But even if someone decides to go with the twi program, they still may serve the Lord with gladness depending on their heart and commitment and mindset in that program. That was my original opinion and I'm sticking with it.
my opinion is that a lot of their time will be wasted with legalistic micromanagement. they will serve twi with gladness (or get their faces melted) and the lord will be lucky to get a nod from the moglets-in-training.
ha! I used the twi-ism "face-melt". man I'm glad I don't have to put up with those any more.
But even if someone decides to go with the twi program, they still may serve the Lord with gladness depending on their heart and commitment and mindset in that program. That was my original opinion and I'm sticking with it.
...and therein lies the crux of the matter...twi deceived people into thinking they were serving the lord when in reality, they were not...why is that? Because it was at the twig level...where people who exhibited Christian behavior (love, compassion, caring, giving, extending yourself to help someone)...THESE qualities that others saw SUCKED PEOPLE IN...sucked them into believing destructive doctrines, and led them into being used by a self serving cult. Twi was parasitic in the way they used the genuine Christian behavior of their followers to lure in others...lure them into coughing up their MONEY to twi...and leading them to believe things that put them into subjugation.
Perhaps when a former follower of twi realizes how they have been used, they try to rationalize it by saying "they served the lord because of what they believed and how they behaved themselves"...but the bottom line is that they fed the beast...plain and simple. You cannot serve both God and mammon...and twi was certainly being served by it's followers.
This is the KJV verse that has been so greatly used or misused, and became a cover-up:
2 Cor 6:3
Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed
“That the ministry be not blamed” has become, “That TWI be not blamed.” So it was presented. We should accept all things, so that TWI would not be brought into disrepute. In particular, we should not begin legal proceedings, so that the ministry=TWI would not be embroiled in litigation and thereby brought into disrepute with unbelievers.
But look. “Ministry” was never meant to mean an organization. “Ministry” meant “service”. It meant work, service to others, serving others. It meant washing feet (like Jesus did). In many versions of this verse of the Bible, “ministry” remains just “ministry” but later more modern versions, recognizing that the word has acquired a different meaning, translate “ministry” differently. Check these out:
We do not want anyone to find fault with our work, so we try not to put obstacles in anyone's way. (Good News)
Don't put it off; don't frustrate God's work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we're doing. (The Message)
Giving no cause for trouble in anything, so that no one may be able to say anything against our work; (Bible in Basic English)
We don't give people any opportunity to find fault with how we serve. (God’s Word Translation)
And this one, which dates back to about 1909:
We endeavour to give people no cause for stumbling in anything, lest the work we are doing should fall into discredit (Weymouth)
TWI in setting itself up as THE Ministry of God’s Word has effectively hijacked verses like this one, which don’t refer to an organization but to one’s individual service.
Other versions say, “our ministry” rather than “the ministry,” (eg, ESV, NIV, NLT)
We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry.(NLT)
TWI could, however, have hijacked “our ministry” as well as it hijacked “the ministry” (even though they proudly boasted that no-one could belong to The Way and it had only three members (the BoT). Assuredly it would become “our” ministry if that could be used as a means of quelling discontent or speaking up.
It might be helpful to keep in mind that “ministry” means “serving” not an organization. Or even, just “work”, as in the first few verses above.
TWI is not a “serving” organization.
I ask again, when did anyone last see or hear of top leadership (let’s say, the BoT) serve by cleaning bathrooms or peeling potatoes? Much less washing feet!
I ask again, when did anyone last see or hear of top leadership (let’s say, the BoT) serve by cleaning bathrooms or peeling potatoes? Much less washing feet!
Cleaning bathrooms, peeling potatoes and serving tables......is NON-trustee service.
...and therein lies the crux of the matter...twi deceived people into thinking they were serving the lord when in reality, they were not...why is that? Because it was at the twig level...where people who exhibited Christian behavior (love, compassion, caring, giving, extending yourself to help someone)...THESE qualities that others saw SUCKED PEOPLE IN...sucked them into believing destructive doctrines, and led them into being used by a self serving cult. Twi was parasitic in the way they used the genuine Christian behavior of their followers to lure in others...lure them into coughing up their MONEY to twi...and leading them to believe things that put them into subjugation.
Perhaps when a former follower of twi realizes how they have been used, they try to rationalize it by saying "they served the lord because of what they believed and how they behaved themselves"...but the bottom line is that they fed the beast...plain and simple. You cannot serve both God and mammon...and twi was certainly being served by it's followers.
I agree with much of what you wrote here and have a further comment to make which may be a little off topic, but here goes:
My comments below are observations I've had over the years about this part of what you wrote: "... people who exhibited Christian behavior (love, compassion, caring, giving, extending yourself to help someone)... "
It seems to me these qualities are not exclusively "Christian" at all. I've observed them shown by many people from many different faiths and people who have no religion at all. Some of my best friends exhibit this behavior and they include Jews, Buddhists, agnostics, and atheists. I think Christianity has hijacked them due to the cherry-picked verses in the gospels that portray Jesus in such ways. But he was not a Christian!
When I take a look at some of Paul's epistles, on which much of modern day Christianity was founded, for example, I often see vindictiveness for people who don't think like he thinks they should, I don't see compassion. TWI did the same thing to justify their terrible behavior towards anyone who disagreed with them, left the ministry, or of course those "awful critics" whose ideas they never fairly debated in public.
I agree it's a terrible shame that so much harm was and is done by equating "ministry" in the bible with The Way Ministry. Other so-called Christian groups give the same sort of interpretation regarding their organizations. It's high time these groups underwent a radical change of some kind...but too bad - the fact is that to maintain competing groups like these organizations, we all know there usually has to be an "us vs. them" mentality.
As far as serving a master, what about the verses talking about there being no more male nor female, BOND nor free?
I think the verse quoted by oldies is yet another verse taken out of context to justify ensnaring and exploiting people who desired to serve God but ended up ensnared and supporting an abusive evil group of people.
Evil men whom exploited good hearted people in the name of God were never intended to be our masters nor served , nor obeyed. They took that which wasn`t theirs by deceptively using scriptures.
But even if someone decides to go with the twi program, they still may serve the Lord with gladness depending on their heart and commitment and mindset in that program. That was my original opinion and I'm sticking with it.
Thing is, that the ministry insists that you do horrible ungodly things in order to *serve*. In addition to sexual servitude, forced abortions, ignoring of family obligations, you are expected to submit to ungodly humiliation, unjust treatment, submit to cruel yelling, allow your finances, your sex life, whatever to be an open book to leaders.
I`m telling you, that has nothing to do with serving God, it is all about service to an organization, an organization that exploits, torments, and decieves in God`s name.
It`s nuts to think that you can serve God and tw...er man.
TWI promoted the view that the folks that served were serving God. I would like to be able to agree with Oldies, but this is the rub the way I see it.
I THINK THAT IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE INVOLVED WHO DESIRE TO SERVE GOD. God will judge their hearts and I am not big enough or wise enough to try to touch these things with a ten-foot pole.
But where TWI breaks down is they have a history of nasty, backstabbing, power hungry perverts who do their thing and keep it hidden. So while many people desire to serve God the show is being run by twisted souls who subjugate innocent victims.
I think that such leaders are in reality entirely incapable of providing sincere people the REAL EXPERIENCE OF SERVING GOD. But the most obnoxious troublemakers who were screaming about all the wicked hypocrisy that lived in TWI and were subsequently expelled may have been truly serving God IMO.
I fear that since TWI is what it is, that in the long run folks' desire to serve God will be IN VAIN, that is judged to be a waste of time because as it says in the scripture, the commandments were not OF GOD, but of men with a thin, twisted veneer of scripture to hide the truth of it.
My comments below are observations I've had over the years about this part of what you wrote: "... people who exhibited Christian behavior (love, compassion, caring, giving, extending yourself to help someone)... "
It seems to me these qualities are not exclusively "Christian" at all. I've observed them shown by many people from many different faiths and people who have no religion at all. Some of my best friends exhibit this behavior and they include Jews, Buddhists, agnostics, and atheists. I think Christianity has hijacked them due to the cherry-picked verses in the gospels that portray Jesus in such ways. But he was not a Christian!
Thank you for saying this. As an atheist, I care more about people now than I did as a member of TWI or Christian. The reason is because if this life is all we have, there's no "reward in heaven" so there will be no "justice" for people suffering now if we don't stop it now. Sometimes it seems like religious leaders have people focus on heaven so they accept the problems in their lives now instead of fixing things.
I agree, Christianity doesn't have an exclusive on ethics and morality. I think its safe to say all religions have a core value of being good to others, however practice of that is where it all goes wrong.
This is one of those posts where I feel it may be needful to start with a disclaimer for the non-Christains here at the Greasespot. I don't look down on you, period. But I'd just like to provoke my believing but not-so-friendly co-posters. I hope you can find it in your heart to ignore the implications that you may percieve in the rest of this post, I don't intend to put you-all down. But simply to share with my fellow believers where they stand IMO.
I don't even have to think hard to remember that there are quite a few scripture that make it clear that when believers corrupt ethics are made plain and it causes the unbelievers to be ashamed of what they are doing it means that the believers ethics are really sucky.
DUHHH!
TWI leadership boasts that they are capable of teaching God's people, but their history is nasty and vile behind the scenes. They've lied about it for several decades and have tried to silence or nulify the testimony of TWI victims. I suspect that my former splinter group may be doing the same thing behind my back. I already know that they are capable of it. I've seen them do it to others, who looking back at it, the folks that my former splinter group taught it's followers that it was o.k. to despise were in truth, MORE JUST IN THEIR POINTS THAN LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN IN THEIR HANDLING OF THE SAME ISSUES.
IMO if people like dear Mister P-mosh are correct in pointing out how TWI leadership has copped out on it's responsibilities then TWI LEADERSHIP should rightly BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES.
YEAH, EXCEPT FOR THE CORRUPT, COPPED OUT, AND MANIPULATIVE PART OF THEIR DOCTRINES I THINK THAT THEY ARE JUST A SWELL BUNCH OF PEOPLE.
I'd rather reason with a non-Christain who has a clear conscience as it relates to helping people any day than a bunch of copped out hypocrites that still pretend that they serve the Lord.
It's no small wonder to me at all to that there are so many scriptures point to how bad it is when believers' actions cause folks to disregard God. But what is still kind of shocking to me is that I don't blame the honest folks who rightly point out all the nasty, vile, and downright murderous things that Christianity has done over the centuries.
But it stands to reason IMO that if someone who does such nasty things makes their boast in God and the scriptures that they need to be able to face what the scriptures plainly say about these things. I don't think that anyone who doesn't make their boasts in God and the scriptures has to face these things in the same manner as a Christain does. Because however things work out for them in the long run, at least they didn't make their boasts within an ethical framework that also condemns their action.
Yes, if TWI is going to teach people to serve with gladness, they will do well to heed scriptures like this:
Titus 1:7-16
7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
...
15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Now...if something like this started coming out from TWI, words and deeds, maybe they would have something to teach about service, that would be worth listening to.
Note that this passage relates to bishops, the overseers - the limb coordinators of that day, perhaps. And Timothy, as "Prez", knew that he had to set the standard in his own life.
It's kind of amazing to me how quickly that I seem to get the feel for what TWI became even though I never saw that during my brief time in TWI. I'm certain that is because my long association with my splinter group prepared me to be able to get what they became, after all, I've seen most of this stuff real up close and personal like already.
Well, just as I was thinking this thread had done its dash, a little birdie has whispered news of the new programs in my ear.
The first 2 service programs start November 1. They last for five months. You can sign up to do the following, for approx 20 minutes a day:
1 Speak the Word
2 Pray
You don't have to quit your job or move. You can just do it for God. But you do have to sign up.
Two more programs will be announced at a later date (perhaps in four or five months time).
A Region Coordinator present at the meeting where these programs were announced said, "We are going to look back 15-20 years from now, and see how these programs saved the country."
So obviously TWI thinks it can single-handed save the country.
You. dear Cafe patrons, on the other hand, may wish to spend the next 15-20 years planning your emigration to another country lest their programs be successful.
I mean - WTF? - they are the only ones praying [to which God??!!]? They are the only ones speaking the Word?? This is some special program???
And what a shocking "down sizing" if now all they want is 20 mins a day of your time. But you have to "sign up" to do it. Wonder what else is involved; what sort of a record they might require - list of who you spoke to? Is it "speak the Word" or is it "Speak the Class"? Would they want a tape recording of you praying out loud?
Sign up... so that TWI can figure out who is NOT faithful and put the heavies on them, perhaps.
Or perhaps, if you don't sign up - you're not allowed to pray or speak the word (LOL)?
I didn't hear anything of any initiatives to actually SERVE in the community. You know, just do something nice for people without expectation of reward or signing up to take the class... just serve a meal on Friday night to the homeless, offer to help out at the old folks home down the street, be a volunteer worker at the local school ... perhaps these will form part of the new programs to be announced in the future?
Hmmm. I wonder what it is precisely, that they are thinking that they will save the country FROM.
A new takeover? Or a depression worse than the 1930's?
Maybe the emergence of a government that has an apetite for the profits and resources of 501c organizations who choose to sit on their hands..
but the new "programs".. why does this little, "low impact" "commitment" look like they are saddling the "faithful" up for a few more heavy-handed, almost forced commitments to come..
"Nice horsey.. just hold still.. it's no big deal at all.. EVERYBODY is wearing one.."
You'd think "gawd's people" would get tired of being saddled up and herded like farm animals..
It seems to me that TWI might not enjoy God's Word being spoken as it relates to what they have been/are. But then that is not too uncommon in history or the scriptural records either.
Gee, I thought the believers in this or any other country already have a savior. :blink: But with such a self-important view as they take IMO it is very highly unlikely that much of anything good will actually happen.
They'll probably be shouting there victories whether real or imagined from the roof tops however..... wait.....thats not what they should be shouting from the roof tops, is it?
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potato
my opinion is that a lot of their time will be wasted with legalistic micromanagement. they will serve twi with gladness (or get their faces melted) and the lord will be lucky to get a nod from the moglets-in-training.
ha! I used the twi-ism "face-melt". man I'm glad I don't have to put up with those any more.
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GrouchoMarxJr
...and therein lies the crux of the matter...twi deceived people into thinking they were serving the lord when in reality, they were not...why is that? Because it was at the twig level...where people who exhibited Christian behavior (love, compassion, caring, giving, extending yourself to help someone)...THESE qualities that others saw SUCKED PEOPLE IN...sucked them into believing destructive doctrines, and led them into being used by a self serving cult. Twi was parasitic in the way they used the genuine Christian behavior of their followers to lure in others...lure them into coughing up their MONEY to twi...and leading them to believe things that put them into subjugation.
Perhaps when a former follower of twi realizes how they have been used, they try to rationalize it by saying "they served the lord because of what they believed and how they behaved themselves"...but the bottom line is that they fed the beast...plain and simple. You cannot serve both God and mammon...and twi was certainly being served by it's followers.
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dmiller
The dog returns to it's vomit. Pigs go back to wallowing in the mire.
Sometimes folks just don't learn in time.
Pearls are also cast before swine.
In this case, the *pearls* are the folks who want to do good.
The *swine* is the org. I wish you could have read it in the original.
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Twinky
This is the KJV verse that has been so greatly used or misused, and became a cover-up:
“That the ministry be not blamed” has become, “That TWI be not blamed.” So it was presented. We should accept all things, so that TWI would not be brought into disrepute. In particular, we should not begin legal proceedings, so that the ministry=TWI would not be embroiled in litigation and thereby brought into disrepute with unbelievers.
But look. “Ministry” was never meant to mean an organization. “Ministry” meant “service”. It meant work, service to others, serving others. It meant washing feet (like Jesus did). In many versions of this verse of the Bible, “ministry” remains just “ministry” but later more modern versions, recognizing that the word has acquired a different meaning, translate “ministry” differently. Check these out:
And this one, which dates back to about 1909:
TWI in setting itself up as THE Ministry of God’s Word has effectively hijacked verses like this one, which don’t refer to an organization but to one’s individual service.
Other versions say, “our ministry” rather than “the ministry,” (eg, ESV, NIV, NLT)
TWI could, however, have hijacked “our ministry” as well as it hijacked “the ministry” (even though they proudly boasted that no-one could belong to The Way and it had only three members (the BoT). Assuredly it would become “our” ministry if that could be used as a means of quelling discontent or speaking up.
It might be helpful to keep in mind that “ministry” means “serving” not an organization. Or even, just “work”, as in the first few verses above.
TWI is not a “serving” organization.
I ask again, when did anyone last see or hear of top leadership (let’s say, the BoT) serve by cleaning bathrooms or peeling potatoes? Much less washing feet!
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skyrider
Cleaning bathrooms, peeling potatoes and serving tables......is NON-trustee service.
Twi's trustees (directors) serve DAH WORD.......doncha know??
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penworks
I agree with much of what you wrote here and have a further comment to make which may be a little off topic, but here goes:
My comments below are observations I've had over the years about this part of what you wrote: "... people who exhibited Christian behavior (love, compassion, caring, giving, extending yourself to help someone)... "
It seems to me these qualities are not exclusively "Christian" at all. I've observed them shown by many people from many different faiths and people who have no religion at all. Some of my best friends exhibit this behavior and they include Jews, Buddhists, agnostics, and atheists. I think Christianity has hijacked them due to the cherry-picked verses in the gospels that portray Jesus in such ways. But he was not a Christian!
When I take a look at some of Paul's epistles, on which much of modern day Christianity was founded, for example, I often see vindictiveness for people who don't think like he thinks they should, I don't see compassion. TWI did the same thing to justify their terrible behavior towards anyone who disagreed with them, left the ministry, or of course those "awful critics" whose ideas they never fairly debated in public.
I agree it's a terrible shame that so much harm was and is done by equating "ministry" in the bible with The Way Ministry. Other so-called Christian groups give the same sort of interpretation regarding their organizations. It's high time these groups underwent a radical change of some kind...but too bad - the fact is that to maintain competing groups like these organizations, we all know there usually has to be an "us vs. them" mentality.
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rascal
As far as serving a master, what about the verses talking about there being no more male nor female, BOND nor free?
I think the verse quoted by oldies is yet another verse taken out of context to justify ensnaring and exploiting people who desired to serve God but ended up ensnared and supporting an abusive evil group of people.
Evil men whom exploited good hearted people in the name of God were never intended to be our masters nor served , nor obeyed. They took that which wasn`t theirs by deceptively using scriptures.
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rascal
Thing is, that the ministry insists that you do horrible ungodly things in order to *serve*. In addition to sexual servitude, forced abortions, ignoring of family obligations, you are expected to submit to ungodly humiliation, unjust treatment, submit to cruel yelling, allow your finances, your sex life, whatever to be an open book to leaders.
I`m telling you, that has nothing to do with serving God, it is all about service to an organization, an organization that exploits, torments, and decieves in God`s name.
It`s nuts to think that you can serve God and tw...er man.
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JeffSjo
TWI promoted the view that the folks that served were serving God. I would like to be able to agree with Oldies, but this is the rub the way I see it.
I THINK THAT IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE INVOLVED WHO DESIRE TO SERVE GOD. God will judge their hearts and I am not big enough or wise enough to try to touch these things with a ten-foot pole.
But where TWI breaks down is they have a history of nasty, backstabbing, power hungry perverts who do their thing and keep it hidden. So while many people desire to serve God the show is being run by twisted souls who subjugate innocent victims.
I think that such leaders are in reality entirely incapable of providing sincere people the REAL EXPERIENCE OF SERVING GOD. But the most obnoxious troublemakers who were screaming about all the wicked hypocrisy that lived in TWI and were subsequently expelled may have been truly serving God IMO.
I fear that since TWI is what it is, that in the long run folks' desire to serve God will be IN VAIN, that is judged to be a waste of time because as it says in the scripture, the commandments were not OF GOD, but of men with a thin, twisted veneer of scripture to hide the truth of it.
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Mister P-Mosh
Thank you for saying this. As an atheist, I care more about people now than I did as a member of TWI or Christian. The reason is because if this life is all we have, there's no "reward in heaven" so there will be no "justice" for people suffering now if we don't stop it now. Sometimes it seems like religious leaders have people focus on heaven so they accept the problems in their lives now instead of fixing things.
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so it was
I agree, Christianity doesn't have an exclusive on ethics and morality. I think its safe to say all religions have a core value of being good to others, however practice of that is where it all goes wrong.
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JeffSjo
Personally, I wish that TWI and my former splinter group had a fraction of the ethics that some of you atheists and agnostics seem to have.
They'd be better off IMO.
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JeffSjo
This is one of those posts where I feel it may be needful to start with a disclaimer for the non-Christains here at the Greasespot. I don't look down on you, period. But I'd just like to provoke my believing but not-so-friendly co-posters. I hope you can find it in your heart to ignore the implications that you may percieve in the rest of this post, I don't intend to put you-all down. But simply to share with my fellow believers where they stand IMO.
I don't even have to think hard to remember that there are quite a few scripture that make it clear that when believers corrupt ethics are made plain and it causes the unbelievers to be ashamed of what they are doing it means that the believers ethics are really sucky.
DUHHH!
TWI leadership boasts that they are capable of teaching God's people, but their history is nasty and vile behind the scenes. They've lied about it for several decades and have tried to silence or nulify the testimony of TWI victims. I suspect that my former splinter group may be doing the same thing behind my back. I already know that they are capable of it. I've seen them do it to others, who looking back at it, the folks that my former splinter group taught it's followers that it was o.k. to despise were in truth, MORE JUST IN THEIR POINTS THAN LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN IN THEIR HANDLING OF THE SAME ISSUES.
IMO if people like dear Mister P-mosh are correct in pointing out how TWI leadership has copped out on it's responsibilities then TWI LEADERSHIP should rightly BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES.
YEAH, EXCEPT FOR THE CORRUPT, COPPED OUT, AND MANIPULATIVE PART OF THEIR DOCTRINES I THINK THAT THEY ARE JUST A SWELL BUNCH OF PEOPLE.
I do not think having a catchy theme will help!
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Twinky
Jeff - and your post relates to "Serving the Lord with Gladness" - how, exactly? (shakes head, smiles kindly)
Certainly unbelievers are capable of serving other people, and may be very good at it.
However, are they serving the Lord. gladly or otherwise?
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JeffSjo
It's like this for me Twinky,
I'd rather reason with a non-Christain who has a clear conscience as it relates to helping people any day than a bunch of copped out hypocrites that still pretend that they serve the Lord.
It's no small wonder to me at all to that there are so many scriptures point to how bad it is when believers' actions cause folks to disregard God. But what is still kind of shocking to me is that I don't blame the honest folks who rightly point out all the nasty, vile, and downright murderous things that Christianity has done over the centuries.
But it stands to reason IMO that if someone who does such nasty things makes their boast in God and the scriptures that they need to be able to face what the scriptures plainly say about these things. I don't think that anyone who doesn't make their boasts in God and the scriptures has to face these things in the same manner as a Christain does. Because however things work out for them in the long run, at least they didn't make their boasts within an ethical framework that also condemns their action.
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Twinky
Amen, Jeff!
Yes, if TWI is going to teach people to serve with gladness, they will do well to heed scriptures like this:
Now...if something like this started coming out from TWI, words and deeds, maybe they would have something to teach about service, that would be worth listening to.
Note that this passage relates to bishops, the overseers - the limb coordinators of that day, perhaps. And Timothy, as "Prez", knew that he had to set the standard in his own life.
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JeffSjo
(Pretending to speak for TWI, heavy sarcastic tone.)
B-b-but, we've got this really cool theme......
No, it's really o.k. now, we've changed......
You ask, changed from what exactly...... Our lawyers have advised us that we cannot answer that question.
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potato
ha! classic, Jeff! that's exactly how I was hearing it on my way out the door.
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JeffSjo
Thank Potato,
It's kind of amazing to me how quickly that I seem to get the feel for what TWI became even though I never saw that during my brief time in TWI. I'm certain that is because my long association with my splinter group prepared me to be able to get what they became, after all, I've seen most of this stuff real up close and personal like already.
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Twinky
Well, just as I was thinking this thread had done its dash, a little birdie has whispered news of the new programs in my ear.
The first 2 service programs start November 1. They last for five months. You can sign up to do the following, for approx 20 minutes a day:
1 Speak the Word
2 Pray
You don't have to quit your job or move. You can just do it for God. But you do have to sign up.
Two more programs will be announced at a later date (perhaps in four or five months time).
A Region Coordinator present at the meeting where these programs were announced said, "We are going to look back 15-20 years from now, and see how these programs saved the country."
So obviously TWI thinks it can single-handed save the country.
You. dear Cafe patrons, on the other hand, may wish to spend the next 15-20 years planning your emigration to another country lest their programs be successful.
I mean - WTF? - they are the only ones praying [to which God??!!]? They are the only ones speaking the Word?? This is some special program???
And what a shocking "down sizing" if now all they want is 20 mins a day of your time. But you have to "sign up" to do it. Wonder what else is involved; what sort of a record they might require - list of who you spoke to? Is it "speak the Word" or is it "Speak the Class"? Would they want a tape recording of you praying out loud?
Sign up... so that TWI can figure out who is NOT faithful and put the heavies on them, perhaps.
Or perhaps, if you don't sign up - you're not allowed to pray or speak the word (LOL)?
I didn't hear anything of any initiatives to actually SERVE in the community. You know, just do something nice for people without expectation of reward or signing up to take the class... just serve a meal on Friday night to the homeless, offer to help out at the old folks home down the street, be a volunteer worker at the local school ... perhaps these will form part of the new programs to be announced in the future?
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Ham
Hmmm. I wonder what it is precisely, that they are thinking that they will save the country FROM.
A new takeover? Or a depression worse than the 1930's?
Maybe the emergence of a government that has an apetite for the profits and resources of 501c organizations who choose to sit on their hands..
but the new "programs".. why does this little, "low impact" "commitment" look like they are saddling the "faithful" up for a few more heavy-handed, almost forced commitments to come..
"Nice horsey.. just hold still.. it's no big deal at all.. EVERYBODY is wearing one.."
You'd think "gawd's people" would get tired of being saddled up and herded like farm animals..
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JeffSjo
It seems to me that TWI might not enjoy God's Word being spoken as it relates to what they have been/are. But then that is not too uncommon in history or the scriptural records either.
Gee, I thought the believers in this or any other country already have a savior. :blink: But with such a self-important view as they take IMO it is very highly unlikely that much of anything good will actually happen.
They'll probably be shouting there victories whether real or imagined from the roof tops however..... wait.....thats not what they should be shouting from the roof tops, is it?
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