johniam

quote: QUOTE(johniam @ Jul 5 2007, 12:00 AM) quote: He called Himself God. He did? Yes, when He called Himself I Am. But I'm not here for religious arguments. I'll try to avoid any appearance of that in the future. No desire to argue, just...I thought I'd heard every 'Jesus is God' reasoning. I thought you were referring to John 10 (I and my Father are one), but now I'm guessing you were referring to John 8. Just wanted to be sure where you were coming from.

quote: He called Himself God. He did?

quote: Pal, you wouldn't know what being oppressed would be if oppression smacked you upside the head with a baseball bat. But you do? quote: Besides, something else to keep in mind is that Conservatives also have their own version of 'political correctness'. I think the PCers have cornered the market on hate speech.

You talking about MIH ster Crowley?

While I have no knowledge of this particular group or class, I have occasionally fellowshipped with followers of the Assembly of God churches, and found them to be good people who believe in the manifestations of the spirit (although a little more emotional than I care for). Good luck, and God bless. Oh, dang it, I forgot AGAIN. Geez, I just can't believe how often I do this. This (once again) is Jean not John. My bad.

quote: There is a backlash, gaining momentum, in this country against the PC doctrine that has attempted to herd us into at least an appearence of spoken and written conformity to what has been decreed by the nebulous "them" as being "correct". In my opinion that backlash is long overdue. I like that you use the word 'doctrine'. Politically correct is 2 things: 1) it is a subtle attempt to function as America's 'state religion'. People of the PC faith believe they are morally superior to those who are not. Sounds like a religion to me. 2) it is a blatant attempt to attack the free speech of white, male, Christian, and conservative people. IMO, the attack is mainly directed at Christianity. PCers believe that conservatives are Christians involved in politics, so let's attack conservatives. PCers believe that Christians are racists and sexists, so let's attack men and white people. The main difference between the PC religion and traditional religions is that the clergy of traditional religions are found in churches and seminaries, while the clergy of the PC religion are found in the journalism profession and the schools that spawn them. This puts a whole new spin on Bernard Goldberg's book 'Bias'; he's not just talking about journalists, he's talking about self ordained clergy. Two of the chapters of that book are titled "Targeting men" and "Liberal hate speech". Something to consider.

quote: I didn't experience the paranoia thing until after I did some tripping on acid. I remember that book by David Craley 'In search of the light; the hope of glory'. In one part of that book he said that doing acid gave pneumata direct access to you; that one spirit would cause chilling sensations to go up and down your spine and another one would do something else at the same time. Don't know about that, but when I had bad acid trips I felt helpless. I never did anything really nuts (like try to jump out of a window or get in the middle of a busy intersection and start directing traffic; I know people that did both those things...and lived, whew) but I felt so paranoid and unable to control the way I felt. It was hell waiting for the trip to end. I also don't remember being paranoid from pot until after having a bad acid trip.

Midge: Did you used to date a guy named Moose Miller? just kidding

I always thought TWI kept musicians on too short a leash. I met Claudettee. It was fall of '79. Take a stand caravan was going through STL and each twig got to host 3 members of the crew. We got Claudettee and Cliff Adelman and a roadie, Walter something. At that time the impression I got of Claudettee was that she spoke and acted just like anyone you might meet in twig; not full of herself at all. But that was 1979. If she bought into what LCM was selling after 1994, well.....

I used to be a stoner. I can't see it ever legal like alcohol is because they still wouldn't let you drive under the influence and the only way they could prove you're stoned if they pulled you over was to administer a blood test. This would cost taxpayers more money. Can't see it happening. Maybe they could have places to go like those opium dens. When I first got into TWI I led a double life: I'd go to twig and put on my church face and I'd go to parties and put on my stoner face. The 2 lifestyles aren't compatible IMO. You look like a hypocrit from the church pov and many stoners have issues with church participation. Last time I did it was at ROA '78 the night I got my wow pin. Got REALLY paranoid. I have other issues with it. Even before TWI I sometimes felt like getting high forced some kind of presence on me. A presence that tried to coerce me all the time and could even inflict pain on me the times I got paranoid. Marijuana itself may not kill, but anybody who sells it is max 2 phone calls away from someone who sells heroin or crack cocaine. So there's an ongoing temptation to try those other drugs. I tried heroin and cocaine but to do those drugs everyday you have to be rich...or you have to deal. Be a dope doulos; don't sit on the fence. Most times I could afford to get high every day. You can't do acid every day. So even if all you intend to do is smoke pot you're constantly exposed to other people/other drug possibilities. Drug culture attracts some strange bedfellows, too.

Danny: For a guy who talks about prayer so much, your absence from the BAD NEWS thread is conspicuous. Templelady, I just read that thread myself and I hope you make it OK. I'm willing to drop all this stuff if everybody else is.

It IS OK to disagree but the politics of this place are that if you don't go with the crowd then some morally superior self appointed do-gooder will flame you. The exact same thing is happening to me right now on another thread. A year ago a woman came on here who claimed to have had sex with VP and had no regrets. GOD did they attack her. Ran her right off this place. Gregory, you owe us NOTHING. If such and such is your opinion, you have every right to post it.

quote: Having beeen involved on a personal level in some of the brohas around here it is obvious that johniam and jeaniam are incapable of letting a subject drop or even better carrying on their critisisms behind closed doors via PM's. What???? Look on the previous page. Everything WAS dropped until thehighway pasted one of Jean's posts from several pages ago, then Belle chimed in using one of YOUR posts as justification for doing so. It is YOU that can't drop this. Go ahead, complain to the mods. YOU guys are the bullies now.

quote: Again....make your OWN points without misrepresenting me or mine. That becomes difficult when other posters misrepresent Jean and I on your behalf like Belle just did, whether you asked her to do it or not. Let me say one more thing; what I meant by "conflict is inevitable" is that we are so opposite in our povs that some conclusions you post are just going to offend me/us, and some conclusions we post are just going to offend you. One example of this occurred a month or so ago. The thread was about either ABS or Chris Geer and Jean posted that 85% of the ABS we give stays in STL and is sometimes distributed to believers in need. She put a positive spin on it. This must have really offended you because you immediately came back with stuff about CG drugging the drinks in the motorcoach and how could we call ourselves Christian and give money to someone like that etc. etc. etc. If you REALLY want me/us to let you alone then you need to lay off that morally superior stuff, call it whatever you want. I've been wondering lately if there's something heavy going on in your personal life, legal or health wise, because it's not like you to wave a white flag like that and ask me to leave you alone. You're a fighter. But even if that's not the case, even if it's totally as you say; that we're misrepresenting you and you want us to stop and that's it. If you can resist the urge to get morally medieval on us, no matter how much our opinions offend you, then so can we. :)

If TWI really has 40 mill plus then whoever has to sign off on money handling could just abort at any time. I hear Alan L**** is in business somewhere in CA and is doing well. Perhaps others see the writing on the wall.

Paper boy age 13. Kept the job through high school. Couldn't afford a car but I always had money in my pocket. The weird thing was, during high school every Saturday night I'd either get drunk or do acid; either way I still got started at 5AM Sunday. I had a big route: 50 plus houses, a nursing home an apartment building and a hospital. That was cool cause whatever the weather I could stick the papers in the hospital lobby. First paycheck type job was in a factory. I was 18. Relatively good pay. Squandered opportunity. I didn't know how to work directly with other people without copping an attitude over little things. Got fired. TWI actually cured me of a lot of that.

Rascal: Welcome back. Everybody seems to think that me and Jean ran you off this thread even though all this soap opera stuff started because you over reacted to a casual comment I made. I meant what I said; that you can get your pov across no matter how you spell. I wouldn't feel compelled to dispute you so much if you weren't an effective communicator. The following is a recent post on another thread: quote: I think of the saying "pride comes before a fall" in this context too. If a person sets forth as if they're the final word on a subject they're likely going to be critiqued more strictly. If I make fun of someone else's opinions or ideas and put mine forth as being superior I'm opening myself up to wider criticism, I think. Someone's bound to say "if you're so smart how come you can't spell?" And if my ideas are so grand and important why not take the time to make them readable? There may not be a relationship between what's written and spelling but if I come off full of myself I'm setting myself up to be taken down a noch. Notch. Naugch. The comment was not gender specific or poster specific, but when I read stuff like this... quote: Those that get it will, those that don`t won`t ...shrug When I read that, I feel as if this is intended to be the final word on the subject and if I don't agree with what I'm supposed to "get" then I'm evil, not a Christian, of the flesh, ad nauseum. Actually, you DO set forth as a sort of 'moral crusader' here. Many posters believe what you believe, yet YOU are the one who's not afraid to tell it like (you feel) it is. It takes some courage to do that. But Jean and myself don't require your respect either. I was going to say don't mess with us and we won't mess with you, but, c'mon, we're a natural rivalry. Our type of conflict is inevitable. I think it says volumes about GSC that most conflicts like this, derailing as they are, eventually gravitate back to civility.

quote: There is no right or wrong way for this awakening to happen. Your feelings on your time in does in no way invalidate another person's memories and feelings. We all came from different backgrounds before we were in. That colored not only our time in but also our exit. I agree. I think some people err by thinking of TWI as nothing but a prison, but, as you said, I never walked in their shoes.

I thought VP did a good job in LV of showing the differences between a similie, metaphor, and the third one, implication (hypocatastasis..?). But he said that in educational circles then (1982) that most figurative wording was called 'metaphorical' even if that wasn't the correct word for the situation. So even THIS aspect of English has evolved somewhat.

I'm drawing a parallel here. This thread to me, is proof that most if not all of us have many concrete thoughts about grammar and spelling, even though there's no requirement on GSC to follow any such rules. Does this mean we were brainwashed by the elementary school teachers who taught us to think about grammar and spelling? Did they program us to the end that we need recovery from abuse? If you answered 'no' to both questions, then just maybe it's not so unnatural for us to have concrete thoughts about life based on TWI. Just a thought.

quote: I think many of us kept or reverted to an unhealthy child like attitude toward leadership, which is unnatural for--I'll say most--adults. Isn't that the journey of adolescence and the young adult years--to become independent men and women?Many of us worked so hard at being like minded and obedient we stopped thinking for ourselves, bit our tongues said 'yes sir.' To me it's like being in the military. For that period of time, those soldiers work hard at being 'military tough' and conditioned to salute and say 'yes sir' at the appropriate times. Some desire to be military for life. But many, after their hitch is over, still value the discipline and training they got in the military and certainly they still love their country, but have no trouble making the transition back to civilian life. Yes, in TWI we were told to be 'committed beyond our lifetime' and saturated with guilt at the thought of not being that committed. It occurs to me that for those who stayed in TWI after the debt purge, homo purge, unproductive evil purge from 1994 on, who got to go into the promised land of the prevailing word...whatever. THAT must be harder to shake off than what me and Jean went through. I got in TWI at 22, stayed in for 18 years, left 13 years ago. I still value the pfal series teaching and the exposure to that atmosphere and how it caused changes in my life, but just like for military people, my 'hitch' is over. I go to a fellowship with people I knew in TWI but I don't take 'marching orders' from anybody. Coming on GSC regularly reinforces for me that what I learned in TWI was often good. Ironically, Coming on GSC seems to also reinforce to others that TWI was often bad (to them). SAME BRAND!!!

quote: John It wasn't a rule it was a question. The rule is part of the belief system/motive/intent behind the question. I've read romance novels that were more subtle. This is a question so you can understand I will speak really slow for you. Were did I say legitimate? Implied, not said. Thanks for the reply it was quite reveling. Eternal judgement; no waiting. How lucky can I be? WOW a few years ago I prayed for someone. So all my daily prayers for and about people I physically interact with don't count? Is your whole life and existence wrapped up in GSC? Sounds like you're in some kind of cult.

I admit that my mom taught me to speak correctly in some situations; never in front of others though. To this day it does bother me when people violate certain rules of grammar, but mostly I ignore it if I can decipher the message with little strain. I don't always use perfect grammar. Linda mentioned using 'they' with a singular antecedent. I deliberately do this if I want to conceal the gender of the antecedent; too much bother saying 'that person' or 'he/she'. Using language is an art, and, IMO, a powerfull ally in giving spice to your message, edifying or destructive. For that reason, it behooves one (again, IMO) to not stray too far from basic rules of grammar and spelling, whether you're communicating like a legal document, or like ee cummings.

quote: John Let me get this straight you are going to tell me what rules are good for my life? (too many rules) Maybe if you manage your own before you look in my backyard. Let me ask one more question after all this time posting here can you show me one time that you said you would pray for someone? There's another rule. Now I've got to indicate on GSC that I want to pray for someone to be a "legitimate" Christian, eh? My saying you have too many rules was a casual observation; you just come off as being kind of constipated sometimes. I could be wrong. I can't SHOW you anything, but a few years ago a female poster started a thread doubting if she could trust God any more. So I put in my 2 cents and asked if she would like me to pray for her about this. She said yes. I've prayed for other GSC posters besides her as well. I know the word says we're supposed to pray for magistrates and all those in authority, and I do, but mostly I pray for people I actually physically interact with: my family, kids' teachers. people in the fellowship I go to, etc.

OY!