies and join Mike at the gathering.... Feel free to email me if you need any more info. ;)--> Shaz

Some of this reminds me of a counselor who talked to me about me and my first husband. She was of the opinion that it "takes two to screw" up a marriage. So what did you both do, she wanted to know. Well... there were times when I lost my temper and shouted. And... there were times when he got drunk, spent all the money, screwed around, and hit me. Yeah, I guess we both did things wrong, shame on me. Regards, Shaz

Dear dmiller, Include something on each auction that says something like, "Check out my other auctions, and save on shipping." Then people who want to buy all your magazines will have an incentive (saving on the postage) to look for your stuff and bid more. Good luck! Shaz

Another factor in the coercion existed for in-res Corps and Staff. Many, if not most, of them had given up everything to be there. If they were kicked out of the organization, they would literally be on the street. I was lucky, I guess. When we were fired from Staff, we were not blacklisted, at least not yet. Many believers came forward with money, a car (wowmobile), and a trailer (homemade) to help us move and get started. Our baby was 2 months old. As I said, we were lucky. Shaz PS Oldies -- Does the word "coercion" work for you? I think "brainwashing" has the connotation of zombies in lockstep, but I think TWI had more to do with peer pressure and isolation to only one point of view as being "the truth." [Edited to fix the misspelling of "coercion." Not brainwashed, Lyme brained! ;)--> ]

You're right, Oak. A short course in Koin?reek showed me that. How come I could figure it out in 2 months, and Wierwille couldn't learn it in YEARS? Wierwille got it wrong, over and over again. He couldn't even READ the thing, and we were supposed to trust his ability to make sense of it? LOL about the K thing... so true, so irritating. Regards, Shaz

...If I can but touch the hem of JT's nametag, I shall be made whole...

I would tend to doubt it, danteh, though you could try it. Most people seem to be buying Wierwille's books to replace their worn-out ones, or give to children or offshoot "newbies." But maybe someone is dying to replace their lost CWOW pin.... Shaz