johniam

Our friends the sheep, our friends the birds, our friends the cows...It's good to eat a friend, my friend.

OK man. You've been doin' a lot of talking. HAND 'EM OVER!!

Deacon E. L. Mouse: IS it going to be all RIGHT? church: It's going to be all right. Mouse: HA HA HA...you BET!!! It's going to be all right tonight in THIS, the POWER house church of the presumtuous assumption of...the BLINDING LIGHT! all singing: oh blinding light, oh light that blinds, I cannot see, look OUT for me. Mouse: In these days of modern times, when you can't tell the ACs from the DCs...well AREN'T we all YEARNING for someone who can turn on a little STOPPING POWER? Don't you think I mean a smoky glass? Don't you know I mean a lightning ROD? I'M talking about our own pastor ROD FLASH!!! HE'S been up for a WEEK!!! But he's coming down....

He went to prison because he stood for God and Potiphar's wife stood for..well...not God. Joseph had no control over his employer's trust once she lied to him. She was a classic predator; even if Joseph would have gone along with her eventually she would have wearied of him and framed him anyway.

dmiller: I don't think the lack of her name means anything. Remember the Shunamite woman Whose son Elisha raised from the dead (2 Kings 4)? She's called a 'great woman' and she isn't named either. But you're right. Ironically, VP himself taught on this at ROA 1980, Wednesday, the 'day of the land'. He said that when Joseph was running away when she disrobed him that the scripture doesn't say he didn't have an erection. Scored a lot of points with the young folks I bet. I'm sure that after Joseph got 'promoted' by Pharoah that he got to square up with Potiphar since Potiphar was a supervisory officer who worked directly for Pharoah. I'm also sure that if his wife did what she did to Joseph one time she probably did it habitually and may have gotten found out. But, yes it is noteworthy that adultery, even for Joseph who wasn't married at the time was a "sin against God"!

Never went; too shy/socially not too well adjusted. Everybody I knew that went all said the highlight was going to a secluded area and partying after it was over. Don't need a prom to do that.

About 20 yrs ago I was an asst mgr at a fast food chain. Several of us asst mgrs were at a meeting about our computer system. The man making the presentation said that rule#1 about computers is that they're dumb. They only do what they're programmed to do and if you start entertaining the idea that they're deliberately playing mind games with you, then you'll drive yourself nuts. I see a parallel here. Trying to figure out how God/ the universe / the law of believing / karma, etc. is going to help or neglect you might well also cause you to drive yourself nuts. I believe in God. I believe he's kind to all, he sometimes gets directly involved in my life, I pray, etc. but I do NOT get hung up over results or the lack of them. Bob Dylan said it well: "You think He's just some 'errand boy' to satisfy your wandering desires?" I lived with a believer for 3 yrs awhile back. He had financial aspirations. Once he tried to make something happen and it didn't pan out. He bitterly ranted, "I TRUSTED God to be my sufficiency!!!" Fast forward 25 yrs. Today this guy still believes in God and still has financial aspirations and has realized some of his financial dreams. Doesn't live in a penthouse, but is doing well. Most of his results have been from simple hard work and not giving up. But I really believe people can become overly concerned with knowing how they rate with the extra terrestrial or whatever. Not necessarily you, Satori, I used your quote because I thought it covered the subject.

After reading the link Shellon provided, I can't help but wonder if Bush winning the election might have pushed him over the edge. I also couldn't help comparing him to Ernest Hemmingway, who was 61 when he killed himself and had a host of medical problems. Not really familiar with Thompson, though.

Galen: I was trying to be facetious. In the early 90s LCM would occasionally go on a rant about ex TWI people who stole ABS and run PFAL classes whose ministries are built on thievery, etc. I'm pretty sure he called them "spiritually contaminated" classes or something like that.

Talk about making the team "take one for him". Nice. Since the opinion of some is that MLB engineered this to win back fans they lost because of the 1994 strike, I wonder if they did something similar in the 1920s. Babe Ruth started having his own mammoth home run seasons not long after the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

What? TWI is running these? Or "pirated, contaminated" copies? Yeah, that IS great!

I got a gift like that. When I was 17 (Memorial day weekend 1971) I'd spent all day at a 12 hour long rock concert. It was at the Detroit fairgrounds. As we were leaving we (me and a friend) walked ten feet behind 3 people walking together. My friend knew Detroit better than me and he says wait a minute we're going the wrong way. So we stop to formulate a plan. About 20 seconds later a car driven by an extremely stoned person goes off the street and on to the sidewalk and stops dead inches behind the three walking together. Nobody was hurt. Several people immediately surrounded the car and in a sort of community spirit someone was found who drove for this guy so he didn't have to drive anymore and didn't get busted, but if me and my friend had kept walking we'd be dead. It was eerie. I don't know if it was a sign, miracle, wonder, or guardian angel, but I believe something was up. Sure, it's possible the guy had just enough coherency to summon the strength to stop if he saw those people, but he looked pretty out of it. I also know that 2 people died at the Altamont speedway concert from which that movie 'Gimme Shelter' was made because a stoned driver ran them over while they slept off the road in sleeping bags. But, yeah. 'Gift' works for me.

I bought a DVD of Moody Blues live in Paris, 1970. Just listened to it; it's OK. Only an hour long, but choice stuff on it. They look so young I almost want to tell them to stop playing and get ready for bed.

Nothing like being penalized for keeping yourself under control. This woman sounds like a serial manipulator. Somebody in authority there needs to grow a back bone and put her in her place.

I, for one, don't buy that this person is really ready to quit. I'm curious how long has she been working there? Longer than you? It sounds like a 'power play' to me. Why does she think she can just effortlessly manipulate the boss like that? Most companies have a written rule that no employee may obstruct the work of another employee. There are probably other company rules forbidding individual employees from sabotaging the company team effort. You might try simply telling your boss that you really don't know what her problem is and that you're concerned that she is directly or indirectly obstructing your work. Generally it's not good to go over someone's head, but sometimes you just need to do that. She has already done it to you.

I think reproof requires a recognized authority to do the reproving. VP always said "the word does the reproving". But like Satori said, TWI owned the "word" and ultimately us. The only recognized authority here are the moderators. Anybody else who attempts reproof has to earn their authority. If some people try to reprove me I'll not only blow it off, I'll be tempted to make a doctrine out of whatever they told me I was wrong about. Other people I respect more: I may not admit to being wrong right there on the spot, but I'll think about it and conclude that so and so just might have a point there. Simple disagreement does not in itself constitute reproof, but it can be. You can also reprove people by humoring them. The biblical equivalent for humoring is answering a fool according to their folly. Jesus did that. How about the Robert De Niro method of handling reproof: "You talkin' to ME?"

quote: So the question is, how much to you still "spiritualize" your life? Put it this way. I don't respect spirituality, I respect people. The people who always talked about spiritual significance in everything never seemed to be able to back it up, but there were individuals I knew who consistently seemed to say the right words at the right time, be in the right place at the right time, etc. only THOSE people didn't talk that much about stuff, they just lived it.

I was never privy to a situation like Vickles describes, but I had a way home coordinator (non corps) who picked up a girl and ended up sleeping with her at Motel 6 and then bragged to us about it. He got ratted out by one of the other guys in the way home. Less than a week later the guy who ratted him out was the coordinator of the way home. I heard bits and pieces of stuff like this and came to the conclusion that TWI was conformed to this world re: sex and that I was on my own. VP's "sharing" in the CFS class where he says he doesn't want to say "damn it, don't do it" but he wants everybody to police themselves like good believers sounds plausible, but he sure didn't take his own advice, or it backfired on him, or something.

Ex: Technically, yes, but what you described is no different than a doctor giving someone a placebo.

25 bucks? Ouch! I paid $5 bucks per half hour back in '68.

25 bucks? Ouch! I paid $5 per half hour back in '68.

Bacon carrots biscuits? That's funny. Ozzy Osbourne once said when he first heard Hendrix sing 'Purple Haze' he thought he was saying "scuse me while I kiss this guy". There's a song on the Stones' 1975 album 'Black and blue' called "Melody" and I still can't figure out what they're saying. It sounds like "melody. it pours a sucker name" but that can't be it.

Greatful alive, huh? I have several Grateful Dead DVDs and I like the visible lyrics feature. Their lyrics are sometimes as hard to decypher as Stones lyrics. I also have a Fleetwood Mac VHS video called the Dance which has lyrics on screen.

TWI became the legalistic church they warned us about. The very fact that they micromanage peoples' lives throws the 'spiritual' out of their decisions. Not all decisions have to be spiritual. What did God give us brains for? Spiritual decisions are needed only when your brain can't give you an answer of peace. How about Abe Lincoln waiting until 1863 before choosing Grant as his top general? His advisors told him don't pick Grant; he drinks. Or how about Elimelech and Naomi up and leaving Israel for Moab? They HAD to be out of fellowship to leave Israel, God's nation, and move to the accursed Moab, right? TWI made decisions FOR everybody like they had the one true spiritual playbook.

Tzaia: Does your first name begin with C?