Raf

Communal self deception. I TELL you I lied, and you're so invested in the lie that you demand proof. Holy... As for proving that others are lying, I think johniam's demand for proof is bass-ackward. You claim to have the ability to, on the spot, bring forth a message from the Almighty Creator of the Universe, and the burden is on ME to prove YOU'RE lying? Please.

Your turn!

I'll try another one: Sabrina in right, Jill in center, Kelly in left. Welcome to California. Play Ball!

No need for "Rises," although it would work if I had said "After a family moves into an old house, their little girl becomes tormented by visions of Batman coming up from the basement." In the interest of moving this along, I'll reveal it: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Knight

Remarkable. Irrelevant, but quite remarkable.

As the first recipient of my lie, you deserve a direct apology from me. I just wanted to fit in, man. I REALLY wanted to fit in.

In case I wasn't clear on the rules, it can be two movies, two tv shows, or one of each. Doesn't matter. In this case, it's two theatrical movies. TV movies are fine, so long as they are really, really well known. You must use the full titles, not cutting into the middle (definite articles excepted).

I need something of that lady in the middle, but it ain't her name.

Here's a new game based on the Wheel of Fortune category. For those who don't know, "Before and After" in Wheel of Fortune is when two terms or expressions are united by a word at the end of one phrase and at the beginning of the second. For example: "God Bless You Dirty Rat" is a before & After tying "God Bless You" and "You Dirty Rat." I thought it might be fun to do the same thing with movie titles. So here's the gimmick: I describe the movie (mixing up the plots of the two movies and TV shows), and you figure out the before & after. Rather than give an example, I'll just start it off and you'll hopefully see what I mean. Ready? After a family moves into an old house, their little girl becomes tormented by visions of Batman in the basement.

I am going to change "reinforced self-deception" to "communal self-deception," as I think the term better conveys the point I'm trying to articulate. I appreciate what's being said here, and I can't force anyone to join me. But there are those, I am CERTAIN, who were like me for years who were afraid to admit it, because doing so calls too much into question. To those, I say stand up and tell the truth. God can handle it. He already knows, doesn't He? So just who is it you've been kidding? A lie cannot glorify God.

If I were to write a paper on reinforced self deception, I would devote chapters to johniam's post. I am encouraging people to search their hearts and admit something that is extraordinarily difficult to admit. I convinced myself I was manifesting the power of the Almighty. But does He really need me to lie for Him? I think not.

Yes! "That 70's Show" debuted in the 1990s and captured 1970s nostalgia.

You are a TOY!!!

Thanks, Steve. We are respectfully at irreconcilable positions here. I don't think I've been hasty in the extrapolation at all. I can't force anyone to agree with me, but I can invite people to confess and free themselves from years and maybe even decades of reinforced b.s. It's okay to come out, as it were. It must have been something: what was it? I reject the premise. It most certainly "must" not have been anything. It was as easy to fake it during the Great Awakening as it was at the end of every session 12.

I love that American Idol clip! "I spoke in tongues before TWI" = "I made up my own language when I was in 6th grade!" I made up a language as a child too. Just babbled. I did it in front of my classmates. I insisted it was the language of the Krah-zee people of old. (Say it out loud a few times). When I spoke in tongues, it was THE SAME THING. I didn't speak in tongues as a child. I faked it as an adult. It's embarrassing. But not anymore. I refuse to continue perpetuating the lie that, in my opinion, bound us all not with love, not with the spirit, but with the reinforced self-deception that led us to think we had "PROOF!" at last! I refuse to lie any more about this.

"If it's not tongues, WTF is it?" Babbling. Ever wonder why we all sounded like Wierwille at first? Because that's what we thought it was supposed to sound like. As we realized the silliness of everyone speaking in the same unknown language, we varied our pitch (WE varied our pitch). Remember the excellor sessions when we were taught to sound from different letters of the alphabet to develop more fluency? WHERE TF is that in the Bible? INVENTED. Every syllable was your own. YOU moved your lips, your tongue, your throat... "as the spirit gave utterance" felt no different from "make that s--- up as you go along," so when you made it up as you went along, the "good" Doctor had to tell you "no, you're not faking it, that's right, you're doing it now, don't let the devil talk you out of it..." God had nothing to do with it. It was sophisticated babbling that never, ever corresponded to the tongues of men or angels. Tongues of angels? TONGUES OF ANGELS? Just think about that one for a while. How many languages do they speak up there? Tongues of angels. Please. WTF is it? It's you. Only recently have I found the personal courage and integrity to admit this to myself. I invite all to do the same.

Spaceballs: The Movie

I tried to cover as many bases as I could with the poll options. Looks like I missed one.

I don't believe anyone intended to fake it. But funny how the interpretation changes when the doctrine about interpretation changes. Simplest explanation: it's extemporaneous expression, not divine inspiration. First thing I had to do was admit I lied to myself, for years. If you don't know whether you faked it, congratulations! You did! Of course, Wierwille tried to tell us right there in PFAL that the devil will try to get you to think you're just faking it, so you just ignore him and belieeeeve. (psst. Wierwille lied. Your heart and integrity were trying to tell you that you were faking it. Wierwille got us to ignore that, and when we did, we sold him a little piece of our soul).

I lied about it all. I admit it. I have never spoken in a language unknown to me. The "interpretations" that came from me were made up on the spot. The "words of prophecy" that came from me were, likewise, fabricated extemporaneously. It was all a lie. Interesting point: In CES (I refuse to dignify their later irrelevant metamorpheses), they taught that an interpretation should take the form of prayer and praise, not exhortation and comfort, and voila! Just like that, their interpretations changed to conform to their new doctrine. What this tells me? I'm not the only one who made it up, who lied to gain the favor of the group. I can't be the only one. I believe that TWI encouraged this lie (and continues to do so to this day). A supernatural experience is posited to you, you lie to feign participation in that experience, and you gain acceptance. What united us was NOT the supernatural experience, but the participation in the lie. I call it reinforced-self-deception. And I renounce it. Does anyone else?

Wierwille's calculation was an out of control fantasy ascribing astrological meaning to verses in Revelation that have nothing to do with the Zodiac. That he was not the first to make that calculation does not absolve him of the blame he holds for perpetuating it. With respect to those who worked with sincere hearts on JCOPS, a vile man once said sincerity is no guarantee for truth. When you start with ridiculous assumptions ("Revelation is giving us the clues we need to calculate Jesus' birthday..." WTF?) you end up with ridiculous results.

Happy Days, which debuted in the 1970s, captured 1950s nostalgia. The Wonder Years, which debuted in the 1980s, captured 1960s nostalgia. The next show that fits this pattern...

Sam Elliot Hulk Jennifer (yawn, she's hot, but yawn) Connelly

Wierwille's calculation was an out of control fantasy ascribing astrological meaning to verses in Revelation that have nothing to do with the Zodiac. That he was not the first to make that calculation does not absolve him of the blame he holds for perpetuating it. With respect to those who worked with sincere hearts on JCOPS, a vile man once said sincerity is no guarantee for truth. When you start with ridiculous assumptions ("Revelation is giving us the clues we need to calculate Jesus' birthday..." WTF?) you end up with ridiculous results. [Originally posted here, reposted this reply in doctrinal]

Dealing with a death in my family. If you want to wait, cool. If someone wants to jump in, cool. That's not a clue, by the way...