non-Denominational

[Oakspear]

According to the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary, the definition of "denomination" is:

a religious organization whose congregations are united in their adherence to its beliefs and practices

Wouldn't that define TWI?

Same with "religion" and "church". Not much to separate TWI from these words either, othewr than they say that they aren't.

And what about "member"? Why is someone who follows all of an organization's doctrines and regulations, regularly gives them a set percentage of his or her income, regularly attends their meetings and classes not a member?

Edited November 28, 2006 by Oakspear

[GrouchoMarxJr]

...And for the life of me, I can't imagine what draws people to this denomination.

At one time, Wierwille used his charisma to draw people in (myself included)...but now?

[polar bear]

Maybe there's something in the coffee!

[George Aar]

I always wondered about the "member" thingy. I mean, what difference did it make?

Was there some kind of tax advantage to not having "members" or something?

The semantic juggling ALWAYS stuck in my craw at WayWorld. It was so indicative of their inherent dishonesty, intellectually, financially, and morally. Why did it take so long for me to connect the dots?

Shame on me...

[polar bear]

They only said they had no members on paper so they could make all the decisions, this was totally illegal anyway. They will have to answer for that we're out- so "let the good times roll".

[potato]

I remember the spin on it was that if there was no membership, the government couldn't hunt us all down and harrass us for belonging to a "dangerous cult".

[johniam]

quote: The semantic juggling ALWAYS stuck in my craw at WayWorld.

I think for the most part they were zealously trying to phrase things in a way that reflected the accuracy of the word. For instance, calling a retreat an advance. I remember when I got high me and my friends would say "forward, never straight" when giving street directions because "straight" people (those who didn't get high) were the "enemy". It's bizzare, but I don't think it was so much TWI. I admit though, being in TWI made me pay more attention to the way things are worded.