The Way Tree

[doojable]

Don't disturb him while he's mixing his Kool-aide...

[Oakspear]

I also thought that it was interesting that the writer of the original article that I linked to speaks disparagingly of Heefner & Geer, saying that The Way Tree was a secret in New York.

[Jim]

...and I remember very well sitting through the "Way tree" seminar. I can still hear that sniveling Johnny Townsend, doing his best VP imitation, telling us all about the Yak family...about how they all form a circle around the young ones to protect them...what he forgot to tell us was that eventually the Yaks turn on their own and put the horns to them...

Oh hell, I thought I'd forgot all that junk. I used to really like JT, but when you phrase it that way...

The very fact that it bounced up and down so drastically seems to suggest to me that the cost of the class was not directly linked to the cost of providing it. It doesn't make any sense that a business with an eye on production costs would charge such varied rates unless the profit margin was enormous. Yet, it's obvious from what has been posted here that they did exactly that .

Exactly. If they could charge $200 and not make any money, they must have been losing money big time at $35.

What I think they were trying to do was to find the sweet spot that maximized short and long term profits. If you get more committed believers at $35, long term profits from abundant sharing go up. If the number of committed followers yielded by a class is the same at $200 as $35, charge the $200. Businesses do these sorts of scenarios all the time. Uncle Vic and his finance people were certainly smart enough to get the data and run the numbers.

[Jim]

<derail>

Got to ride in that old red Pontiac once.

Can't remember. Was it a Bonneville or a Catalina?

I think it was an Oldsmobile 88. It lived in Joe Coulter's garage and rarely saw daylight.

</derail>

[waysider]

I don't want to get too far from the topic at hand(The development of the way tree structure) but something occurred to me a few posts back?

Has anyone ever seriously investigated the validity of Pillai's teachings?

I'm not saying he was wrong or that he wasn't a real swell guy.

I'm just asking how we know that what he taught was accurate.

Supposedly, Pillai was an expert on Eastern customs and thought because he was born, raised and trained in the East.

"Since Bishop Pillai, by birth and training, understands the Eastern thought which is the mind of the Bible, his unique contribution to the ministry in America is in clarifying difficult passages and pointing up their spiritual applications."

( From the back cover of Light Through An Eastern Window)

By that rationale, there ought to be millions and millions of "experts" on Eastern thought.

Heck, I was born and raised in Cleveland, but I can't dance the polka to save my life.

(Neither the "German style" nor the "Cleveland style".)

And, even though I can devour pierogies with the best of them, you would starve to death if you had to depend on my expertise in making or cooking them.

I'm definately no "expert" on Cleveland-isms

How did we get on that OLG thing in the first place?

And what the heck does it have to do with the structure of The Way Tree?

PS-- Sorry for the derail about the car.( I'm almost certain it was a red Pontiac with a white rag top.)

Edited October 12, 2007 by waysider

[waysider]

A number of years ago a young couple who were friends of mine asked me to attend a business oportunity meeting they were going to present for a small group of people. Their description of what was to be presented was very vague . This vagueness was , if course , intentional. My suspicion was that this would be a recruitment meeting for Axway. The gentleman conducting the meeting stated very early on that there were to be no questions until the end. Sound familiar? Well, as the meeting progressed he showed how if Bob recruited Joe, and Joe recruited Betty, And Betty recruited Connie , and Connie RECRUITED----------in the end we would all be filthy rich. People raised their hands to ask questions as he spoke but he continued to assure everyone all questions would be answered at the end. When he finally revealed that the product this company sold was actually soap, an elderly lady who seemed harmless enough raised her hand from the back row. The man running the meeting let down his guard for just a moment and said "yes ma'am?' she immediately stood up and said "who the hell is supposed to SELL the soap?' It kind of makes me wonder "who the hell was supposed to LIVE the abundant life?" Not complaining-------just pondering.

Does this sound anything like the way tree structure?

[johnj]

How accurate and helpful to Biblical research is KC Pillai?

+ Pillai admits to be raised as a Hindu in India. Indian culture is dominated by Hinduism, which is utterly opposite from Biblical worldview, and Islam. His views are dominated by Indian myth more than by Hebrew or Christian culture.

Here are two of Pillai's teachings. You decide if 1) they seem credible, and 2) what kind of thinking Pillai would have to have to concoct them.

+ Pillai says there is an actual fish that finds real money in lakes, swallows it, and keep it in a bag in its mouth. Some fishermen even today become rich if they catch this fish. He also claims that the white stone spoken of in Rev 2 actually refers to a stone a man received after paying a fine for molesting an unmarried girl. Why a receipt for the penalty for a criminal act would be used to reward someone who has overcome is not explained, nor is such a practice mentioned in the OT.

+ If both Pillai and Lamsa claim to have preserved true Biblical culture, why are they so different? And why are their stories very different even though they both claim to have preserved the original Biblical culture?

[LKH]

It's good to hear that history, DontWrry, I came on in the mid-70's, when all that was already in place and very much accepted. Its not how its all presented in Elena's book, Living in Love, is it?

I've just started to post but have visited Greasespot for a few years. It had seemed to me that many of those posting were from having been involved in the '90's and not from the time period that you were involved.

I think it's great to have your insight!

Thanks!!

[WordWolf]

How accurate and helpful to Biblical research is KC Pillai?

+ Pillai admits to be raised as a Hindu in India. Indian culture is dominated by Hinduism, which is utterly opposite from Biblical worldview, and Islam. His views are dominated by Indian myth more than by Hebrew or Christian culture.

Here are two of Pillai's teachings. You decide if 1) they seem credible, and 2) what kind of thinking Pillai would have to have to concoct them.

+ Pillai says there is an actual fish that finds real money in lakes, swallows it, and keep it in a bag in its mouth. Some fishermen even today become rich if they catch this fish. He also claims that the white stone spoken of in Rev 2 actually refers to a stone a man received after paying a fine for molesting an unmarried girl. Why a receipt for the penalty for a criminal act would be used to reward someone who has overcome is not explained, nor is such a practice mentioned in the OT.

+ If both Pillai and Lamsa claim to have preserved true Biblical culture, why are they so different? And why are their stories very different even though they both claim to have preserved the original Biblical culture?

Just for fun...

Pillai specified the fish was called "mushat."

There's 4 fish called "mushat", which is an Arabic term. One of them is extant in the Red Sea,

the "chaetodon vagabundus", or "vagabond butterflyfish".

I can't find ANY mention of that fish picking up things, especially money, coins, etc.

Not by its common name, even, or its Latin name.

[doojable]

It's not a real scientific or scholarly approach, but here they have touted "tilapia" as the "miracle fish," in reference to the miracle where Jesus gets the coin out of the fish's mouth.

It never mattered to me because I like the taste of the fish and I don't buy food based on that kind of information.

I'll look it up now and get back on what I find.

[doojable]

This from Wikipedia:Tilapia

As they have been introduced globally for human consumption, tilapia often have specific names for them in various languages and dialects. Certain species of tilapia are sometimes called "St. Peter's fish". This term is taken from the account in the Christian Bible about the apostle Peter catching a fish that carried a shekel coin in its mouth. According to the tale, the dark spots on the sides of the fish, a common pattern in many tilapiine cichlids, are the fingermarks of the saint.[7] While that name is also applied to Zeus faber, a marine fish not found in the area, one tilapia (Sarotherodon galilaeus galilaeus) is known to be found in Sea of Galilee where the account supposedly took place. This particular species is known to have been the target of small-scale artisanal fisheries in the area for thousands of years.[8][9] In some Asian countries including the Philippines, large tilapia are often referred to as pla-pla while their smaller brethren are still referred to as tilapia.[10] In Arabic, tilapia are called bolty (بلطي ).[citation needed

I'll try to get another source since some folks dont care for Wikipedia because of it's lack of pedigree.

[Mark Sanguinetti]

Here is my teaching to reprove and correct the very unbiblical doctrine and practice of the Way tree hierarchy.

http://www.christianherald.info/lordship_o...s_christ_1.html

[doojable]

Now I have competing information. I'll stop after this since it's off topic.

Tilapia- St. Peter's Fish

The Genus Tilapia

This Tilapia is endemic to warm waters throughout the world. The aquaculture, or fish farming, of Tilapia is recorded in human history as far back as ancient Egypt. Tradition holds that the Tilapia was the fish that Jesus used to feed the five-thousand on the Sea of Galilee - thus one of its common names, "St. Peter's Fish." Tilapia is also referred to as "The Wonder Fish."

[Pete]

Hi guys

I'm going to start a new thread for the K C Pillai issue. I have my serious suspicions that some of what Pillai taught was just made up to fill the spaces. I'll post a comment about the fish with the coin in it's mouth on the new topic.

Mike: you can come and post there too if you like, as soon as you've got your foot out of your mouth.

Pete